rustynobles

half the time i use my 3030, half the time i use my 7 mag, because i'm young (but fully grown) and can handle the recoil, and i like to kill them super dead.

stretch56

Where I hunt they are not legal I do believe Southern Ia has a late rifleseason though.

gregrn43

30-06 probably more than anything, but i have several rifles that I use.

newguy23

.243 Kimber Longmaster Classic: This is the best rifle I can afford. It has many features that custom guns would have such as a great trigger, fully floated and buttoned, etc. I would love to own a custom gun, but my budget does not currently allow for it. At least it is a step up from Remingtons. I hunt with a .243 because it is my opinion based on ballistics that this is the perfect deer hunting rifle for me. I have never had a problem with it, and with new advances, the bullets just keep getting bettter. Why shoot a 7mm mag if you don't need all that thump? Maybe people just can't hit the boiler room? Seems like a good excuse for bad shooting?

Summitsitter

I currently use a .243 Rem 700 SS Mountain Rifle for deer hunting. It is extremely light weight, is very accurate, and takes down deer with little recoil. I still love shooting all my other rifles, but for deer, I'll stick with the .243.

vindog

300 Win Mag. I bought it because I can hunt anything from deer to moose with it, and could only afford one rifle. If i was to get a rifle strickly for whitetails i probably would look at a 270 wsm or 7mm 08

isatarak

I used a 700ADL for 30 years or so and I love the rifle and the caliber, but got to where I couldn't stand shooting that mule. I guess it's me getting older too. In a hunting situation I didn't mind it, but hated target shooting and sighting in. My ears would ring for a couple of hours after shooting it only one shot while hunting. So this year I bought a brand new Model 700BDL in .243 caliber. It is a beautiful gun and I always wanted an BDL. The gun is noticeably heavier than the old ADL so that minimizes the recoil even more. I don't mind shooting it at all and will kill anything around here.

spudrow

That'sgreat brushbuck28. I have3 grand daughters and hopefully one will take to hunting. I would love to leave my Winchester model 94 to one of them.


Spudrow from Mo

BIRD DOG

2 years ago I shot a 150 class with a 243 - he ran 150 yards and parked it into some heavy cover - lung shot but effective - At that time I had a 30-06 with a poor scope and did not trust the accuracy. A few years of saving some money - I finally downed my second deer over 160 - used the 30-06 with a Ziess scope (Smith&Wesson 1500 Model) I turned to this gun just because the big man needs a big gun philosophy! Shot placement is critical - the last two deer with the 30-06 - no more than 15-30 yards - heart shots! Plus the exit hole from the last deer was about 3 inches - but the deer was only 30 yard from my ground position!

country1

The first deer I shot was with my father's Winchester 94 in 30-30. I use a 30-06 when I use a rifle, but that does not answer your question. I understand you becoming recoil sensitive as my dad has also developed this (no longer wants to shoot a 12 ga). If a person selects a 243, PLEASE choose the proper bullet and be precise in your shot placement. Some places do not allow the 243 due to problems with wounded deer. The 243 is not a caliber I would suggest for a new hunter as you cannot control all the variables like wind gusts and animal movement, and there is not much margin for error with this caliber. For a new hunter a 7mm-08, 30-30, 257 Roberts or Ackley Improved, or 308 might be a better choice.