What is a good starter deer gun/caliber?

Question

This will be my first gun im almost 18 and want to spend no more than 850. For a gun and scope. I want something that will last and not some piece of junk. I like the Browning rifles are those any good?

kaliman_626 why are you even in the hunting section you idiot

I have been shooting guns for probably six months. I am certainly not recoil shy and want something with a lot of stopping power. I have been target shooting a lot with a 30 06 and a 270 Weatherby Magnum. I was thinking about a 7mm, just because I will probably use this for some bigger game aswel.

Answer 1

I suggest you purchase a Marlin Model 39, or Ruger 10/22 .22 LR rifle, and either a Marlin Model 336 in .30-30 WCF, or a Browning BLR in .308 Win, .30-'06, or .358 Win.

Hunt squirrel and small game with the .22, it will sharpen your eye and hone your hunting and shooting skills. They use the centerfire for deer.

Doc

Answer 2

This is purely a matter of personal preference. Most guns will kill a deer in the right situation, I know a man who killed one with a .22 rifle (There is an ethical question about hunting with such a small caliber, but he was in a survival situation, so I can let it slide). You have to take into account where you will be hunting. If you hunt in an area that is very open, mountainous, and the shots may be extremely long you will want something with serious reach. A bolt-action .270 with a scope for instance. If you hunt where the cover is dense and most shots won't be more then 50 yards a shotgun is a fine choice since it's more agile then most guns (shots in dense cover usually have to be made pretty quick). Check the local rules where you will be hunting, some places require you to use either a shotgun or a black powder. Speaking of black powders, they are a far cry from what they were 20 years ago, some are effective over 500 yards. A lever-action 30-30 is a good mid-range gun 100-200 yards. A semi-automatic 30-06 up to 300 yards. If you're recoil-shy, you may want to avoid the "thumpers": anything that ends in magnum, 12 ga, 30-06, .300, 45-70, .50 cal, etc. Browning makes fantastic guns, but they do tend to be a little pricey. Check the used gun racks at your local gun dealer, there are usually great bargains there. For 850.00 you should be able to buy and outfit a very nice deer rifle.

Answer 3

Yeh i didnt read through all the answers so this might be a repeat but i think a .270 would be good. If you get that caliber, you can hunt practically any kind of game in North America. I would go with a Ruger, stainless steel with synthetic stock. It really depends on the type/brand of gun you like. I would highly suggest synthetic though, just so it does not wear and get messed up like a wood stock. That way, you are not going to be worried about damaging your gun when your out in the field. For the scope, i like leupold because of the lifetime warranty. If it breaks, just send it back and they usually give you a brand new one.
I would not get a weatherby just for the fact that most do not take any other bullet besides weatherby. That means you most likely need to special order weatherby bullets. Also they are expensive. Even if you want to go to the range and shoot some cheap bullets that still get the job done but are not really made for hunting, you can not do that with weatherby. There is no such thing as an unexpensive bullet.
If you are looking for a combo package, you might want to look at remington. They have a nice little combo package for less than $850.

Answer 4

It depends on where you live. I know my cousins' in "Way-Up-North" NY are not allwed to use rifles, so they have to hunt with a shotgun and ounce balls.

A .30-06 or .308 are both good for beginners...heck, they're good for anyone. They will give you range and dropping power most places in the lower 48. If you are hunting over long distances with a scope, you may want to get something like a 7mm Weatherby..but to be honest, I think it's overkill for deer.

When I started hunting I used a .300 Savage, no scope. Hated the rifle. Now I use a Winchester .32 Special, lever action...no scope. My rifle is about 60 years old and I'm the 3rd generation to use it. It never misses and the sights haven't been touched in over 40 years.

Browning, Winchester, and Remington are all good models. However, I'm partial to older firearms. I think they fire as good as the newer ones, but they seem more reliable when it comes to the sights. You can save a bundle buy buying a used rifle...usually.

