Old School Deer Caliber

[JeffG]

Nice pictures, a bit less impressive than those from Hawaii shot with a .44mag Handgun. But not as impressive as a true professional shooting an Elephant with a 7X57 mauser.

Are we going to taunts and arguments already?

 

[horsey300]

.243 m70, .30-40 krag, lee-Enfield mk2 .303 brit, .30-30 winChester rifle with the LONG octagon bbl, metal crescent butt, adjustable peep, marlin .30-30 carbine with the irons, m99 rotary magazine .300 Sav. And all the critters i ever shot immediately fell over in shock at my weapon choice with these guns, so I picked up some magnums to practice my blood trailing skills

 

[entropy]

.25-20 Win 92; I don't have one, and probably never will, but it took a record non-typical in MN that still for many, many, years.

 

[Demi-human]

Are we going to taunts and arguments already?

I hope not. I get it, he's a sniper, he's shot a lot. We've never had to live the "way of the gun". I've only seen shooting done on t.v.

Not an odd caliber but rifle, grand pa' s old 30 06 pump gun.

This is the first thing that sprung to thought. Indeed I would say THE old school set up. We like thirties where I'm from. But to stay pithy with the questions parameters, I offer two seventy in the same pump action Remington.

 

[someguy2800]

the Remington pumps and semi auto 740’s and 760’s are the iconic deer rifles of my youth. They were extremely popular back when people did deer drives. My dad has a pump in 243. Those things are everywhere in the pawn and gun shops around here, usually in 30-06 and looking like they got drug behind a truck.

 

[entropy]

the Remington pumps and semi auto 740’s and 760’s are the iconic deer rifles of my youth. They were extremely popular back when people did deer drives. My dad has a pump in 243. Those things are everywhere in the pawn and gun shops around here, usually in 30-06 and looking like they got drug behind a truck.

Yup, my first deer rifle was a 742 Carbine in .30-06. Not dragged behind a truck, it was my aunt's deer rifle. We lived in the Cities, but she hunted up by Luck, WI. I took my first deer with it by Remer, MN, a bit south of you.

 

[LoonWulf]

the Remington pumps and semi auto 740’s and 760’s are the iconic deer rifles of my youth. They were extremely popular back when people did deer drives. My dad has a pump in 243. Those things are everywhere in the pawn and gun shops around here, usually in 30-06 and looking like they got drug behind a truck.

Can't find any at all, much less in decent shape out here.
Ive always wanted a 760/7600 but still haven't gotten one.
We still do push and post hunts, most folks use levers or bolts, but thats mostly due to availability I think.

 

[herrwalther]

I can't think of anything more old school or more of a deer cartridge than 30-30. My grandfather has a Marlin model 36 that he bought new as a young man. It has only seen daylight one time from the back of his closet in the last 30 years and that was to show me 10 years ago. And I am the only family member who has ever seen it.

 

[Ru4real]

.458 Winchester mag. Downloaded they don't recoil that much and loaded as such they make a wonderful deer cartridge.

 

[Newtosavage]

I own several 30-30's and a 35 in lever actions that meet the criteria. I don't own one, but if I were interested in using an old school cartridge for all of my big game hunting I could do a lot worse than a 7X57.

7x57 is my vote.

 

[JeffG]

.458 Winchester mag. Downloaded they don't recoil that much and loaded as such they make a wonderful deer cartridge.

Yes, they do.

 

[Old Dog]

First time I ever went to deer camp in Northern Michigan (late '60s), all the rifles were Model 94s in .30-30 or bolt 70s or 700s in .30-06 ... Those are the "old school" deer calibers in my book.

 

[eastbank]

this old school 141 Remington 35 Remington rifle made in march-1940 has gone out of style with many hunters today and had been in the back of a gun cabinet for many years, until I liberated it and with a good cleaning and a few coats of BLO(wood very dry) was dead nuts on at 75 yards with out touching the sights. I think Remington bringing out the Remington 760 out in the mid 50,s killed it.

 

[TN Outlaw]

30-30win or 35 Rem
Or 250 Savage or 7mm-08
257 Bob or 44wcf
7x57 or 7.62x39- not exactly "old school" but older than me.

 

[Millamber457]

i started out on the good old .30-.30 marlin, then had a 760 passed on to me , now it's a .45/70 guide gun pre remlin , thats what goes for walks in the deer woods now

 

[M118LR]

Are we going to taunts and arguments already?

Thanks for the nudge JeffG. I'll remove the snide and stick to the point.

 

[entropy]

We appreciate when you do. You are very knowledgeable.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Marlin 1893 in .25-36

 

[someguy2800]

Yup, my first deer rifle was a 742 Carbine in .30-06. Not dragged behind a truck, it was my aunt's deer rifle. We lived in the Cities, but she hunted up by Luck, WI. I took my first deer with it by Remer, MN, a bit south of you.

I ride 4 wheeler to Remer all the time

 

[mcduck]

.
25-35 pre war Win 94. 6.5x 54 M1903 Mannlicher Schoenauer carbine. Quality of build and very repectable accuracey from both.

 

[Offfhand]

Old School and Old World, the 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer has been around for well over a century as both military and sporting caliber. As a hunting cartridge it has been used in every corner of the world where big game is hunted, accounting for everything from Mongolian sheep to African elephant to New England whitetail. In Hemingway's "The short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber." poor Macomber was done in by a 6.5 MS, from a rifle like the one shown here. One of the reasons the 6.5x54 MS was such a favorite of big game hunters the world over was the slick working, always reliable 1903 Mannlicher and why it is my favorite "Old School" deer rifle..

 

[Charliefrank]

T/C Contender carbine in 7-30 Waters. Old school deer slayer cartridge in a short, light rifle.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My "deer" rifles and cartridges are:

M94 Swedish Mauser (sporterized) in 6.5X55
Winchester Model 94 in .30 WCF
M1898 Krag (sporterized) in .30 US Army
M99 Savage in .308 Winchester
A pot full of .30-06s, ranging from an M1 Garand to a 1939 Model 70 Winchester.

 

[Captcurt]

Old School , to me, dates popular calibers before 1950. There was a few popular small calibers like the 250-3000, 25-20, 30-40 Krag, but the favorites were 30-06, 30-30, 270, 35 and 300 Sav. Nearly all of my friends carried a 30-30 Model 94 or a 30-06 usually in a Remington semi-auto or pump. I was in my mid-20's before I bought a decent centerfire bolt gun.

 

[oldrevolverguy]

I love my Marlin 30-30 and 35 Remington, but the rifle that has harvested the most deer is my old Remington 700 ADL in 270. It is topped with an old Redfield Widefield 2X7 scope. Loaded with 130 grain Sierra Boat Tail bullets it has poleaxed every deer I have shot with it.