I know the terrain you're hunting.. I'm only a county over. It's been a few years since I did any deer hunting but I started with a 30-30. Good gun for the area. Compact, typical shots are 100 yds and in.. nothing wrong with that choice. That being said, after a few years I moved to 30-06. A very versatile rifle, tons of different loads and if you decide to venture outside of TN you shouldn'tny have a concern with "will my rifle be right for that area". Just my .02
Deer rifle for a novice hunter
- Thread starter Toothpick
- Start date
I have hunted Antelope in Wyoming, Mulie in Colorado, Whitetail and Hog in Oklahoma and Texas, all with a .270. I purchased a Marlin 30-30 several years back and have not hunted with it yet even though it’s perfect for Oklahoma’s thick brush.
I need to remedy that.
.30-06 + .30-30
Now we have an Arsenal worthy of taking just about any medium/large game on the North American continent.
Now we have an Arsenal worthy of taking just about any medium/large game on the North American continent.
3030 Marlin lever action is pretty much the standard. I have used 30 caliber carbine and I've used M1 rifles in 30-06. The first thing you want to do is find out what the department of conservation in your area allows for deer hunting.
If you're not super familiar with hunting I would use iron sights. Using a scope is something that takes time and practice and you're probably not going to be needing one if you're out in the woods anyway.
Above All Else, whatever you choose get the round you're going to be using to hunt and practice practice practice. More than anything practice safety. It wouldn't hurt to go to one of the department conservation hunter safety courses. Even if you're too old to need to go through that, it never hurts to refresh yourself.
If you're not super familiar with hunting I would use iron sights. Using a scope is something that takes time and practice and you're probably not going to be needing one if you're out in the woods anyway.
Above All Else, whatever you choose get the round you're going to be using to hunt and practice practice practice. More than anything practice safety. It wouldn't hurt to go to one of the department conservation hunter safety courses. Even if you're too old to need to go through that, it never hurts to refresh yourself.
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
Slacker.
I was hunting at father-in-laws Cherokee cousin's house near Poteau, Ok. (that had a 55 gallon barrel as a wood stove in the house) in the 70s with a Marlin .30-30. Sat on many a hill just below the ridgeline with that on my lap.
Curious...."Marlin" seems to go
directly alongside when discussing .30-30 lever rifles. I had one once...336W. It was alright. Then Marlin was bought out by Remington.
Much bad was said about the product and how Remington had essentially destroyed the iconic rifle. Me?
I bought a Henry to replace the 336W. Liked it so well I subsequently bought a pair of .45-70 and .22 Henrys. Great rifles.
Anyone else out there toting a Henry or is this a dyed in the wool Marlin/Winchester crew?
directly alongside when discussing .30-30 lever rifles. I had one once...336W. It was alright. Then Marlin was bought out by Remington.
Much bad was said about the product and how Remington had essentially destroyed the iconic rifle. Me?
I bought a Henry to replace the 336W. Liked it so well I subsequently bought a pair of .45-70 and .22 Henrys. Great rifles.
Anyone else out there toting a Henry or is this a dyed in the wool Marlin/Winchester crew?
Brother, I have two dream rifles. Both are Henry levers.
One (obviously) in .22, the other in .357.
My neighbor growing up had a Winchester? in .32, heck if he didn't get more than a few coyotes and a deer with it!
One of the guys I used to deer hunt with years ago carried his grandfathers old Winchester 94 in .32 Winchester Special. A dump truck couldnt carry all the deer that old rifle has shot. That was, and is still, the nicest and smoothest working old lever gun I've ever hand in my hands.
That family lives in eastern Ontario, thick bush. All 5 sons and the father all carried old 94's. I showed up with a scoped .270 and they laughed and said, "Put that one back in the case." Then the son I worked with went in the house and got me an old 30-30. I didnt point it at a deer, but it took the head cleanly off a grouse I ate for supper one night.
That was deer hunting in front of Walker hounds, and my fathers old Black and Tan. Thick bush, running shots. A scoped .270? Not the right gun for that job...
Lol, memories!
I just posted about my hike in my woods today in the old fogies workout thread. I posted a pic of a buck rub. Heard lots of shot guns go off too, but none on my property.
Memories, yeah.
That was my fathers last deer hunt and he wanted to listen to the hounds so, off we went. His old black and tan ran a buck 16 miles before another group shot the deer in front of him and called the house to say they had the dog.
I'm out of touch with season openers these days but the December hunt was most likely last Mon-Sat where I am. They have a week long hunt the first week of November here too. Both hunts are shotgun only. We always hunted in December hoping the corn was off and we'd have some snow. No luck for that this year.
- Thread starter
- #92
I was told a Marlin in ejects out the side and a Winchester ejects out the top. I think a side ejection is a preference for me.
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
Winchester has what they call an "angle eject" for use with a scope but I've never shot or handled one. I've never used a scope on a lever gun but if you want to there is that.
@OkieStubble you better get a hustle on if you're going to take that Marlin out this year...you've only got one day of deer season left there. If you come down here we have another month left. There was a doe out by the back pasture fence yesterday and it looked like there was a buck just across the fence from her.
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My marlin 336 is old, but it is scoped and terribly accurate even at rather long distances. More accurate than one would think at 150-200 yards. You can get the mounts that allow you to use the open sights as well. They also help with clearance for a thumb on the hammer.
Fancy!
I'm waiting on the right time to buy a Henry.
Seems like it'll be soon now that we live in a small town that has a western style murder mystery night every so often lol.
You might get the lead part!
Henry lost me with the lack of a loading gate.
They only load from the tube?!?
Just looked it up. Very limited choice of calibers.
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