I know that long range rigs are the fad now.
Super magnums, ultra flat trajectories, 16x BDC optics and premium sleek high BC projectiles.
But...
For those guys that like to just cop a squat under a big oak or a low holly bush and shoot deer at double digit yards, what would be the perfect rig?
Add to the equation...small land parcels and no "right of retrieval" laws.
My personal preference is neck shots with rapidly expanding projectiles, red dot style optics that bottom out at 2x, and short barrels. I currently run a custom 17" bbl 336 with a 1.75-6 heavy duplex.
I sold a perfect little rig a few years back...ruger frontier with vxii 2-7...
My next buy is the ruger american ranch with either a fastfire or a 2-7 heavy duplex.

Mrs Tide bought me a Ruger American Ranch in 300 Blackout for Christmas. I had a Leupold 2x7 laying on the bench so that is what I mounted on it.

Haven't had a chance to shoot it very much, but it looks promising with 125 grain Ballistic Tips.

My second choice in your application would likely be one of the Ruger 77/357's.

Marlin 336 in 35 Rem with a low power scope

x2

or a 7600 carbine.

I hunt at 30/30 ranges each year....

any rifle ya want, but load it to 30/30 speeds...

example, a lot of this last season I was using either

1. Model 70 Featherweight, 7mm Mauser, with a 115 grain HP, charged with 28 grains of SR 4759...

2. Model 77 Ruger in 260 Rem, 85 grain Sierra HP, charged with 33 grains of H 322....

the deer I did pop the last day of the season... was a forked horn...Model 77 Ruger in 243, 30 grains of IMR 4198, old 100 gr SMP Sierra...

most of my rifles run 3 x 9s set on 3 or 4 power...
yet, I have 5 or 6 with a good old Bushnell Shotgun scope on top, with a Turkey or Circle X reticle...1 x 4 or 1.5 x 4.5 in power...which have worked well on deer out at 300 yds or so more than once...

My solution to that would not have anything to do with the rifle.

Cant see what is wrong with your current set up at double digit ranges.

I would love a custom built 35 Remington with a 20" barrel on a Remington 700 short action for a woods rifle. Or a Remington 760 Carbine. Those are getting harder to find it seems like. Otherwise a pre-safety Marlin 336 in 30-30 or 35 with a 2-7X scope would be my choice as well. 250 Savage or even a 300 Savage would also fill the bill. Choices, choices, it's good to have'em.

Typical rifles used for the terrain I hunt:

Ruger 77/44, 300 grain bullet at 1575 fps, Leupold 1-4X20.





Winchester M94, Post-64, Williams FP rear and Marble's bead front sight, too many deer to it's credit to list. Also my sentimental favorite.





Marlin Guide gun, Leupold FX-II Ultralight 2.5X20. Right now the load is a 300 grain bullet at 1650 fps.




I have bolt rifles in flatter-shooting calibers and use them, too, but the ones pictured above are very handy in thick timber/brush.

I use a Savage 99e in .308 with a Weaver Classic K4 in the heavy stuff. I like it.

Remington 141 in 35 rem. topped with a vx3 1.5-5x20 and a marlin 1895 45-70 topped with an FX-II 2.5x20 have worked well for me.

Just the other day with an 1895G and 2.5x20 Leupold in a thicket. You can see the entrance right on the bottom of the throat patch.

Nor can I.

Relative dropped one off yesterday for me to sell, has a Lyman peep on it also.

If someone is interested, pm me. I haven't had much of a chance to price them out yet. This one is probably 85%, pre cross bolt safety.

I usually prefer either my Cz 527 carbine in 7.62x39 or Rem 799/7.62x39. The 7.62x39 has been great out to 150 yds on deer.

For the really thick hunting in the Texas Piney Woods I like my 77/.357 with Trijicon 1.25-4 post reticule.

Or, there's the old Savage 340/.30-30.

Our close in hunting is often proximal to longer age opportunities, my two closest in rifle shots were 22? Yards with a Weatherby ultralight in .25-06 with a 2.5-8 Leupold and 8? yards with a .325 model 70 with a 2-12 Swarovski. Both worked just fine.

My woods is thick and I rarely gets shots longer than 100 yards. Most within 50-70.
I started with the Marlin lever in 35 and always thought it good choice. A semiauto carbine would also be a good choice. Often thought about that Ruger 44 auto but I've always been disappointed with Ruger.

I gave my brother a Savage 340 in 30-30 and he loves it. He lives in TX and shot a lot of deer with it.

