What is your favorite deer gun?

[love to hunt]

Some of the fun of this forum is to hear what people out there are using for firearms during the deer season. We have lengthy discussions at work, deer camp, pheasant camp, Ice Fishing camp, where ever sportsman congregate on ideal calibers, actions, stands and the like.

I am starting this post as an opportunity for folks to show off there pride and joy rifle, and perhaps tell a story.

With that in mind lets hear all your stories and see the pictures. Deer camp is a mear 2 months away.

So I guess I will start things off.

I have several rifles that I use for deer season to include a TC Encore, 1903 A3 Springfield, Win 94 30-30, even a NEF .308 sees action on occasion.

My absolute favorite however, has to be my grandpa's old Savage model 99 chambered in 250-3000. Though not a tac driver like a Weatherby or Sako, and not nearly as popular as a Remington or Winchester and being made in 1937 certainly not the newest thing in the woods. It holds a 2" group at 100 yards never fails to function, is certainly adequate for deer sized game and it treats the shoulder like mom's tender touch. It has taken more deer then I can count and has and always will be my favorite deer gun. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that when I carry this weapon I feel a small part of grandpa is there with me. My thoughts are, that you have not truely deer hunted untill you have taken an animal with an open sight lever gun.

Second would have to be my 1903 A3 Springfield in 30-06. It is the first gun my father gave me and subsequently the gun I shot my first several deer with. It was purchased at a gun show in Dickenson ND and sported the origional military stock minus the upper pieces of wood for several years. I took my first deer, first buck, biggest buck and taken more deer with it then any other gun I own.

I have carved new stocks for both of these guns myself, so there is a lot of personnel value in both these rifles and they both have there own unique stories. Both have seen bumper harvest years and both have seen the lean years but all in all there are my best friends in the deer woods.

[Code-Man]

i like my 30-06 Ruger bolt action for tree stand hunting but my 30-30 is awesome for drives in the brush and I just got a Pro Hunter and i'm thinking that will be going higher up on my list

[harvey lee]

I use two rifles for deer hunting.

1-7mm Remington BDL with a Luepold Vari-111 scope.

2-300 Mag Ruger 77 stainless barrel with another Leupold scope.This gun has been glass bedded,fluted and a muzzle brake installed.It is a cannon.

I use the 7mm for the 0-300 yard shots and the 300 yard plus shots are mede with the 300.The longest shot made to date is 385 yards with the 300.Both are bolt actions and have been re triggered.

[BobT]

I have primarily used two different rifles for deer hunting. My first was a Marlin 336C 30-30. I hunt in northern minnesota near Mt. Iron so the 30-30 was more than enough for any situation I encountered. Of all the deer I have taken using that rifle I never had to track one. They fell where they stood, every time and I'm not exaggerating. The 30-30 is one of the most under-rated rifles there is but from my experience it is perfect for deep woods applications.

With all that said, I always had a desire to get away from the lever action and get into a bolt action. I really don't understand why that was but that is the way I felt. Eventually I had an opportunity to pick up a Winchester in the 30-06 caliber. I have pretty much always felt that the 30-06 was and is probably the most versatile cartridge ever developed with loads ranging from 55gr to 240gr and possibly higher there isn't too much game out there that one can't use this cartridge. I really like my bolt action but I will say that I am still learning which is the best load to use for the deer hunting I do. I have had to track a couple deer since using my '06 although only about 50 yds. or less as shot placement was good but I attribute that to the wrong choice of cartridge I had made. I have since downsized from the 180gr. silver tip Winchester rounds to 150gr nozzler partitions to try and improve expansion at close range while still maintaining the accuracy for long range targets should I happen to get out in the open.

So what's been my favorite? It's a toss-up really. The knock-down and kiling power of the 30-30 is unmatched at the close range shots encountered where I hunt but I'm partial to the bolt action of my '06.

I suppose a bolt action 30-30 would probably satisfy both for me.

Bob

[iffwalleyes]

I have a .270 white gold medillion Browning A Bolt. I love this gun great for ND hunting. I also have a Model 7400 Remington 30-O6 and I have started to like this gun more than I used too. Still like my .270 better. Leupold VX 2 3-9 scopes on both of them.

[Cooter]

My favorite deer gun is the only one I have Rem 700 Mtn. in .280 with Burris FFII. Used to hunt with shotgun previously. The 700s stock has lots of character but everything I do with it has become automatic, which is good for me and bad for the critters

[Ely Lake Expert]

I shoot a .280 Remington with a 3.5X10 Leupold scope. It is a really nice gun that is good from short to long range. I don't think I will ever change.

