Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting A classic New England deer rifle.

Nice stuff ST.

My Whelen mainly gets checked at 50. I know it’ll shoot great further but it’s a carbine and likely won’t ever get used over 75 in most of the places I carry it.

I hear ya. Same for me really. I only shoot at 100 because at 53 my eyes make it where it's not so easy a task anymore. Figure if I can keep things good at 100 it will make the likely shots much more of a cake walk.

I got a lo-pro post peep for this just to be different and was geared towards keeping it clean and simple. Dummy me just assumed without looking that the front sight on this 7600 was windage adjustable. It's after they changed them, and it isn't. So back goes the lo-pro and I'll put an express sight on it.

Target doesn't look way off L to R, but that's only because based on where it hit after a single shot at a 50 yd target, I held at the left edge of the paper to shoot group at 100.

No windage in the peep?

Not on that Skinner Lo-Pro. It's just a straight up post peep that threads right into the holes tapped for the receiver. Elevation adjustable, but not windage because of the design. I knew that when I ordered it, I just assumed that front sight was windage adjustable like 760's and other 7600's I seen. My own fault.

Damn, any way to swap on a front sight you can drift?

Yeah I could go that way and debated doing so, but it's getting close enough to hunting season I figured the smart thing was just to get an express and use the front sight that's on it in case something doesn't figure out changing the front sight.

A pre-war Winchester M-71 Deluxe bolt peep-used- with the savings buy
reloading gear and use 210 Peters inner-belted bullets. Or, just buy
the Peters cartridges by the box. A peep sight is a good idea.

Would work in WY-MT or Alaska... just as well.

25 -30 years ago when these World War to Vets. were around my area and they all came over to use my range many had either a Remington pump or auto 30-06 a few had 30-30`s but my old favorite was old Benny`s when he was still alive he had a 300 Savage he had killed many bucks ,plenty little deer ,bear and many bull moose in Canada . Benny`s 300 Savage looked a little rough but Benny being in his 80`s and not to healthy anymore always had me sight in this old 300 and it was very impressive how it group at 100 yards for me with his old Peters ammo with that old 4x weaver that was kinda foggy. i think most just love to come over and talk some B.S. and have a beer or two at my range ,my son being a skinny little chit i always let shoot my 17 Remington Sako it fit him well i would fill those old beer cans with water set them up at 100 yards and these old Vets got a kick out with his shooting ability at that age. i also still own a 300 Savage neat old rifle for this after the wars kid who is now 70 ! Pete53

I didn't start hunting until the 70's but my Dad & his family used what they could afford. Remington 14's & 141's in .35 Rem. were popular. My dad bought me a Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. for my first deer hunt.
A guy I worked with years ago was showing me a Savage 99 that a friend had given him. He said when he was growing up (in the 40s & 50s ?) Everyone wanted a Winchester 94 but boy he said, if you had one of these (Savage) you really had something.
I still have the Marlin but the Remington 760 would be my choice.

Savage Featherweight in 300 Savage.

My choice as well.

Lot of truth that. Even though it's the west there's areas such as Idaho panhandle and NW Montana that actually have adjunt rainforest drainage and very heavy brush where long shots are the rare exception and up close shooting is the norm.

Anyway I've used a 30-30 a good deal but if I would entertain an 348win model 71 or an old 300 savage model 99 if locked back in those times.

This was made in 53', I was born in 51'. Been carried for more than a few seasons in NH.

.35 Remington or 30-30? Nice rifle perfect for the woods up here.

Don’t they carry nicely in hand?

These are my choices I own ruger carbine 44 mag. Got 3 of them one is a peep site model. Thats my fav My dad's 740 30 06 custom stocked. Savage eg 300 sav. 7600 35 whelen. Remy 750 carbine 35 whelen

.35 Rem

I forgot. I got a 444 marlin too that might b a classic

I'm working on it, as classic might mean "time-tested and proven" or "ultimate". For me I'm always working on the "ultimate" side of the classic equation.

Sure there are a bunch of contenders for the title that have earned the moniker over the years:

Remington pump in carbine length
Remington semi auto
Savage 99
Savage pump
Marlin or Winchester lever action

Although these all work, I find all of these a bit heavy or clunky or unreliable (as in the case of the Remington jam-o-matic, sent down the road). Have never used the Savage 99, but have used the others whether owned by me or others. Also, my left shoulder is failing so its uncomfortable for me to pump quickly in follow-up shots as a right hander so levers and bolts are more attractive.

I'm thinking the ultimate woods rifle for New England -- for me - is prolly something in a short action bolt, i.e .338 Federal or .358 Winchester, 18-20 inch barrel, low magnification scope, and lightweight stock with the Mannlicher/Stuetzen configuration winning on "classic" style points but a synthetic ultralight stock also in contention. YMMV.

I have something close but not perfect.

Factory wise, the holy grail seems to me to be one of those tang safety Ruger 77 RSI's in the .358 configuration, that I understand from a knowledgeable poster on this board they actually did make a special run of. I'd pay good money for one of those if I encountered one. 

Then again, I just priced some .358W ammo yesterday: $86.99 for a box of 20 200 grainer Hornadys. Dang.... That's .375 H&H pricing.... Reloading will make that easier to swallow, but still. Just dang.

Never been hunting in those parts but here's an outfit I had out that would be period correct. Model 71 348win, Winchester model 12 20ga, and S&W Outdoorsman 22lr, and an nifty package fishing kit.