Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Michigan Firearm Deer Opener Nov 15th

I am getting my gear together for a week of deer hunting in the north east corner of the lower peninsular near Curran Michigan. This will be my 21st year at this particular camp. We lease about 300 acres of a larger 1800 acre private parcel. Hunting has always been good and I have shot my share of Big Bucks in this camp. My question to myself every year is what rifle or rifles to take.
My go to favorite is my 1955 99F in 300 Savage. It wears a Weaver 2.5X scope, it is light and fast handling and holds point of impact year after year and shoots a 1 inch group at 100 yards with
hand loads. I also have a 1938 99K in 300 Savage that I have never taken a deer with and is also a great shooter with the Lyman folding peep sight. All of my other savage rifles have scored deer
over the past years with the exception of a 1926 Model 20 in 250-3000 with a bolt peep sight. It is also a tack driver with hand loads. All my Savage rifles have iron sights except the 99F and
a very nice 110 WLE in 250-3000 that has Burris 3-9 Full field scope and is a clover leaf shooter with either factory or hand loads. It has taken many deer. So at age 70 I can still shoot irons, god gave me good eyes, but need help with a scope at twilight conditions. I have no issue with taking two rifles, or even three. My other Savage rifles are a 1925 99G in 303, and a 1917 1899H in 22Hi-Power. Both of those have Receiver mounted peep sights and shoot very well and have scored deer for me. I have until Monday to narrow down my choices. Good luck and Safe hunting to my
fellow Michigan Savage collectors who take their rifles into the field for the annual deer hunt. What are the rest of you taking into the woods this November?

300 Savage

I will be taking my 99E 308. First hunt for it with me. Also just got a 840 30-30 for son and grandsons to hunt with. Both are good shooters. Will be fun watching kids say witch one paw-paw will give them. Not even ready to part with yet.lol. Have land in western Indiana. And also live on it.

Sometimes I ask myself, "At the end of this day, what will I be most glad I did?"

I'd say take the K out for a well-deserved trophy 300Savage, and use the F when you plan to stay out until dusk.

This is the toughest question you can ask of a owner of many Savage rifles. I have 4 that I truly want to take, but only one goes out to the blind. This year after many sleepless nights I have decided to take my 1940 99T in 300 Savage with w Stith mount, Lightfoot split rear ring with a Nikon Monarch 1-4.5 scope. All tho I still have 4 days to change my mind for the other 3 candidates. One is a 1926 303 F, which is wearing a nice Lyman 29 1/2 peep. I can't believe how much I agonize over this decision. Truly a looney thought process.

take the 6.5 Creedmore you cant shoot anything else! am tired hearing about them!

1926 F, Joe.

The Barrel Band 250 gets the nod this year Im thinking! was out this afternoon, 3" fresh snow 16 out was a cold sit in the tree stand, had one doe walk in, calling for 44 and sunny for wed.

My opinion--Don't get pissed at me.:)

Scopes for game is cheating.

Iron sights (Buckhorn or Peep) is hunting/getting close enough for a good clean shot. I've never hunted game with a scope.

Scopes---For hunting humans or bench rest shooting/competition.

(Sportsdad gets soap box kicked out from under him as a crowd rushes the podium)

Flying into Detroit tomorrow then up to the UP on Sunday with my 1959 99F 308 which is staged up there just for this purpose.

You can't go wrong with the 300 Savage for MI deer season. R/t gets the nod again this year.

Agree with Whelenman and respectfully disagree with Sportsdad.

I agree, for the most part. I think the modern American shooter has been brainwashed into believing that effective hunting can't be done without optical sights. Scopes have become the panacea for lack of hunting/stalking ability. I'll put my money on a steely-eyed rifleman who is competent in Three Position competition with an iron-sighted M1, Springfield, or AR over a weekend warrior who does nothing more than sit at a bench behind a Leupold-guided Whizbang- when it comes to practical riflemanship.

Nice post but "Age" eventually catches up with us all.

I am also hunting the Michigan opener. I will be in the Wolverine area. I am going to be using my 99A in 250-3000. My friend Bill gave me that rifle and I cherish it. Inside my bag will be my Ruger 44 pistol that my friend John gave me and I also cherish it.

Since I live up north now, I am becoming the default guy to set up deer hunting. I already have 2 guests coming this year.

Nothing wrong with your train of thought....BUT.... I love the extra 15-20 minutes in the morning and late evening that optics bring to the table. Legal shooting time in Michigan is 1/2 hour before, 1/2 hour after sunset. If cloudy overcast conditions are in the equation, add to the 15 - 20 minutes. I have taken a couple deer that without the light gathering of the optics would not have been in the freezer. I most certainly love my peep sights, and feel as comfortable out to 100 yards or so as scoped but appreciate the extended viewing time at potentially the best times to spot the bigg ens.

Should be in Gladstone in the beautiful upper Tuesday afternoon to prep for opening morning. Good luck to all y'all Michiganders. Be safe and successful.

Blacktail deer usually inhabit dark places. Scopes are nice.

Good luck to all you Michiganders!!

Don't get me wrong, I have a couple scoped rifles and enjoy shooting them. All my .22 target guns have target scopes on them, as do the rifles I use for squirrel hunting- threading a .22 bullet into a squirrels eye at 50 yards is nigh impossible without one. I just relish the challenge of iron sights on a deer rifle. I would probably sing a different tune if I hunted out in the wide open spaces. (But even at that every mule deer and antelope I ever killed was well under 100 yards because I had the moxie to either stalk in close or refused to take 3-400 yard shots. It's called "hunting".)

As for aging eyes, my crappy 64 year old eyeballs aren't up to the task of iron sights without employing a couple simple tricks which serve to keep me in the iron sight game. Really not a big deal.

I also like scope, here where I hunt Bucks have to have at least 3 points on one side to be legal! I had to pass a nice buck last season, I just couldnt see a thrid point, and I had a large buck in that area with a set of big forks, Im sure it was a diffrent buck but i hunt by the book! I have a 303 H with a lyman 291/2 peep that I may use, for a doe tag I have!

Very well stated, my friend. You have the knack of injecting common sense and rational into your dialogue. It is refreshing to hear some folks have a strong sense of tradition in their game plan. But forgive me, I'll scope for previously stated reasons.