RE: The best rifle for deer?
Well, I've never been to the Catskills, but I do hunt the mountains of NW Arkansas and just went through this "pick a gun" thing this spring. I chose a Rem 700 Mountian LSS in 7MM-08. The stainless barrel & action and laminated stock are perfect for incliment weather and in my opinion the 7MM-08 has the perfect combination of light recoil and plenty of punch for deer sized game out to 300Yds.
A 400 Yd shot would be streaching the 7MM-08 a little, but I don't think I'd ever see a 400 Yd shot opportunity here in the Ozarks and wouldn't take the shot if I did. Right now I'm comfortable out to 200 Yds and practicing to extend that on out to 300YDs even though the vast majority of shots here are well under 200YDs.
firstshot
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Make your first shot count!