What is the best rifle for deer hunting?

Answer 1

Every hunter has their own preference! I have hunted with just about every caliber that you can legally hunt a deer with. it depends on you personally. How good of a shot you are, how big the deer is are in the area you are hunting, where you plan on hitting them, and of course what your body can handle as far as recoil is concerned. I have used a 243 for white tail and a 30-06 for a mule deer, and vice-versa. A 243 is a very accurate high velocity round with little knock down power so your shot should be accurate for a clean kill. Either a head shot or a heart shot. If it is not then you will end up tracking a wounded animal. Never fun. A larger round such as a 30-06 has good accuracy and finaminal knockdown power so even if you don't get an immediate kill shot it takes most deer down at the spot due to sheer impact. Learn to be a great shot! If you are you will save yourself alot af time and most importantly meat. My stepfather is one of the best shots that I have ever seen. Most of his kills are head shots unless it is a mountable buck. He uses a 243. He has made a head shot at over 300 yards with his rifle. He knows his weapon! You have to find what works for you. We have a plethera of deer rifles and they pretty much span every caliber, 243, 32, 30-30, 25-70, 25-06, 243 magnum, 308, 270, 45-70, 223, 270 magnum, and 30-06. We use what we want and what we feel comfortable with that day. Like I said every hunter has "Their preference". It all depends on you! Find a rifle that you shoot with outstanding accuracy and go with that. A gut shot means ruined meat. I believe that if you are going to hunt then eat what you kill. Don't just hunt for a trophy! If you get a trophy deer then you should still eat what you can! I personally hunt with a 270 weatherby vanguard! I have had it since I was 12 I have had 2 kills at just over 300 yards, heart shots! Get a good scope for what ever rifle you choose and take care to not bump it around. For the past three years I have not had to make any ajustments to my scope. It shoots true every time. My scope is ajustable and I have set it for the drop in my bullet perfectly from 100 yards to 500 yards via my scope!

Answer 2

What kind of hunting are you wanting to do? If you are going to spend most of you time in the woods where shots are limited to 100 yards or so, a Marlin 30/30 will fit the bill fine. If you are wanting to look over a 20 acre bean field and take shots at 200-300 yards and $500 is just for the gun, not the scope you would do well with a bolt gun from most all the major manufactures. There are folks on here that will fight all night about which is better a Win. 70, Browning A-Bolt, Ruger 77, or Rem 700. Any of these are accurate enough for deer hunting and should be found for $500 or less. Caliber you want for this type of gun also plays a role in your choice. Unless you want to get into reloading I would stick with one of the 5 or 6 rounds that can be found still at wal mart and in most any little back woods hardware store. I would not go smaller than 243, while a 223ish round is good at times, they really are not great deer rounds. If you are hunting larger deer found north of me, I would go with a 270, 308, or 30-06. If you think you may want to go elk hunting some day and use your one center fire rifle you may want to look into a 300 win mag but that is a bit of over kill for deer. Good luck. Dave

Answer 3

I feel there are three criteria that make a good deer hunting rifle:

1. Can you hit what you are shooting at with it?

2. Does the cartridge have enough power to kill what you are hunting?

3. Is it the right kind of weapon for the area you are hunting?

4. What is legal?

The first point is pretty self-explanitory. I am not a world-class shooter, but I can and have held my own against most people at the range. I own a number of weapons, but there are a few I will never take hunting. An example is my M1 Carbine rifle. The 30 Carbine round is a little light for deer, but it works. It is a short, light rifle that is easy to carry. However, I couldn't hit the side of a barn if I was standing inside with it (it is me, not the rifle..my Dad carried one in the army and could shoot just fine with it).

Does it have enough power? I have seen various numbers on the amount of energy needed to kill a deer. Some people will use a 223 Rem for whitetail deer. While you can kill a deer with the 223, there are better choices. With all the choices in cartridges, I would opt for something that you know has the ability to take down the game you hunt, not "you think" it does.

The gun has to be the right one for the area you are hunting. If you are hunting the open plains of South Dakota, you don't want to be carrying a Winchester 94 lever action. If you are hunting the thick underbrush in Alaska, you don't want to be carrying a 35 pound 50 BMG (I ran into a guy that was planning on doing that once...I always wondered how his hunt went carrying a rifle that heavy). When hunting in thick brush, I opt for a short rifle with a low power or no scope. If hunting in an area that has the opportunity for 100+ yard shots, I opt for a bolt action or a rifle I am able to hit a 2 inch target at 100 to 200 meters.

What is legal? That is self explanitory. Each states has its own laws. Sometimes those laws will dictate what you can use.

So what makes the best deer rifle?

