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

tbear, I like to collect old guns from a certain 'period', I usually end up buying a rifle from an older person (I'm 55, so I'm getting to be one of those) whom has hunted with older 'his' gun for his entire deer hunting life. I try my best to give it a good home. I can't count how many times I've heard that owner saying good bye to his rifle. Now, for the good part, I kill a deer with it, and give that guy a call, and I am amazed how happy they are hearing the story. Its always the same - was it a 6 point (or 8). Yep I say - Yep they say - that's what I always killed. I then put it up and get interested in another find.
Now- saying that I have hunted in canada 4 times. I took the SAME .270 m-70 pre-64 classic, stainless, synthetic. That's the one I use when its time to get serious.

mnhunter,
I hunt with a varitiey of rifles. I've heard the phrase; watch out for the man with one rifle, because he probably knows how to shoot it.
To my way of thinking; watch out for a man with many rifles, because he can shoot accurately with any gun!
I shoot almost every week-end, and own several rifles. Im not wealthy, I work in a sawmill and have to save up to buy a new gun. But this is a very rewarding hobbie for me, besides being a better investment than a lot of other hobbies.
If i come across as bragging about my guns, I don't mean it that way, I like to share with others what a certain gun has done or is capeable of. To my way of thinking this isn't bragging, it's sharing information.
If you choose to hunt with one rifle that's great. Just don't condem me for my choice.
Of course, I'm an old fart (50) and have had years to aquire the guns I have.
VB

I have 3 rifles I use for deer hunting. It's usually either the 700 ADL in .270 or the .260 Model 7. Every now and then I pull out the Marlin 30-30 that I killed my first deer with.

I HAVE 4 DEER RIFLES THAT I ENJOY HUNTING WITH.AS 4 OWNING A COLLECTION I DO AND SINCE HUNTING IS MY ONLY HOBBY I PLAN ON QWNING MANY MORE.I DO NOT MAKE THAT MUCH MONEY AND I HAVE 4 KIDS,BUT MY KIDS ENJOY THE OUTDOORS AND WE TRY ONLY 2 EAT WHAT I HARVEST AND GROW.A HAPPY MEAL 2 THEM IS TENDER LOIN FROM A DEER WITH TATERS FROM THE GARDEN.MY LIFE IS PRETTY SIMPLE AND ANY SPARE CHANGE I HAVE GOES 2 MY HOBBY.

Okay guys, I've seen the light and it's time to eat a little crow. I guess I should have known better than to go off on everyone that ever owned more than a couple rifles. I offer up an apology to anyone I offended, especially you, Tbear. To answer the original question appropriately, I hunt with 2 different rifles-a Mauser chambered for 30-06 and a Model 99 chambered for 300 Savage. My Mauser is a rifle handed down to me from my father, who acquired it in the late 60's. It is nothing special-just a good shooter. Over the years I had a Timney trigger put in and the stock glass bedded and free floated by a good gunsmith. The rifle sports a set of Weaver mounts and rings, and an old 3x9x40 Weaver scope. My dad killed his only moose-a respectable bull in Canada with it in 1970 and I took my first deer with it just after my 21st birthday. This also happened to be the last time I hunted with my dad, as he passed on the following spring. My Model 99 is a 50's vintage. I'm not sure which exact version it is, but it's not a take-down, and it has the schnabel forestock on it. This gun was acquired from one of the original members of our camp in Pennsylvania. My dad also deer hunted with a 300, but when my brother and I split up Dad's guns, he got that one, and to this day, I'm kicking myself for not picking that one. I shoot factory ammo, and both guns shoot honest 1 inch groups. I carry the Mauser up here in Minnesota, as we hunt an area where I can stretch out some longer shots. The best load I've found for this gun is Federal Premium 165 grain Sierra Game King boat tails. The Savage seems to like standard grade Remington loads of 180 grain Core-Lokts. The Savage stays out east with my brother so I don't have to go through the hassle of airline transportation with it when I make it out there to hunt. For a back-up I have a 12 guage 870 set up for slugs. (Smoothbore barrrel) I had a Leupold windage adjustable base put on it and it also sports an old Weaver 1.5 to 4 variable. For a smoothbore, it shoots really good. Believe it or not (I've got the targets to prove it) it's shot one hole groups at 50 yards. With it sighted in 3 inches high at 50 yards, it shoots about a 2 inch group at 100 yards, at 21/2 inches below the bullseye. I shoot 23/4 Federal Foster style slugs through it. I haven't carried it in several years, but it has taken it's fair share of deer over the years in several different hunter's hands. The barrel is a Remington, and I had it permanently mated to the receiver. Once again, my apologies to anyone who I offended.

