Perfect vs One Gun

Do you choose the "one gun" or "perfect deer rifle"?

  • I choose the "one gun": I want a rifle that can kill anything on the continent

    Votes: 7 6.3%

  • I want the perfect deer rifle: a lightly recoiling rifle that does the job on whitetail is my go-to

    Votes: 5 4.5%

  • I choose my rifle depending on the conditions I hunt

    Votes: 31 27.9%

  • Variety is the spice of life. I like using many calibers. Because it's fun.

    Votes: 53 47.7%

  • I like oatmeal.

    Votes: 15 13.5%
  • Total voters
    111
  • Poll closed .
@JShirley if you want one gun to rule them all, one gun for that will work on game from white tails to cape buffalo you know what I'm fixing to say. 375 H&H. Or it's 21st century offspring in a normal long action, 375 Ruger. I have taken deer with my 375 H&H and have seen first hand how little meat damage is done, even on a smaller white tail buck. If you hand load you can load it down to 30-06 levels or up to as hot as you can handle. I run a middle of the road loading using 270g Barnes TSX bullets. It does less meat damage than any of the fast moving 6, 6.5, 7, or 300 mags.

I've also used 308 to take deer using 150g solid copper bullets. Good shot placement had them DRT with one going a whopping 10 yards. But if I had to have one, and only one, rifle for anything bigger than rabbits I'd have no issues with grabbing my 375.

For hunting a .22, 308, and 375 would have your bases completely covered. You could honestly just go with the .22 and 375. And as far as recoil goes, it's a shove. I liken it to shooting a 12ga with heavy field loads.
 
Variety is the spice of life. I have bought new guns and/or cartridges and then figure out what I can hunt with them. I have hunted with marginal cartridges because I was looking for a specific challenge. I still haven't decided what I will use this year for deer season.
 
I started with 30-06 back in the 1970's. By the 1990's I decided 308 was close enough. Inside of 400 yards no game animal will ever know the difference and I get about 25% less recoil from the same weight rifle. Or about the same recoil from a 2 lb lighter rifle.

But the truth is that for most people the 6.5 CM is a better choice. I've tried the round, have a rifle in it, and it lives up to the hype. Compared to 270 you get a bullet that is .3mm smaller in diameter (nothing really). A 140 gr bullet from a 270 is a little faster at the muzzle, but the farther downrange you go the closer they are in speed. By the time you get past 200 yards they are virtually the same. Anything a 140 gr 270 will kill, a 140 gr 6.5CM will kill. That includes anything in North America. But it is the smallest cartridge I'd use.

If looking for a dual-purpose cartridge suitable for North American hunting and for informal long-range target shooting, I think it is the obvious winner. There are better cartridges specific for hunting or target shooting. But for it is hard to beat for both.

But I'm heavily invested in 308. I have rifles I like and have spent time putting together loads that I like. At this point in my life I just don't want to put the effort into changing.

I put together this rifle that I've used almost exclusively for about 15 years now. A 1st year FN Winchester EW in a McMillan Edge stock with a Cabelas instinct 3-9X40 scope. That is the same scope as a Zeiss Conquest just with Cabela's badges. Photo taken in Colorado 2018.

ayla road trip 2 143.JPG
 
JShirley said:
That's a lot of hogs! :what: I only saw a big group like that twice on the Quick family land we hunted for years. I wasn't suggesting that super-deep penetration was vital, just giving an example of something that should have plenty of killing power while not damaging a lot of meat like a higher-velocity fragmenting bullet would.
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Try a 9.3x62 Mauser with 286 grain bullet. Good for everything short of a tyrannosaurs. Won’t kick you into next week either.
 
I voted with the majority. More guns equal more fun.

Feral hogs I know nothing about as they aren't tough enough to live here. Even javalinas can't. I consider it a blessing.

The majority of Texas has small whitetails. Some refer to them as suitcase deer as you can pick them up and carry one like a suitcase. :D The Panhandle does contain some big mulies along the eastern caprock and the breaks beneath it.
 
@LimaCharlie, you hunt deer with those big magnums? I'm not saying you can't/shouldn't, just curious. I'd imagine a .50 Beowulf would have a lot of good short/medium range deer options, rather like the 300 grain SP .45-70 I dropped a nice little buck with.

@Robert, really? I can tell you some 12 GA full-power loads have rattled my bell pretty well. I shot around 60 rounds of full-power 12 GA in a single session around 25 years ago, almost all of it from tactical inertia guns with stocks too long. My right bicep was as swollen as the old Popeye cartoon. Took a couple weeks to go down. I shot a .458 that either Al Thompson or Byron had, and it wasn't horrible. Didn't feel the need to shoot it twice, though. I would imagine most of those big African game guns have super sturdy bullets, so they're probably most of the way through a whitetail before they begin to expand.