Remington Model 700 Carbine 30-06 2-7 Leupy
Reminton Model 700 350 mag 20" Barrel 2-7 Leupy Ultralight
Ruger 375 Alaskan 20" Barrel 2-7 Leupy European-30
Remington Model 700 300 WBY mag 24" barrel 4.5-14 Leupy

Any and all work from 30 feet to 400 yds.

The short barrels usually get the nod though.

I agree. I would also consider a Savage 99 or BLR in 358 Win or a Ruger 77RS tanger in said cartridge.

In my experience, anything that works at 500 yards also works at 5. But I understand that there's a bunch of different hammers made for driving a bunch of different nails.

For my short range hunting I use my 38/55 Marlin shooting a 282 grain cast gc top with a 4X with a German#1.

My primary rifles for the OP's requirements are:

.44 Mag Ruger Carbine (original style) with, nowadays, a red dot
Savage 99 in .303 Savage with Marble tang sight
Marlin 1895G with 1-4 Leupie Shotgun/ML scope (close parallax correction, coarse duplex)
Ruger 1B in .308 with Leupie 1.5 -5

For many years it was a Marlin levergun in 30-30, 35 or 444. I tried a Rem 7600 carbine just never grew attached, then went to short bolt actions and never looked back. A new aquirement is a Ruger Frontier in 7-08, going to try 120 BT's and 140 NP and see what shoots best. My current go to load in a 7mm-08 20" carbine is a 154 RN which works so well, just may stick to that bullet. Extremely accurate at 100 yds and devasting on deer

Seafire,

I believe you hit the nail on the head.

I'm going to be doing some reduced loads for my 270 and opted for H4895. Are there other powders that may work better that I should be considering?

Thanks
Shod

My STANDARD rigs are more like what most of you consider short range guns. 20" Steyr 376 vxr 2-7, 20" sSteyr compact vxr 3-9, Steyr tactical light Burris 3-9, pre81 BLR 2.5-8VARIXIII, REMINGTON 740 VX1 3-9.
I guess what im talking is you guys rifle version of a derringer, not a j frame.
Sub 18"_ sub 7 pound but sub MOA and uber handy.
RSI #1'S are , in my eyes perfect.

Sub 18" is a pistol.

anything with open sights 30/30

30/06

250 savage 99

I like it old school

and a cut down remmy 141 in 35 rem

or a 25/35

I do luv em like grandpa did

Over the years I have used a WWII Sporterized 8MM Mauser K98 with a Redfield peepsite, took a lot of Whitetails in Northern MN with that one. Then a CZ in 9.3X62 with a Burris 1.75X5 #4, with any type of decent shot planted them right there. Now a CZ550FS in 6.5X55 with a Kahles 2X7 #4. Heavier bullets, great penetration and a low power #4 scope works for me.

I guess in this situation, I would carry my 1895 Marlin in .45-70..

Mooshoo, some nice rifles there.. Last trip though the eastern seaboard, I looked some for a Rem. slide in 35.. No luck.. Little use for it here, but one I never owned..

I like that M70 ought6 and the drop at the heel of that stock.
I know that rifle would come up with my eye right on the bead with my face kissing the stock and not mashed into it. When they straightened the stock on the Automat Kalashnikova Moderne it made sense, a full auto weapon, but on a bolt gun what's a little muzzle rise? You gotta work the bolt anyway, why not give your shoulder a break and look through the sights/scope with your head up like a gentleman?

got mine on gun broker for a good buy had my brother cut her down, I,ve shot my antelope's with a 30/30 in Wyoming one with a encore 30/30 and a model 94 in 30/30 hope to draw again, would take 35 Remington next time out

Mine is Remington Model 7 KS in .350 mag, with Leupld 1.5 x 5.

If it's snowing and I want to still hunt, Stevens 325 in .30-30 with Williams peep sight. Still have to keep the snow off the binos, just not the scope.

mooshoo, we have killed more than several antelope with .30-30's and one with my dad's 94 .32 spl.. They work great if one is close enough.. I am fortunate to be almost hunt from my back door, but I do have to get out of town limits.. Is the 06 a model 70 or 54???

My choice would be the 308 my son somehow became the owner of. Mod 660, 20" barrel w/2 3/4x Redfield. I recently got a mod 788 in 308 that I put an old 1-4x /redfield on. Would rather a longer barrel as this is an 18" barrel. Like the 20" barrel.

Mine is an H&R Handi rifle in 44 mag with a 4x weaver on it. It is the short (16.5") barreled camo Talo version. It shoots 240gr jacketed bullets (HP or SP) great.

