Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting do you pick the same rifle evertime you go hunting??

Ok i just read the thread your favorite hunting rifle.Ifound it hard to answer for me,because I own alot of good rifles.When it comes time for me to hunt i always carry a brush gun and a field gun.That is only my definition,As far as rifle hunting i travel 3 hrs up north to hunt.For a brush gun I carry the marlin 444 which is an out the box supprise never thought that it would be as accurate as this gun is without work to it.or the ole reliable 30-30, 38-40.And the field guns which i clasify as shooting over 100yds the brush gun i figure is under 50 yds.But getting back to the field guns i use either a savage 99 in the 300sav or 303sav or win mod 70 308 or 30-06,270win,7x57,8x57 I just have too many good rifle too dedicate my self too just one gun.Most off the time it's my 300savage and i bring the 308 along it's just too hard to leave it home.My question is how many of you out there have the same wonderfull problem i have or do you just dedicate yourself to just one rifle??? I know my choice in the brush guns can do longer that is just how i use them.I unfortunately live in shotgun country and I use the ithaca 37 16ga in bad weather i breakout the ole rem 870

Where I hunt its CF guns and of my three deer rifles I find myself carrying my favorite at least 9 times out of 10.I just have a love for this one rifle and prefer it day in and day out.The others are for back-up if I fall or a scope or gun fails.Of course none have ever failed and its been a few years since I've dropped or fallen on one.I'd say 90% for the favorite(no wonder I always kill my deer with it)and 5% apiece for the two back-ups.


woods

Depends on my mood. I will usually use 4 or 5 rifles during the deer season. If I want to try a new bullet for a specific gun, out it goes. This morning I am hunting with my 35 Whelen and some 225gr Ballistic tips. The last day I hunted was with a 7x57. But when push comes to shove I will always grab my first deer rifle, M77 in 30/06.

I wish I could say I have the same problem of which rifle to choose, but I think you're kidding yourself if you think most deer hunters share your dilemma. Get serious! Most of us have one rifle. It's not a "brush gun" or a "field gun" or a "long range gun" it's just a "deer riflle"! The biggest choice most of us face is weather or not to try the 180's or the 150 grain loads! You guys just amaze me. If you can't seem to decide which weapon from your arsenal to carry, maybe you should dump about half of them and just concentrate on getting maximum performance out of the one you do choose! Too many guys get hung up on having a particular rifle for very slightly different tasks. "Jeez, I'll be hunting from the tree stand in the field this morning, but I might move to the thicket this afternoon..... maybe I'd better bring the 30-30 AND the .280, but then again, I might hunt that power line on the back 40...... 'guess I'd better take the Weatherby too!" Get real. Pick a gun or two, stay with them and quit trying to impress everyone with your inventory list.

Hmmmmmmmm........I've had several deer rifles since I was old enough to work and afford a couple and could give a rip about impressing anyone.Thats why they call it collecting guns,in fact I wouldn't think of hunting anywhere(even around home)without a back-up gun ready if something should happen(murphy works overtime on hunting days)don't want to waste time with a problem when hunting days come only once a year.If you want to use one gun great,but why judge others so harshly if they choose to own a couple <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
for whatever reason?
woods

Woodseye, I do agree that it's best to have a back up gun, I just don't think the average hunter needs a half dozen of them! I too take a back-up, but I know lots of hunters who just can't afford that. I've worked as a range master on a local rifle range for several years and one thing that becomes quickly apparent is that the hunters who choose one gun and stck to it seem to shoot better, at least at the range. I don't come from the "upper crust" or anything even close to that. The people I hunt with don't need a half dozen different guns to kill a deer. They own one or maybe two rifles. They are intimately familiar with them. They take good shots, and they seldom miss. I hunted one time with a guy who felt he had to impress everyone by showing up with four different rifles, and when he finally got a chance, he couldn't figure out how to switch his Contender from the rimfire postion to centerfire to take the shot. I'll say it again. Use one or maybe two guns, get very familiar with them, and leave the rest of the stuff in the gun shop.

