hey gunslingers!

[Colt45]

Whats a good round for deer?

I'll be on foot a lot, so a light rifle would be nice.

cheap ammo = good


me and my friends are planning on spending some time out in the sticks one of these years. Knowing me, I doubt I'll ever get around to it though.

ideas / opinions?

 

[KK]

30/30 is a good brush gun. most of them are pretty light, and have the old west lever action.

KK

 

[jkersenbr]

308 Winchester. Common as dirt and a good round. In a light fast bolt action like a Reminton model 7

 

[Apathetic]

Go to a gun store and see what they have in the 30 caliber range.

I used to go hunting with an M1 garand. It's a 30-06 caliber. It's a fairly heavy weapon, though.

Dave

 

[etech]

Remington Model 700 Mountain Rifle w/ .260 260 Remington 140 grain bullets.

You might want the 7mm Mag but try firing one before buying, the recoil will be a bit much.

A regular Model 700 in 30/06 would be cheaper to buy, 30/06 is a very common cartridge and the rifle would only weigh a little more.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Well there is a .460 Weatherby mag.

Seriously, we cannot answer that question well with the info provided. Will you be hunting in heavy brush where 50 yds is a long shot? Will you be shooting down from a hillside maybe as far as 300 yds?

I have a Marlin 336c lever in .35 Remington that I hand load. I have hit on a great combo that groups as just about 1 inch at 100 yds. That is remarkable for this type of rifle. The other I am fond of is a stainless Ruger MKII in 30.06. If I were shooting very long distances, I would consider the 7mm Mag.

 

[Colt45]

Originally posted by: Hayabusarider

Seriously, we cannot answer that question well with the info provided. Will you be hunting in heavy brush where 50 yds is a long shot? Will you be shooting down from a hillside maybe as far as 300 yds?

oh, yeah..

if i'm around here, its flat, and open (my dog ran away 2 days ago and I can still see him).

but if I go north, it is mostly forest, with open areas. aspen, evergreen, or a mix depending on where exactly, but mostly spruce trees. (still flat though)

couldnt just use a sharp light round for long range, and flat head, heavier round for brush (assuming same caliber)?
or is that too much to ask for out of one gun?

 

[etech]

This is a good site to keep you occupied for awhile

GUNS & SHOOTING ONLINE

 

[halik]

m61a1 20mm gattling gun

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: Colt45

Originally posted by: Hayabusarider Seriously, we cannot answer that question well with the info provided. Will you be hunting in heavy brush where 50 yds is a long shot? Will you be shooting down from a hillside maybe as far as 300 yds?

oh, yeah.. if i'm around here, its flat, and open (my dog ran away 2 days ago and I can still see him). but if I go north, it is mostly forest, with open areas. aspen, evergreen, or a mix depending on where exactly, but mostly spruce trees. (still flat though) couldnt just use a sharp light round for long range, and flat head, heavier round for brush (assuming same caliber)? or is that too much to ask for out of one gun?

I would use my '06 with my Leupold scope. Might consider a bipod for longer shots, but everyone here has their own preferences. My advice is to stay away from anything greater than a 7mm mag. Had a beautiful Remington 700BDL Custom Delux in .300 Remington mag. Beautiful gun (some bastage stole it), but kicked like a mule. Recoil didnt particularly bother me, but something not too much larger may have affected my accuracy. Flinching does that.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

XX78 superslams 2219 with 150 grain broadheads

 

[desy]

Ok Colt since you and I are Saskies I'll help you out.
Any caliber from .243 , 25/06, 257 roberts, 260, 270 , 7MM 08, 280 7MM Rem Mag, 308, 30/06 and there is a bunch in between these, these being the most common will do.
If you want combo deer/coyote stick to the 270 and smaller calibers, deer/elk/moose 7mm 08 and up calibers

People can and will argue the merits of all of these calibers to death so I'll just tell you on what I decided.
I went with the 7MM 08 for these reasons
1 Short action caliber used in rifles of shorter barrel lentgh and therefore weight for carry around and easier to fit to my 5' 6" frame
2 Shoots flatter than the 30 cals with a lot less recoil
3 mounted a nice small light 2-7X scope on a Browning BLR lever action, the lever for quicker follow up shots.

