Building deer rifle for Upstate NY
 

I have a large collection of weapons and came up with a pair to become my starting points and wanted advice / warnings.

I picked an inexpensive Remington 770 in 300 WinMag as the starting point for deer. I bought it from a friend who thought it was a decent starting point for a magnum round target weapon. The action feels smooth, which is something I worried about since it is much less expensive than my pair of 700 PSS's and google brought back a lot of hits of people complaining about the bolt and action. Trigger pull does not seem to have any "hitches" to it, so I don't plan to replace the trigger group. For a scope, I found an extra Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 3.5-10 M3 and I put that on top. I have an email off to Leupold Customer Service to ask if they have turrets in 180 grain 300 WinMag; as I just moved to NY and appear to have lost my extra turrets. Right now it is of course set as 168 grain 7.62 NATO. Does anyone else make turrets for that scope? I have used Kenton's Tuned Trajectory Compensators in the past. I also think I should try to find a gunsmith to add a JP Enterprises Muzzle Brake or some other muzzle brake.

A second weapon choice if the 770 is a bad choice is a beautiful Remington 700 Classic I own in 338 WinMag. It was already magnaported and has a Nikon hunting scope on it. I was just worried that 338 WinMag would do too much damage to the meat and was really more for Elk hunting in the Rockies.

IMO a 300win mag is too much gun for deer,especially in NY where the majority of your shots are gonna be under 200yds.I think if you're build the gun the 700 action would be a much better choice.

If I were you, I would forget totally about doing anything at all with a 770. You can download or shoot factory 200 gr. ammo in the .338 for deer without anymore devistation than a 30-06. Been there... done that.

Save your money and as Jerry recommended, start with a 700.

Use the 770 for a boat paddle or a door stop and use the 700 for hunting.

This can't possibly be a serious thread.

You have two PSS's and a magnaported 700 classic .338 win mag and you happen to have an "extra" Leupold Mark IV that's sitting around to top the 770 with and you are contemplating custom turrits for this rifle.

Doesn't really add up.

BB,

It's Larry, he's back...........is that you Relentless ?


Snappo ???

Exactly what I was thinking.

NO, it's not legal (should not be)...or at the least it's rather absurd.

LOL, I lived in Upstate New York for 27 years before moving to Rhode Island. Upstate New York consist of a lot of WOODS and TIMBER (depending on where you hunt) Most feilds are not over 400 yds. across (Some are) Most opportunities that you will get at shots in Upstate NY will be 200 yards or LESS. There is nothing wrong with a 30-30 for hunting in Upstate NY. With that being said there is nothing wrong with a 308, 30-06, or 300 win mag. I just feel you don't need that much gun in most hunting situations in Upstate NY. I used to hunt with a 30-06 up there (near Parrish, Pulaski and West Monroe areas) The 30-06 was more than adequate and in my opinion, too much gun. I switched to a 30-30 and that seemed to fit the bill better. I could push my shot to about 185yds if i wanted to, but seeing that I would never get that kind of shot off in the forest, even my 30-30 was not getting full use of its potential. The longest shot I made at a deer with my 30-06 was about 67 yds. The shortest shot was about 11yds. Depending on where you are hunting in NY and Im going to say (more than likely) You will NOT need such a caliber as a 300 win or 338. ......There was however a time when I had to bring out my .416 Rigby in Tully.........It was the year they had the attack of the "Mountain Elephants" That was in 1996 and they say they don't come around but every hundred years or so. So I doubt you will have to dig further into your arsenal and get your 505 Gibbs with a shepard scope anytime soon.