Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting The perfect muledeer rifle

The perfect "muledeer" rifle is a .280. The one I've killed all my biggest mule deer with is a tang safety Ruger 77, topped with a Leupold 2.5-8 Vari-X III. I also have a Winchester XTR FWT with factory McMillan stock that could become a favorite.

I typically shoot 145 gr Speer Grand Slams over 53 gr WW 760. I've used the same powder charge with Speer boattails with equal success.

My Other Brother Darrell might have a different take on the perfect Mule Deer rifle <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />...

"The perfect "muledeer" rifle is a .280." ~ muledeer

Well, that's close enough, I suppose, but I'd choose the "infinitely superior" .270... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

But I've heard the .280 works about as well... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

RandellFlag,

This started it.
Sucks Thread


It has become a term of endearment for us Sucks owners.

C.D.

jeepers creeper, ever body knows that the winchester featherweight is the rifle....

take any cartridge that you care to from .25 on up and the model 70 classic featherweight will flat out steal your heart..... anf perform excellently on deer of all varieties....

my model 70 in .243 is my favoerite bolt rifle of all time.... i will aquire another in a heavier cartridge and am waffling between the .270 winchester (i like classic cartridges), the 7 WSM (i like abundant performance), and the 8 WSM ( i have the lighter bases pretty well covered now).....

there's been a lot of farting around and grousing over some of winchesters newer cartridge offerings, and i myself would, in principle, prefer a .338 bullet over an 8MM..... the model 70 classic featherweight though, is available in the 8MM and not the .338... therefor i would chose the 8MM as i believe rifle choice outweighs cartridge choice if performance is anything like similar..... and i prefer the model 70 classic featherweight above all other bolt rifles ever made..... Ever..... john w

if i were gonna get real serious about mule deer, the m70 fwt .270 would get the nod.....

id say a 7mm rem mag with federal premium ammo i use sierra boat tail theve done a great job for me at both short and long ranges

270wsm

Bighorn,

The other day Cliff told me about a bullet they recovered from a five point bull. It entered the left ham and was found under the skin beyond the right shoulder. The bullet weighed 82 grains. The 100 grain TSX bullet started life as part of a .25-06 improved cartridege. Its muzzle velocity averages 3,600.

I hope this helps you in your decission making.

I have two rifles that I think would be perfect. An old 700 bdl 270 with a leupold 2X7 with 150 gr. speers. I'm thinking on trying 140 gr. accubonds in it. And my newest a 70 ss in 7saum. I have a 3.5X10 leupold on it and shoot 140 gr. accubonds in it. The 7saum is lighter than my 270 and It handles a little better. I went through the same thing on binos. I settled on a pair of leupold katmai 10X32's. No comparison with the cheaper models.

Utah,
I have a 6.5X.284 that I have used about a year now on Whitetail. It's a NULA with a 3.5X10 swar. scope with TDS reticle. 6lbs. all up and have been shooting it a lot this summer at the range and ground hogs. TDS really works well. My load is 52 gr. R22 and 140 Sierras, but I will switch to partitions when I go to Colorado this fall for a above timberline hunt.

lefty

A Remington 700 Ti or a Kimber long action (a guy can hope) chambered in .257 Roy. The Rem in a Mountain Hunter Kevlar Special, the Kimber in the synthetic guise a la Montana. Talley LWs, Leupold 2.5-8x36 in matte duplex or maybe B&C.

7.5 pounds (or so) all up, very tolerable recoil, other-worldly exterior ballistics, devastating terminal ballistics with a Barnes 100-grain Triple Shocks, and sexy as Raquel Welch in a cave woman loincloth circa 1974. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That IS the perfect mule deer/whitetail/sheep/goat carry rifle.

I have a heavier "bipod-y" version with a 50mm bell that is the ultimate antelope and other thin-skinned game rifle where long carries are not required.

The Roy ROCKS!!

