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

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GunSmoke said:
What power Scopes and binoculars are you guys using?

I have a variable scope but I keep it on 6X .
For binoculars get a pair of 10x50's or bigger.
I would also suggest a good tripod to go with the binoculars.
The binoculars are more important than the scope.
You will spend hours looking through the binoculars and only a few minutes if that looking through your scope.
My binoculars are Swarovski , my scopes are Leupold and my rangefinder is a Leica.
 
Prepare to spend some money but like others have said, it's a great excuse to do so. I have hunted them with everything from a 30-30, 270, 30-06 etc Right now I am using a 7 SAUM, before that it was a 257 Weatherby for deer. Keep in mind, sometimes the canyon you are looking across can be 400+ yards across and there is no way to get closer unless you want to try and end up with a 50 yard shot sneaking in on him. Just about any caliber will do but don't sell yourself short and get something you can't hunt larger animals with. Do you put in for elk? do you want to go bear hunting?
For binoculars I would say 10x50 on the low end sitting atop a decent tripod and a good spotting scope to go with these. I use 15x56 Swarovski and a Leica scope. You will probably find yourself sitting for hours glassing, they are sneaky little animals and will pop up in your binos on a hill you have looked at for hours and you'll say where the F@(# did you come from. They are a fun animal to chase, which is why they have become so popular to hunt. Good luck on your hunt
 
Thank you. I truly appreciate all the feedback guys. I'm really looking forward to this hunt.
 
The coues deer is the wiliest 4 legged critter there is, had'm sneak in on me, quiet as a friggin church mouse, I've hunted them all over the state in the day back when, one of the toughest hunts ever was 22, but also had some of the biggest bucks i'd ever seen, although down Patagonia way abour 30 years ago, pretty sure the one i saw had mated with a friggin muley he was so friggin big, chased him nigh on a week, till he wore me down, but did get a helluva scare from a mt. lion, ugh, though i was gonna have to kill him

good luck with hunt
Rj
 
knockonit said:
The coues deer is the wiliest 4 legged critter there is, had'm sneak in on me, quiet as a friggin church mouse, I've hunted them all over the state in the day back when, one of the toughest hunts ever was 22, but also had some of the biggest bucks i'd ever seen, although down Patagonia way abour 30 years ago, pretty sure the one i saw had mated with a friggin muley he was so friggin big, chased him nigh on a week, till he wore me down, but did get a helluva scare from a mt. lion, ugh, though i was gonna have to kill him

good luck with hunt
Rj
What equipment did you use on your hunts ? 
Rifle , scope and such ?
How close did you get to the big guy ?
 
never got any closer than about 400 yds, always across canyon or just going thru a saddle before i could pop one off, most of my deer in Az. shot with a rem700 270, simple 3x9 scope, sited in at 250 yds, its shot more critters than my shot gun has shot birds. son in law dropped a few with it, till i gave it to him, hehe, now he hardly hunts. just a small set of neck binos 7x35s; glassing was done with a large set on tripod, me and the hunting buddy, always did our home work, no matter what the critters just knew it was hunting season, best of luck, oh yeah, used a home made sling shot to chuck rocks into bottom of canyons to see what we could scare up, as noted, the elusive white tail is one wiley critter, relation to the coyote i believe
Rj
 
knockonit said:
The [highlight=yellow]coues deer is the wiliest 4 legged critter[/highlight] there is, had'm sneak in on me, quiet as a friggin church mouse, I've hunted them all over the state in the day back when, one of the toughest hunts ever was 22, but also had some of the biggest bucks i'd ever seen, although down Patagonia way abour 30 years ago, pretty sure the one i saw had mated with a friggin muley he was so friggin big, chased him nigh on a week, till he wore me down, [highlight=yellow]but did get a helluva scare from a mt. lion, ugh, though i was gonna have to kill him
[/highlight]
good luck with hunt
Rj

I have wondered for awhile, what species of deer are here in S/E Az., that come off the open desert into my pasture for the horse trough when it get real dry, like now,... thanks! Just scared off a half dozen, last week. I quit hunting decades ago. I guess that is why they don't fear coming for water on my place,... :D

During season, I usually see a bunch of bucks, bunched together on the forty acre parcels in my area,... evading hunters out on the adjoining state land.

