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 .
and that's part of the appeal of the "perfect rifle". A rifle sized to do exactly what you want-in this case, kill deer- and nothing excessive over the power level needed. With a proper selection, no pain, and little extra meat loss.
 
I choose based on the situation. I’ve shot lots of deer with lots of different calibers and help my hunting party with recovering their deer so I’ve been involved with recovering 200+ deer. My observation is that for killing deer in my conditions which are sub 100 yard shots and typically having to recover them out of chest high slough grass, bigger bore is better. Bigger bore with flat meplat bullets means larger entrance wounds and huge blood trails. Im thoroughly convinced that at these ranges a 45/70 or 444 marlin produce a better result than any small bore high velocity cartridge.

But… My local hunting conditions are not representative of shooting bighorn sheep on a mountainside. For my everything rifle I would want something that can shoot 400-500 yards and also be able to push heavy bullets, so I built a 375 ruger for that purpose. For my local hunting though my 444 marlin will do everything I can desire from a rifle and do it better so I’m not planning to even use my everything rifle here. Might try it once just to see what happens.
 
Chuck R. said:
By the 2nd week starts, a lot of the bucks have gone nocturnal or gotten into places sane people don't want to go, so we change tactics and go to them.
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Reminds me of when I first started hunting. I didn't really understand deer behavior and movement and I had a 25-06 with 6.5-20x40 on it. I didn't pay attention to game trails or cover and always wanted to be in a spot that overlooked large open areas with long shooting opportunities with fantasy's of sniping deer 300+ yards. My thought process was that being able to see more area would increase my probability of seeing deer. I slowly learned that the deer, especially the big bucks, have long ago been taught not to wander around in open spaces during the daylight. Now I know better and look for where the deer trails are all leading into the spots where you can only see 50 yards, because that is where the deer are going to be.
 
I don't know how well I handle recoil. I came into shooting with 5.56 with Uncle Sam as a teacher. Shot some 243, 12ga, 20ga..the usual stuff. My 35Rem was the "big" cartridge because I wanted more than the standard 30-30 that all the hunters around me in New England were using. I don't know how much the sporterized 1917 weighs, an unbastardized one weighs 9 pounds. Mine kicks more with 150 gr bullets than my Maverick 88 does with slugs. But still wasn't unpleasant to shoot. Minor shoulder bruises but no pain felt. With close in, brush shots of the deep south, I don't need a rifle that can shoot a mile when my farthest deer kill was 250 yards. And most of that was a clearing around a pond.
 
herrwalther said:
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.
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You, sir, and I are in agreement. if I ever get my 7mm P14 sighted in, I think it would be a pretty good choice for a single gun. So would my "bubba'd" 1917, if I gave it some time and love.
 
someguy2800 said:
Reminds me of when I first started hunting. I didn't really understand deer behavior and movement and I had a 25-06 with 6.5-20x40 on it. I didn't pay attention to game trails or cover and always wanted to be in a spot that overlooked large open areas with long shooting opportunities with fantasy's of sniping deer 300+ yards. My thought process was that being able to see more area would increase my probability of seeing deer. I slowly learned that the deer, especially the big bucks, have long ago been taught not to wander around in open spaces during the daylight. Now I know better and look for where the deer trails are all leading into the spots where you can only see 50 yards, because that is where the deer are going to be.
Click to expand...
It's probably different for guys who get to hunt the rut, when the bucks are just stupid..

I hunted mulies in MT last year during the 1st part of the rut, shot my buck at 1:00 pm, wide open, nose down training a couple does. First few days we were seeing quite a few, but towards the 2nd half of the hunt when the rut kicked in, holy cow did we see some deer. Now it was also a private ranch with limited pressure, but the difference in just a couple days was startling.

I also agree with your larger caliber premise. Open country, I don't mind double lunging and letting them run a bit. I use a rifle/caliber with "finesse". Heavily wooded, I want 2 large holes and either DRT or a blood trail a blind man can follow. Over-kill be damned, but I don't want excessive impact velocity cause sometimes I've got to take a so-so presentation shot.
 
Chuck R. said:
It's probably different for guys who get to hunt the rut, when the bucks are just stupid..

I hunted mulies in MT last year during the 1st part of the rut, shot my buck at 1:00 pm, wide open, nose down training a couple does. First few days we were seeing quite a few, but towards the 2nd half of the hunt when the rut kicked in, holy cow did we see some deer. Now it was also a private ranch with limited pressure, but the difference in just a couple days was startling.

I also agree with your larger caliber premise. Open country, I don't mind double lunging and letting them run a bit. I use a rifle/caliber with "finesse". Heavily wooded, I want 2 large holes and either DRT or a blood trail a blind man can follow. Over-kill be damned, but I don't want excessive impact velocity cause sometimes I've got to take a so-so presentation shot.
Click to expand...

It used to be that way where I hunt like 15 years ago. When the rut was in full swing the bucks would chase does all over the place. After they reintroduced wolves the deer dramatically changed their behavior and the numbers dropped significantly. The bucks still chase the does, but the does don't leave cover anymore.
 
I also think experience plays a part in caliber selection. Years ago, I was hunting with a .223, and didn't take a shot on a deer because I had tested the penetration of that bullet, and knew it was a very shallow penetrator. (I was much poorer then, and had discovered the only expanding 223 bullet I had was a light JHP.) I was presented with a shot that I would have taken with almost any heavier caliber, or even a handgun that I knew penetrated deeply. Instead, I waited for a neck shot that never was given. Ironically, the M193 that I had plenty of, would have provided great performance on that doe, however that was not legal to hunt deer with in Georgia.

