RE: Deer Rifles?
 

Anything between .223 and .458 Lott will kill a big game animal. Find what you like that will perform at the range you are most likely to be shooting and go with that. You are the only one that needs to be happy with your rifle.

I like to shoot long range, but where I hunt, you can't see over 100 yards, much less shoot that far, so buying a rig that will shoot 1000 yards doesn't make sense to me.

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

If you're buying a new gun for deer hunting only, you would be hard pressed to find anything better than a 270. Good Luck!

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

If you are planning to use the rifle for just deer then i believe that the .270 is the better option for 2 reasons. 1. It is a classic deer cal., it has a very good flat trag. and more than enough hitting power.
2. If you decide to go after larger game such as elk or moose you will have the perfect excuse to purchase the .300.
It would be very logical to me. Plus, he who dies with the most toys wins.

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

a .300 might be a little stiff for deer if you can't find a light load. There is truth to that. However, if you shoot a light enough bullet, it isn't as much of an overkill as folks might think.
My buddy bought a .300 for the reason that he can load it light for deer, and not have to buy another rifle necessarily for bigger game since he now lives in Alaska.
We took our rifles to South Dakota for deer a couple years back, and the .300 was just fine. He shot 150 or 155 grain Federal High Shocks (sorry if i don't have the name dead on) it was just fine for deer. Not much wasted meat.
I would ask myself how much hunting am I gong to do this season before I buy something new. You might be able to hunt dads gun this year, save up more from now till next year, and really get a shooter.

Nothing wrong with anyof the others mentioned here either. For that matter, many of them are probably better for deer. If you are lookng to maybe hunt this season though with your dads rifle, then just find acouple boxesof lighter weight bullets. A couple boxes of these will certainly cost less for this year than a new rifle, and all the godies that go with it.

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

270, 308, 243, 30-06 are perfect for hunting deer with in all areas.

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

I am a die-hard .270 advocate. Read the ballistic charts at Remington, no bullet travels straighter than a 130 grain .270 shell. Also packs more punch and moves faster than almost all bigger caliber rounds with more grains.

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

If you are going to buy a new rifle (for whitetail only) that .270 will work as good as any.I have had one almost my whole 29 year deer hunting experence.I now have a .270wsm and it is doing a good job to.If you are just wanting to hunt that .300 H&H will be ok to,I here it all the time about my .300wm it is to big ,it will blow them up.I just like that cartridge it works in all situations.

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

Ditto.

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

I switched from the .270 to the 25-06 Rem....but to be honest... .243, 25-06, .270, or 30-06 are hard to beat when it comes to killing deer.

RE: Deer Rifles?
 

perfectly suited for whitetail the .260, great round, but i cant say its as versatile as the .270