apology accepted.i have my fathers old irons and reading your post made me think next season might be the year ill hunt with one

Well spoken,sounds like you got a couple of shooters there.

woods

KISSES <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />. No problem, I wish I still had my 99 in 300 Savage.

Well every morning of the deer season I look into the safe and listen to hear which rifle is pleading the loudest to be taken out into the woods.
My choices are 35rem, 30/30, 300sav,358win,7-08,308,7mag,270,338-308 and a 338win mag. (she bitches a lot but I'm saving her for something special) They all have been shot many times through-out the year with reloads that are proven and new ones that just need to be tried.
I've been hunting for over 40 years and I got into a bad habit of only buying rifles, never selling any.
Ever hear of a rich teacher? Well during the 31 years I was one I never did either, but my vice, after all my family needs were met, was a new or used rifle now and then. 10 rifles over 40 years tells you how long I had to save to buy one. Now, I'm 58 and am having my very first custom rilfe made and it's been only 3 year since I bought my last one, gee, times must be getting better.
I like variety, I like guns, I like to reload and shoot. I don't really see anything wrong with that.
Oh, by the way, I also have a tackle box full of lures, most of which I don't need, but I still buy a few more each year. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Apology accepted see that is what i was talking about sometimes you just have to use certain rifles.That is my dillama.I've lost 2 brothers and my father so far and i have there guns.Once in awhile i just have to grab my dad's win 70 in 308 or my bro's buffalo bill commerative 30-30 that he hunted with.I'm not a rich person financially speaking but i have no car payments i got my farm free and clear now the money that some spend on cars i save for a nice gun.Some of my guns are WWII surplus.I have a russian 7.62x54r that i shot a deer with when i was nineteen haven't hunted with it since.I got picked on at camp that weekend but i'm the only one that brought a deer back and i rub in to them when they say you can't use surplus rifles cause they are not good enough.

Tbear-thanks. Over the years I've had a couple other rifles-both Model 99's. One was a very tired old take down-not a bit of bluing left on it. The stock was so beat up, it looked like a piec of driftwood. But, like most 300's it just kept on shooting. I bought it while working at a gunshop. I think I took 2 deer with that one. I also had a beautiful 250-3000 that I just never developed any confidence in. Man, I wish I had hung on to that one. It was in beautiful shape. 'Never did get a deer with it. I also briefly owned a 303 Savage, but it was a case of buyer beware-and I wasn't. I ran four rounds through it and it hung-fired all four and split the last 2 cases. The one round that actually hit the paper at 50 yards went in sideways! I sold it to a guy that wanted it for parts. My other rifle was a Winchester Model 88 in .243, and all I can say (hope I don't offend anyone here) is it sure as hell wasn't any 99! I just inherited another Mauser from my wife's grandfather who passed on a few years ago. Deer season just doesn't seem the same without Grampa poking around with that ugly old Mauser, and taking all our money at the poker table. He is badly missed, as I'm sure many others are at deer camps all over. I don't know what I'm going to do with it-it's an 8 mm, which I just don't have much use for, considering I've got a Mauser in '06. I was thinking about tearing it down and making either a .257 Roberts, or a .260 Remington out of it. Anybody got any thoughts on that? It would be for my daughter, as I've all ready bought my son a Youth Model 7 in 7mm-08. He will carry it in a couple years when he's old enough. My daughter's got a few years yet, which is good, because I'll have to do the work in "steps" to afford it. I'm thinking about a Timney trigger, a lightweight barrel (any suggestions on who's barrel I should use) and a fiberglass stock. I also want to put a side safety on it instead of the Mauser safety. Give me some suggestions.

