Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters A Close-in Deer Rifle

Have two rifles, a Steyr Classic Mannlicher in 6,5X55, and a new Henry Bigboy 45-70. Retirement property, Arkansas, no shot beyond 40 yards in the woods either work well. Both have irons and a low power scope as Arkansas has a point requirement for bucks and my old eyes are not what they used to be. Short barrels, nice weight when quick shouldering. Fast on target. Second shots not really practical. If you miss the first one, there will be no second one. I compare it to grouse hunting.

I have two 1903s, both measuring .268 groove diameter. I tried the Carcano bullets too, but couldn't even get them to chamber. So far I've had best luck with the soft Hawk 160 RN bullets.

Model 1905 in 9x56.....



M94 in 25-35....

In my opinion fit of the rifle to the shooter is much more important than caliber. Within reason, cartridge doesn’t matter.

Also, I want an optical sight. I am a big fan of, have and have used receiver sighted rifles all my life, but nothing is faster than a 1 power scope, properly set up, with coarse crosswires.

When I next go walking the woods after deer it will be with my Guide Gun with 1-4, my 99 in .303 with a tang sight, or my ( original type) Ruger 44 carbine with a red dot of some sort. All have proven their utility in such circumstances to my satisfaction repeatedly.

Get an nice compact 308win bolt action or if you prefer an leveraction get an savage99, BLR, Henry long-range all available in 308win.

Personally I have the Savage 99, BLR, and my lefty Ruger scout rifle. All 308win and perfect for a left hander like me. Why 308win? Simple, it's well known, available, and it does the duty near or pretty far and it can fell game much larger than deer.

I too remember F Sell's article in Gunsport back in late 60's or early 70's detailing the metamorphis of a 336A into the 25 tomcat with a receiver sight. It being the end all as a brush stalking rifle...mb

Keep the pics coming guys. Some really cool stuff. Thanks.

Sav 99 30WCF

Definitely not traditional but the mini 14 in 6.8 SPC would be a good choice. Shorter than most , accurate enough and very handy

I am very much enjoying the Trijicons on these......

3.25 MOA Red Dots, variable brightness.



Merkel 141 Double, 30-06 Sringfield




Merkel 141, 8 x 57JRS


both @ +/- 65 yds,

I got lucky and scored an Axis hunt beginning on 4/1. I can take a Stag and two does.

Plan on using this on at least one.......




H. Burgsmuller Double, 405 Winchester



ya!

GWB

I'm worried if I get a .308win everthing else will collect dust.

From pushing deer (or elk in this case) out of their beds at close range in the timber:




To taking cross the draw shots that are in the mid 400 yard long range, I find that my little customized 20" .308 is perfect for such things.




It truly is the "All Around/Practical rifle that I envisioned. If someone asked me to go hunt with them and said it was going to be in an environment where the shot opportunities would be close and fast, I would grab this little .308 without hesitation.

My favorites are Winchester 100s, either the 19" carbines or a rifle with a bobbed barrel, and the Ruger 44 International with 1.5-5x20 Leupolds or Weaver K1.5s.

My friend in NH who is a tracker in the Benoit/Bernier mold has convinced me that a K1.5 with a post and cross-hair reticle is a lot better scope for close shots at moving game than most people give it credit for. He buys all of the K1.5s that he can find with condition and price in sync and if they don't come to him with a PCH reticle, he sends them to Iron Sights, Inc., in Tulsa to be refurbish and the reticle changes to a PCH. Certainly not an all-purpose scope, but within that particular niche it is something to consider.

I am in agreement with the 308 Winchester. I started with a Remington model 600 Mohawk in 308 with a Leupold 3 X 9.

For the past several years I have used a 22” 308 Win barrel on an Encore frame with a Leupold 3 X 9 VX-R with firedot reticle. It’s a great rifle to carry in the woods almost a perfect setup.

Closest thing I have right now. Marlin Trapper 45-70



My next choice would be a 760/7600 carbine with a 1-6 power scope.

I’m thinking this one might do the trick for close cover deer and elk.

Marlin 1894 converted to 480 Ruger.

I've got many favorites. Depends on the day and mood.

Or a Browning BLR in .308 or even Mo Betta .358 Win

I think I may have a dilemma....I have a Ruger M77 RSI in 250-3000 with a 1.5-5x Leupold scope. With the scope turned down to 1.5 I can pretty well shoot it with both eyes open. I don't consider the .250 to be a hammer, but it puts Texas whitetails down pretty well.

I also have a Remington Custom Shop Model 7 in a laminated Mannlicher stock. It's a 7mm-08 with a 2.5-8x Leupold. It shoots most anything I feed it into the same 1.5" group, and if I stay with one load it'll stay under an inch all day. It has a Boone & Crockett reticle, so anything up to maybe 300 yards is a chip shot. Lots of versatility here!

Then there is the Marlin 1894 .44 Mag with pretty much the same attributes as the 1894 Winchester within about 100 yards. I've been considering putting a peep sight on it, but a red/green dot may be a good option too. It still wears the factory sights right now. Would it break the rules to put a 21st century sight on a 19th century gun??

Eeny, meeny, miney, moe...

My Marlin 444 with a 22 inch barrel, with a 1.5 x 4.5 shotgun scope on top sure worked pretty darn well in my years hunting in Northern MN swamps, in temps as low as 30 below zero.... sometimes It didn't matter which side of a sapling the deer might be on...