Annnd, I hear ya loud and clear, on the mountain lion scenario. Only thing that could get on my nerves, was the feeling I was a mouse being screwed with by a cat while riding/packing into the Chiricahua Mountains. I always figured whatever I carried, I wouldn't be fast enough in a cat attack.
 
hehe, the ranch was out at base or there abouts of the chiricahua Mts. , ole man leased 64 sections and have still have 200 acres deeded land, moved off it over 57 years ago, awesome country, and whole lot more critters than one would think is there, all the reason Geronimo hung out there on his way south

happy friday, and good luck with the hunt, just the going is mostly the best part for me,n othing like being in mother natures hands.
 
knockonit said:
never got any closer than about 400 yds, always across canyon or just going thru a saddle before i could pop one off, most of my deer in Az. shot with a rem700 270, simple 3x9 scope, sited in at 250 yds, its shot more critters than my shot gun has shot birds. son in law dropped a few with it, till i gave it to him, hehe, now he hardly hunts. just a small set of neck binos 7x35s; glassing was done with a large set on tripod, me and the hunting buddy, always did our home work, no matter what the critters just knew it was hunting season, best of luck, oh yeah, used a home made sling shot to chuck rocks into bottom of canyons to see what we could scare up, as noted, the elusive white tail is one wiley critter, relation to the coyote i believe
Rj

I know you like to tell stories and I figured you would say something like this.
In another thread about rangefinders you said and I quote

" i've bagged animals all over the world, not one with a scope, not one with a range finder, "

Now you say you used a 3x9 scope that has shot more critters than your shotgun.
So I have to ask were you lying then or are you lying now ?

Here is the thread you posted in.
Page 2 second post down.

https://www.arizonashooting.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=1401&start=15#p4842
 
hehe, you read into it what you want, doesn't bother me at all, i know what i did, and where i have been, and what i shot and how i shot it, create all the issues you like, doesn't bother me at all.
thanks for looking and sharing
RJ
 
I am only " reading into it " what you said.
One post says one thing and another say's the opposite.
Both posted by you.
With one is the truth ?
 
its ok redj, i do embellish the story some, just the way life is when your youth has passed you and wished you could still do the things you love, every time a story is told its gonna be different, ending is usually the same though. I'll keep typing about my time on this earth, and share what i know and did, cause i can. and those hunting stories were decades apart, just in case anyone wondered.
 
You can BS all you want.
I don't know how old you think you need to be to tell BS stories but I am in my late 70's and still don't tell stories like you.
There is a big difference in embellishing stories and out and out lies just to try and impress people on a web site.
 
knockonit said:
hehe, you read into it what you want, doesn't bother me at all, i know what i did, and where i have been, and what i shot and how i shot it, create all the issues you like, doesn't bother me at all.
thanks for looking and sharing
RJ

Hey Knockonit,... I see from this post, and all the blocked / FOE / ignore I have hiding the posts by the idiot,... he obviously has nothing to do tonight and probably forgot to take his meds,... and decided to be a self proclaimed web cop, against you.

Do yourself a favor,.... join me and many, many others, and just put him on your FOE / IGNORE list,... works like a charm!!!

:dance: :dance: :dance:
 
shooter444 said:
knockonit said:
hehe, you read into it what you want, doesn't bother me at all, i know what i did, and where i have been, and what i shot and how i shot it, create all the issues you like, doesn't bother me at all.
thanks for looking and sharing
RJ

Hey Knockonit,... I see from this post, and all the blocked / FOE / ignore I have, hiding the posts by the idiot,... he obviously has nothing to do tonight and probably forgot to take his meds,... and decided to be a self proclaimed web cop, against you.

Do yourself a favor,.... join me and many, many others, and just put him on your FOE / IGNORE list,... works like a charm!!!

:dance: :dance: :dance:

Coming from the guy that was laughed off the original AZ shooting for his BS and ridiculously idiotic posts.
You even had to change your name from Leverman to shooter444 hoping nobody would notice.
Guess what ? It didn't work. We know who you are.
 
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