Different tools for different jobs. My primary tool is a Stainless Tikka 270 Win that sees duty in foul weather & is always taken on a hunt. If I'm hunting hogs, particularly close up, I'll use the 375 H&H or, for sentimental reasons, my late Granddad's 458 Win. I have 1 or 2 others, but enjoy using these most. Doesn't matter if you use one gun or ten, if you are proficient with them & enjoy what you're doing, who the hell has the right to dictate to me how, where or when to use a rifle or rifles in my pursuit of the sport? badger

mnhunter,
Least you think I come from upper crust. I am an average enlisted guy in the military. Have been for 19 years, do I need 8 rifles, probably not, but I chose to. Some of us do hunt in many different situations and areas. I was stationed in Alaska for 4 years, now I am in Florida. Don't you think I probably need a few different calibers. I mean I have hunted Moose, Mtn Goat, Brown Bear, and 100 pound deer. I haven't ever paid for a big game hunt, I have just hunted what was available where I lived. Just because you live in a small circle doesn't mean we all do. I don't make nor do I have much money, but what I do have I put it towards my 2 passions in life, hunting and fishing. I serve my country and have served my country so that I can hunt with any rifle I like. I also serve so you can be disturbed that I have a few rifles. So some guy with 4 rifles was a bad shot, yes gear isn't a substitute for proficiency. Don't think for a moment that one observation carries over. I went out with a redhead that turned out to be a complete liar, that certainly doesn't mean all redheads are liars. Just don't make assumptions on what you don't know!!!!

The same rifle every time? Well, kind of. They're all the same brand because that stock style fits me best. The same chambering? No way. I own four different chamberings in Ruger M77's, and have used each of them at different times.
The lightest weight is my 257 Roberts, so it's used most. The best "hanging" of the bunch, therefore the easiest to shoot from a stand, is my 338WM, but it weighs 9 pounds with scope and sling. The 30-06 splits the difference. It also serves as a backup for the Roberts if the deer are especially spooky, and I may have to shoot a ways. I did use a heavy-barrelled 22-250 prairie dog rifle once, and it worked too. But 1 1/2 miles of carrying that thing took all the fun out of using it for deer.

By golly I've seen the light! Reckon I'll unload all them extraneous rifles that I've taken 40 some years to amass and go to huntin' with a sharp stick next season. Probably be more efficient than all them old M98's and other assorted clunkers, few of which cost more than a couple hundred dollars back when I bought or built them.
Oddly enough, after all these years I've taught myself how to shoot them all without nary a hitch, since all have taken their fair share of whitetails.

Any advice on what I should do with my waterproof insulated boots and warm coats? I have a couple of each which might could be too many. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Never impressed anyone with my "collection" of sporterized Mausers, ancient lever actions or M788 Remingtons. Least of all my ol' hunting bud that owned a mess of pricey rifles with Leupolds on them. On the other hand, there wasn't much difference in my dead deer pile and his dead deer pile either.
Nice sermon there, Reverend. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well i ain't trying to impress no one and my list goes on longer then that. Hunting and collecting guns is my hobby.And as far as being proficient with only one rifle i'm not i'm proficient with any gun that i use for hunting.A problem some have is they wait till a week before season to sight there gun in.Altough this works I practice with mine year round.When actually leaving for hunt i only bring 2 guns 1 brush and 1 field where i hunt it's either one or the other all day long.

tbear,I couldn't agree more. As I said earlier, I've spent a lot of time working at a local rifle range, and I can't understand why hunters don't spend a little more time practicing with their rifles. Many of our customers show up once a year, the weekend before deer season, run a half dozen shells through their rifle, and if they all manage to hit just about anywhere on the same target, their satisfied with that. I wonder how many wounded deer aren't recovered because someone made a poor shot, because they never took the time to group their rifle. One only gets "good" with a gun by paying their dues, and getting out to the range at least a few times. I have a reloading press, but have never set it up, but for the 2 rifles I hunt with (a Mauser 30-06 and a 300 Savage Mod. 99) I've tried a lot of different factory ammo, and feel I have found the rounds that seem to work the best out of each gun. The other thing is, not all of us are naturally good shots, myself included. I have to work at being a decent shot, but it sure helps when the opportunities come later on in the fall. Hunters need to develop good, consistent shooting habits. I wish I had a quarter for every time I was working at the range and said to someone, "take a deep breath, let half of it out, and squeeze the trigger."

