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Recommended deer rifle

Old 10-10-2019, 05:26 PM
  #11  
Spike
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 22
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How big a guy or gal are you?
Probably none of us would recommend the same rifle for a 140 lb woman as we would for a 200 lb man.
You don't need a cannon to kill deer. You need patience, persistence, practice shooting and you need accuracy.
If you are a smaller person maybe consider something in a .243 caliber. There have been a lot of deer killed with those and they don't kick your butt so bad when you shoot them. You don't want to be flinching and wincing when you pull the trigger.
if you are a bigger hunter then look to some of the classic calibers. Maybe a .270 or 30 06 for more open areas and longer ranges. A .308 is a very powerful rifle that does well in brushy areas. A bolt action is still probably the most accurate and is a very simple mechanism.
Remember too that you usually only get one chance to drop your deer so semi autos are not really neccessary.
For what it's worth, I killed a lot of deer with a Marlin lever action
30 30 - with iron sites. It was a great brush gun in the woods we hunted in and it's short so a guy could take a quick snap shot with it. It was my HS graduation present from my dad.
It was only when I got older and my eyes began to change that I finally got around to getting a scope. Then I bought a new rifle to go with it. I bought a Tikka T3 in .270 and put a good Leupold scope on it. I'll never be as fond of it as I was my Marlin but it's deadly and that's what counts.
FWIW I would have you think about a used rifle too. Lots of classic rifles out there in the hands of older guys who can't/don't hunt anymore.
A deer rifle isn't like a car that you use every day so they don't get worn out much. Put a good modern scope on it and you'd have a classic that you'd be proud to take afield.
Probably save some dough that way too.
There are Lots of fancy brand names and gizmos you can buy too. I suggest you keep it simple.
Most of that stuff may help if you are a quasi professional shooter or hunter and can reach out 400 yards to drop a deer. Otherwise they are just more ways to get you to part with your money.
In the end it's just you with whatever rifle - and the deer and YOU are gonna be all shaking and pumped up so that if you had a $10,000 rifle in your hands it would not make you a better shot than I was with my Marlin.
Sorry this got so long but its 29 days till the opener here and you can tell what's on my mind.
Ultradog MN is offline  

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