After you kill a few deer you have to do something to put some fun and challenge back into it. I use several rifles including a muzzle loader and I killed several deer with a bow before I blew out my rotator cuff.

Which rifle I choose for a given hunt depends on how I want to hunt that day. If I want to put the sneak on something, I pull out the smoke pole. If I feel like sitting on stand and shooting one from the next zip code I take the 25-06 Sendero. If I plan to do a little doe and spike culling the 220 Swift gets the nod. It should go without saying that the newest rifle in the gun cabinet gets taken out the most.

There is one however, that is THE ONE I reach for when I am real hungry for venision. I may not take it often, but when I really want to kill a deer and don't want to fool around doing it I take the .270. She may not be the prettiest girl at the dance but she's always done the job anytime I put the cross hairs in the right place.

It could be that me and PDS is joined at the hip. Except for differences in caliber I'd just have to echo his post. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
I have a sweet old 03A3 still in straight GI configuration. Sometimes I just want that old war dog to touch meat. Got a 7m/m rolling block and sometimes I want to imagine that I am Pancho Villa on a good day. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


BCR

Pancho Villa, eh? Is it legal in Texas to use one of them huge sombreros with a shooting port in the crown, for a ground blind? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

dubePA

Dang sure is!

Every year I buy at least one new deer rifle. That's been the story for several years now. Some of them I like and keep, some are gifts, and some go down the road. Of my last few years, they are. A Savage 110 in .270 which I loved, Killed 3 deer with it. I gave it to my stepson, and it's now his favorite. A Ruger .308 Ultra Light, which accounted for two deer this year, still got it. Ruger old model 77 in 30/06, one deer, shoots like a benchrest gun, still got it. This year my new toys are a Winchester 70 Featherweight in 7mm-08, (had a browning 7-08, couldn't bond with that gun even though it shot well) and a Ruger UL in .257 Roberts. These new ones are calibers I've heard a lot of good about and had to try them. This keeps things interesting and keeps me in something to work on. I also bought a new MKII Ruger 77 last year, that has an absolutely beautiful stock and shoots like a benchrest rifle. It works and looks so good I hate to take it out, so it mostly gets used at the range. As said above, this is my only real hobby and I indulge myself more than if I had several.

I spent some years when I couldn't afford the liscense fee a long time ago. I'm no aristocrat, I just like rifles and shooting and the range work is fun, and relaxing. When I step into the woods, I know if the deer show up, they're going home with me, if they even give me half a chance.

I dont have the number of rifles most do here, but I started out hunting with a 30 Rem, Lever, moved up to a 30-06 Model 70, shot it for years, got bored shooting an 06 like everyone else, purchased a 270, shot it for years, then purchased a few 7 mags, converted the 270 to 240 wby mag, and now have my dad's 300 win. I like the 7 mag for out of state muley chasing, and now shoot the 240 wby for blacktail and wild hogs. The 240 I find to be alot of fun to shoot, and I would love to build a 25-284, or a 6.5 284. While I can handle recoil, I dont enjoy it, so 7 mag and under turn my crank alot. I tend to favor fast cartridges, maybe speed doesnt kill, but I like the flat shooting capabilities of fast rounds.

