Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Deer specific rifle

I just returned from deer camp, and have re-configured my deer rifle philosophy.
I used a Remington XCRII in 300 WM, shooting 180gr. federal premium Barnes triple shocks. Now it shot well, and put the buck down like a brick, so no complaints about the set up's performance. But it was unwieldy in the tree, and I miss the quickness of some of the smaller rifles I used to shoot. So I have decided to sell it and buy a Weatherby Mark V Ultralight in .308, put a 6x42 Leupold in Talley bases on it. I haven't shot a standard short action caliber since Hector was a pup, and was wondering what experience anyones had with the trophy bonded tipped in 165gr.? Any problems with the Mark V as of late? Thanks for any tips

The Mark Vs are very expensive and I think there are better rifles for a lot less money.

The .308 & the .30-06 are perfect for deer.

Well, I asked for a tip.......

Sounds like a neat setup. .308 is a great cartridge.

You didn't mention the range you shoot them at. Inside 200 yards or so, a 20" .358 is perhaps the best deer rifle there is. I'd expect 338Fed isn't far behind.

There. I said it. <grin>

Quit sitting in trees...there, I said it...

Let me suggest a 22" 7-08 to go with that 6x42. 120 TSX at 3k will do it all when it comes to deer.

to me deer specific means 243 6mm 260 257 25wssm 2506 bigger smaller
a 308 to me is dual purpose deer elk moose gun

i like smaller calibers and i like full size rifles 7.5 to 8.5lbs with 22-24" barrels kinda a whateva floats your boat kinda deal.

maybe the 308 bullets will deflect less when shooting through tree branches while anchored in tree stand.

for me personaly the 2506 is the perfect deer rifle and its has aenough bullets available to prety much kill whatever you wanted all the way to elk moose sized kinda game but excells in the deer category

While I totally agree with Calvin I'm really diggin the 250AI. Been formin brass for my wife's and it's a sweet shootin lil rig. On our farm we would have to try to get a shot over 250 yards. I can't think of a better setup for shooting "deer" at the ranges we have? Just don't tell her that we don't need anymore rifles......grin.

tagabuck - I went with a .25-06 Rem 700 CDL several years ago for my dedicated deer rifle (well, it has taken a few coyotes too) and it's given me five mule deer in five years. A .308 would have done as well. BTW - I use a 6x42 Leupold as well.

For deer and a .308 Win, I wouldn't bother with the "premium" bullets. I like an accurate, fast expanding bullet for deer. Highly recommend the Nosler Ballistic Tip, Sierra Gameking, or the good old Hornady - all in 150 or 165 grain - whichever shoots best from your rifle.

Regards, Guy

Appreciate all the info. Like I said, haven't shot shorty's in 30 years, so the ammo info is very helpful. Thanks to all.

the 7mm08 i think would make a cool deer rig heavier for caliber high bc bullets plenty of powder capacity and less recoil then the 308 shooting simialr bc bullets

tagabuck,

One of my big regrets is not buying a WBY UL .308 I had in for a test several years ago. It shot less than MOA and a 150 grain WW PP dropped a young buck perfectly when I shot it from a treestand.

My son has busted 2 or 3 deer with my LTR and Fed 165 TBs. Bang Flop with shoulder shots and much less bloodshot meat than the PPs did.

I've yet to shoot a deer with that rifle myself, but will likely use Fed PowerShok 150s in it this fall: that rifle consistently shoots .5 MOA with that round.

Tagabuck,

Had a similar revelation years ago when I nearly cut a deer in half with a 300WBY. Built a 257WBY, started loading the Barnes Bullets and have not looked back for 20+ years now. To answer one of your questions more directly, JIm HAckewicz here at 24hrcf has been using the Barnes 165gr TSX andTTSX from a 30/06 quite a lot the past three years in Africa on all manner of plainss game with terrific succes. I would predict boring repeatable perfect performance from this bullet in a 308 but the 130 or 150gr bulets would be better for that application. No need for more than the 130 on deer.

..........The Mk5 is one very fine factory rifle. Just bought a new Accumark.

But as an added thought and FWIW....If you are going to be hunting from trees and want something less un-wieldly, then along with a lighter rifle as the Wby Ultralite certainly is, shouldn`t you also consider reducing the rifle`s overall length as well? Although light, the Wby Ultralite in the 308, still has a 24" barrel and is about 44"-45" long.

If I were hunting from trees or from a blind with little space, give me a rifle somewhere between 35" to 39" long.
You can cut the barrel down on the Ultralite to an 18 to 20" er. That would make it a "very" manuverable and light weight rifle.

Well it makes me shudder to type this, but perhaps a 270 with 130's would be a good ticket for you. Not a fan of the 270 for the heavier stuff, but for deer and field mice, it should do fine.

a bud of mine shoots the trophy bonded tips for deer and an elk. they worked fine. however, if cost is an issue, remember that good ole core-lokts and power points have taken a lot of animals and are top sellers for that very reason.

another bud uses a mk5 wea in 300 wea mag for everything. he complains about the recoil, but still uses it. your decision to go to a 308 in a lighter configuration makes perfect sense to me. i suspect you'll be quite satisfied, and will kill as many or more animals with that 308 than you would with a magnum.

if you are primarily a deer hunter, my tip would be to purchase a decent rifle (win m70, rem 700, savage american or s/s, ruger hawkeye, vanguard or mk5, etc.) in either 308 or 7/08. try a couple boxes of corelokts or powerpoints, maybe a premium line as well. i'm sure you'll find an accurate deer slayer, and if accyracy is what you expect, you'll find that the standard cup & core bullets do just fine.

good luck.

tag...I went carbine about 2000 or so when I finally bought my first Remington 600 and since then buy almost nothing but carbines for deer hunting. Even the Encore .50 muzzleloader barrel I bought is only 20" long...for tree stands it is perfect.

Have never bothered with any other premium bullet other than Nosler Petition. Front half expands very fast and the rear end just keeps going... 165 is the weight bullet I decided on for all shooting. Hornady SST for long range, Hornady 165 SPBT for general shooting and Nosler Petition for hunting...

Bob

.257 Roberts, .260 Rem, 7mm-08, .308 Win. Any are great choices for a dedicated, light-weight deer rifle.

Consider the Howa youth carbine in .308 that comes with 2 stocks. Put the adult size stock on it, and you'll have a 20" barrel carbine that's a close cousin to a Weatherby Vanguard.

If you can find a Rem model 7 stainless 20" in .308, that would be a nice carbine also.

Ruger 77 RSI would meet all your needs.
AMRA