It is short, light, easy to carry, and drops 'em pretty dang quick with good shot placement. It is also cheap to shoot and easy to reload for. As an added bonus, it is pretty quiet when compared to a rifle or the same caliber out of my 7.5" SBH.

My woods rigs are a 336 with Weaver k-2.5 and a Win. 94 with Williams peep rear and firesight front. Both chambered in .30-30. Have killed a big pile of deer with both and never felt a need for more inside 200 yards.

While the traditional levers certainly work, I don't think they are the best. Short range open country maybe, but not in the thick stuff where I hunt. There are far more options for shorter, lighter, quicker handling more compact bolt guns. As a rule, levers are actually one of the heavier action types and not really any faster for "aimed" repeat shots.

The arched trajectory of the lever rounds is easily compensated for in open country and in good light 200 yard hits with irons aren't that hard. In thick brush a laser flat trajectory and pinpoint accuracy allow you to shoot through baseball sized openings to hit game. A scope with 1X or 2X on the low end is faster than irons for quick shots and on higher powers much better in low light. It gets dark in the woods a long time before it does in the open and you can't shoot what you can't see.

Make mine a 18-22" bolt rifle scoped with a 1-4X or 2-7X scope. It will weigh less, and be shorter, even scoped than most levers will with irons. Caliber doesn't matter all that much, but 223-308 will cover most game at those ranges.

No, its not.

Shorter and lighter boltguns are still fat at the balance point and don't carry near as well as a 94. Light boltguns also typically balance poorly for offhand/unrested/running shots. I've killed deer when it was DAMN dark with the k-2.5 and the peep sights. Higher magnification can make it easier to put bullets through holes in the brush but I generally don't have much trouble avoiding branches with the K-2.5 at typical woods ranges. A .30-30 with irons or low mounted 20 mm objective scope also keeps it's bullets plenty close to sightline at woods ranges {.5" high at 50 with 100 yard zero} and both of mine are close to MOA shooters so putting bullets through baseball sized holes ain't a problem. I've got lots of bolt guns and lots of bigger/better scopes but I sure as hell don't need them for short range deer and I don't care to schlep them round the woods all day when it ain't neccesary.

I think the Ruger .358 RS w/19in barrel shooting 200gr silver tips and a 2x7Leupold on top would be about perfect. powdr

I should add, several S&W's in .41 and .44 mag.

Did some trading a couple yrs ago and ended up with a little Mauser 458 Win Mag, I've done business with 4 brown bears with it so far and the total distances add up to about 50 yards.

I love the Frontier for this application. I currently have a 2-7 on it, but if I was just still hunting or driving, the 2.5x scout scope would go back on. 200gr BT's work great out of the 338 federal, but a 358 Win would be fine also. Drop it in a boat paddle and don't worry about scuffs.

Winchester 88. In 308 Or 358 if you could find one... Might be prefect...

I unscrewed the Boss system off a 30-06 browning abolt. I put electric tape on the threads and mounted a Leupold 1-4 x20 mm pig plex scope on it. Must be about a twenty inch barrel without the boss on it. Shoots about 1.25 at 100 yards( thats about as good as i can shoot with a 4 power scope). Im using it for a short range boar rifle in south florida. Balance is great for me. Bastards are always jumpin up out of palmetto brushs ten yards away or up out of farm ditches. I wanted something i could get up fast and i can run the first bullet out the end faster than i can run my .444 or 30/30 lever guns. I had a guest use it last year on a stalk in heavy cover and he killed one with it. Deader than Woodrow Wilson.......

1952 Remington 722 300 Savage w/Redfield peep. It's a killa! I don't think I have ever shot a big game animal that this would not have worked fine on. I think my long range was 125ish.LOL This old Remy is the best rifle $ I ever spent.

.....Sub 18" barrels? Pistols? LOL!!!.....Well now, that kinda depends!

Well here is a little pip squeak pistol, the very same and chambered in the very same cartridge that I happen to own.

www.gunblast.com/Ruger_FrontierRifle.htm

Oh! And with max doses of RL17, just over 2900 fps with a 180 gr Horn IB.

Not bad for a "sub 18" pistol uh? LOL....

Or you could just shoot them in the head with what you have.

My Kimber Montana 7-08 with 154 Hornady Round Nose and 2.5-8 Leupold gets it done for me.

These are my go to combo for sitting / tree stand : Model 7 Stainless and a 700 blue both in 358 Win. Both wear a Leupold 2.5-8x36.



