What's a good deer hunting rifle??

[MoBoost]

What brand, price ? Thinking maybe .270 or what do you guys think? 700 to 800 dollar range with scope. I appreciate all the help. Im thinking about trading my 1911 S&W for one.

Why trade? Just harvest with that 1911!

As far as rifle - it's all about how much refinement you want to get. $100 Mosin will take a deer as well as any other rifle regardless of the price, even counterbored and rusted out rifle will shoot DOA*.

* - Deer of Angle.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

There is no finer rifle for the money right now than the T/C Icon, either the original medium action for around $875, or the Classic for $100 more. Less money if you can find one used.

But are you wanting a turnbolt, pump, levergun, semi-auto, or single shot? I prefer turnbolts for hunting usually, but have a little bit of everything.

.270 Win is an excellent caliber, one of the finest, if not the finest for deer. But danged near any caliber will kill a deer, so pick whatever suits your fancy, from .243 win on up.

If you want to stay under $650 or $700 and are buying new, look at the CZ 550, the Tikka T3, the Savage 14/114 Classic, Weatherby Vanguard, or Remington 700 BDL.

If you want to go economy, the Stevens 200 and Marlin XL-7 are fine (if ugly) rifles.

 

[ray76]

I was looking at that T/C Icon Classic, that rifle is beautiful. I've been wanting to try bow hunting for a long time. Maybe I'll buy one and bow hunt instead of rifle. Plus I can hit more places close to home with bow, like Thunderbird lake. Do you need a special license for bow or is it the same as rifle?

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I would strongly encourage you to join the ranks of we bowhunters (but not necessarily exclude gun hunting). Bow hunting extends your season to 3 and 1/2 months rather than 2 weeks. It is more challenging and more exhilarating. It requires more practice and more skill - more attention to scent control, use of good blinds or stands, and a lot of careful patience (you have to learn to wait to draw while the animal is looking the other way). But boy is it fun and rewarding. I would encourage you to go to H&H gun range and look at all the bows they have in there. Most people go compound, but you may decide that you're a traditional man and get a long bow or recurve to add even more to the challenge. Do a LOT of research before buying a bow. It must fit your draw length, and most not be too heavy of a pull for your body and strength or you'll never master it. PM me with any questions. I've only taken one deer with a bow after several years of trying, but it was the thrill of my lifetime (so far).

Plus I can hit more places close to home with bow, like Thunderbird lake.

Absolutely, my buddy and I have no less than 3 hideaway areas right here in the OKC city limits where we can and do go hunt deer of an evening after work or in the morning before work. Unlike a gun, you can shoot a bow in the city limits. One of these places is pretty much in the middle of the city, less than 10 minute drive from my house. So yes, your opportunities are expanded.

 

[farmer17]

+1 for the Weatherby Vanguard. It comes with a factory test target and is guaranteed to shoot under 1.5" groups and my .223 had a 3/4" factory test target group and I could equal that with cheap value pack ammo. It has an adjustable trigger that I got down to under 3 lbs and has a hinged floor plate for easy cleaning and unloading. Many of the cheaper guns don't have a hinged floor plate and a blind magazine well is hard to clean without taking the whole gun apart. I like .243s but they seem just a bit light for deer at long range quartering away. The 25-06 is powerful enough for any deer, easy on the shoulder, and also good on long range predators. A Leupold VX-1 3-9x scope with good mounts and the whole rig is under 700 bucks.

 

[dennishoddy]

Why trade? Just harvest with that 1911!

As far as rifle - it's all about how much refinement you want to get. $100 Mosin will take a deer as well as any other rifle regardless of the price, even counterbored and rusted out rifle will shoot DOA*.

* - Deer of Angle.

Thats kind of what I'm thinking. It knocks em just as dead as my 30-06 at the ranges they are designed to shoot.

 

[Soulman]

Well, actually around here all I've ever needed was a lever action 30-30. I decided I might like a semi-auto that was rugged and reliable. So that's how I ended up with a sks. The 7.62x39 SP ammo is on the level with .30-30, but you have the advantage of a rugged and reliable semi-auto. Practice ammo is cheap, and the iron sights are easy to see and use. I guess if you really wanted to, you could get a scout scope setup for one. For longer distances, I might look at a bolt gun, but for the close range brush hunting here in NE Oklahoma, the lever or SKS works great.

 

[shotty]

A Marlin 30-30 is a great choice, with a lower power scope or williams peep sight. I prefer the peep sight to retain the clean lines on the rifle and it is very quick to the shoulder. I have had many calibers 243, 25-06, 308, 270, 30-06 and while they have all harvested deer, the marlin seems to be the go to gun and always in the truck anymore. I retain the 243 for yote control.

 

[Horty]

I have a Rem 700 in .270 WSM with a nice SS 16x scope on it and it is a very solid gun and is extremly accurate out to 300yds. My only negative on it is that the WSM variant of the .270 ammo is fairly expensive and can be difficult to find

 

[criticalbass]

The 30-30 is a traditional deer gun, and has probably killed more deer than any other caliber, but you need to learn its limitations, range being chief among them. Same goes for the SKS/AK 7.62x39. Very similar ballistics, with accuracy not as good.

Premium bullets make the .243 an excellent deer cartridge, so if you go that route, don't stint on ammo.

30-06, .308, .270 are all good, but don't overlook the .280 Remington. Some experts think it's the best of all deer killers.

I'm carrying a .375 H&H this fall, both to annoy some friends of mine and to reduce meat loss (you can eat right up to the bullet hole with those big boomers). CB