Got drawn for Whitetail, need to buy a deer rifle. Model & caliber suggestions?

[jlfornoff]

i use a Remington 700 in 270. i run the Remington core lokt 150 grain, but the 130 grain will easily put down a whitetail. i'm using a vortex diamondback 4-12x40 scope. i've got about $800 in my setup. i would second the thought of spending more on your bino's. may also want to pickup a range finder if possible. good luck on your hunt!!

[GunSmoke]

Realized I never closed the loop on this. First sunset of the hunt I had a very small buck sighted in at about 340 yards. I made the rookie mistake of not taking the shot thinking that I’ve already seen two and I’ve been out here six hours I’ve got another week to find a bigger one. By the end of the week I’d seen another nine does, but no more bucks! All my buddies at camp started saying “don’t skip a shot you’d take on the last day on the first day.” Of course they didn’t start saying that until the last day. Where was this good advice on that first evening? Lol. Great time overall, and learned a lesson about being choosy. Thank you all for your advice. Will definitely pick up a lighter rifle. By the time I added the optic and threw my can on it it was pretty heavy. Caring it around wasn’t an issue, but with the weight a quick set up for a shot is not as easy.

[Edge]

I use a .243 or 06.

Well how did the hunt go?

[azman]

I have taken Coues with several calibers through the years... 2 with a 30-30,
1 with a 25-06, 1 with a 30-06, 1 with a 308, 2 with a 270.
Obviously, there are a lot of good calibers and bullet selection is probably more important.
BUT, I will pick the 270 as my favorite.

[was21]

As a kids I hunted with a lever action 30-30, it was my uncle's. I miss that rifle.

So I've narrowed it down to 308, 7 mm mag or 300 Win Mag. Thoughts?

... and a 20 year hiatus.... stay with a 308 . Let’s you get some practice in that most probably won’t do with the bigger stuff due to cost/fatigue. Just a thought. YMMV

[GunSmoke]

I agree, cost of ammo for practice was my primary caliber motivation. Next time I'll be ready to take that first shot if presented with one. Thanks for everyone's feedback.

[kmj831]

Good thread (other than a couple of pages in the middle) and glad the OP got something he's happy with. But I was surprised not to see any mention of 7mm-08, one of my favorite hunting calibers!