Brush guns are a myth, all bullets deflect
Like etech posted the Chuck Hawks site, one stop shop for all your hunting questions its why I ended up with what I did

 

[Damage]

Good answers everyone.. Here's the cheap option.. Pickup a Mossin-Nagant (7.62x51) or a surplus Turkish mauser in 8mm.. Should be able to get either for less than $200.

 

[AreaCode707]

I have used .243 , 270 and 30-06 all of which I like. Though would sugges the .243 they are good guns.

[EDIT]
<---- NARtheWang forgot to log out of HC's account

 

[StageLeft]

.50 from a mini gun.

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: Apathetic
Go to a gun store and see what they have in the 30 caliber range.

I used to go hunting with an M1 garand. It's a 30-06 caliber. It's a fairly heavy weapon, though.

Dave

m1 garand????? You must have a 5 round adaptor to be legal right? At least here in Michigan you're limited to 5 rounds max while hunting with a rifle. A pistol has no such limit.

BTW, I would choose .30-06, cheap, easy to get, many more bullet choices than the .308 . You can get from 55 grain sabots up to 220 grain bone smashers. Can't do that with the .308.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: Damage
Good answers everyone.. Here's the cheap option.. Pickup a Mossin-Nagant (7.62x51) or a surplus Turkish mauser in 8mm.. Should be able to get either for less than $200.

Actually I've seen the Turks as low as $27.xx if you are willing to do some stock work. Pricing for regular ones is under $60. M44s go for under $80 and 91/30s for under $100. All fine rifles. Plus you get the history feel of it instead of these new plastic pieces

And yeah, there are 5-round Garand clips so you are legal. A lot of folks use Garands to hunt, it's personally what I would choose if I still hunted. Best. Rifle. Evar.

30.06 is still expensive, surplus M2 runs over $0.25 a round. Not as bad as $1+ a round that some of the fancier cartridges are though.

Turk 8MM and 7.62x51 ammo is dirt cheap. They have to pay you to take it About $0.06 cents a round. Huge difference. Only problem is it's corrosive usually, but as long as you clean it right afterwards you're good.

 

[Damage]

Wow.. I didn't know they were going that low.. the nagants go for a around a c note here.. Use the extra $$ for a nice locking case, cleaning kit, and a low buck scope to get you started..

(Last show I picked up a nice 3X9 40 short scope that's great for about $45)

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: desy
Ok Colt since you and I are Saskies I'll help you out.
Any caliber from .243 , 25/06, 257 roberts, 260, 270 , 7MM 08, 280 7MM Rem Mag, 308, 30/06 and there is a bunch in between these, these being the most common will do.
If you want combo deer/coyote stick to the 270 and smaller calibers, deer/elk/moose 7mm 08 and up calibers

People can and will argue the merits of all of these calibers to death so I'll just tell you on what I decided.
I went with the 7MM 08 for these reasons
1 Short action caliber used in rifles of shorter barrel lentgh and therefore weight for carry around and easier to fit to my 5' 6" frame
2 Shoots flatter than the 30 cals with a lot less recoil
3 mounted a nice small light 2-7X scope on a Browning BLR lever action, the lever for quicker follow up shots.

Brush guns are a myth, all bullets deflect
Like etech posted the Chuck Hawks site, one stop shop for all your hunting questions its why I ended up with what I did

What he said...
We have the .243 , 700 Rem .308, 30/06 and the trusty dusty Enfield .303. All have done the deed in different terrains.

 

[amdskip]

My friend LyNx01 should be posting in this thread before too long

 

[desy]

I started out with my Dad's 303 Brit
Around here in Sask you can pick em up for about $50 to $75 USD.
Spend a little more on a scope though, Most rifles will shoot straight enough but junk scopes will let you down, just when you need it!
Did you know John Garand was born a Canadian?

 

[danparkcityut]

I still swear by my browning BAR, Win .270... a little pricier than $75 (or whatever), but it's one tack driving rifle. Short range, long range, if you can shoot, it will drop any deer. By the time you spend what it's going to take to go at all, don't cheap out and go with a rifle you can't be deadly with. Just my $.02 for the month.