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Here is my upper midwestguns. Winchester 100 308. Savage e99 savage 300. Remington7600 35 whelen Remington 74030 06. Ruger 77 250 savage ruger 44 carbine Ithaca deerslayer II 20 gauge. Sweetsixteen a5

The gun guru staff writer for Field & Stream in their best of the best write up last year picked the Savage M99 as the best whitetail rifle. I was looking for a .308, but when a mint .300 Savage M99F showed up at a collector gun show, I grabbed that one instead. It does not recoil as much as the .308's and does the same thing in the deer woods. I never thought much about them until I bought this one, but I really like it. That round bottom on the receiver makes it a really comfortable one handed rambling rifle. That one would be my pick from your list, but I could make do with the Ruger M77 as well. I went through the semi-auto phase with a M100 and M742 and dad with a one shot Browning BAR and I'm never going back.

I've got a rack of deer guns that pretty well covers all the bases.

After 40 years, I still can't find anything better inside 50 yards than my 12 GA Rem 1100 with rifle sights and a slug barrel. That's not to say that's the best deer rifle I've got, but inside 50 yards, anything goes.

For my treestand work, I take a Savage 99 in 308 WIN. I download it so the 165 grain bullet is running about as fast as a hot 300 Savage load.

For general work, I prefer my Ruger all-weather Hawkeye in 30-06. For the most efficient, consistent performance, I have to say this is my #1 rifle

The rifle with which I' ve taken the most deer is a Remington 7600 in 35 Whelen.

Honorable mentions go to
8X57 K98 Mauser
25-06 Custom Mauser

I went through a semi-auto phase early on as well. I have a retired Remington 742 in 30-06 that I used for the first 20 years.

If I had to pick my least favorite, it would be my Marlin 336 in 30-30. I had a hard time finding a load that consistently bring them down without a lot of running.


If you're looking for eye candy, here are highlight pics of my deer battery:

The Deer Battery

When I started deer hunting in the mid 1960's a Winchester M/88 .308 was my choice, killed my best whitetail buck with that rifle in 1974. My choice for deer hunting for the last several years has been a pre'64 M/70, I have a .35 Whelen which is my go to rifle. In the last couple of years I have added a couple of Featherweights, a .30-06 and a custom .257 Roberts.

The two that always accompany me on a hunt in a rifle zone are a Rem 700 in 300 Savage and a Savage 16 in 7mm/08. I've been shooting them for almost two decades so have been on a few hunts. I don't always use them but they are my reliables.

I'll usually haul something else into the woods, last year it was a Savage 1899 in 38/55 and a Savage 10 I rebarreled to 250 Savage. I didn't shoot anything with either of them so they might get the nod again this year. Or, it may be a 35 Remington year by taking a Marlin 336 rifle with half mag and a Standard Arms Model G. One of the Remington Model 8s or 81s might go with too.

In the shotgun zone it currently looks like it will be the 12 ga Mossberg 930 and the 20 ga H&R Ultra Slug again. Both are very accurate and fit different niches in my hunting style. A 50 cal Knight muzzle loader I just picked up might go out during the shotgun season or it may get used during muzzleloader season if I still have an open tag.

I've used many cartridges fron 223 Rem up to 458 Win mag on deer just because I wanted to. They all work and it gives me some perspective on how a given firearm or action type handles and fits my wants and needs. I have found some very nice rifles are not as user friendly for me while others I did not care for are pretty well laid out.

Is that one of those BDL's that came out a while before the 2003 Classics?

My northeastern deer arsenal:
pre-war Savage 99 featherweight takedown in 30/30, (my first rifle, still use occasionally)
Savage 99F in .308, (because I couldn't find a nice one in 300 Savage at the time I was looking)
Rem 700 Classic in 300 Savage, (my newest and heaviest deer rifle, and a real sweetheart)
Kimber Montana in .308. (Most used, great rifle)

Maybe a little biased toward short action 30 caliber stuff, but they work.

I like Sakos, they have a good feel, perfect weight for me. I have a 99 in 308, going to try it this year. I’ve never owned a 99 before.

Whatever floats our boat when we go into the vault.

Out west, mine are a sporterized 1903 Springfield, a Tikka .300 mag or a .257 Wthby Vanguard. My son likes a .270 Howa for about everything except varmints.

Last deer I kilt was with an extrememly wore out 1894 Win. in 25/35 ctg. Shot real good when it would go off!!! Just had to snap on her twice to get it to go boom!

Although I've been shooting Model 70s for a long time, I really favor the old tang-safety Rugers above most anything. I really like them a lot. The three I've owned were all decent shooters (not great, but decent), and killed a lot of deer with them.

I don't like Ruger's three-position safety, so I went to Winchester when those went down the road. The M70s shoot better than the Rugers, but don't handle as well. I like them anyway.

I also like those danged old Marlin 336s, though they don't handle as well as a Winchester 94, they shoot better for me.

I wish I'd bought a 77R in either .300 Savage or .250 Savage when they were available, if I had done so, I'd probably still be using one. One of the shops I frequented in the early '80s had a rack full of each. I wish I was smarter then.

Old Sakos are awesome, especially the Foresters. Long actions are too heavy IMHO, but still great guns.

New Sakos ain't too shabby.

My .308s typically get loaded like .300s, and my '06s (currently fresh out) like .308s. Bambi hasn't complained so far.

I'll likely never know, being an old man on a fixed income! Barring "accidents", my Fieldcraft will be my last purchase; at least that's the current plan.

i'd buy a left-handed fieldcraft in an instant.

sure they'd cost about four times more than a ruger american.

but who cares about accuracy when ya can own quality stuff across the counter?

Comes a time when you have to go big or go home. Seems like now is the time for me to get what I want or hang it up.

Sorry about your "condition". My older son is right-handed, but decidedly left-eyed, but buys RH rifles, and has dealt with them so long he hardly notices. He does shoot LH bows.

I hunt WV and Eastern NC. My centerfire rifles are:
30-30 Marlin 336
270 Win Remington 700
30-06 Remington 700
308 Remington Model 7 Stainless
308 Browning Lever Action
I also have a Mossberg 500 that is my primary waterfowl gun, but I picked up a smooth bore slug barrel for it for very cheap but have yet to use it on a deer, same goes for buckshot.

I guess the bolt actions are perhaps the most practical, and I really do love 270s. But something about lever actions to me just feels better. Neither are incredibly accurate and have pretty poor triggers, but I love ‘em. Was really looking for a Savage 99 in 308 or 300 Sav but I came across the Browning for a good price and couldn’t pass it up. Now I’m just wishing that I would’ve bought a 4x scope instead of a 3-9x that it’s been wearing the last couple years.

my all time favorite deer rifle the last 15 years has been Ruger number 1`s ,and the last 10 years a custom Ruger no.1 s.s. in a 257 weatherby mag with a nightforce scope. but its kinda what ever a person wants to use.