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30-06! I was in the same boat last year, looking for a new rifle. I will most likely only own the one rifle, not saying that I wouldn't like to own other caliber rifles, if cost wasn't an issue. I chose the 30-06 because of the wide selection of ammo and game that can be hunted with that caliber. As mentioned above, I also have seen 55g ammo for the 30-06 for use with varmits. I am interested in checking into that myself. Any store that sells ammo will always have a box of 30-06 bullets on the shelf. This is a caliber that has been around for a long time and will probably be around even longer.

Thanks to all for your timely responds. When I took the rife to the range to break it in, I bought three boxes of 150g bullets. One was Federal Power-Shok, one was Remington Core-Lok and the last was Winchester SuperX Power-Points. After shooting all three during the break-in, before I left the range, I shot 5 groups of each with a barrel cleaning between each group at 100 yds. The Winchester's were all within 2-1/2", the Federal's were within 6" and the Remington's about 8". Three of the five rounds of the Winchester's I could have covered with a quarter. So I bought a couple more boxes of the Power-Points to hunt with. I haven't shot the Winchester 165g Pointed Soft Points. I'd like to but I just don't have time to do that right now. Between work, coaching high school JV basketball and hunting, I just can't head to the range at this point. The thing with Walmart, they have them on the shelf now, who knows how long they will have them. Our Walmarts in our area are carrying less and less hunting items. Only one Walmart in 100 miles still sells guns, that I know of. Fellows, I think it's only going to get worst!! I will check back again on the forum to see if anyone else has some experience with the two bullet points. Thanks!

I have a new Savage 110 bolt rifle in 30-06. I am real happy with the groups I was shooting at the range with Winchester 150g Power-Points and have shot a nice doe at about 75 yards. She dropped in her tracks and was dead in about 10 sec. I would like to stock-up with some ammo before the prices start to rise. My local Walmart has the Winchester 150g Power-Points and also the 165g Pointed Soft Points on the shelf for about $15-$16 per box. I have seen the ballistic charts on the Winchester websites. The 165g's are alittle faster and retain alittle more energy than the 150's. The question I have is the bullet expansion. Which is a better bullet tip for expansion, the Power-Point or the Pointed Soft Point? Has anyone had any experience with using these two different bullet? I hunt in NY and would be using the bullet to shoot mostly whitetail deer and possibly a local black bear.

I use the same setup as above on all my stands. Most falls are not from the actual stand but stepping onto or off the stand or climbing the tree/ladder. Your life is worth the extra effort and any expense!!!!

Rain, Rain, Rain and More Rain Wow, That had to have been the wettest opening day ever here in NYS! It poured most of the day. The rain would seem to start letting up but then it would start pouring again harder than before. If it wasn't that it was opening day and also the first deer hunt for my 15 yr. old son, my two sons and I would have stayed home. We were on stand at 5:45 and stayed until 3:30. The boys had had enough (Dad also) so we headed out. Total deer seen, ZERO!!! Some friends of ours have a gang of about 12 hunters on their property. One guy saw one doe and got her. That was it and they stayed till dark. They also had some first timers in their group. That's a tough day for a young hunter. We're all looking forward to some colder temps. I probably won't be able to get my boys out again until next Saturday. Pray they have better weather and a more productive day.

