Generally no rifles allowed for deer in Iowa and I have never gotten excited about slug guns (although I have used them). So my 'rifle' is a TC Contender handgun 14" in 44 Mag with 245 cast bullets. Scopes have varied but I think I have decided there is little point to anything bigger than a 2x. I keep threatening to switch to a 375 Win or 45-70 (we are allowed straight-wall handgun cartridges only) but the 44 works well and the recoil of those others is a bit stout. I generally hunt a small section of fairly thick timber by myself so it isn't as big a handicap as I make it out to be. This year's shot was about 20 yards.