Ken

Best answer so far........

Have to agree with oregontripper.... My .300 Savage 722 has a January 1948 barrel code on it and is topped with a Leupold 1.5-5 heavy duplex. I have hunted here in the brush with a number of different rifles and cartridges but keep coming back to the old .300. I have used one off and on since the early '60's....

It's a model 54 with a carbine barrel, on a standard stock

that is a cool looking 300 savage, I had a Remington 722 in 257 Roberts awsome looking rifles

Thanks mooshoo and mmgravy. I bought it just like shown, no change to factory fit, not floated. PO did a nice recoil pad and checkering mod to it. I tested it out to 200 during load development. But that was before I KNEW what I was doing, got a chronograph, funky measuring tools, etc. Back when I just picked a cheap bullet and went for it. Wish the rest of my rifles would be so easy!

That sounds like just about all my hunting. Two years ago was the first time I had a shot over 100...

Favorite rifle is a Remington Model Seven KS with 1.75-6 Leupold VX-III.





What used to be the primary is now the backup...a Remington 600 in the same caliber...



Third String is a Ruger Frontier in .358...



...all have taken game...close...

Bob

im liking this thread,i have no problem with shooting a deer at a long ways off but i enjoy getting in there with them! To be honest ive taken alot of deer with a stevens 200 in 7mm-08! recently i traded into a 1895gbl 45-70 and hunted without success this past season. im thinking of adding a low power scope to it before nov. of 2015, in thinking that one of the ruger american compacts in 7mm-08 may be really nice in the bush and if needed it can stretch its legs in a clearcut.

I have a Marlin 1894 in 45 Colt with a 16.5 inch octagon barrel and she is fast.

You should try a 35 Remington



..or a 35 Remington,



.. Or maybe a 35 Remington:





DMc

A batch of the boys I have been taking out over the last 5 or 6 years, seem to have access to 270s...

They've taken deer with a 90 grain Sierra HP, fueled with 25 to 30 grains of SR 4759.....or same charge, or 30 to 35 grains of 4198 with Sierra 110 grain SP, or the other option that works well with those charges...a 130 grain Ballistic Tip...

A few years ago, there was a young boy, son of one of the ladies who worked in the school office, he was 10 years old, small and handicapped... he was going to "hunt" with Grandpa off the front porch of his house out in the woods... he was going to use a 30/30 that belonged to grandpa, but the recoil was WAAAAY too much for him...

So I loaded up a 110 grain SP ( for a 30 carbine), into a 30/30 case, charged with 10 grains of Unique...he shot a doe with it at about 75 yards or so IIRC and Grandpa used it also, and shot a forked horn at about 100 yds...

They used the same thing the next season, and the only thing we changed was the bullet, went to a 110 grain V Max, loading one in the mag and one in the chamber.. both scored again...

following season, 110 grain Sierra HP...both scored again..

recoil was virtually non existent...

after that Gramps passed away, and the boy can handle heavier loads, but dad had someone else load ( in the family) a heavier bullet using SR 4759...20 grains this time...

[quote=Micro_Groove]Sub 18" is a pistol. [/quote

Maybe, but a long range pistol! First thing I took with my '06 17" bbl Ru77 after I whacked the other guys bulge off the end was a ram at330 est yards. Has also taken caribou at 180 lr, 2 at anout 250 and one at 356 long paces. And a lot of stuff at shorter ranges. It is adequate.

I use a Ruger semi-auto in 44mag, or one of my normal length rifles in 257R or .223. They all work. I will say though that a close in shot, sub 10 yards, with a 300wm and 180 bt's is a mess even with neck shots.

Under 10 yards is also the place to see the shortcommings of fixed 6x! Not a hater, just btdt.

Here's the short-ranger I carried some this year.

[img:left][/img]

336ER in .356 Win
Currently has a Leupold short-tube 1.75X6.

Unfortunately it didn't get to see any action.

This Montana 7-08 ended up being in my hands when I finally had a chance to shoot.

[img:left][/img]

A peep sighted lever, preferably a 30/30.

Heresy alert: For close range deer hunting, nothing beats a 12 gauge and foster slugs. Sorry, I'm new here.

How about a Model 20 Savage, 250-3000.



