I had/have a couple favorites for my whitetail hunting which has been conducted 100% in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia. In the past it was a Winchester XTR Featherweight in 6.5x55. Currently it's a Ruger #1 in 6.5x55. (See a trend there?) Various .30's with heavy cast bullets have also figured prominently and this year either an original Model 1903 NRA Sporter and/or a .30-40 Krag sporter will get some "air time". (Now that eminent cataract surgery will restore my ability to see through iron sights again.)
An opportunity is presented to me this year to hunt some prime deer country in Ohio with an old pard. Being a "straight wall cartridge zone" I'm planning to use a Martini Cadet single shot in .357 Magnum.
Looking forward to hearing about your hunt!
Pretty fun to discuss all the different stuff that works for us all.
Shrapnel does have some neat danged stuff that takes great pictures!