Ryan

[jigstick44]

I shoot a Browning A-bolt 30.06 Stainless Stalker with a Nikon Buckmaster scope. This is my first ever rifle and I really like it so far, but I have only been hunting for 3 years.

[almostthere!]

Browning Medallion in 300 Win Mag. Love the 45 degrees bolt lift. Cycling is so fast and you don't have to worry about smashing your thumb against the scope: not like the remingtons, winchesters, or rugers.

[Stratosman]

Thought I'd throw one in the ring for the shotgunners. Mine is an 11-87 Remington 12 guage, I got it from my parents as a high school graduation gift, put on a Hastings rifled barrel and shooting sabots she's accurate out to 100 yards. Very dependable too no matter what the conditons. I lost count of how many deer that thing has got me over the last 13 years. Probably between MN and WI somewhere around 25-30.

My other for the rare occasion I rifle hunt is a Remington .243 bolt with a bushnell. Nice and light, great trajectory and very accurate with little recoil.

[DooWap]

I too have to throw out a shotgun. I have an Rem 870 with a rifled barell and a Bushnell 1.5-4.5x scope using the Remington Corelokt sabots. I have my sighted in at 100 yds w/ amazing accuracy for a shotgun. It's really a great weapon in the thick woods as the slugs will blast through brush and a deer won't go far when that 385 grain round plugs it. I am going to invest in a Browning A bolt 7mm mag this spring to use out of the stand, though I'll keep the shotgun for the deer drives

[89Bronco]

One for the handgunners! My favorite is my .44 mag Ruger Redhawk. It's nice and light and it stays right on the hip so both hands are free when walking through the woods. Never had to trail a deer more than 20-25 yards.

[CodyDawg]

Guys,

Remember, there is no such thing as a "good brush gun". ANY bullet can be deflected by brush. I shoot the 385 grain Federal Sabots out of my Beretta 390 with a Hastings barrel and a Signature Burris. Last year, my second shot at the 11 pointer hit a small twig about 3 yards in front of the deer and deflected enough that it didnt open properly. If this would have been the only shot, I would not have gotten the deer. But since I knew I had one good one in his boiler room after the first shot, I kept shooting. Believe me, it wasnt much in the way of brush either.

And the talk about knockdown power is highly anecdotal. the last dozen deer I have shot I have put multiple shots in the heart/lung area on every one. Not one has dropped in its tracks. All these were shot with slugs at less than 50 yards. None of them made it 50 yards, but they didnt tip over dead either.

If you sneak forward on the deer and put the bullet in the shoulder area, you are more likely to tip the deer over. But there is less room for error as well. I am a heart/lung guy pure and simple because there is the most room for error. And from what I know of the general public, most need that room.

[Froggy4371]

I am a slug gun guy also! I shoot a 870 express super mag with sabots. Deadly and sighted in for 100 yards.

One comment CodyDawg, I have about 45 deer under belt with this gun in 16 years of hunting. I will agree that not everyone has dropped dead in it's tracks even with more then one slug in it but most time I only need one in the hot spot and it might go two or three steps! I have seen a deer run for 3/4 mile with 9 slugs in it and two had taken out one lung and a section of the heart. But there is some whump with a slug. Just my .02

Froggy

[Gordie]

I use one of three guns a Weatherby Vanguard in 30-06 1.75x4.5 bussnell banner scope

a1956 remington wingmaster 870 12ga with slug barrel scope same as above

a cva mag hunter in 50cal

[SpecialK]

I have used my fathers 30-06 mauser bolt action and when I was ready to buy my own I went with A tikka T3 hunter with the blued barrel and wood stock. With Remington 160gr bullets I dropped the deer in it's tracks. I too am a lung shot guy and am used to tracking for a couple of yards so it surprized me when it crumpled.

[sachem longrifle]

50 caliber kentucky flintlock rifle shooting PRB and real bp, just like davy crokett

[elevatorguy]

I got a Remington Model 788 bolt action in a 308. I have been shooting this gun since I was 13 and I am very deadly with it. I tried a browning A-Bolt 270 but didn't like it and had to rely on the old 308. Great caliber for what I have needed. Someday I will get another rifle and hopefully pass the 308 on to my kids if I ever have any.

