I bought one in 2004, and have killed my share of deer with it. I used 140 gr. Accubonds in it last year because it just shoots them so well. It's a great cartridge to handload, and there are plenty of bullet/powder combinations available if you reload. The recoil is minimal. It's a fun gun to shoot. As was said before, if you start fiddling with it, I'm sure it will become your go-to deer gun.