Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Your favorite deer caliber and rifle?

In the late '70s I had been reading P. O. Ackley's books, and I had a Kalispell gunsmith, Les Bauska, rechamber my only centerfire rifle, a .30-06, to .30 Gibbs for my primary elk rifle. I had a FFL at that time, and I bought a Mauser Mark X barreled action in .25-06 and another Mark X short action and had Les re-chamber the .25-06 to a .257 Ackley Improved and had him make a tapered octagon barrel chambered in .22-250 for the short action.

I then bought two semi-inleted stocks in Fancy walnut and finished the .257 Ackley for my deer and antelope rifle, and the .22-250 for a varmint rifle. Until recently I had a Leupold M8 6X scope on my .257 and I've had a Weaver 10x scope on my .22-250.

Over the years, I've probably used my .257 Ackley more than any of my other rifles. I've used it for a variety of critters from prairie dogs to elk. As my primary deer and antelope rifle, I've shot dozens each of deer and antelope, I shot my 4 mountain sheep with it, including a Dall ram on a Canadian hunt where I also shot a Mountain caribou and a Wolverine with it, and on one early season wilderness Montana Unlimited sheep hunt I couldn't pass up on one of my best 6x6 bull elk.