[buckpredator]

Another shotgunner:

Favorite and current gun Remington 11-87 with scope. Like stated in above post deadly accurate out and a little beyond 100yds. First year I had it, I couldn't get it to eject shells.(later found out the interchangeable collar was stuck on my regular shotgun barrel.) First day one 63yd shot one nice eight point buck. Second day, one 50 yd shot one nice doe. Third day, one 75yd shot another plump doe.

Second favorite deer gun, was my first and it taught me to be an accurate shot. It is the Mossberg 500 open sights.

[Dragonsm]

There's more of us shotgunner's out there than I thought! I actually go the 20 ga route with a Remington 870 youth model 20 ga magnum with a slug barrel. I changed out the standard sights with a set of fiber optics that really make it a lot easier/nicer to shoot. I am much newer to this deer hunting as I married into deer camp last year, but hope to put a few plugs in some deer in years to come. The 2 nice things about my gun compared to everyone else in our camp is 1) With as much walking and deer drives as we do...the 20 ga is lighter to carry than all the 12 ga. guns the rest have. 2)When I do hit a deer, I don't have to argue about whether or not I shot it as my holes are smaller!

How many more days till deer hunting? I've had the itch since the day after deer camp last year!

[Ron Burgundy]

870 Express Magnum, smoothe slug barrel. That's all I've used. I've got the Mossberg rifled barrel with Sportsman scope coming from Cabela's. I ordered it on 8-16 and still haven't got it. I'll use the 1100 I inherited this year for the thick woods or drives. The 870 will be in my stand or blind with the Hornady SSTs. That's all I've bought since I don't even have the barrel yet.

[lawdog]

My favorite is whichever one is in season then and there!

I rifle hunt with a Remington 7400 in 30-06 topped with a Leupold Vari X-II.

I shotgun hunt with two different 870's, one with a cantilever scope mount fully rifled barrel topped with a Nikon and the other a smooth bore open sights gun.

I also have the T/C Omega .50 cal smokepole for the muzzleloader season (and also the gun season sometimes where I top it with another Nikon and some Tally quick disconnect rings to take it off and make it legal for the muzzleloader season).

Oh, and a S & W model 626 .44 magnum that I've been known to carry and sit with in tight country...

Gosh I love deer hunting...

PS. Did I mention my PSE bow?????

[harvey lee]

Lawdog,it looks to me like you have either to much money or to much time to hunt.Its great to hunt all the time.

[lawdog]

I might just have a slight addiction to most things outdoors related HL... I'm working on it though, I actually sold two guns this year, now I'm down to only way too many instead of way way too many to use them all!

[BigWadeS]

My favorite gun is a hand me down 30-06 Remington Semi-Auto Woodsmaster that was my grandpa's. My dream rifle is a 7MM

[FarByondDrivn]

I'll through another one in there for the shotgunners. I got an 835 Mossberg for free about five years ago. I dropped sixty bucks on a cantilever slug barrel and about the same on a scope. The gun is ugly as sin and weighs about fifty pounds but it shoots great groups out to one hundred and fifty yards.

[Gissert]

I shot a Remington 742 for years in 30-06. Shot a lot of deer with it, it was a good serviceable deer rifle. I just began to hate the crappy trigger.

I picked up a Savage 111 in .338 win mag for elk hunting. That gun ended up being incredibly accurate, and I got very comfortable with it. So much so that I just started hunting deer with it. Overkill? Yep. But it puts the bullet where I want it, and does not damage any more than the 30/06 did.

One of these years I am going to pick up something in 6.5 x 55 for deer, probably a Ruger M77.

[Dahitman44]

For me it has been a synthetic Winchester 30-06. Great gun so far and a little cheper that the Browning I first wanted so badly. Nikon 3-9 scope.

[CSTPETER]

For my first 15 years of hunting my favorite gun was the biggest, fastest, heaviest kickin, sonofab*tch I could find. As I get somewhat older and slightly wiser(my wife would argue that point)I have lost my bigger is better mentality. My new favorite is a Remington model 700 BDL chambered for 7mm-08. If you have never fired this round, you owe it to your shoulder to give it a try, once you realize you can get near .270 like performance with only about half the recoil, that " I need a new gun" look will be plastered all over your ugly mug.

[Dee.M.Zee]

I use two different rifles for deer. For open areas I use my Remington 7MM Mag,for the close quarters hunting I use a Marlin 45-70 Gov't.I usually shoot 300gr jacketed hollow points in the 45-70 and 150gr ballistic tip bullets such as the Scirracco in the 7MM.I have used the 7MM in heavy cover with no problems whatsoever but I will go to the heavier 175gr core lokt bullet in those instances.