Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles An "Ideal Whitetail Rifle" for your home range?

shots for me are almost always under 100 yards,usually less than 30 yards.
I like a bolt action, classic stock, low power variable scope.
I have been using heavy for diameter bullets more and more,
and this year bought a 6.5 creedmoor,just to see what all the hubbub is about.
I should be good to go from 0 to 300 yards,about as far as I will have a chance to see game.
not like I wasn't last year, same gun,(ruger American) same scope ( 3 x 9) .5 mm less bullet diameter. (7-08)

I bought a Steyr SSG PIIK, almost 20years ago. The short 20" barrel is heavy enough for steady work at long range, and the lightweight
Stock offsets the weight. The double set trigger allows for precision or general use. I've carried it out west for Muleys, pronghorn, and Whitetails. I've used it in the thickest of cover in south Texas, as well as from box blinds, tree stands and pop up blinds. It wears a NF 2-10, and has been used as a back up long range competition rifle, it is the one rifle I reach for if I will be hunting a wide range distance, and because it will shoot 150-200 gr bullets I can use it for anything in North America.

It is my go to gun, for deer sized game.

Trapr

I hunt in the Trans-Bluegrass just south of the Ohio River. 250 lb liveweight bucks and 170+ lb liveweight doe are fairly common.

For the cedar thickets and treestands, I prefer my Savage 99 in 308 WIN. I download it to 300 Savage levels. Shots are usually inside 80 yards and sometimes inside 5.



For the longer venues, the open pastures, I love my Ruger Hawkeye in 30-06. My longest shot to date has been 175 yards, but they are normally 150 or under.



Both shoot a 165 grain Hornady IL SP over H4895. With rare exceptions, the deer is either DRT or I can stand in its tracks and see the carcass.

I've tried everything from 30-30 and 25-06 all the way up to 35 Whelen. However, the 30-somethings have given me the most reliable kills.

JPro, One rifle, one load, one zero, for everything! That said: when I lived in Louisiana....my first rifle (at 13) was a Win. Model 88 in .308 Win.. Served me well in Evangeline Parish ( as well as a few other locations)! memtb

Savage 99 250-3000. No assembly required.

Don't think I'll ever build another custom rifle, rather use the money for hunting trips.
I would pull one of the following from the safe for deer hunting the southeast and northern Michigan.

> Ruger M77MK II in 257 Roberts w/ Swarovski A-Series 3-9x36mm
> Tikka T3 Hunter in 6.5x55mm w/ Zeiss Duralyt 2-8x42mm
> Sako AII Hunter in 308 WCF w/ Swarovski A-Series 4x32mm

If the weather is lousy/back-up

> Remington M700 SS Mountain Gun in 30-06 w/ Zeiss Conquest 2-7x

Traditional

> Marlin M336 "WaffleTop" in 35 Rem.

If Darrik gets the Tikka T3x "Lite" in 6.5 CM delivered soon, I'll put my Swarovski Z3 3-10x42 in Talley rings, sight it in and go hunting.

StarchedCover

Built mine about twenty years ago. .257 AI, Mexican Mauser action, 23" Krieger barrel and a Rimrock stock. Still the 1st choice when it comes to Coues whitetails.

Here in Kentucky about anything will do. I and or my friends have used about every caliber between 243 to 30-06 and even a few uncommon rounds such as the 577-450. I could happily hunt a 243 sporter, or a lever rifle in 30-30. Heck I've done fine with prb in various muzzle loaders I believe there have been 2 deer in 20 years that would have been a stretch with a ml. In reality If had to pass it. Would have been no big deal. I would have just continued to hunt for one that was close.

Living and hunting in northern michigan woods. Still hunting is my favorite, my ideal rifle, which i own is a ruger no1 rsi in 257 roberts.

Be hard pressed to do better than a pump 30-06 with an accurate 180 grain pill

Something 25 caliber, just like any other place I've lived.

Try as I might to get down to a mini handful of deer shooters the herd had slowly grown again. Here in Texas I live at the west edge of the Great Pine Forest that runs to the Atlantic Ocean...but 10 miles west of me we are back into flat ag land until it turns in to rolling prairie 3 hours west of me.

I've shot a couple dozen 270's since the late 1960's successfully, but along the way experimented with 243, 257Bob, to 300WMg & 9.3x62 and everything in between except a 7Rmg. Right now I am behind schedule to swap all the available scopes around on 4 shooters that are new to me...a nib T3 Swede Super Lite for a carry gun in the deep woods, a M70 XTR 7x57 that the previous owner claims is the last rifle I will ever buy as a doall outside of the deep woods , a Baco M70 Ult Shadow 270 wearing a Baco Sporter stock that I had thought would the last one to sell when I am done and gone & a NIB Marlin 270 XL7 SS that was bought to pair with the other 270 and use as the go every where I would not take the Wood Blue 270, is gonne go away unless any of the others crap out and need more work that I am willing to expend to make e'm shoot ....and a nib 7Rmg VG II SS that I intend to down load to 280 MV's. for the West Texas ridges At some point I expect to get down to 2 or 3 rifles and call it GTG. The Swede and Mauser are gonna wear 2-10 30mm scopes and the other 2 are getting 4x16 AO's.
Ron

I hunt farm country in northcentral Pa. A mix of woods, hills, and fields. Truth be told, I bought the ideal rifle as my first one, 40 years ago. Tang safety Ruger 77 in 270 Win that wears a Leupold 6X. I've killed deer at 5 yards and 350 yds. with it.

Dale

Anything legal works fine in my locale. If I were starting at zero here in the Old Dominion, it'd be a 20" Creed of sorts under 6-3/4#. Yeah, I said Creed.


But I'll happily schlep my old M70 and 130 Corlokts.

My Ideal deer rifle is what ever I feel like hunting with at the time.

This year I will go out with a 6.5 Mannlicher. I may also just try with my Marlin 30-30. Or I may use the new 9.3X57 that I just made for myself. The first 2 are iron sighted. The 9.3MM is scoped with a 30MM 1X5 Vortex.

I have to admit, choosing what to go out with is hard ------------------and wonderful.

I think a plain old vanguard or 700 in a mid range chamber in like 243 or 257 would be just fine

I have been very happy with killing deer and hogs here in Florida and Georgia, with a Marlin 1894S in .44 Magnum. I hunt in swamps and creek bottoms. Those areas and Pine and palmetto thickets, hardwood hammocks and gall berry thickets, with vines everywhere are my primary hunting areas. The lever gun is almost ideal. I don't use tree stands. I still hunt.
Yesterday, I got a new rifle. Ruger American Ranch Rifle in 7.62x39 commie. First range trip today. 3/4 inch groups at 50 yards. 1 3/4 groups at 100 yards. Most of what I shoot is 75 yards or less, so this little 16 inch barrel rifle will do just fine. Weaver Classic Extreme 1.5-4.5x scope. It uses Ruger Mini-30 magazines. The barrel is threaded for a suppressor. There is no noticeable recoil.
As soon as I can get around to it, I will be loading for the rifle. Groups should shrink, but for what I need this rifle is accurate enough. I don't trophy hunt, and I'm not really a rifle loony.

My deer hunting grounds are in the western adirondacks foothills. Wooded country, occasional logging. The Savage 99 has been just about the perfect rifle for a long time. My preferences are my pre WWII 99 featherweight takedown in 30/30 with a redfield receiver sight, or post WWII 99F in 300 savage or .308 with receiver sight or low power scope (1.5-5X20).

Because it wasn't made in a 260.....

Weatherby Ultra Light, 7/08...2 x 7 scope on top...

Leupold or Vortex,,,