Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Favorite type of rifle for deer hunting

I too usually use a bolt action. From 1959 t0 1978 I hunted big game exclusively with lever guns; 1894 Winchesters in .25-35 and .30-30. Savage 99's in .300 and .308 and a model 88 in .308. I kept wanting an 06 so I bought a bolt gun and started using them. I still do more than anything else.

I do still have an 1899 .250 Savage TD. It has a 2-7 Leupold on it as well as a Lyman tang so i can choose. I have used the Savages enough I can manipulate them really well.

Same old Model 70 I’ve been using since ‘90. memtb

No real favorite. I try to match the tool to the task/conditions:

Still hunting and drives: Rem 7600 carbine in .358Win of Rem M7 in .350RM both wearing LPVOs;

Blind/stands overwatching food plots/trails; Rem M7 in .260Rem Leupold 2.5-8x36

Open country, spot & stalk: Nosler M48 in .270Win with Leupold VX6HD 2-12x42 or rem 700 in 300WM with Leupold VX6HD 3-18x50

From a performance standpoint, I choose a bolt action rifle. They do everything better. Compared to other actions they weigh less, will almost always be more accurate and more reliable. They almost always have better triggers. And they tend to cost less.

That doesn't mean I use the same bolt rifle for everything. The same rifle that would be a powerful long range hunting rig might not be the best choice for close range brush hunting. At close range in brush, you're only getting one shot anyway and even at 50 yards there may only be a softball size opening in the brush to thread a shot through. A precision rifle that shoots flat is just as important up close as at long range. Maybe more so. And if you NEED to shoot fast a bolt gun isn't that much slower for "AIMED" repeat shots, especially for someone who knows how to run a bolt rifle fast.

But there is nothing wrong with making choices for nostalgia, or just because you want to. I sometimes hunt with an old Winchester 94. I've taken deer with an AR just to prove it could be done. I've hunted (unsuccessfully) with a handgun a few times.

Dad wasn't much of a big game hunter and never owned a rifle. But if he had I'd love to hunt with whatever it was because it was his. I do take his shotgun out at least once every year.

Even though I generally use bolt action rifles I typically vary the cartridges and rifles on different hunts. I also work up new loads to use on different hunts. It keeps things interesting even though I would probably be just as successful using one or two rifles for all my hunts in the US.

Bolt actions for the most part, however single shots, whether break-action or falling block, are very quiet in operation as well as short overall for any given barrel length. Can’t recall the last time I had to shoot one more than once, but I kill ‘em from the sit, or occasionally while coming and going from where I sit. Still hunting and drives don’t mix with small parcels of public land. I don’t take risky shots, so speed of fire isn’t important.

The universal 2LT answer; "It depends on the situation".

If I'm sitting in a stand or over-watching from a position on the ground, a bolt action rifle.

If I'm still hunting in cover, a lever, pump, or semi-automatic.

I don't have a single favorite rifle or type of rifle, but do use a Ruger 44 International and a couple of Winchester 100s for still hunting more than any lever or pump action rifles.

Last year I killed deer with bolt actions, single shot (No1), an AR and a S&W revolver. Also use lever actions, break open (Encore) and my old Ruger .44 carbine on occasion. I really don’t have a favorite, horses for courses, you know. It’s a toss up between the #1’s and the bolt guns for what I use most often, but I really don’t prefer any particular type.

Remington model 700 .308 has always been a stone cold killer for me but I also have a hand-me-down Winchester .270 that has excellent "knockdown" power.

I find myself drawn to levers. I have owned Savage 99, Win 94, Win 71, Win 1886, Marlin 1894, Marlin 336 in multiple variations and calibers.
Currently down to a Marlin 1894SS in 44 mag and a Marlin 444. The Marlins are really easy to take down for cleaning and bore sighting.

Bolt-pump-lever in that order. But depends on how I'm hunting. If I'm sitting most of the day I take a bolt gun. But if I'm doing much walking/still hunting a pump or lever, they're generally lighter and mine have shorter barrels than the bolt guns. 35 cal. please.

I spent 20 years with a Remington 742. I would put it at the bottom of the list.
I spent 10 years with a Remington 7600. I have not hunted with it in at least a decade.

Top of my list is a bolt gun, specifically one with a 3-position safety. Blind magazines are my preference. However, my TC Compass finally convinced me that detachable mags are worth having. Frankly the bum mags that came with the Remingtons really put me off DMs in a big way.

Just behind bolt guns, I have an irrational sweet spot for the Savage 99 and exposed hammer levers like the Marlin 336. I prefer levers for treestand work despite all my logical urgings to leave them be.

There has to be an honorable mention for my TC Hawken. I may only have it out a couple of times a year, but that gun just feels right.

Every favorite deer rifle I've ever used had one thing in common. They all were accurate.

Which ever one is in my hands when the sights line up. RZ.

Bolt, Left Hand, Accurate...

Beat me to it.

Obviously false. The fastest handling rifles to the shoulder and on point are lever actions. I'm certain you're too slow to take advantage of that however

an accurate one.

Given comparable LOPs - why would this be true? Seriously, I don't hold a lever any different than a bolt, ergonomically - they're the same as your left and right hands are in the same basic position. You mount them the same to the shoulder.

Lever: Marlin 336a, (24" bbl) 30-30

Bolt: Win M70 Extreme Weather, JC Higgins m50 (FN m98). Both are 30-06.