Choice for Deer Rifle

[Little Doc]

Been using the same gun forever, a 6mm., and now I want to buy a new rifle. What do you use and why?

 

[Texman301]

270. Big enough to take down anything you want.

 

[smokeyjoe53]

Don't deer hunt, I leave that to the paying customers........ I like a bushmaster AR. In .308 for Hawgs though.........

 

[Caprock kid]

Weatherby vanguard 270 or Tika in any caliber from 243 to 308. Both great guns.

 

[Little Doc]

I've considered both the .270 and the .308. Both good guns, with good knockdown power.

 

[Texman301]

I have a Sako 270. It was produced in 1968 for Ithaca.

 

[Shane]

Anymore, I hunt with my bow most of the time. Got this buck a few days ago in the cold and ice.

But my favorite deer rifle is the first one my dad gave me when I was a kid - an old German Weatherby in .240 Wby. Mag. I've killed a lot of deer and other game with it in the last 30 years or so.

The .240 Wby packs a little more punch than any of the other 6mm rounds, but it's still a 6mm so that probably wouldn't be what you'd want to add since you already have a 6mm. My son shoots a .25-06, which is a great round for deer. Ammo is widely available and not too terribly expensive (unlike the Weatherby, which I reload for).

A good compliment to the 6mm would be a 7mm Mag. Great speed with heavier bullets, good long range performance on deer and bigger game. I got lucky and drew a desert bighorn permit last fall. The hunt was this past summer. I took this ram with a 7mm Wby. Mag. I'll never top this hunt. It was truly a hunt of a lifetime, and it cost me only $10 for the drawing entry. I still can't believe it.

 

[MelaniB]

My DSH uses a 22.250. The area he shoots the deer or hogs in sends them spinning then they drop right there. He had a left handed. 270 rifle that he let Jerry have. That thing would do the trick on any deer, or hog. It also knocked the heck out of him. The picture of the boy and hog looks like our lease with us having more mesquite trees and cactus.

 

[MelaniB]

Smokey how long have you been leasing? Your way is the best way.

 

[Little Doc]

Great pictures, Shane. Got my first deer this year with a bow. Thanks for the info.

 

[smokeyjoe53]

Just a few years ........ 50 or so .......

 

[MelaniB]

Shane, that bighorn ram is beautiful. Did you have someone drag him out of there or did you son help you out. Those big animals are heavy. My dad and DSH have been drawn and they brought down 2 or 3 elks. I can't remember them but I remember a picture of their hunt.






My DSH did shot one in Lowake with a boy and arrow and they tracked forever and never found him. He was using a string on the arrow and it broke. We don't know if he lived or died. So DSH uses the gun to make sure we put em down.

 

[MelaniB]

My grandparents leased but they let us hunt also. We hunted carefully, no drinking and kept trash picked up. We appreciated our leasers.

 

[Clairatt19]

For years, I used a Remi 270 BDL, and still think that the 270 is the "best" whitetail round overall. The 6mm or 243 is about as light as you want to go, I think. I think the 300 is about as big as you want to ever go. A lot of people used to shoot 30-06, but its not as popular as it was. I currently shoot a 7mm-08, kind of a hybrid round. Google it up, the stats on it are real good and it doesn't knock your arm off. I also have a 308 and it is my most accurate rifle, but it has a fluted, hex barrel and a big scope and the sucker is heavy. So, I don't carry it as much, but 308 is very good. Caliber of choice for snipers, back in the day. Also have a 264 mag, old caliber, expensive shells, but it is an excellent rifle. A few of my friends shoot 257, also an older caliber making a bit of a comeback. Stats are good on it. 7mm or 280 (about the same round) are still very popular, fast with a lot of energy. If you want to go big, I'd compare the 7mm to the 300 before you picked. Another lighter rifle to think about is the 25-06. I had a Sako model and it drove nails. My brother borrowed it and....yeah, I miss that rifle. But finally here is the thing: if had to just keep one deer rifle and give the rest away, I'd keep my 270 Remi for the simple reason that I have the most confidence with it in my hands. The others are perfectly good rifles, but that one is old faithful and has never failed me. And honestly, all things considered, I'd rather have a $400 Ruger with a $1000 Zeiss or Swarvoski scope, than a $1000 rifle with a $100 Bushnell. So, figure that in as well.

 

[Little Doc]

I'm starting to lean to the .270. It's been around a long time and if I'm correct, during the ammo shortage there always seemed to be boxes of .270 ammo on the shelves. I'm also partial to the Remington brand. Any other brands worth considering?

 

[Clairatt19]

For mass-produced rifles, I like Remington because I prefer its action. Not saying it is necessarily technologically superior, but I prefer it. Winchester and Ruger make good rifles. Some guys like Browning, but I've honestly never shot one. Lot of smaller manufacturers that make great rifles worth checking into. Kinda pricey, so put on your seat belt.

 

[ryry]

After seeing those pics I am now the jealous type Shane my friend
Really can't go wrong with an ole 30/30 but my favorite is my Savage 308 lever action that was passed down to me by my grandad.

 

[MelaniB]

Doc take my advise or not. Get someone to shoot it in for you. You will have the biggest bruise on your shoulder than you've ever seen. Pay them and tell em thank you and go hunting. It is a strong gun.

 

[Shane]

Shane, that bighorn ram is beautiful. Did you have someone drag him out of there or did you son help you out. Those big animals are heavy. My dad and DSH have been drawn and they brought down 2 or 3 elks. I can't remember them but I remember a picture of their hunt.

Yes, I had lots of help, thankfully. The Texas Parks & Wildlife biologists that were running the hunt were there. One of them was guiding me, and 5 or 6 others were scouting and some of them came down to help us pack the ram out of the canyon. You can't tell in that picture just how deep, steep and rugged the country was. It was ROUGH. It was about a 2 hour hike and stalk down into the canyon and back up the other side to get the ram. After the shot, it took almost 7 hours to get the ram skinned, quartered, and packed out in backpacks. Probably would have only been 6 hours if I had been in as the same kind of condition the young biologists and my 16 yr old son were in. I started working out as hard as I could about 9 months before the hunt, but working out hard for an hour a day can't get an old 47 year old fella into good enough shape to climb up and down steep rocky canyons for 10-12 hours without a rest, apparently. LOL

 

[Shane]

After seeing those pics I am now the jealous type Shane my friend

HaHa! Hunting and fly fishing are definitely my favorite hobbies. Friday night football kinda limits the amount of fall hunting we're able to do right now, but that's just as much fun and it will be over before I blink. Just two more years for Zach.