@jmr40, it's hard to go wrong with a 6.5, I reckon. I hate that I didn't get the Mausers in 6.5x55mm that were available for a good price back in 1996 or so. I still need to sight in my Grendel.

@9x56MS, that just a bit under .35 Whelen power, isn't it? I believe if I get some sturdy heavy-bullet Whelen loads, I'll be well suited for anything in the US or Canada. My "truck gun" I choose to interpret as "good for carrying in trucks/good for shooting trucks". :rofl: Its a Remington 7600 .35 Whelen with a shortened stock and peep sight mounted. I have a stack of magazines, too.
 
Verity is the spice of life. I have used a few others, but these all have taken my favorite game animal the whitetail deer (one mule deer with the 300WM).

-Winchester 94 - 30-30
-Remington 700 BDL - 30-06 (lh)
-Remington 700 BDL - 308 WIN (lh)
-Ruger No 1 - 25-06 REM
-Ruger 77 lam/ss - 25-06 REM (lh)
-Browning A-Bolt SS 300 Win Mag (lh)
-Browning BLR 7MM-08 REM
-Winchester 1886 - 45-70 Gov
-Savage 16 SS - 300 WSM (lh)
-Weatherby Mark V SS - 7 Rem Mag (lh)
-Cables Hawken 50 cal Muzzle Loader (lh)
 
My one cartridge for NA is 450 Bushmaster. Mandated by statute where I hunt in MI. Just as effective and useful where I hunt in GA. A friend used one for his Nilgai with decisive results. I believe it would take on big brown bears in Alaska as well with the 340 gr hard cast bullets that Buffalo Bore loads.

It is hard recoiling though. Especially in my very lightweight Ruger American. It is a bit more tame in an AR. You can hit rod it for about 200 more fps for use in bolt actions only. That gives it legitimate 444 Marlin power levels with 250-260 gr bullets.

However, even though I use 450 BM a bunch, I still generally choose based on conditions and circumstances. I still use 12 ga slugs for 50 yds and under and I like medium speed 35s like 35 Remington and now 360 Buckhammer. 350 Legend would also fit here.

Longer range opportunities I would use something like 270, 280 AI, or my new 7mm PRC.
 
I voted variety but I like oatmeal too.
I believe I have the knowledge and ability to kill deer with much less than I would actually consider prudent.
On the golf course a few years ago had a good size doe standing broadside about 15 yards and my LCR was in my pocket with 158gr LSWCHP I really have no doubt I could have made that shot.
 
Deer hunting caliber selection

Hunting method for the day, dictated by the terrain, day’s weather and current deer habits.

Full on rut, with a heavy snow falling straight down in heavy timber, I’m going the be carrying a Win 94 with a peep sight in 30-30. Moving only enough to keep from freezing, and when I cut a fresh track, following. I’ve lost count of the bucks I’ve shot in their beds or just standing up. Once in these exact conditions, I shot a big buck that looked like it was having convulsions or something. Could only clearly see the rack, head and neck. At the rifle crack, a doe ran away. He went out on top, so to speak :)

Pre-rut, windy day, dry conditions, noisy crunchy ground, I’m sitting, not moving, with a scoped rifle good for a few hundred yards.

I always have more than one gun/caliber in the truck to cover changing conditions.
 
Ru4real said:
Deer hunting caliber selection

Hunting method for the day, dictated by the terrain, day’s weather and current deer habits.

Full on rut, with a heavy snow falling straight down in heavy timber, I’m going the be carrying a Win 94 with a peep sight in 30-30. Moving only enough to keep from freezing, and when I cut a fresh track, following. I’ve lost count of the bucks I’ve shot in their beds or just standing up. Once in these exact conditions, I shot a big buck that looked like it was having convulsions or something. Could only clearly see the rack, head and neck. At the rifle crack, a doe ran away. He went out on top, so to speak :)

Pre-rut, windy day, dry conditions, noisy crunchy ground, I’m sitting, not moving, with a scoped rifle good for a few hundred yards.

I always have more than one gun/caliber in the truck to cover changing conditions.
Click to expand...
Yup. First day of late doe season last year, I had a booner stand up about 70 yards, looking the other way… I looked at him through the scope for a few seconds… why he wasn’t there a couple days earlier in muzzleloader (when I could shoot him…) I’m of the opinion options are a good thing…
 
I am in a weird mix of all the options at the moment. I am a cheapskate stalk hunter. I have some camo clothes. No cameras, no blinds setup, and no stands. I hunt on a nature preserve that is literally in my backyard. 800 acres of hog, deer, turkey, and small game whenever I want to. My go to hunting rifle for close to a decade was a Marlin 336 in 35Rem. Two problems with that rifle: I consider it my good weather hunting rifle. I don't particularly like hunting with it in the rain, even though I have. It is a pretty rifle that I take great care not to rust. But it has one shot taken everything I have shot with it. Deer and hogs. Nothing bigger than that in Alabama that I hunt with purpose. And, 35 Rem is getting harder and harder to find. Even to handload.