This one is an old Whitney Rolling Block in 40-65

Picked up a new to me Ruger Frontier today and will be mounting a Leupold 1x4 on it, should be ideal for my type of hunting. As others have stated I also have 2 Marlin leverguns in the safe, a 20" Carbine and a 336BL with an 18" tube. Both wear Leupy 2.5 on them. I have hunted all over New England and other northeastern states for just over 30 years now and only once did I get a shot opportunity over 100 yards, it was on a powerline right away in Maine and fortunately had a 338-06 in my hands that day, shot was about 300 yards.

I would say up in this part of the country 95-99% of your shots are sub 100 yds. There are exceptions, but not many

By the way, Elkchsr that 250-3000 is a beauty. Just received a copy of Shots at Whitetails by Larry Koeller, that one was one of his favorites

elkchsr, very nice old rifles, but that .30 Newton is still the most awesome.. Every get your hands on a .256 Newton????

Another vote for the .350 Rem Mag. When hunting brush, I like being able to bust a shoulder from any angle or both shoulders when broadside.... I like both the 200gr TSX and 200gr TTSX for such. There is no shot angle a deer can offer that will keep me from busting at least one shoulder with this rifle.....


Expanded bullet measures .762" IIRC....That's over 3/4 of an inch.......!



X-VERMINATOR

i have a ruger frontier in 338 federal with a cheapo bushnell banner 1.5-4.5x32 on it. with the 200 grain fusion factory loads, it is ideal for close quarters. 16" barrel, low magnification and reduced LOP. i also like my marlin stubbies in 35 rem and similiar scopes.

I passed on a Frontier in .358 Win for $459 years back and I kick myself everyday over it.

The Savage 99F I got in 1966 became my favorite woods rifle for game hunting. Most were deer shot in forest conditions in VT and other North East states.

I used the 200 gr Silvertip in my 358 Winchester. Since the 200 gr Silvertips are in short supply I have used the 180 gr Speer. My late dad made a tool so I could swage a spitzer on that bullet.

I have loaded some Hornady SS pistol bullets also but have not used them.

All ammo used has been handloads at about factory velocities.

In Vt bucks were the game and some were moving and required shots at the ribs. Some staggered a ways however its a very reliable gun and load.

One buck in PA was about 200 yards away and walking downhill in the hardwoods.

That's crazy talk! Welcome to the Fire!

Thanks! My friend that posts here as Ulvejaeger has been a bad influence when it comes to rifles . Here is my 256. I shot a small antelope and and even smaller mule deer with it this fall.

Top choices would be 308, 7-08 and 243

No matter what the range.

elkchsr, Very nice.. Thanks for the photo..

I don't reckon you could do better than any under 8.5 lb rifle chambered in .308 Win shooting a 180 roundnose

My chubby 20" bbl, 356/358W encore with 180-250gr RN/FP/SP is about as handy and emphatic as I can imagine, for 0-300...needed quick....but a 16-18.5" levergun in a .35 with gas, is hard to sneeze at, also. I've got handy, light, and short in plenty of other styles and calibers. I just like the .35 packages a little better for when close is likely.

A .358 win in a carbine length bolt or lever sounds about perfect for this. Still an able gun out to 300 if you need it to be. A 308 with 170 gr round nose 30-30 bullets would work well for this too.

Under 100 yards, whatever the heck you want. 22mag would work fine if legal.

Place the bullet where you need to. I don't do neck shots, but I will do head shots. Under 100 they are pretty simple to do if you feel the need.

Beyond that not many deer with any round through the lungs will go much past 50 yards, so retrieval shouldn't be a big deal.

If it's just deer, and you get presented perfect shots, in good light....lots of stuff does work. It just rarely happens that way in short range cover. I have open country, 'cull' guns, of lighter calibers....but all my short rigs are just as accurate and even more deadly. 30-30s and 358s will head/neck shoot them, too.

You are shooting different deer than I am,I have had plenty of deer run well over a hundred yards when shot through the lungs.
And shot under 50 yards as well.
To say that a deer will not go much past 50 yards Doesnt compare with my experience at all.
Hell I have seen them with a big hole through one shoulder and still run over a hundred yards.
Retrieval of a deer in anything but an open fiels can be dicey as well.
Often time no blood can be found until the deer is found,then there will be a pool of blood where the deer dropped.
I dont like head shots as I have seen more than a few killed with a broken shot through Jaw or nose.
Alot of people think that with a headshot that you either have a clean miss or a dead deer but that is far from the truth.
A neck shot is a better target and the shoulders are the best bets.
Anything will kill a deer sometime but In my oppinion the 22 mag is for poachers and people who care nothing about the animals they hunt or People who Have only the best of close range shot opportunities in open ground .