Saturday morning, Nov.3rd, I saw a buck chasing a doe, with a spike trailing a few minutes behind them. Then as I was leaving around 12:30, I may have seen the same doe being chased by the same buck, but this time there was a big buck right behind them! I hunted the same stand the next evening and saw only a coyote.(Almost had a shot!!) Tuesday the 6th, I only had a couple of hours to hunt in the morning. I had two deer come into bow range and I shot the bigger of the two "does". She turned out to be a button buck:(! I hunted again in the morning on the 8th for a couple of hours and saw nothing. But I checked my trail cam and had a nice big buck in front of my stand at 2:16 PM, the afternoon that I had shot the button buck! I had a total of 5 different deer on the camera that same day and evening!!! I couldn't hunt again until Saturday, the 10th. I couldn't wait to get back into the stand!! I sat from 6:00am til 6:00 pm and didn't see or hear a deer until it was totally dark. I then heard a single deer trot by about 40-50 yards away. Sunday evening I got into the stand at 3:00pm. As dusk was creeping in I heard a deer coming towards my tree stand. It was a nice big doe, she gave me a nice broadside shot! About 5 minutes later, her boyfriend showed up on the scene! He wasn't the big wide 8pt on the trail cam but he was big enough for me!! I shot him also as he walked right below my tree stand!! He was a smaller 8pt but what a way to end my bowseason!! My first double with a bow!! Also my first three deer bowseason. I thank the good Lord for blessing my season!! I think we are in the main part of the rut here in NYS. Now is the time to be in the woods!!!! After this Saturday, everything will change!! Good Luck, everyone!

In our area of NY, I haven't seen a rub, scrap nor a buck (in the daylight) in the woods yet. I've been out six times and two different locations. It's a bit odd!

Sounds like a 180 grain bullet is the choice of most of you guys. I think I'll buy a few boxes of different brands and see how each one does in my gun. What recommendations do you have on bullet tips? For example, Winchester has both a ballstistic silvertip and a soft point power point in a 180 grain cartridge. Which would be best for hunting black bear?

I have just bought a Savage 110 in 30-06 Cal. I am planning on doing some early fall black bear hunting in the Adirondack Mts in the end of Sept. I was wondering what brand, cartridge type, and grain everyone would recommend for this hunt? Thanks for your help!!

Re: I need a new climbing stick...info please I have a set of the Lone Wolf Climbing Sticks. I love them. The step part folds up and the three sticks nest together. They are light weight and easy to use. I think I paid around $100 for the set. I also have the Lone Wolf Alfa strap-on stand. The sticks strap right onto the stand for backpacking into the woods.

Re: Blood Tracking Flash Light [ QUOTE ] I am color blind so anything that helps is great and for the first time I could lead the tracking! The blood just shined out for me. It must really depend on the person because I have read a lot of reviews both ways. I personally just ordered the Gerber since it has more LED lights and appears to be brighter! [/ QUOTE ] Oak, I am colored blind also and have a hard time following a blood trail in the light and dark. Let us know how you like the Gerber light when you get it. I have seen the Winchester light at Walmart and was tempted to buy it. But I would like to know how you like the Gerber first. I did buy some "Tink's Starlight Bloodhound Blood Trailing Aid" but have not had a chance to try it yet. It is a two part spray that is suppost to turn the blood fluorescent blue.

Re: do you like your peep I started out with the rubber hose on my peep sight. I didn't like the noise of it but the final draw was the day I drew back and wack! That hose broke and snapped back and hit me in the eye! I've gone to a RAD and love it.

Re: Winchester Model 70 243 WSSM ???? Thanks for everyone's input. I was thinking the same thing, but it was nice to get some reassurance. As I said, this is something totally new to us. We are going to sight it in at the range sometime next week, before it gettings wrapped up for his birthday. I'm sure he'll be pretty excited when he opens that present! We'll get him back out to the range so he can shoot it before the season starts.

My son is turning 16 in a couple of weeks. This season will be his first time hunting deer. His grandfather wanted to buy him a rifle for his birthday. We have both agreed that a 243 would make a great choice for him. Grandpa called me last night and said that he bought him a Winchester model 70 bolt 243 with a simmons scope. I stopped over at his house today to see it. Turns out that it is a 243 WSSM. It's a nice gun but neither one of us has ever shot a magnum of any kind. Is there alot more recoil with a 243 WSSM compared to a standard 243? Do you think it is too much for him? My son is almost 6 ft. tall and slender but rugged. He has only hunted small game and turkeys so far and uses a 22LR or a 20 gauge shotgun. But has done well with them. What do you guys think? Any help would be great !!

Re: NY Opener I was out this morning. I saw lots of squirels and a flock of turkeys, but no deer. But it was nice to be back in the stand. I may try an evening hunt Sunday.