Deer hunters: what do you shoot?
 

i used to shoot my model 70 featherweight in .270 win

just curious what you all shoot.

My personal caliber for deer is the .308 Winchester cartridge loaded for the anticipated hunting conditions. The rifles carried afield are either the Weatherby Mark IV Accumark ultra-lightweight synthetic/stainless for medium-long range duty or my Browning BLR for short range brush duties or medium range work.

The recent acquisition of the Winchester Model 70 Ultralightweight (also in .308) will fit somewheres in their too at some point down the road once new glass in acquired and several visits to the benchrest!;)

This should get some interesting replies.

The last 6 or so years a 260 Rem in first a M700 and then a Kimber M84. Before that I used a custom M700 in 7-08 for around 12-15 years. Prior to that a `06 or Ruger Super Black Hawk depending on the area I hunted. I started in the early `60s with a M94 in 32 SPCL of my dads, as did both my brothers.
I`ll likely stay with the 260 Rem. The cartridge seems to kill as well as any used so far and recoil and accuracy are as good as it gets in a hunting arm.

When I lived in Pennsylvania, I used a Marlin lever action .30-30 and a Savage .30/06. Now that I am an Ohioan, I use my Remington 870 12 gauge with rifled slugs.

Either a 760 pump in '06 or a 141 pump in .35 Rem. Also always have a Vaquero .45 on my hip. Would like to take a deer with it someday.

I killed my first deer with a Savage 110 in .30-06, which is my dad's gun. Then, I bought a Ruger 77MKII in .300 Win Mag. and that has been my primary deer gun. I also have a Rem. 700 in .270 Win that I have taken out twice, but I never had the opprtunity to shoot at a deer with it.

Over the winter, I am hoping to get a Ruger 77MKIIVT in .25-06 and plan on using it for deer as much as possible.

However, the majority of my deer have been taken with my slug gun. Initially, it was a Browning BPS with a Hastings rifled barrel, but now it is a Benelli SBE with an ER Shaw rifled barrel on it and two recoil reducers.

model 70,

While I have 6 scoped commercial rifles for PA deer (.243, .270, 7mmRM,.308, .30-06, and .35 Whelen) , I much prefer "as issued" military arms with hunting ammo. Most PA deer are shot at 75 yards, or less, so iron sights on my old "War Horses" do just fine.

My favorites are the Kar 98k, the 6.5 Swedes, the No1 MkIII SMLE and the Danish Madsen M58.

Adam

For longer ranges - older tang safety Ruger M77 in 25.06

For the thick stuff - Ruger 96/44 mag

For both whitetail and mule deer I use my .257 Roberts with 117 gr. Sierras.--tr

6,5 swede, 129gr sp. rl-19.

Most of my deer have fallen to my 30-06 or my 270. Shot my first elk in Colorado this past Nov. with my 7mm mag by Ruger 77. For PA deer, being of light chassis myself, I now like my 260 or 270 or 280.

A lot of different stuff. Just depends on where I'm hunting and what's legal. Here in Ohio, shotguns, muzzleloaders, and handguns. Out of state, about 4 or 5 different rifles depending on what I feel like using. primarily either a 7 mag or a 30-06.

gd

Old, tang safety, Ruger m77 in 30-06. Shootin Hornady 165gr spire point boattails.

sks with hollow points, that works awsome my doe only ran 15 yard and i hit her in the very back of the lungs
________
Honda RC148

Remington 700 BDL RMEF Edition 300 Ultra Mag 180gr Swift Scirroco

Generally a .25-06, but if I am deer hunting in areas where I may get a crack at a moose or an elk, I use a .300 Weatherby with the 168 gr. TSX.

what I carry
 

one of these
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...r/000_0160.jpg
or one of these
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...r/000_0161.jpg
or maybe one of the big boomershttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...r/000_0162.jpg
RR

RR,

Nice rifle collection. Kind of looks like my shotgun collection. Now I know why you know so much about AR's. I take it that you are a lefty, so how do you deal with the brass from the AR's flying across your face? What cartridges are the AR's chambered in, not to mention all the other rifles?

well
 

I've never been hit by a hot brass from an AR yet, they go foreward and just to the right, and they pile them up nicely. These are just most of the ones I hunt with, got a really large gun safe full of stuff I don't use much anymore. the rifles in the pics are
Top pic from left
Remmy 7615 chambered in 5.56, the lone upper is a J&T expedition 20" FT 1-9 twist
RRA 24" varminter, 223 wylde 1-8 twist
Tromix 20" 458 socom 1-16 twist
dedicated technologies 22" SUM 25wssm
all the lowers you see are RRA NM lowers with the exception of the 458, its a tromix TR-15 custom lower
Middle pic from left
Ruger 96 22 wmr, custom mini-30 by ARS chambered in 6mm PPC, custom mini-14 in 223, custom valmet 412 with a bansner turkey/predator choke, a savage mark 2 in 17 mach II, a custom LH rem 788 in 6mm
bottom pic from left
Ruger #1B in 270 weatherby mag, a custom by aps in 7mm Allen Mag, a Bansner UR-1 in 7mm STW and a rem. 700 bdl in 7mm rem mag.
RR

When I hunt "Up North" in Michigan, I use a Remington 700bdl in .30/06.