Newer scopes are usually better than used or older ones. My dad just put a new scope on his .308 and he hates scopes. But this one is really easy to see through and doesn't fog up. However, there are some damed good scopes out there that were made 40 years ago with better optics then some of the ones sold nowadays.

Shop around.

Answer 5

There have been more deer harvested as well as other big & small game with just three calibers 30-06, 30-30 & 32 Winchester Special.* I prefer the 30-06 because you have a greater variety of bullet weights to choose from.* When you own a 30-06 you don't need any other rifle.* You really do not need the Magnums for the purpose you want the rifle for in North America.* I prefer Winchester, Remington or Savage Brands myself.* Brownings are expensive and won't do anything any other brand will do, except cost you more $$$$$$.*

Answer 6

I don't personally care for Brownings, but that's a personal preference, and they're fine rifles. All the calibers you mention are overpowered for deer, and if you're going for something larger as well, the logical choice would be simply to stick to the 30-06. There's no need to be dazzled by velocity numbers and you will do better to make a moral point of avoiding those idiotic "muzzle energy" numbers that so many love but are definitely known by the more knowledgeable to be misleading. 30-06 will do anything you can do with a small-bore, and the medium-bores that you'd choose for large game are just too big to use on deer (and a good excuse to get another rifle later!).
I have to admit that I don't have a 30-06, most of my bolt-actions being "metric calibers," and for deer I usually use 7mm Mauser, 7mm08, 6.5x55 or some such, and when I move up I have to choose among things like 8x57, 8x68 and 9.3x62. Nonetheless, for your needs and preferences, I don't see how you'd do better than the A-bolt in 30-06. It may bust your budget when you put on top the optics it deserves, though.

Answer 7

If you are getting your first gun and arent used to hunting alot I wouldnt go with too much power even though I hunt alot and still wouldnt go with too much power I personaly would go with something like a 270 or 30-30 depending on where you hunt. A 30-30 is an awesome gun overall but is best if your hunting in an area that has lots of brush because it has allot of power but not too much and it doesnt get messed up by hitting small twigs and other things on its way to your target. A 270 is great too because it has enough power too drop a deer and so does the 30-30 but it has more range but small twigs usually would make the bullet go way off track. But whatever gun you feel that you want so just dont get a gun just because someone told you to get that kind because if you get a good gun that you picked out and you love the style and everything about it you will love the gun forever. Here are some other good guns and gunmakers. Ruger, Remington, Browning, and Winchester but I personaly dont like Winchesters anymore because now they are made in china but there are many other good makers those are just my favorite. Here are some good guns 243, 270, 30-30, 25-06, 30-06, and those all are very good guns but remember always make you own descision.

Answer 8

The first gun I used when I started hunting was my dad's 870 12 gauge and that was when I was 13. During the next year I saved up some money and got a 30/30 Marlin and that has been a good rifle. Right now that Marlin is a backup gun. Today I use a Ruger M77 in 300 Win Mag and I would like to see about trying out some bigger game with them aswell.
I like the Ruger M77 rifle and right now I see them on sale for around $560 in various cartridges.

Answer 9

Browning makes an excellent weapon! Good choice but Remington is a nice rifle also for a little less money. You can probably find a Remington and scope for less than 850 easy depending on where you live. As for a caliber I would choose either a .243 or a 7mm-08 as a first rifle. Then as your skills grow you can upgrade to a larger caliber if you wish. The two calibers I listed will kill most any whitetail deer you encounter should you not wish to upgrade.

Answer 10

If you can find one, the synthetic stock Remington 700 ADL in .270 Winchester. I found one at a gun show for $325 and put a $219 Leupold VX-1 3-9x40mm scope and a $90 Harris Bipod on it. Add rings and it will be about $650.

My 7 year old son can shoot it off the bench with remington's reduced load PSP. I took a Whitetail earlier this year and I shot a .65 3 shot group @ 100 yards after breaking in the barrel.