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

My vote is the good old bolt action. What say you?

Pump 7600 remington for me

Love my bolt actions but here lately have been buying several CVA Scouts.

Bolt man also, 6.5 to .30 calibers for deer. A 30-06 is about my favorite

Because I mainly hunt deer in the southern woods, most of my shots are fairly modest. My two longest shots from this last season were ~125 meters and both deer required zero tracking. As a right-handed person who prefers to shoot left, I often favor an ambidextrous rifle and I've taken deer off of both shoulders. So a Ruger No. 1 or Winchester 1885 is the rifle of choice the majority of the time since I have eight falling-blocks and only three bolt actions. The single-shots are chambered in older classic calibers but all of them are pretty reliable for putting a deer in the freezer if I do my job well: 6.5x55, 275 Rigby, 303 British, 9.3x74r, 375 H&H, 405 Win or 44 Mag...take your pick. For the situations I normally encounter, I could just stick my hand into a safe & grab one.

Bolt

Bolt, specifically my Browning Safari

Brought a garand for the first hunt, but I prefer bolt action rifles

I think I could be happy with just about any accurate rifle, but 95% of mine have been bolt guns.

The opportunity [or necessity], over the past several decades, to take a quick follow-up shot has been exceedingly rare.

Something light, short, accurate and handy.


I actually probably prefer a lever action but carry a bolt a lot because it’s stainless/synthetic.

All of them.

I’m a bolt action guy. Prefer 22 but can live with a 24 inch barrel, Stainless action , weather proof stock. I like a pretty thinnish straight stock. Favorite stock is McMillan Remington classic edge.

Levers, with single shots as a runner up.

Depends. Walking, I like a Savage or BLR. Still hunting then I like a bolt. Montana farmer type hunting I used an auto.(ruggedness for the bumps)

I like them all, but in the end, I'm a bolt gun junkie. A light weight, slightly forward balanced, stainless bolt gun, chambered in most any short action round fitting the distance to be shot, is good for me.

Savage lever guns followed by Sako bolt guns. This one is in 250-3000.

^^^^okay, NOT all of them then. I revise my answer to: anything BUT a Savage 99. Sorry, but I can’t stand the things. Any other lever gun, I probably like a lot…..bolts, semis, singles, pumps….whatever.

I like Savage 99’s also, new favorite 99 is a 338 Federal CTW fixed up for me




284’s are fantastic too

Mod 70s

Mostly old guns and older cartridges…

Bolt action is #1 for me. And lever action is easily 2nd.

Classic, well-proven cartridges are what I use for 90% of my hunting and shooting.

But like others here I like the old time stuff!

Lever and bolt are about equal.

Dale

I generally prefer bolt guns. I tend to hunt deer in open country and bolt actions work well in that environment.

I have never killed a deer with a rifle that wasn’t a bolt action. All I hunt with.

GreggH

Having used nearly every rifle type in a corresponding terrain, I currently often use a bolt in flat open ground.
Some opportunities arise with different gun in hand.

Savage 99 for wooded and brush hunting. Bolt action for open country or hunting trips outside of the USA.

Savage 99 is more fun to hunt with, something about a lever rifle.

My favorites:

Montana in 7-08.

Could've saved a lot of money, had I bought one a lot sooner.

Lever actions

I hunt with Bolt actions.

I've used lever and bolt.

Bolt almost exclusively the last 35+ years. Will likely take a bolt again into the woods this fall. I just don't obsess over the gear that much anymore. Most all of it actually will do the job - rifle, optics, bullets, camo etc. Heck I put more thought into what bourbon and books to bring these days.

Bolt-action

Same here. I favor rifles with decent triggers and modest overall lengths. I really favor those that wear suppressors too, but I’ll carrry a more classic bolt action sporter when the mood strikes.

I’m the same as far as gear goes. I have several rifles but it’s funny I usually hunt with the same one.

I have 11 rifles that are all more than adequate for taking deer. So usually I just pick 2 or 3 to hunt with each season & rotate through them. I put zero thought into bourbon selection since my hunting buddy is very enthusiastic about having too much of that around the camp. He does all of his hunting with a lever action in 35 Remington. But with bourbon, apparently too many options is just the right amount. 🥃

The new one.


About the worst thing I can do with a rifle is shoot something with it. Then I don't want to hunt with it anymore.

As I've matured as a deer hunter, I appreciate a good accurate one and done shot bolt action with a good trigger. Over the years I have been more successful waiting for a buck than chasing one. As a back up and a walking around rifle nothing I've found beats a mid 50's model 99 F because it carries so well. I could get by nicely with that 99 if it wasn't for that trigger. Both are chambered for a mid range enough, but not too much 7mm-08 and .300 Savage cartridge.

Bolt action for most of my hunting, but occasionally a single shot and lever action.

I like levers and bolts about equally. Which I take on a particular day depends on where and how I'll be hunting. The two that get the most use are a Marlin 336 .30-30 and a Ruger 77 Hawkeye all weather .30-06.

Gave my 99, 250-3000 to my nephew so this year I'll be using an AR.

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.

Scoped bolt action rifle.

Lever actions are my niche in the hunting rifle world. As a kid I learned to shoot with a Browning BL22 and just fell in love. Most of my deer hunting is short to mid range shots in heavy woods. I do some hunting over food plots and such where a scoped bolt action is the better choice but I don’t enjoy it as much as my woods hunts with a lever.

Favorite way is single shot. Encore

Hand loaded .357 max

2nd favorite way is a muzzleloader