For fugg sake! some people have no clue about hunting thick timber....!


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That is a handsome rig.

Thanks, I'm in love with it!


X-VERMINATOR

Any modern rifle chambered in 45-70 Gov't.

I've used a Marlin 1895 for 35 years in those kind of conditions & with a 300 - 400 gr. bullet at from 1850 -2300 FPS, I can virtually guarantee you won't have retrieval problems.

Of all the many deer I've killed with that round, none have moved more than a step or two........& if you have the opportunity to hunt elk in any kind of dark timber, it'll do the job there as well.

Sighted correctly, & with a 2.5x scope, it's a solid 200 yard round if a longer shot presents itself to boot.

MM

MM, one thing about the .45-70 is that if it does not drop at the shot, the blood trail won't be sparse.

They cut a big hole going in.

And they typically don't bloodshot a lot of meat; some of the newer, lighter bullets are a bit worse in that respect than the tougher, 400 grainers.

MM

Rem 660, brown precision stock, 3x9 Vari-x ii
Sierra 165gr hpbt prohunter, too much BALL C2
Was so effective I quit using that bullet. Every deer dropped within 10 or so feet(6-8 deer). Was losing too much meat and went back to the old (from early 90's) ballistic tips

You are correct. Both the .45-70 and .44 magnum rifle I use with hardcast ruin very little meat.

Hey!!! Why screw with the RIFLE forum by posting this absolutely unarguable fact. You Sir are officially a "Fun-Sucker."

I've used the old 444 with similar results...in the Minnesota and Wisconsin North Woods...

Biggest deer I ever shot, was with the 444... one morning at 20 to 30 below...he was kicked out with a bunch of them on a deer drive in a swamp.....he cut a loop heading back to the swamp.. I tracked him and when I pulled the trigger, he cut on the back side of a birch sapling about 5 inches thick...

the shot cut the sapling down and then hit the bucks shoulder...
he field cleaned at 265lbs...MN DNR guestimated him to be about 340 or so on the hoof...November 1984 St Louis County MN, 60 miles or so, south of International Falls...

I use same rifle with 26" barrel for long-range and short-range hunting. I have 165gr and 180gr spitzers for long range hunting and 220gr round nose at 2300fps for running game or short range shots. The key for short range shots is 1-4x scope with 100ft at 100yard field of view and projectile with Vo of 2300fps. The long-range scope is 3-9x. I see no reason to own more than one rifle for all north american big game hunting.

I put one together several years ago and can't say anything is better for what you've mentioned. Stainless M7, stainless Douglas #3 1/12 at 21" in .358 Win. Edge fill Mt Rifle stock. It is 6.5lbs scoped and balances great. Could be chambered in a multitude of different rounds and still do the same thing just as well, but for the use I really like the .358.

About any centerfire with a barrel under 22" and a scope 4x or under, beyond that it's just personal preference...MY choice would be a Savage 99e in .308/Weaver CK4(because it's the best suited Rifle that I have for that type of work).

Due to certain factors related to hard work and aging, I am in the process of setting up a new rig for next year. I do a lot of "copping a squat under a big oak and shooting deer at double digit yards", but for years have used a 9+ lb. .30-06 anyway. It does it close or far, and in between.

Now, to make a healing effort easier on my shoulder, I am switching to a .308, and will use 110-130gr. bullets at less than max loads to get the job done. This combo will do the deed out to 200 yards with ease, farther if necessary, but I can always load a better long range load if needed. I am going to a shorter, light(er) bolt gun with light, fast bullets and lower recoil. Should do the job for me, oak thickets or bean fields. I have both where I hunt, so an all-round combo makes more sense than a dedicated short-range hammer. I like guns and calibers that do a lot of things well, rather than stuff that fills a narrow niche. Other can and will differ.

I don't know, have you considered a 35 Remington?

That looks a lot like my 760 I used this year. Must be an 18" barrel? Some would call it heresy on an original from 1955 in good condition, but I cut mine to 16", parkerized it like yours, and made a brake with a QD mount for my suppressor.

I used my subsonic cast bullet loads this year, and realized I really don't need any more power than that, with a good shot.

I like this setup.

Bigger bores, shorter barrels, and mild velocity is my preferred combination for woods hunting.

the vast majority of my hunting the past 40+ years has been close quarters so i have a plethora of guns for that work. this is one of my favorites but my son has claimed it.

336SDT in 30/30 with a nikon 1.5-4.5x20

Nice!!

UL Ruger Tang in 250 Savage topped with a 4x Leupie.

W