mnhunter,

I still don't think that gets you out of the wood chipper my friend. You should earn not to attack what you don't know about. I have 8 rifles I deer hunt with, I reload for everyone, I have access to a 300 yard private range. I shoot an average of 3 times a WEEK. Since I go through so many thousands of rounds a year, I parctice to 250 yards, I reload, and I am not upper crust, I most assume that I am much more prepared then you. How can you hunt without reloading your own ammo, go to the range a couple of times, ha, you must go at least 150 times a year. See, you made some stupid ass assumptions because some guys have more guns then you. I guess I should make the same about you.

tbear, I wish I had that many opportunities to get to the range, but with a wife, 2 kids envolved in school and outside activities, 2 jobs and everything else that comes along I have other priorties. Your entitled to your opinion, and so am I. I will never own a collection like yours. My finances dictate otherwise. I stand by my previous comments, and if you choose not to agree, so be it. My priorities right now are keeping up with the bills and enjoying watching my kids grow up, not debating this stuff incessantly. So go ahead and rip me all you want. I dished it out and I can take it too!

I am with you on guys that go out just before the season. I was at a local gunsmith, and 2 guys came in to get there rifles, they had the gunsmith sight them in. They never fired the rifle, now they are going hunting with them. I could not believe someone would hunt with a rifle they had not fired.

My problem was that you assumed that because someone has a bunch of rifles they are upper crust. That they are not worth a hoot as rifle shots. That since you only own one you are a much better hunter. BS, that was my problem with your statements. You have gone in circles, if you have a problem with guys that don't take the time to practice, fine. The post started as Do you pick the same rifle everytime, I said what rifles I usually choice, then you go on a rant about upper crust people, that if I guy knew his one rifle crap. That is my problem with your statements. How about you just stick to the post and not be bothered that I don't have bills up to my eyes. You chose to have 2 kids and a wife and bills out the ass, since you can't afford a couple of rifles because of the choices YOU have made, don't assume that because I have some rifles I am of a higher income, or come from money. That since I have a few rifles I must not be that good with any one of them. You choose to have a family, I choose not to. I travel, hunt and fish, I can do that because I am to troubled with the bills that you have, nor the responsibility, which I admire. You chose your life, allow me to choose mine.

I usually use one or two rifles....

But, there are both are 7MM though.....

If it ain't the Browning A-BOLT it's the Ruger......

I don't need anything but these two..... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Back to the original intent of the thread....

I have a hard time choosing what firearem I want to take hunting. I got a nice 9 pt with my 50 cal flinter, and a nice 8 pt with my 357 magnum rifle. I must have gone hunting about 20 times this year, I'd say I probably took 6 or 8 different rifles out. It just depended on my mood and what I wanted to try.

Laugh if you will, but one of the enjoyable facets of hunting deer is the "testing" if you will, of different calibers. I generally use a 7mm/08, and I usually load 140 grain Nosler BT's, They kill like a laser beam. However, I have also used the .243, the .30-06, and the .35 Rem. I have been known to go hunting with the 8x57, and the 7x30 Waters. I like trying different tools in field conditions. The autopsy of the game is a part I enjoy as well. I want to know which hunting bullet works, and how they work. It is as much a part of the game to me as the load development and practice during the off season.
SO, in answer to the original question, NO. I don't always hunt with the same rifle.

Nothing there to laugh at, just maybe a grin or two. I can vouch for three you mentioned: the '06, 35 Rem. and the 8x57. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Do pretty much the same thing myself some seasons, as for the testing of assorted rifles, cartridges and bullets. Have a few favorites, but it's kind of dull hunting with the same outfit year after year, way I see it. To each their own.

me either. i always bring 2 to maine. both of which i have put a few hundred rounds through in previous months. i dont have a nice car or truck. i drive what works and is safe. i enjoy the challenge of working up loads for all sorts of calibers. i keep the ones i like and trade the ones i dont. i am not rich. as a matter of fact i was let go due to the recent economy. am i selling all of them? no way. i have 6 or so set aside for my daughters. 22, 20 gauge and a few deer rifles. if i get wacked tomorrow then i will still be with them every fall.
this stuff is medicine for most of us. we all share a common interest. some of us are making alot more than others. we could all buy a 30-06 [no offense] and sit around and twittle our thumbs.
my problem is getting scopes on all of them. do you guys ever pull a scope from one and put on another knowing your going to have to sight it in again? it bothered me at first but now it is another reason to go to the range!

variety is the spice of life..............
woofer