I have several rifles and it has nothing to do with wanting to brag. I just plain like guns. I've been single most of my life and no family to raise so I was able to afford them. I try to use different ones, but my .270 was my first and my old favorite. I've had it since '67. It's hard not to grab it when I go hunting but, it still gets the most use. If I was stuck with one gun it would be my .270

Every time I don't grab the old 270 I wind up regretting it. Like this year I just HAD to use a 44 mag lever gun. I had a nice buck come in to my calls THREE different nights but he would not come out of the cedars or closer than 150 yards. easy shot with the 270 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Yes... I always take the same rifle. Unlike what seems like the majority here, I�ve only ever owned three center-fire rifles other than my .222 varmint rifle and I still own �em.



I have an original model semi-automatic Ruger Carbine in .44 magnum. I used the .44 Carbine in the dense Michigan woods when I first got it� and probably would have used it in Pennsylvania where I do all my big game hunting now except that you�re not allowed to use a semi-auto in PA.



My primary big game hunting rifle, for 40 years of big game hunting in Colorado (elk and mule deer) and Canada (moose)., was a customized pre-�64, Winchester Model 70 �Alaskan� (26� barrel) in .338 Winchester Magnum. It got �retired� some years ago, but if I ever go elk, moose or bear hunting again� the big Winchester can easily come out of �retirement�.



The past several years, my current eastern deer rifle, a near-mint condition 1953 Model 99 Savage lever-action in .300 Savage, has been my primary big game rifle now that all of my big game hunting is done in the Moshannon State Forest in Pennsylvania at my hunting buddy�s comfortable deer camp cabin. On those �nasty� rainy or �zero� temperature days, I sit in the cozy cabin by the fireplace and watch out the window for an unwary deer to come sauntering by the cabin�s front porch.



Yeah� deer hunting is DEFINITELY �tough� hunting, but I can �rough� it when I must... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />





I've had several bucks no more than 40 feet from the cabin's front porch... but I'm after a "10-pointer" and won't settle for anything less. And so, the "wait" goes on.



Since a whitetail buck doesn�t require a .338 magnum, I�ve been using my sweet-handling Model 99 Savage .300 caliber rifle which is, in my opinion, �THE� perfect eastern whitetail rifle/caliber combination.



Unlike the 10� pound .338 Winchester Magnum that has an �unpleasant� recoil when shooting from the �bench-rest� for about 16 to 17 rounds (and then it gets downright �painful�), the little .300 Savage won�t kick your brains out even after shooting 50 rounds or more off the bench-rest. Yet, the little Savage cartridge is an excellent deer cartridge out to 250 yards� and a decent elk, moose and black bear cartridge using a 180 grain bullet at more reasonable ranges under 200 yards.



Many hunters don�t realize that the .300 Savage is the �father� of the very popular .308 Winchester (aka �7.62mm NATO�). Oddly enough, the 84 year old .300 Savage cartridge case has what is considered a �very modern� 30� shoulder compared to the .308 Win. which has only a 20� shoulder. Other than a slightly longer neck on the .308 Win., the .300 Savage and the .308 Winchester cartridges are ballistically quite similar.



I reload all my own ammo� and I have found the .300 Savage is quite easy to reload. I have found, however, that heavy loads tend to cause �neck-stretching� in the .300 Savage cartridge. But then� most high intensity cartridges tend to do a bit of �neck stretching� when subjected to heavy hunting loads.



When my �hunting days� are over and I�m too old to get out in the woods, I�ve promised my Model 99 to my eldest Grandson who is now 12 years old. I�ve already started to teach him how to reload & bought a supply of new, empty cartridge cases in .300 Savage caliber for him�and put them up on one of the storage shelves in my reloading room for his future use. They should last him a life-time just in case the cartridge case manufacturers stop making the .300 Savage cartridge cases. Unfortunately, such things DO happen.



I might have to buy him another rifle to use in the meantime, however� since I don�t plan to stop going out into the woods quite yet and he�s getting to the age where he will soon be going deer hunting with his Dad (my son) and his �grandpa�.



Ahhhhhh� yes� something else to look forward to, eh?





Strength & Honor�



Ron T.