Down here in shotgun land, I have the world's ugliest Mossberg 500 12 ga with rifled slug barrel and synthetic stock (it's actually green and parkerized). I put a Nikon 4x on it, and it hits pretty good out to 125 yards, which is coincidentally the distance from my back door to my tree line.

During muzzleloader season, I have a CVA Kodiak 209 in .50 cal.

I have also used a S & W Model 586 in .357 Magnum.

My favorite used to be my Winchester Model 70 Sporter Varmint in 243 Win.

That rifle got sold to fund a divorce lawyer or two...mine and hers. I got the short end of the stick.

I have been using a 6.5x55 Swedish mauser that has been sporterized. It does the job very well.

Just recently I finally found another Sporter Varmint after 14 years of looking. That one will become my #1 choice again using 100 gr. Nosler Partitions.

Oh yeah, I have one of those too. I forgot about muzzleloader season!

BTW, Ridege Runner, awesome collection!

I use .50 CVA bobcat or .50 Traditions pursuit pro .havent gotten off the wallet to get a 12g pump yet.

I used to use my Sako 3006 w/ 150gr SST's. I now use my Rem. Model 7 in .243 for most of my hunting. I like the 100gr Hornady Light Mag PSP's for it. I also use a Rem. 870 w/ a 23" barrel and a Buck Kicker choke. It'll hold all 18 00 Federal Premium pellets inside 20" at 40 yds. Pretty nasty!

Ruger M77 stainless 30-06.

My daughter and I both use a Rem 600. Hers is in 243 and mine is in 308. In Florida where shots are usually short (under 100yds) they do just fine on our game but both are quite capable of sub MOA groups for as far as I care to take game due to handloads, recent pillar and glass bedding , trigger job, free floating barrel, and descent optics.

rem.pump in 270,CVA KODIAK 209 50 cal.and 870 12 ga. ;)

what i shoot
 

30 /30 30/o6 or the 8mm mauser i inherited from dad a long time ago .

I took the following to the woods last year:

.243
7mm Rem mag
.30-06
.300 Weatherby
7.65mm Mauser

This year I'll use the same except for the .300 Wby. That rifle, a Sako 75, is at Hill Country Rifles having a Lilja barrel installed. It will be a .300 Win Mag when they get done with it. I'm looking forward to reloading for it.

I use my US Rifle, Caliber .30 M1. I use 150 grn sft points with a five round enbloc clip. Bambi goes night night real quick!.

MIke

I've used 308, 30-06, 7mm. Now i'm trying to perfect my 300 RUM. I love all of them.

Hey Ridge Runner, Can I "borrow" any of the weapons in the top pic LOL.......I started out with a .303Brit #4Mk1 and then I bought a Winchester in .308 and then a Traditions E-209 Muzzleloader. After shooting an OK buck with a borrowed 30-06 at just a shade over 400yds I went out and bought a .300WM barrel for my T/C Encore(I now have 3 for it.... .223 26" Heavy BBl, .300WM 26" Heavy BBl, and the newest[and unfired] addition is a .50cal MZ 26" BBl).......Still working loads up in the .300WM (190gr BTSP roughly 2900-3100fps@BBL...not chronied yet, I just bought a gamma master chrony)

Most of my deer hunting is in heavy cover. I like a lever gun, and the Marlin 1894S in .44 mag is my favorite. I have bolt guns, in a variety of 'flavors', but unless the hunt is over a peanut hay field or a clear cut, I take the Marlin.
http://www.myhostedpics.com/images/M...er/img1210.jpg

Ruger M77 300 Win Mag
Savage 110 270 Win
Remington 700 243

Ruger M-77 in 7mm Express (.280). Exotics, Whitetails, Mulies, Antelope, Black Bear, Elk & soon Africa will known its wrath. :)

Right now it's my .338 RUM and very shortly after my rifle is built I will be using a .264 WM.

My choices 40 years ago would have been;

1. 243 win
2. 270 win
3. 300 win mag

My choices now are;

1. 6mm rem
2. 280 rem
3. 338-06 A-square

I agree with Rocky that they all kill a deer very nicely. I chose them because they give similar ballistics for 3 different bullet weight categories; 1) 80 to 90 gr. for varmints to antelope and deer, 2) 130 to 140gr. for larger deer, hogs, and sheep, and 3) 180 to 250 gr. for elk, moose, bear, etc.

I am building a 375 H&H Magnum. It might be one of my 3 choices after I shoot it a few times and it doesn't kick me too hard and if I get a chance to return to Africa. It definitely would be a choice for dangerous game since it is a minimal caliber in most African countries. I was surprised to see it show up so much as a favorite caliber. I have never shot one.

Love my Sako 270 behind a Sierra 130 gr soft point at 2950 fps it knocks em dead!;)

My deer rifle is a "Twede"; 6.5x55, 129gr bullet pushed by R19.

Savage99 358 WCF. Quigmy