Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Deer of a lifetime- which gun/load?

You're hunting in your favorite deer hunting area and you get a shot at the absolute biggest buck you've ever seen. What gun and load would you want for such an opportunity?

For me it'd be my CDL .30-06 loaded with 165 Gamekings.

My Ruger M77 MkII in .260 Rem with a 129 gr. Hornady IL with 44 gr. IMR 4350 pushing it down the tube. Wouldn't even think twice that I didn't have "enough gun". Where are the .223 AI guys?

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I killed the biggest buck of my lifetime this year with my 22-250 loaded with a 64 gr Nosler Bonded Performance.

My SAKO .375 H&H Mannlicher with a 235 grain Speer over 83 grains of IMR 4350 - CCI standard LRP - or my Mauser .375 H&H with DST - same load.

The Mauser has never failed me on any hunt, with any animal hunted, and has made much, much meat.

Terry

My favorite hunting "area" is the state of Montana, where I live. I've been lucky enough to hunt some really great deer places from Old Mexico to Canada, but my biggest mule deer and whitetail were killed here, though about 400 miles apart. Either would qualify as the buck of a lifetime.

The mule deer was taken with a .280 Remington and a 160-grain Nosler Partition at 2950 fps, and the whitetail with a .257 Roberts Ackley Improved with a 115-grain Nosler Partition at 3050 fps.

Averaging both, my ideal load would be a 140-grain .270 bullet at 3000 fps. Both rifles were bolt-actions weighing around 7 pounds with scope, full magazine and sling. Obviously that would work--though the mule deer was taken at around 200 yards, and the whitetail around 85. Both dropped right there, due to being shot through the shoulders and spine.

.243 pushing a 95 grain nosler BT
anything more is overkill, one deer dies as easily as the last. none of em are made of iron

I think I've already killed my whitetail and mule deer of a lifetime but you never know.

Both were killed with a 270 Winchester and 130 NPT. Aiming was done with a 4X Leupold.

Well, my buck of a lifetime is still roaming the woods. On that day, maybe I'll be carrying my .280 Rem loaded with 150 grain Partitions fueled by 58.5 grains of H4831. But I won't be skeered if I'm toting my Montana 7-08 loaded with Hornady 154 grain round nosers...or my 7x57, etc, etc.

For me....anything chambered in 300 Savage using 180 grain Rem Corelokts. Preferably a Savage 99 EG or my Savage 20. Neither had failed me yet.

I hope it's not my biggest deer in northern New Hampshire. Dressed a 203 and the damage was done with model 70 featherweight classic in 308 with 150gr.

Remington 700 Mountain Rifle .260 Remington
3-9x40 Vari-X II
129gr Hornady Interlock PSP
47.8grs H4831

My buck of a lifetime - so far - was a 154" gross score 10 pointer taken at about 35 yards using 120 gr Nosler BT at about 3120 fps from a 284 win model 70. My wife shoots the 120 gr TTSX at about 3180 fps or so out of her Rem 700 7-08ai, and she has taken a couple of 130 class wall hangers over the last 3 seasons, one at 45 yds, one at 194 yds. I wouldn't hesitate to use either load on any deer in NA.

I've killed my two biggest bucks with a M88 in 308 WIN, but if I was planning a trip for the buck of a lifetime I would take my M70FW 270 WIN and a 130 grain Interlock handload.

if i could choose i would use my m77 in a 300 mag and 165gr gamekings, but my biggest buck to date(11pt)scored 151 and change was taken with my 30-30 using 150gr corelokts.

I killed my buck of a lifetime with a Howa 30.06 with 150 grain cor-lokts at 40 yrds. He went straight down.



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The one in my hand at the time. I don't deer hunt with one that won't kill deer. It would probably be a M7600 30-06 w/165gr bullets. That's been in my hands more than any of the rest I have.

It sure would be nice to see a pic of those deer, MD.

If I could pick the rifle for such a shot it would be my .280 Ackley Improved with the 120 grain Nosler BT at around 3,325 fps. That load is pure poison on whitetails near or far.

Second choice would be the Tikka T3 in .243 with the 95 grain NoslerBT at just over 2,950 fps.

But thus far my biggest buck was taken with a .30/06 and the 155 grain Hornady AMAX that left the barrel at around 2,850 fps.

Savage 110L in .25-06 shooting a 117 Hornady sp. Bang flop at 100 yds.