Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Who uses a heavy barreled rifle for deer hunting?

But, you also admitted in another thread that you ahve yet to shoot at a deer more than 200 yards out, IIRC.

Might make a difference?

My wife and I were walking a bush line into a clear cut looking for a cow moose for her to shoot when that guy took off on the dead run. I whistled him to a stop and busted him. He died on the way to the ground. I did say "Praise the Lord," but not until I got him loaded into the back of the 4X4. pretty good lift - close to 300#.

I was a lot younger then, and a lot tougher.

Packed a Remington 700 BDL Varminter 25.06 for the best part of 20 years for whitetails and muleys. It would shoot half inch groups with Federal Premium 117 Sierra Gamekings all day long, and does as well now with Fusion 120s. More one shot DRT kills with that rifle than everything else combined. Indeed, sometimes shockingly so!

In fact, the first time I sighted it in, using handloads a friend made up for me, I shot a 1/8" 3 shot group. Best group I've ever done. My highly competitive friend went kinda quiet on me for a while after that! And I don't think my Dad quit grinning for the rest of day!

Confidence is half the battle, eh?

However, seems as I approached 50ish it started gaining a pound or so every hunting season. Finally had to find something a little lighter to pack.

The Savage PC makes a neat deer stand rifle, the short 20" barrel with an average size scope off sets the heavy weight.




The exact same load shoots .4" in the Rem SPS




I'm like you, I think I like the Rem SPS mo better.......

I've shot quite a few deer with my Ruger Target rifle in 220 Swift wearing a 6x24 Bausch&Lomb with 55gr Hornady Spire Points. Makes them DRT with proper shot placement. It's the first year model without the 2 stage trigger so I put a RB in it, pretty sweet.

so ... what you're tellin me is that its still ok for me to buy the sps tactical and own one of each?

Actually two of each, one in .308 Win and .223

i had a 300 win mag sendero as my beanfield rifle for a couple years. i hunt deer out of box stands on the edges of bean or wheat fields. great rifle, accurate, and really laid them down across fields. however, it was just too long and too heavy, so i sold it. if the weight/length doesn't bother you, i'd say stick with em'.

I don't know about doing "most" of my hunting with a heavy-barrel rifle as asked by the OP, but some, yes, absolutely.

A good ol Rem 700 VS .308 Win has accompanied me on many hunts, for critters large and small.

Used a 7mm mag Sendero for a couple of years.

Have a .300 WSM Model 70 Coyote - which has a modestly heavy barrel.

Often I'll pack a traditional sporter-weight rifle, but the heavy barrel jobs come out fairly frequently. I tend to shoot them better than I do my lighter rifles.

A buddy has done all of his hunting the past nine or ten years with a Rem 700 LTR in .308 Win. Reasonably light hunting rifle, with a fairly stout, short, fluted barrel. Very effective in his hands...

Guy

I've got two Rem Senderos and one CZ550 Varmint heavy barrel rifles.They are really not the kind of rifle you would want to pack around on a mountain hunt,but off the bench or the blind,they are great shooting rifles.
7mag Sendero

7STW Sendero

CZ 550 Varmint 308 Win.

I carry a 24" barrel, .850 muzzle diameter in 7 Wby. It is very accurate.