A fun rifle to plink with if nothing else. I shot my pal's rossi 357 mag lever rifle and it was fun and fairly accurate. Now I know you can get upwards of 1800 fps out of it, but if you do want a lever rifle I would stick with a 30-30 chambering or something with a little better ballistics. I am shure it would do the trick, but seeing a deer at distances beyond 100 yards is very possible and I would hate to see anyone dissapointed for lack of firearm capability. So, if it is a second rifle and the first one is a 270 or something comparible, go ahead and get it. If this is a primary deer hunting rifle, think twice about the chambering. EJ