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

I killed my best buck to date this year with a .270win shooting 130gr. Power Points. I may get a bigger deer down the road but I doubt I'll ever kill another like this one.

Heck of a whitetail! Glad that you honored him by dispatching him with your faithful .270.

That looks like a whitetail-fallow cross. Is there such a thing?

Nope. Melanistic color phase.

Only thing missing is the saddle! Man, I love that buck.

justin,
What a cool looking deer!

SchaZAM!!

Something about only getting one chance really gets me fired up. The .50 cal wins this one.

who said one chance?

That's a dandy!

Been awhile since I seen that pic. Thanks for posting again.

Would like someday to even come close to tagging a couple like that and who knows. One thing for sure is you have to go where they have a chance to grow and reach that size or you will be looking for something that doesn't exist.

All that being said, a well done hunt that results in a Deer has always been enough to satisfy me. The Doe I shot in Pa this year I may have passed on a couple times.
We had more than a few, a couple days pre and post bad weather they were out grazing and most every evening I saw between 10 and 20 doing so. Didn't shoot because I figured sooner or later a Buck would join the party. One did, but it was late and too far with that constriction.

Finally bounced three of their beds on the last afternoon in an area I know they hole up in during nasty weather and got close to get a shot. I will always remember it as a trophy hunt.

And from the posts and the variety of equipment used, it shows what you use has little to do with success.
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Best of both WT and Mule Deer were killed with my 7mm Rem Mag the gun I hunt the most with, so that'd likely be my pick unless I had the .30-06 with that day. Wouldn't feel handicapped with either.

This thread needs more mule deer pics......

Laffin'....Tis a shame you don't have any, Pat.

Got any?

Thinkin' back ... the three biggest bucks of my life SO FAR ...

1) Rem Seven in 7mm-08, 140 grain partition.

2) Marlin .45-70, 400 grain Speer

3) TC custom shop Renegade, .58 with a .570 patched round ball and 120 grains of Goex FFg.

If I thought it likely I'd get an even bigger one, I'd want to do it with some panache ... so Ruger single action .44 or a .257 Roberts.

Tom

Louie what a beauty that one is. Love those tall tines. Great deer brother!

Rick dressed he was 331

Skane and Pat agreed more muleys would be a good thing. Its been a while since I've been after them but they were the first animal I ever traveled for . Montucky circa 1989

Skane I'm kinda jealous of that one you have with the monster club up top. That ones got some serious wall appeal.

My "deer of a lifetime" isn't huge by any means, but it's the first one I ever killed, using a Rem Model 7 6mm, with an 85 gr Speer boattail

7600 carbine in whelen with 200gr corelokts.

A friend used to use a Whelen with 200 gr Hornadys. From the deer I saw him shoot with it , I'd say it was a great choice. That load was devastating.