Rick

Man, I'll tell you what. I'll just buy them all and hunt way more. Then after killing a bunch of mulies I still won't know the answer to this question. I'm leaning toward the 25-06, the .280, or the 7wsm. I know they all will do just fine. Not quite sure why I think I want a 7wsm. Maybe I should just give up on this madness and get an -06 in the ss walnut featherweight. I started out hunting with a 30-30. For the last 15 years I've used a -06 with 180 gr. ammo. The -06 has a strangle-hold on me. And for some damn reason I got a hard-on for 180 gr. bullets. I need some serious help. Kinda scared to break away from the .30 cal and heavy bullets. Confidence kills!!! But, holy sh%t man I just gotta give something else a try. HELP

What barrel length is optimal for a .257 Roy carry rifle?

Never hunted mule deer (yet) but if/when I'm taking my Ruger M77 MkII stain/lam. in 280 Remington. I'd (I'll) load it with most likely 150gr. Nosler Partitions and the Nikon Monarch 3-9 is plenty of scope for me. I wouldn't take a shot over say 300 yards and I dare say that it would definately work if I did my part. Might be heavier than some folks would prefer, but I'm heavy guy!

Guys it can only be the 264 win mag <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Mine is a ruger tang saftey with a 4x12 swaro tds with a 120gr X or a custom mod 70 supergrade with a 27'' pacnor.( ok its still at the gun smiths) but hope to have it for this falls antelope hunt.
Next would have to be my win 70 in 270wsm. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I'd say the perfect mule deer rifle is the one you happen to have with you when you spot the perfect mule deer. My old 30-06, WW2 Mauser action, Leupold 3.5x10 VX3 has served well for many years. It seems to be getting a little heavier with age, though. I don't know how its gaining the weight, but since I turned 50 four years ago it seems to put on a pound or so each year. Seems to be kicking a little harder now too. Must be that same old age onryness my wife is accusing me of. With two high wilderness backpack trips planned this fall I am putting an ultralight 7x57 Mauser barrel on another 98 Mauser action, super light stock and 8 or 9 ounces of Leupold 1.5 x 5 VX3. Probably will kick pretty hard, but should go up the mountain a little easier. Now if I can only spot that perfect mule deer...

ONE rifleONE rifle means I would choose to leave the leverguns behind. Goodbye Marlin .30-30, .375Win and .45-70. and Browning B92 in .44 Mag. (Sniff...)

Don�t need the .300 Win Mag for mulies.

That leaves the 7mm Rem Mag with a 3-9x and North Fork 160g bullets. All the �reach out and touch� I will ever need.

Or maybe the .257 Roberts with its 6.5-14x and either 115g TSX or 120g Partitions or Grand Slams. Plenty of �reach out and touch� in a smaller, lighter, handier package.

I'm tellin ya. Ya gotta have a 264 winny ifn your gonna kill a mule deer!!!!!!

The .300 wm is by far a better serious choice for serious Mule Deer hunting. "Reach out and Crush'em"

Whelanman,

As a fellow 264 enthusiast, all I can say is AMEN. The 264 Win in a 26 inch model 70 goes with mule deer and wide open western spaces like ice cream goes with hot apple pie.

The 140 gr pills do everything that needs be done to a little old deer.

For quite some time now my favorite muley (and elk) rifle has been my Winchester Model 70 Featherweight 30/06 topped with a Leupold 2.5 X 8 scope. It's served me well and is undoubtedly all I'd ever need.

However, in the last year or so I've been reading several books on bowhunting. This got me to thinking that perhaps I might be missing out on something. Instead of looking at the various new long range magnums, as we hunters are want to do, I thought instead that perhaps it was time to take a giant step backwards. As much as I love my trusty Model 70, I have been seriously contemplating leaving it at home this fall in favor of an iron-sighted 30-30 Marlin levergun. I know that sounds nuts, especially since we're talkin' about mulies, but I figure that if bowhunters can have success with these deer despite the limitations of a bow, then why not a 30/30? After all, despite it's own limitations, that old caliber still has a big advantage over any compound bow that is being made.

So, anyway, I have a Marlin 336SS that I'm getting ready for fall. I'm going to be replacing the stock iron sights for another set of iron sights but that's about it. I'll let you know after hunting season if I still think I might have been missing out on something.