Need a deer rifle. Suggestions?

[lil hunter]

Never thought I'd be in this situation, but I'm on the search for a deer rifle. I'd like to spend around 800, give or take a hundred for the rifle, scope, and mounts. I'm hunting in North Carolina this year. They have small deer around these parts so I really don't need too powerful of a gun. I was thinking like a .270, 25-06, 7mm08 or something similiar. I've mostly looked into the Ruger M77, and Remington 700 models. I've also heard plenty of great things about Savage and Weatherby, I just really know nothing about them. I've been completely out of the loop when it comes to hunting for the past couple seasons, and I'm finally gettin back into it.

On another note, the only rifles legal to deer hunt with in Indiana is a rifle chambered for a pistol cartridge. If you have any suggestions for something in a .44, .357, or something similiar, let me know. I'm very interested in something like that too since I can take it home and hunt.

[dbHunterNY]

a marlin 1894 lever action chambered in 357 mag would work well i think. for a rifle i'd go with a tikka t3 light in 308 win with a $200 optic on top, Browning A-bolt, Ruger M77, or a Remington model 700 if you can find it cheap enough.

[hungry hunter]

My choice is .270 all around, I to am hunting Indiana this fall and had barrel's made for my NEF in .44 mag, .357 mag, and .223 (wife's) all three barrells for less then $400.00.

[Jeramie]

A single shot isnt a bad choice because you could pickup new barrels. Thats a great point. Btw, .270 isnt too small. It will easily kill any deer in North America out to and beyond 300- yards. It is a great, great round.

As far as rifles,

Remington 700 (Stay far away from the 710 and 770)

Savage

Ruger M77

Tikka

All are great rifles. The old 700 is probably my favorite but I own a few M77's and I love them. They too are solid, good shooting guns. They are harder to clean because the bolt doesnt slip out with the trigger but great rifles over all. The saveage is a great rifle too. Lower end on pricing yet accurate as all getout. And of course Tikka. Good rifles for the money.

For what its worth, I honestly think you could double up for what you want to spend. I would look for something like a Howa or Mossberg ATR. Dont even brush off the old Savage line. Buy a cheaper, used .270 that shoots good and then use the rest for a lever chambered in .44mag or .357. Personally I would go with the .357. If nothing else I know you can pickup a single shot H&R for $200 in either pistol round and they are very accurate guns. IMHO they dont always get the respect they deserve. They are very cheap but deadly accurate.

[wtnhunt]

Lot of good options out there Tim. Personal preference here is a model 700, and the .270 has been good for me. Shoulder as many as you can and see which one feels best to you.

[92xj]

270 in whatever flavor you like. I love my A-bolt 270 and have killed tons of deer in NC and SC with it. If I was buying a new mid range deer rifle right now, I would get the TC Venture in a 270. I zeroed one in for a guy that had no idea what he was doing and the first 4 shots out of the gun at 100 yards were sub MOA with 3 of the 4 stacking holes. I was amazed. I got the scope sighted in and you could drive tacks with it. I only got to shoot out to 150 yards with the gun and at that range with a 5 shot group it was 1.15" groups. He had a 2x9 on it so I wasnt expecting much past 100. Anyhow, its a dang good shooting gun.

Also, can you use any round as long as its in pistol form? If so, look at TC and see what cals they make. I know they have a 308 pistol.....

[dbHunterNY]

i was looking at the rules last night, because i first thought maybe a 45-70 or something. there's a maximum case length that kills that idea and others like the 308.

...sorry posted wrong link. this is the one was looking at. maximum case length of 1.6 inches kills the 308 idea and my initial idea of a 45-70.

http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-deerhuntguide.pdf

Edited September 21, 2011 by dbHunterNY

[RangerClay]

If I was shopping for a new bolt action, a Savage would top my list.

Before you buy, try a Browning BLR in .308 :yes:

[victor3ranger]

Look at the Marlin XL7 270. You can get them with the scope combo for around $330-$360, depends on where you buy. I have a couple of them and I can tell you right now that these rifles are shooters. They also come with adjustable trigger and use a savage barrel. For the money they are hard to beat.

[HUNTINGMAN]

Look at the Marlin XL7 270. You can get them with the scope combo for around $330-$360, depends on where you buy. I have a couple of them and I can tell you right now that these rifles are shooters. They also come with adjustable trigger and use a savage barrel. For the money they are hard to beat.

I second this,had one to hunt with last year and loved it. Got rid of it to go back to single shots,I just love a good single shot.

[MichiganHunter]

Well I'll be the one to toss out rossi. Rossi makes a m92 carbine lever action that has a scope base and rings included. I've shot it, and it's a great gun, shoots extreamly well. you can also get it in .454 casull with a recoil pad. And the .454 case will fit in your states case size restriction and give you a little more poke.

best of luck

[Shaun_300]

My favourite bolt action is a tie between the M77 Mark II and the Remington 700. Dad has 700s in .300 Win Mag and .22-250, both are sweet and accurate shooting rifles. I have a M77 Mark II in .25-06 and it is a tack driver! Absolutely love that gun. Carry it for deer when I'm hunting open fields and wouldn't hesitate to squeeze off at 400 yards with it. Like Ranger said, the Browning BLR is a great rifle as well. Out of 7 of us at our camp, 5 of us use BLR's. Love my BLR .300 WSM, bought it to hunt deer and moose, very accurate and great quality gun.

Not too familiar with using handgun cartridges for deer. Owning a handgun in Canada is only legal to shoot at a shooting club, and at that is a PITA to get all the licencing. Imagine the .454, .44 Mag or .357 would be a good choice for short ranges.

[LETMGROW]

I'm going out on a limb here I guess.

I have been a Remington fan for years until my wife bought me a T.C. Icon a couple years ago for Christmas. In .308 it does anything I could ever ask of it.

Looking over the T.C. line though, the T.C. Venture seems like a real buy. It has many of the Icon features at a much lesser price. Great value IMHO. They look good also. Check them out before you buy.

This might sound like a stupid question, but who determines what a pistol cartridge is? I have a T.C. Contender pistol with .22 LR .223 and .35 Rem barrels. There are several large caliber barrels available for the Contender, Pro-Hunter and Encore handguns [ pistols ].

Lynn

Edited September 25, 2011 by LETMGROW

[Stinger-Hunter]

My Savage shot a bullseye at 25 yards right out of the box and killed a lot of deer. lent it to a buddy of mine and he shot his first deer with it after 5 years of hunting - he ended up buying it. LOL.

My Remington Woodsmaster semi-auto in 30-06 is my mainstay. Shot 11 deer in several different states over the past 4 years. Leopold Scope - total cost $600. (bought it used in Minnesota) Great gun.

Might be a bit too big for North Kakilakki, but the 270 would be great. I hunt in Indiana every year, but stick with the ol' Remington 870 for Indiana.