Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Whitetail Rifle ?

Find a rifle brand and model that appeals to you. Buy whatever caliber they have in stock, but lean towards the smaller calibers. Any commercial caliber between .243 Winchester and .338 WM will kill any deer any of us will ever see with proper bullet placement.

I'm a Winchester Featherweight whore myself. My latest is a 7mm-08 stainless with wood stock.

The Model 70 Extreme Weather in .270 or .30-06.

Swampy,

When I find myself agreeing with you, I start looking over my shoulder...

DF

IMO for less than a grand on Gunbroker, it's the bomb....

Any of them, just go with a rifle you like and fits you.

I'd find a rifle I liked in any of those calibers, and any of about a dozen more. Find the rifle that calls your name, and don't worry about the chambering.

For a 160 lb animal? You left out .243.

Not a bad choice. Maybe not the best, but not bad.

After all, what is "best"?

I have a .308 Kimber Classic with 23" Broughton 5C that shoots lights out. I had to swap out the original barrel for lack of performance, but that's another story. I've killed a number of deer with this rifle and it's a keeper. With a safe full of fine rifles, this one gets chosen a lot. It's light, accurate and always performs to my expectations.

DF

Do this.

Handle as many rifles as you can, an find the one that fits you the best. Be sure to check what cartridge it is chambered in so you can buy ammo before you leave the store.

My choice of the options you presented would be a .308Win.

But

Given the opportunity I would get a 30-06.

If a short action was required I would get a 300WSM

Snake

I'd pick 270 from the choices you gave me.

Any of the 3 cartridges that you've listed will work fine, the deciding factor is how much you want to spend.

If you're planning to buy a new rifle:

At the low end, price wise, the Marlin X guns are very accurate and can often be purchased "on sale" for less than $300. A lot of value for the $$ IMO.

In the middle, you have the Rem/Rug/Win bolt guns.

At the upper end you've got the Forbes, McMillans, NULAs, etc.

If you're planning to buy a used rifle, you never know what kind of deal you might run across.

Lots more options than there are limitations.

Jeff

................For deer "only" and in reality given these three cartridges, imo it won`t make a difference with the same shot placement.

A lighter, shorter action rifle with less overall length chambered in the 7mm/08 would be my 1st pick.

270 or 308.

Anyone who got sore because I mentioned Elk. Well sorry. A 270 is not less of a Deer cartridge than a 308.

Owning (and having owned) several of both I don't see why the .308 is even in the mix.


Carefully places helment on head and fastens chin strap......dives for foxhole.

Swampman700,

I have no beef against the 308 or the 25/06. A person could harvest a Deer, Elk, etc.. With any of the three.

25.06 for light recoil great accuracy deer rifle.

If you don't reload then a 308 win will be slightly easier to find and very accurate as well.

What do you have now for rifles? Are there any woodchucks there in NY?

For a first 'deer' rifle where you have and can use a chuck gun I would suggest a Kimber Montana in 243. Sure it's on the light side for deer however if you don't have chucks and no chuck rifle it will work all year long and be SS too!

I am a senior and I have many rifles now. I use my 243 the most year round.