My point is, cartridges for new shooters should typically not be hard thumpers, but they should provide a little more margin of error than a rifle an experienced hunter can use with no issues. Terminal ballistics can also do bizarre things. That tough buck that I took down with a .40 Smith& Wesson, I shot twice. The first bullet entered the chest, then followed the skin and penetrated to a depth of 15 or 16 in, causing barely more than a flesh wound, despite being centered mid-chest. At that point, having taken a solid hit from a .35 Remington, and a COM .40 XTP, the deer seemed unkillable. However, when he started to stand up again, he turned his head to the side, and I slipped the next XTP right under his ear. That settled the matter. (Also, one of the best shots I've made, I'll freely admit. I hit an approximate 2" POA with a Glock 23 at 25 meters.)
 
someguy2800 said:
Reminds me of when I first started hunting. I didn't really understand deer behavior and movement and I had a 25-06 with 6.5-20x40 on it. I didn't pay attention to game trails or cover and always wanted to be in a spot that overlooked large open areas with long shooting opportunities with fantasy's of sniping deer 300+ yards. My thought process was that being able to see more area would increase my probability of seeing deer. I slowly learned that the deer, especially the big bucks, have long ago been taught not to wander around in open spaces during the daylight. Now I know better and look for where the deer trails are all leading into the spots where you can only see 50 yards, because that is where the deer are going to be.
Click to expand...
Good point, and similar in my experience.

Pre rut, I like to hunt cover along game trials and food sources in wooded areas.

Rut, I like to hunt open plots. Does frequent those, and almost always draw in bucks or run through them with bucks chasing. At least here in my area.
 
hawg said:
I like recoil. I always have. There comes a point when it's too much but a 30-06 isn't anywhere near the top.
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Boy, when I was a kid, I liked a big boom and muzzle flash, recoil didn't bother me. That changed after tearing my rotator cuff and later breaking my shoulder. At one point I was reduced to using an AR in .223. Also, I have found that high velocity expanding bullets proper for the game are more sure and fast killers. The only deer I never recovered was shot with a shotgun slug in thick brush near a swamp. That's out of dozens of deer in several decades. From the hair I guess the hit was low and back from the heart. Also, I used to be a very good tracker. Now that I am older not so much. No creature survives a heart shot or goes very far. I don't mean this as criticism of other methods and ideas. Just my experience.
 
I have had a few diff deer rifle chamberings.
Don't think there's any one that's "perfect".

For timber I do like the .35 Remington.
And aesthetically, and feel, prefer short actions in bolt guns.
But I did like my 7mm Mag BDL better than my .300 winmag.
And still want a .257 Weatherby MK V.

But honestly, for short or far, a nice .308 win proly could do it all.
And I sold my boat paddle M77 because it was ugly and boring (even though it shot OK).

So.......might buy a .308 this weekend LOL

To GO ALONG w my .30-06, .35 rem and .243.
 
I chose variety.
I'm a gun enthusiast, I often choose to hunt with whatever is peaking my interests at the moment. Often it is a tradition muzzleloader, revolver, or recurve bow. Lately I have been using my H&R slug gun.
This year I have a 45-70 Handi-Rifle for our new Straightwall rules.

Defensively speaking, the 12ga pump could be my one North American defense/ camp gun..
 
hawg said:
I like recoil. I always have. There comes a point when it's too much but a 30-06 isn't anywhere near the top.
Click to expand...
12 gauge 3 1/2 mg with ounce and a quarter slugs or 2 1/4 ounce of turkey shot is my limit. I have shot a 470 NE that kicked less.
 
Armored farmer said:
Defensively speaking, the 12ga pump could be my one North American defense/ camp gun..
Click to expand...

Absolutely. if large, dangerous game could be one of the threats, it might be my first choice for a camp defense gun. I have a Mossberg 590 Ghost Ring that I've killed two deer and an armadillo with slugs with. The first two shots out of it were Remington slugs fired into touching holes, off hand by Byron at 25 yards.
 
JShirley said:
Ironically, the M193 that I had plenty of, would have provided great performance on that doe, however that was not legal to hunt deer with in Georgia.
Click to expand...

I keep some 77gr hollow point 5.56 rounds on hand as a last resort hunting option. I know I can down a deer with 5.56. I have downed more dangerous creatures with that round. It just feels weird hunting deer with it. Can never explain why. I never mind lugging an AR through rain (or even snow) unlike my wood and steel rifles. That is where I fall in the variety option of the poll. Same belief about shotgun hunting. I don't prefer it, but it is an option. So I keep shells that will take care game from quail and dove to deer, bear, and hogs.

Nah, neither do I.......but it sure is fun to shoot them at targets a mile away.
Click to expand...

It probably is. Farthest I was shooting in the military was up to 1200 meters, and that was mostly with barrage fire. I don't think there are any mile ranges in Alabama. Even the CMP park only goes out to 600 yards.
 
Last edited:
I made a 600 meter shot with my M4 with iron sights from "rice paddy prone" in 2002, but it was on a SAW target (meant to replicate a small bunch of soldiers half concealed).

I have several different 5.56mm or .223 rounds that will work fine on deer now, but I'm much better equipped these days. On the day in question, though, the only expanding .223 I had didn't fully penetrate 3 milk jugs of water. I deemed it only suitable for a neck shot, so I didn't take the heart shot I was presented.
 
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