In terms or cartridges...as a rule of thumb, I'd opt for anything 6mm/243 or bigger. The 30-06 is about the best all around round there is.

If you are on an extremely tight budget, I'd opt for a basic Savage bolt action or a WW2 era military rifle. You can pick up a British Enfield No 4 Mk 1 for anywhere between $100 and $500 with the average being around $200. A nice Mosin-Nagant can be found for about $100. There are some nice Swiss K31 bolt actions for about $200, but rumor has it the supplies are drying up on those.

If you are hunting in a brushy area, I'd opt for a nice lever action. I am partial toward Marlin lever actions because they are side eject and you can easily mount a scope on the receiver. If I still reloaded a lot, I'd opt for a Marlin chambered in a 45-70 Govt (factory loads for the 45-70 tend to be on the weak side). If I didn't reload much, I'd get a 30-30 Win as there is a huge variety of factory ammo available for it.

If you are interested in a rifle capable of shooting a distance, go for a bolt action. I like the Remington 700 series. They will put you back about $500 to $700 at a minimum. If money isn't much of an object, I'd get a Sako (I like the Finnlight personally). To be honest, I really haven't seen too many bolt actions that I'd consider poor quality. I have always been able to tame any bolt action I have tried with patience and some handloads.

Make sure you like the feel of the weapon you buy. If you are sitting out in the cold for 8+ hours, it helps to have a rifle that feels natural when you try and make shot with cold fingers and chattering teeth.

Good luck to you

Answer 4

I like the .25-06 Remington loaded with 115 to 120 grain hunting bullets for deer. I believe this is the ideal deer gun. The .270 Winchester is just as good with the advantage of shooting even heavier bullets for bigger game. Same with the .308 and the .30-06.

H

Answer 5

My personal favorite is the Browning BLR chambered in .358 Win. My BLR is the most accurate rifle I've ever owned.

In general, the most popular deer hunting cartridges (In no particular order) are: .30-30 WCF, .308 Win, .30-'06 Sprfld, .270 Win, and .243 Win.

Doc

Answer 6

This question comes up so many times I wish there was some way to look up old questions and answers on a archive link so we wouldn't have to keep repeating our answers over and over again.
That said, there is no best rifle for deer hunting.
The variables have been listed in another answer so I will not repeat them. Basically it comes down to what you can afford and what works for you. Deer could care less.
And don't be fooled by the whiz bang magnum crowd, no deer was ever killed by ballistics or noise.
Sarge

Answer 7

the best rifle for deer hunting is one that you are confident with and one you can shoot accurately. using a "cannon" is not always the best answer because if you flinch from the recoil you can not be accurate with it.
a lot of the answers are excellent but it all comes down to personal preference and the conditions you are going to be hunting in. if you are in wide open spaces using a flat shooting rifle such as a 25-06 is an excellent choice. in close or in dense brush a 30-30 works well too.
myself, i hunt with a 300 Winchester mag or a 300 Weatherby mag because when i'm out hunting it's usually for more than deer (elk and moose for example) and i feel better having the extra power. i hate the thought of losing an animal.
good luck and enjoy.

Answer 8

The only reasonable answer is It depends. On numerous factors. Like, expected range, and WHO is using it. I personally like a 30-06. Plenty of power, and will reach out well over 200 yds. While nearly any rifle more powerful than just a .22 WILL work, the 30-06 has a wide range of bullet weights from 110grain to 220 grain. The ammo is available almost everywhere. The more important thing is for the shooter to practice enough to have the confidence that they CAN hit what they shoot at. When you have THAT, the rest is pretty straight forward.

Answer 9

Personally, it depends on what you like, where you're hunting, and how you're hunting for it. My choice is a Marlin 1895 GS, as it's lightweight, and while not being a tackdriver, it's accurate. Even weakly loaded .45-70 cartridges produce more than enough power than what is required to take down a large deer, so there's very little worry about leaving wounded animals, and the lever action allows rapid follow-up shots. If you jerk the trigger, you're going to miss, no matter what you're using. Remember to use a slow, steady pull, and surprise yourself with the timing of your shot.

Remember, while a .223, .30, .338 may or may not expand, a .45 will never shrink.

Answer 10

Remington model 700 in 270 win. a good shooter (and i mean really good) can have a 6 inch group at 600 yards. it's flat shooting, so much so that if you sight it in at 250 yards (with 130 grain or 140 grain boat tails) it will only drop 3 inches at 300 yards and it will never be higher than 3 inches out to 250 yards. so just aim center mass on a deer out to 300 yards and you will hit the vitals. i use mine to blow up milk jugs and balloons out to 400 yards. it's just a really good rifle.