With many options sitting just a grab away - the two I reach for more often than not, in Mule Deer country are the 25-06 and the 7mm-08.
The 25-06 is a Browning Bolt Action (pre-A Bolt) with a fat Weatherby Mark V style bolt and a squared off fore end. It wears an old Redfield Wide-view 2X8. It is a heavy rifle, but so accurate, and it always did what was asked of it - regardless of distance - with animals as big as big bull elk. I always used either Nolser Partitions or Barnes X type bullets out of it.
The 7mm-08 is a first generation Remington Titanium. It was terrible out of the box, but after many gunsmithing hours, shoots well now. It is topped with an Ultra-light 3X9 Leupold scope. It is so light that it's the rifle I want to pack when the country gets vertical in aspect. The older I get - the more I appreciate the ultra-light weight of that set-up. It also performs great with TSX's as far out as I ever want to shoot a deer.
