Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Building the ultimate whitetail rifle

Thanks for all the suggestions. Right now I'm leaning towards a SS short action in 7-08, I've never had one so it's time.

i just used a single shot Ruger no.1 it really has just a very smaller action,very accurate and many different calibers ,I myself shoot farther so I like my 257 weatherby mag.

M700 SPS in 7mm/08, buy a "Triggertech" trigger assembly, they are easy to install yourself, bed the stock, Zeiss conquest scope. your done unless you want to got to the expense of having the barrel trimmed to 20" or 21".
If you need an aftermarket stock, more brands are available for M700 than any other.
Happy Hunting

Just buy a BLR in 308. But then again that wouldn't be as fun.

Fireboss, You might want to take a look at the Browning X-Bolt. I have a Stainless Stalker in 30-06 and I really like it. It's been easy to find accurate loads for it and it has good ergos, I like the way it feels and carries. They also make a nice wood/blue model in the short action calibers. I don't know if you're only looking at bolt actions but the Remington 7600 is another good option. Good luck with your search.

For me, I have found near nirvana in a Model 7 Stainless in 308.

I miss that little rifle. Every once in a while I kick myself for selling it.

You could go with a 700 sps compact in a McMillan mtn rifle edge fill. Probably in 7-08. If you want a stainless rifle buy a 700 sps ss and have a competent gunsmith cut to 20” or 21”.

By the time you do all of that you could just about be at Barrett fc territory price wise. I would buy the Barrett.

I can completely understand why.

A handy little 7mm-08 or .308 would be the Ultimate Rifle for the majority of hunting situations, not just for whitetails.

I think the others have pretty much covered it. I'll just add that you should handle the rifles you're considering to check fit and handling for you, to avoid paying to replace the stock later. Everybody's a little different.

I like a .308 for this, but if you go really light, the recoil might get a bit tough, especially as you get older. A 6.5CM, .260, or 7-08 would be a little easier on you. I'd add the 6s, but I don't know how big your deer are or what other game you might run into. John Wooters excluded the 6s for trophy-size deer in his book on hunting trophy bucks.

A fixed 4x is good, but a 2-7 can be handy. I find myself using the high end on my scopes for range work, but turning them all the way down in the woods. Easier to dial up when needed than to dial down quickly with game up close.

Have fun with this project.

I built this rifle 20 years ago on an Oberndorf 98 action. 7x57 with a 19" barrel. That was my all around Whitetail Deer rifle. Love the rifle, shot a bunch of deer with it and rarely hunt with it anymore.

I built mine so it was handy in the brush and good for the "occasional" 200 yd shot.
Where I hunt now nearly every shot is 200-250 yds and the handy carbine doesn't hold as steady, day in and day out.

So, I have changed my opinion , and believe that the 7x57 cartridge is best served by something in the vicinity of a 22" barrel where the velocity is maintained and the balance is better for longer shots. I was never handicapped in the brush with an old Winchester Featherweight that I had in the early 80's and that platform would be perfect for a 7/08 or 7x57. Just my opinion.

Dan

there are 500 answers to the question. i bought an adl in 270 to go with my mausers in 257 and 6.5x55

That's not bad advice at all...I have one in 358 Winchester. The BLR is a very under rated rifle


Dan

Ruger Hawkeye All Weather, 308, 22" barrel, Leupold VX-2 2-7X33 LRD. I want it to shoot 165 Accubonds, but it only wants 150s, so we shoot 150s. I have more into it than needed, but it works for me.

Ruger Hawkeye Ultra Lite, 257 Roberts, 20" barrel, Leupold FX II 4X, 110 Accubonds…..but it's a long action.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "ultimate", but I'll take a stab. My go anywhere, do any thing deer rifle is a push feed model 70 in .30-'06 with a synthetic stock and a Leupold VX-II 3-9x40 with a German #1. By one way of thinking this is my ultimate, but I think of it as my bad weather back up. In any kind of half way decent weather I use a Remington 700 Classic in 8x57 with a 6x42 FX3 with a German #1. This is the one I prefer, but maybe it is not my ultimate.

Tikka CTR in .308 in a factory wood stock and factory mags!

Right.

I wonder what the answer to to original poster’s question would be if it was asked in the 1950’s?

I’m pretty happy with a 6lb 338 Fed. A .338 bullet works real well on deer (like everything else). A nice cup and core bullet 180-200gn at 2650-2800 or a 160 mono at just over 3k is adequate. But really for deer, pick the rifle you like and whatever cartridge it shoots will be fine. A just can’t justify heavy rifles for anything other than hunting the prairie.