I have every caliber in deer rifles. They all work. But I'm fond of a 25-06 with 100gr. At 3300 ....
The Perfect Deer Rifle
- Thread starter onelastshot
- Start date
Hunting in Maine my first deer gun was a shotgun when I was a boy. It was still legal then to drive deer so you had drivers and those who posted waiting for the deer to come to you (hopefully). I was 12 years old and the 12 gauge pump was as tall as I was. Then progressed to a Winchester model 94 in 30-30, perfect for the woods I would still hunt in. Still hunting is actually hunting very slowly through the woods. Often you actually stop and be still so maybe that’s why they call it that. Later I changed to a Winchester model 100 in .308 and that’s the gun I used until I stopped hunting deer. If my hunting had been in more open conditions I probably would have ended up with something different.
My favorite? Savage 110 LA custom built by me, fully blueprinted, Bell and Carlson M40 Stock, Heavy varmint barrel, chambered in 6.5-284 Norma 1:8 twist loaded with Hornady ELD-X 143gr pills with 52.5gr of N165 OAL 3.120 behind it. Light recoil, fast and flat-shooting, I can put one in their ear at 200 if I choose with confidence. The rifle shoots less than 1/2MOA all day every day. Topped with a MEOPTA Optika6 3-18 x 56 scope.
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No such thing as perfect, but ideal for different situations…yep. Favorites for me tend to change based on mood and location. In northern WI I REALLY enjoyed a Win 71 348 Win. For mixed agricultural further south I have a Win 70 I rebarreled to 25-284 that worked a treat. Model Seven 7 RSAUM did well along with a sweet M70 featherweight (push feed) 308 Win. 6.5x55 in another featherweight worked well along with who knows how many others. Just choose ‘one’ as the perfect rifle???…that’s just silly!
Joe Maisto
jam711
For sure ! It was my meat gun in .284 . Also had a .243 in a carbine stock that was sweet as well .
james
Gold $$ Contributor
Just announced for 2023 Illinois deer season rifles will be allowed. Requirements are it has to be a straight wall case, I’m looking at the 350 Legend which seems to be a very popular cartridge out to 200 yards. I’m currently looking at the CVS Cascade and the Franchi Momentum Elite, would appreciate thoughts on these 2 rifles. They both have very good adjustable triggers.
Thanks
Thanks
Larryh128
Silver $$ Contributor
The CVS is a very good shooting rifle. I wouldn't overlook a 44 mag.
PBking51
Gold $$ Contributor
I am not sure how a .355 bullet on a 223 case has anything going for it past 100 yards. I think it's marketing , but I would feel better about a quality inline muzzleoader with some blackhorn 209 and a 245gr powerbelt than a 350 legend. What's wrong with a 45-70 or 444 marlin? Ultimately a 458 win mag would be my ultimate gun if I needed to use something straight walled, but then again, I'm sure your DNR says "non belted" .
Who makes up these silly hunting rules? I would take a 45-120 with a 6.5 sabot bullet tucked in it out there because I am a smart ass like that (still a straight wall!). I am glad I live in South Carolina. Or I might even build some crazy custom caliber that was FAR overkill for the work in a straight wall, yeah I got in trouble a lot in school 
I love some Blackhorn 209! I have not shot the Legend but I fear it is anything BUT a Legend LOL
freebird22/250
Silver $$ Contributor
Whatever you can shoot accurately & make humane one shot kills, to me that's the perfect deer rifle.
For meat hunting I like big slow moving bullets because the meat loss to trauma is minimal. Some of the old black powder cartridges that loaded with black or smokeless to BP velocities are what I like for deer hunting. I hunted for 20 years in Alaska with a Marlin 1895 in 45-70 and it always worked good but admittedly I did often load it beyond BP velocity. That old Marlin has taken moose and caribou numerous black and a couple grizzly bear and never came up short. There were two incidents where it saved my bacon for sure one with a cow moose intent on stomping me into human pate and another with a wounded grizzly at just a few barrel lengths away.
After the wounded bear encounter I picked up a junk 1886 Win and rebuilt it to 50 Alaskan and all the same applies even more so with wide heavy bullets prodding along at barely super sonic speed. Big deep holes with very little meat loss.
I will be leaving on the 25th for an elk hunt in the high country in the GMU I live in in Montana and I will be taking a 50-90 Sharps chambered in an original Remington #5 smokeless rolling block with custom barrel. My load is shooting a pure soft lead paper patch bullet at 650 grain leaving the muzzle at 1250 fps.
The barrel sight is on at 50 yards and I has settings for the custom tang peep from 100 yards its normal setting at 25 yard intervals out to 300 yards.
That type of rifle is my preference for meat hunting in the timber where a long shot might be 75 yards. In the open sage country where you can see farther than you cans shoot I use either a 6.5-06 Ackley or a 280 Ackley. Out there a close range shot is maybe 300 yards and a long range shot is as far as your self limit. My longest shot to date out there was with the 6.5-06 Ackley but it was well planned shooting off of anchored cross sticks at a lasered 637 yards and correcting sight setting from a ballistic app that made the one shot kill. To each his own but that is what I like for the two types of meat hunting I do.
After the wounded bear encounter I picked up a junk 1886 Win and rebuilt it to 50 Alaskan and all the same applies even more so with wide heavy bullets prodding along at barely super sonic speed. Big deep holes with very little meat loss.
I will be leaving on the 25th for an elk hunt in the high country in the GMU I live in in Montana and I will be taking a 50-90 Sharps chambered in an original Remington #5 smokeless rolling block with custom barrel. My load is shooting a pure soft lead paper patch bullet at 650 grain leaving the muzzle at 1250 fps.
The barrel sight is on at 50 yards and I has settings for the custom tang peep from 100 yards its normal setting at 25 yard intervals out to 300 yards.
That type of rifle is my preference for meat hunting in the timber where a long shot might be 75 yards. In the open sage country where you can see farther than you cans shoot I use either a 6.5-06 Ackley or a 280 Ackley. Out there a close range shot is maybe 300 yards and a long range shot is as far as your self limit. My longest shot to date out there was with the 6.5-06 Ackley but it was well planned shooting off of anchored cross sticks at a lasered 637 yards and correcting sight setting from a ballistic app that made the one shot kill. To each his own but that is what I like for the two types of meat hunting I do.
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