My dad uses a beautiful Remington 338 win mag. If the bullet doesn’t hit bone it just pokes a hole and barely expands. If it hits bone on the way in it gets ugly. He wanted one gun for anything. It’s not fun to shoot. He bought another beautiful 7mm08 a few years ago and hasn’t used it for hunting yet. I think he just likes to make sure everyone knows when he shoots.
Deer rifle for a novice hunter
- Thread starter Toothpick
- Start date
A 7mm-08 in a Remington Model 7 is a nice package
That is a cool round. My friend uses it for coyote hunting.
I was going to get one as I’m passing my30-30 down to my son but he beat me to it. I got a Ruger Hawkeye 6.5cm instead. Way too many great hunting rounds out now. Back in the day one rarely saw but a handful of different calibers. Now it’s crazy how many different calibers I see at deer camp. Fun time to be a hunter.
I have a Remington Model 7 in 7-08 but have not hunted with it yet. A handy little carbine, would make a great tree stand gun.
<With respect to hunting/informal-shooting, bench rest competitors may have a different take>:
I would stay with a well established, common caliber, a caliber that has been around for a long time. It would be unfortunate to buy a gun, and later find it is going out of favor from an ammo perspective.
This guy has a lot of gun wisdom in my opinion:
I hope this helps.
Yep they work. I've seen a few deer shot with a .22-250. With a good 55 grain bullet they're efficient killers too as long as the bullet goes in the right place. You have much less margin for error with a bullet that small and light.
You can likely find a nice used Remington pump or semi in a choice of calibers for a very good price. I'm partial to the 6mm Remington myself.
The pump guns came in .222 and .223 Remington too, but I think they're a bit light for deer and more difficult to find. About 20 years ago, for some reason, Remington pumps in .222 and .223 were bringing a pretty high price. I sold two of each for $750 a piece.
The Remingtion pumps are good guns. The bigger calibers arent for the recoil sensitive. I have a 760 in .30-06. Felt recoil from it is much harsher than a 700 bolt gun in the same caliber. I contribute it to the relatively flat stock.
As far as the Remingtion semis go, I would skip one. They are often called Jamomatics or the gunsmiths friend. You can read all the info you will ever need to know about their problems on the various gun forums.
As far as the Remingtion semis go, I would skip one. They are often called Jamomatics or the gunsmiths friend. You can read all the info you will ever need to know about their problems on the various gun forums.
Yep the pump guns can kick. Lots of the older ones didnt even have a recoil pad, just a plastic butt plate. Every one I shot was also surprisingly accurate.
Most of the autos jamming I've seen have been from oil in the action and on the bolt. Rem Dri Lube only, and sparingly then. A friend that carries a .308 carbine Moose hunting, as well as two others with Browning BAR's, use lighter fluid on the actions and bolts. Once it evaporates off, it leaves a very thin light coating of oil.
Gasoline does the same. I learned that from an old guy back in the 1980's in Saskatchewan. His bolts never froze because he dunked them in gasoline and let them air dry.
The Remington 742 Carbine in .308, along with the Ruger 44 .44 Mag are handy little rifles.
Gasoline is amazing. I always teased my dad about how the Depression taught him so much, but it did.
Both my 760 BDL and 700 BDL have plastic butt plates. They are about the same weight. They are the same caliber. Using the same shells, the 760 is definitely less pleasant to shoot....It is very accurate for an out of the box rifle with factory ammo though. It shot better groups than the 700 BDL did right out of the box. I had to glass bed the 700, float the barrel, and work up a handload to get it to out perform the 760.
I've always wondered why the pump guns where so accurate, harmonics I guess. One of the .223's I had would put the first three shots touching at 100 yards. A friend had one with a Douglas Premium barrel that wasnt nearly as accurate. He got mad and sold his lol.
With all the additives in gasoline these days you might be waiting a while for it all to evaporate off. I remember when I was a kid if you spilled any on cement it wouldnt even leave a stain, just a ring around the outside of where the puddle was.
Yes, although I prefer my 7x57 in a trim little Ruger #1 with a 1-5 Leupold scope.
Yep, that is another great set up^
I never shot a Ruger #1 but always wanted to. They look beautiful.
My father bought two Browning B78 rifles in the mid 1970's. A 30-06 and a .22-250. B78's are falling block single shots and both have hexagon barrels.
Both, are also extremely accurate. Thats a 1MOA red dot in the picture below.
The 30-06 with a 165 Sierra GameKing is just as accurate. My nephew now has the 30-06. The Monte Carlo stock on it slapped me in the face hard every time I shot it.
One of the guys I shot woodchucks with for years shoots a Ruger No.1 in .220 Swift. It'll shoot with my Browning .22-250.
Both, are also extremely accurate. Thats a 1MOA red dot in the picture below.
The 30-06 with a 165 Sierra GameKing is just as accurate. My nephew now has the 30-06. The Monte Carlo stock on it slapped me in the face hard every time I shot it.
One of the guys I shot woodchucks with for years shoots a Ruger No.1 in .220 Swift. It'll shoot with my Browning .22-250.
So... what's for dinner?
It took me a few days to get through that whole video. Pretty smart guy. He has good advice. He really likes the .270 For deer. What a great round. I almost got that instead of the 6.5 cm. He didn’t think any of the 6.5mm calibers would last. I was hesitant to get one as well until I saw the army adopted it for its precision rifles. I was surprised that he thought the 30-06 was not a good round for deer. It’s probably the most popular caliber overall for Michigan deer hunters. You can still get 30-06 and 30-30 ammo in most any gas station in the upper peninsula wilds. Enjoyable listening for sure. Thanks for posting it.
He thinks 30-06 is too much for deer. In other videos he says this is not a problem for the handloader, who can taylor his loads.
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