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

I also prefer a short semi-auto for close range deer hunting, a Ruger 44 International or either of a pair of short Winchester 100s in 308. At least half the time that I've shot deer while still-hunting in heavy cover the deer were either alert to my presence or already hauling ass to get away from danger. Having 5 quick shots available in a self-cycling action gives me an advantage that I wouldn't have if I was shooting a manually operated action.

6.5 Schoenauer's have to have oal. no shorter than 3.005".Set them at 3.015" and they feed like a hot knife thru butter.Guy's run into feeding problems with the PPU ammo because it's a little short.

As far as the author and the photo...in that time period a person had a Rifle, Shotgun and a .22 if lucky. Probably more deer shot with a Model 94 or 30-40 Krag than anything and the choice was purely fiscal. Very few had the means for anything else so they used what they had.....forever. Don't overthink it..if you like open sights that's even better and just remember that most times you may get a single shot. I am in N.MN. and have hunted on foot for 54 years and love big country. Most areas are less than a 50 yard shot but there are some more open as well as slashings. Longest shot I have made is <100 yards or so with most in the 30-40yard range. I shoulder shoot, as best I can, to take out their front legs.I do this as we have most of our bucks dress out over 210# with a few over 240#. I have a tremendous amount of respect for them as they are big bodied and I want to ensure a quick death. Most times I have an open sight 760 Remington .270 in my hands, though, if I know that I will be still hunting a slashing I will most likely take my Scoped Bolt Rifle in 30-06. As far as a 6.5 Swede....there are thousands of Moose Hunters in Europe that swear by it.....I believe in long bullets as well. Hope this helps.
Darrel Wick

Francis Sell wrote he would go hungry if need be to purchase the next rifle or shotgun.
His pal, Al Lyman was as you describe, shooting a .30-40 Krag and dreaming of a .30 Gibbs.

Your deer are roughly twice as heavy as what I typically see.

I hear this over and over. It's the biggest reason why a rifle with rapid repeat fire capabilities is preferred for still hunting. If you're doing it right, you should be spotting most of the deer before they see you. If you're mostly seeing tails, you know you're doing it wrong. Most of your shots should not be hurried or at running deer. The truth is, most guys absolutely suck at still hunting. They move too fast, make too much noise, don't pay mind to wind direction, stop in the open to look around and don't use binoculars to effectively see into/through cover.

Absolutely! And, if a still hunter pauses every few steps, lingering to look and listen for a bit, a one-shooter should really be enough gun.

The clothing you wear is more important than the rifle you use. Above all it needs to be QUIET when moving through branches/brush. Most hunting clothing isn't.

It used to be called a "Sourdough bead." The top of a round bead can seem distorted if the light hits it from the side, but the Sourdough's flat top doesn't. It works best if you match it with a peep sight.

Sadly, it's like pulling teeth to find one these days.


Okie John

A scope is better than any iron sight anyway. Mainly because it helps you to not hit branches between you and the deer.

With 155 Scenars for both jobs?


Okie John

I use a mod 94 356win with peep sights when raining/snowing and mod 70 compact in 308 4x scope for those rare sunny days in Alaskan rain forest.

Far from it when you have multiple targets or you aren't top of the food chain.

OTOH using the AR on deer I can't recall ever taking more than one shot. Pigs same a lot of the time. Only multiples have been sounders and multiple coyotes.

And on those once they start moving I"m lucky to be better than 50% but even at that I've managed as many as 8 pigs once. Usually 3/5 is the max.

We don't own anymore specific hunting clothes. Camo is a waste unless birds. Even then I've hunted everything without camo and no issues.

We want warm. Dry. Quiet. If possible to get em all.

If the ground is covered with dry leaves you can go slow and still make noise that will alert a deer. You're hunting in their territory, they live there and can differentiate between what are natural and what are unnatural sounds, so the still-hunter is at a disadvantage. I've been still-hunting for over 50 years and was taught/tutored by two experts, Harriet and Thelma. Still-hunting after it has rained or in new/soft snow is a much quieter than when the same ground is dry or covered with snow that has melted and refrozen. We seldom have snow on the ground during buck season in Nebraska, so I still-hunt less often here than when I lived in northern New England.

I would agree that most people aren't very good at still-hunting. They move too fast, make too much noise, and generally don't look low enough to see/identify parts of a deer.

One of the heaviest deer that I've ever shot almost got away because when it came up behind me it was dragging its feet, making so much noise that I thought that it was another hunter trespassing where he had no business being. Both of us were surprised, but I was faster., so he made the trip to the Wahoo Meat Locker.

Funny, one of my closest shots on a muley was at no more than 25 yards, with my 25-06 Remington 700 CDL, all set up for shots out to 400ish yards.

A couple of muleys fell to the traditional percussion lock T-C .50 cal White Mountain Carbine - a stubby barreled muzzle loader. Used the 385 grain Great Plains soft lead bullet on them, one buck, one doe. Factory T-C sights.

Took another doe with a 5" S&W 629 using Federal factory 240 grain JHP 44 mag ammo. That worked just peachy at about 20 yards.

Anticipating a modest range shot last December, I hunted with a 30-30 Henry lever action with a 2.5x Leupold. Was a little surprised at the 170 yard shot, but that worked just fine. I do like lever action rifles for modest range hunting.

A handloaded 405 grain Remington from my Marlin 45-70 flattened a muley at about 70 yards, punching through both shoulders.

Recently inherited Dad's sporterized 30-06 Springfield. I may be able to hunt with it this coming fall. Great old rifle with a lot of memories attached to it. I haven't hunted with it in 50 years or so, back when I was in high school.


Though I often do hunt open country, I really enjoy still hunting the thicker woods for deer and other game. Finished a bear wounded by another hunter after I followed the bear into the brush. Had my 375 H&H Ruger Number One in hand. Those Ruger single shots are rather short overall and handle well. Though it carried but one cartridge, I felt well armed for the task.

Regards, Guy

I’ve cobbled up a couple or three, really blades, using Skinner blade front sights, an Xacto saw (for the brass ones) or hacksaw, a file, and paint pens (those are available at a shocking cost from Skinner, or pretty cheap from Amazon). My old eyes need a square top sight. The sights come in various base widths and heights, and even the steel ones are easy to trim to size. My next one will be for an old FN with its tiny dovetail, which will require a good bit of file work. Standard 3/8” models generally need little or no file work on the dovetail.

The brass ones can be painted black except where you want the brass exposed, and the steel ones can have any color that tickles you on the serrated edge. Painting that part white first makes the final color brighter.

There is something about being close to bear, deer and turkey when hunting. Some of my best memories are from hunting close.
Anyone who has hunted southwest of Corpus Christi knows the excitement of hunting close in heavy brush. Whether Still Hunting, or walking them up like Quail, there is plenty of excitement up close.
Here is a picture of a still hunter from a 1918 Outers. With a belt full of .405’s I would need suspenders.

I've got a Henry single shot in 308, fitted with a Skinner aperture sight . I've never managed more than one shot on a close up deer, and carrying this rifle is a joy compared with the usual scope sighted and suppressed 260.

308 works, and with the break action I can have a 24" barrel and still be shorter than a 20" bolt gun.

About perfect IMO.

You simply have to shoot an 18" Mannlicher stocked rifle to recognize how badly the handling of short-barreled conventional stocked rifles fails.

The Mannlicher carbine handles and points naturally, and a low-powered scope offers the wide field of view needed for close-in shots.

And in 308, the blood trails are easy to follow through the dense brush.

This makes sense and I won't be happy until I have a square bead to try out on the peep sighted 7600. Thanks guys!