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

[knockonit]

no problem i get confused at times, and probably have some facts fouled up, but its no big deal to me, and i do tend to embellish some things, makes the story better to tell,

shot a lot of animals over the years, and don't anymore, got no gitty up to chase them, or hump the hills, and of course the eyesite thing is going, so, more fun to read about it and see pics of successful hunts.
big sale today, lotsa part and shooters going to be sold or traded.
thanks for looking
rj

 

[shooter444]

KNOCKONIT,... YOU DON'T OWE ANYONE ON HERE AN EXPLANATION, OR AN APOLOGY.

What you are dealing with is what the psych pros call PROJECTION. He sits around in a scared paranoid inferior state looking for weaknesses in posts to make himself feel superior to others. PROJECTION is a classic psych phobia where by an individual transfers the rejected aspects of their personality onto the targeted individual.

Basically, a narcissists that contributes nothing to a format like this, and is only interested in attracting attention via conflict.

Monitors should take notice,... he should be banned,... he offers no contribution to this site.

 

[redj]

So leverman (alias shooter444 ) you think I should be banned ? For telling the truth ?
Everything I posted was the truth..
Not one thing I posted was a lie or embellished ( as some say ).
As a matter of fact none of it was your business to begin with , yet you went ahead and had to jump in.
Besides I thought you put me on ignore. Why are you even reading this , let alone commenting on it ?
Anyway I am done. You can carry on from here.

 

[Racewin]

I don't know if you got a rifle yet, but if you want to go value, Ruger American or Savage are a good value out of the box. If you want to step up a bit, Tikka and Bergara are generally better (and more expensive). Vortex scopes are also a great value, and I'd use Warne rings. In regards to caliber, 260 Remington or 6.5 Creedmoor would be plenty for deer, and you could even use it on Elk, with less recoil than .308.

 

[Vinnie B]

Who cares!!!! RJ always posts interesting stuff to read and I personally like it. If he tells it like a fisherman I don't care. I remember him saying on another site that he used to bass fish so you know how to take that anyway, all of us fisherman are full of shit.

I had a friends GPA tell us once, believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. He is a wise old 92 in August.

 

[Harrier]

There are a couple things besides caliber and glass you should also consider...
If your going to be climbing piles of rocks... err I mean Arizona mountains & trails on foot, a lighter rifle (7#-8#) will be noticeably welcome. Any of the 10# blunderbusses will become a boat anchor real fast. Also, consider realistic distances- unless your in some heavy brush country or a lot of washes, it ain't gonna be 100 yds - more like 300+ or out on the windy flats - so you don't want a lot of drop or drift to contend with . Those two criteria make caliber and bullet selection more important - how important is it to you NOT to let a wounded animal wander off into the bush?
There are lots of calibers that would fill the bill, and a lot that won't. I would not recommend 30-30 for a lot of the hunting area out here, but it may be just the ticket in the right environment. I consider a 243 as under power for Mule deer (requiring precise placement and shorter ranges) but OK for the little Coues Whitetail.
Personally, 6.5 is the smallest caliber I'd recommend and prefer a 270 for its long range flat trajectory or a 308 for lower recoil and wide range of bullet selection. If you are thinking of longer shots or using it for Elk someday, I'd step up to 7mm/300/338 Mag, and a good Decelerator pad on the butt... JMO

 

[Lucafu1]

I would recommend getting a rifle for both deer and elk. I have a Rem 700 in 30.06 listed for sale that would work.

 

[GunSmoke]

I agree on the distance concern. A humaine shot and not allowing a wounded animal to wander off is extremely important to me.

I am strongly considering 300 Win Mag or 7 millimeter mag for precisely these reasons.

 

[XJThrottle]

https://www.arizonashooting.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4812

 

[shooter444]

[highlight=yellow]I would recommend getting a rifle for both deer and elk. I have a Rem 700 in 30.06 listed for sale that would work.[/highlight]

Disclaimer,... I don't know the member, above,... and, I don't know his rifle.

But, I do believe that the 30-06 sprg. cal. can do it all,... and, has been doing it all, for around 100 years.
In my opinion,.... Where I live, the 30-06 is good to go from bear to yotes, hell, I can see it hand rolled down for prairie dogs, as well! Can other calibers do these specific things as good, or better,... maybe,... but I lean more towards multi use calibers. I don't see myself having a different, caliber, game specific, rifle, for every different game, jmo.

Personally,.... I traded off my last ought6 around a decade ago, and, I have missed that caliber ever since. I just filled that hole with a Mossberg Patriot in 30-06 around a week, or so, ago. I have just finished putting it together and looking forward to developing a load it likes.

The 30-06 sprg. has been offered in rifle production models for the past 100 years, and probably will continue to be offered for another 100 years, imo.

 

[Ballistic Therapy]

The 30.06 is the best all around caliber made.
It will kill anything in America , as a matter of fact it has even killed everything in Africa.

 

[shooter444]

The 30.06 is the best all around caliber made.
It will kill anything in America , as a matter of fact it has even killed everything in Africa.

Agreed!!!

I have loaded it with 110 grain subsonic, to 220 grain brush busters,.... for rats, to deer,.... never been disappointed by its performance,... doubt I ever will!

 

[792mauser]

Remington 700 in 30-06, 7.62x51 (308), 7.92 mauser or 270. And you should be good to go.

 

[Steve_In_29]

I would skip anything new from Remington. Savages are known for being accurate out of the box with great triggers (Accu-stock/Accu-trigger).

I highly recommend looking at Howa (they make Weatherbys) as they come with a lifetime sub-moa guarantee.

As to caliber anything from .243 to 30.06 will work but 30.06 will give you much more versatility. As with the appropriate selection of loads it can be used for everything from varmints to elk.

 

[GunSmoke]

Thanks guys. I've heard the same advice about Remington multiple times now, a bummer that that is where the company has gone. I've not handled a howa, but I was impressed by the bergara and tikka. Any reason not to buy 300wm? Feels like that covers all the bases. I don't have any other bolt guns, so if one can handle it all, that's ideal.

 

[redj]

If you are looking for a rifle to kill everything a 300WM will do it.
It will make a mess out of the smaller critters.
300WM is a big gun for killing a Coues Whitetail.
They are not very big animals.
If you want a gun for Coues Whitetail there are lots of better choices.
Most of them have already been mentioned.

 

[Steve_In_29]

Thanks guys. I've heard the same advice about Remington multiple times now, a bummer that that is where the company has gone. I've not handled a howa, but I was impressed by the bergara and tikka. Any reason not to buy 300wm? Feels like that covers all the bases. I don't have any other bolt guns, so if one can handle it all, that's ideal.

What are you planning on hunting on a regular basis that would require 300WM? Which is also WAY more then needed to hunt deer with.

As an all around caliber 30.06 is really all you need for game in North America. Though admittedly it is a bit light for Grizzly or Polar Bears.

 

[Longhair1957]

Pick up a nice single shot .30’06 like this! Works awesome!

 

[shooter444]

Mighty fine looking piece you got there Longhair,... in my most favorite long action caliber, too!!!

Falling Bock?

 

[GunSmoke]

That's a good looking rifle!