Recently I picked up a 30-06 sporterized M1917. Still getting it sighted in but is should be a all over continent rifle if I so choose. But it will do just fine in my backyard. Even sporterized it is heavier than most people consider for a stalk rifle. Bought it in a lark auction with a broken extractor and about 40% blueing left. Fixed it and Parkerized it so it would do well in all conditions. Fingers crossed it will be ready for this hunting season.

I don't place too much value in variety of calibers. You can have a perfect hunting bullet that isn't worth anything if it is hard to find. Or you have to make it or order it online when the blue moon is on a Thursday.
 
A 30-06 has been my go to deer rifle for 54 years. I will use my Winchester 94 in 30-30 if I'm hunting woods. I sometimes use my muzzleloader during regular gun season. I have used other caliber here and there for a hunt or two but my 30-06 will always be my favorite.
 
Trying to remember if I've ever taken deer with the same rifle two years in a row before.... I've used 44 mag from a handgun lots of times, and 7.62x39 in several different rifles over the years. Shotgun slug, arrows, a 9mm semi auto, 8mm Mauser, etc. Lots of different weapons, but never the same rifle year to year. Too much variety to just eat vanilla...
 
JShirley said:
really? I can tell you some 12 GA full-power loads have rattled my bell pretty well. I shot around 60 rounds of full-power 12 GA in a single session around 25 years ago, almost all of it from tactical inertia guns with stocks too long. My right bicep was as swollen as the old Popeye cartoon. Took a couple weeks to go down. I shot a .458 that either Al Thompson or Byron had, and it wasn't horrible. Didn't feel the need to shoot it twice, though. I would imagine most of those big African game guns have super sturdy bullets, so they're probably most of the way through a whitetail before they begin to expand.
Click to expand...
Recoil is subjective. I've shot heavy rifles up to 470NE including 404 Jeffrey, 458 Win, 458 Lott, 416 Rigby, and my 45-70 with HOT handloads. The worst recoiling and most painful rifle I've ever shot was a light weight 30-06 with a stock that did not fit me well. My 405gr hot 45-70 loads are flat unpleasant, and you can keep those heavy 458s...

The 375, in a proper stock, is a smoothly recoiling big shove. At least to me. But it is all subjective. My rifle weighs 10 lbs and while it can get uncomfortable for shooting off the bench for long periods of time, from field positions it is perfectly fine to me. I'm not a big person. I'm 5'9 and down to 220. I shoot my rifle well.

I don't use bullets for dangerous game, I use solid copper hunting bullets made for medium sized thin skinned game like deer and elk. They absolutely open up like they are supposed to. The exit side of one kill showed where the petals on the Barnes TSX shaved the hair neatly as it exited. It was really rather neat.

375 is a hand loaders dream and one of those rare chamberings that does equally well loaded with light weight cast bullets, medium weight hunting bullets, or heavy weight dangerous game solids.
 
To date I have killed deer with 22 LR, 223, 6.8 SPC, 300 BLK, 243 Win, 270 Win, 7mm WSM, 308 Win, 30-06, 300 Win Mag, 7mm-08, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x55, 45-70, 300 PRC, 280 Rem, 12 gauge slug, 9mm, 45 ACP, 10mm, archery gear and I’m sure some other cartridges I am forgetting at the moment. I’ve lost three deer over the span of 30 years. One was a poor shot with a 308. One was because of an expandable broadhead that opened mid-flight causing a very nasty superficial cut. The third was with a 6.8 SPC that was also a poor shot. I’d venture a guess that I’ve shot somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred and fifty deer in that time frame. Most died within a few steps. My point is, almost any cartridge is capable of killing deer and I like variety, so I keep several “deer rifles” in my safe and tote whichever one catches my fancy that day.
 
I got my first 12 gauge when I was 11. It has a checkered steel butt plate. I got my first 30-06 when I was 12. It had a smooth steel butt plate. I loved shooting them. I'm 66 now and none of my guns have recoil pads. I don't know what has gotten into people where they can't handle guns that don't kick as much as a 30-06. To me a 30-06 doesn't have much recoil. I never thought twice about carrying a 9 or 10 pound rifle in the woods all day long. I never thought it was too heavy. I just don't know what to think about people nowadays.
 
hawg said:
I got my first 12 gauge when I was 11. It has a checkered steel butt plate. I got my first 30-06 when I was 12. It had a smooth steel butt plate. I loved shooting them. I'm 66 now and none of my guns have recoil pads. I don't know what has gotten into people where they can't handle guns that don't kick as much as a 30-06. To me a 30-06 doesn't have much recoil. I never thought twice about carrying a 9 or 10 pound rifle in the woods all day long. I never thought it was too heavy. I just don't know what to think about people nowadays.
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They probably dont feel the need to deal with recoil or weight they dont enjoy, especially for no practical reason.
 
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