The Perfect Deer Rifle

[Stingray]

My 1978 Weatherby 257 Magnum which I inherited from my Dad. I think of him every time I pick it up. It still shoots great and I have never need more than this rifle which shows it age and frequent use.

 

[paul castelli]

The criteria that make up the perfect deer rifle are different for all of us. I've got a dozen different rifles that qualify as deer rifles but only one meets my personal criteria that puts it ahead of all the others as the perfect set up.

For me, it's a Ruger No. One, chambered in 7x57 and topped off with a Zeiss 2-10x42 scope. I love the rifle. It's overall length and fit is perfect for me. Light enough to carry all day but heavy enough that the recoil is comfortable to the point of being a non-issue. The Zeiss scope has excellent clarity and superior light gathering ability to provide a clear picture the last 10-15 minutes of the day.

From my perspective, the 7x57 cartridge is one of the best cartridges available for deer. The vast majority of deer cartridges fall between 6mm up to and including 30 caliber cartridges. The 7x57 falls right in the middle of this range. I hand load a 140 grain Berger VLD that obtains 2800fps. The result is a flat shooting cartridge that shoots sub MOA groups that's deadly out past 300 yards with terrific penetration and expansion. All in all, the rifle gives me a sense of comfort and confidence in its ability to make one shot kills without compromise.

What's your perfect deer rifle and why?

I came up with the same combo. Light sporter barrel and medium sporter fore-end, Pac-Nor 10 twist for the 140s. 2-8x glass with the #4 reticle.

Had this made in the late 90s

 

[clunker]

Two year old thread.....I’ll bite.

I won’t say there is a perfect. All depends on where I am hunting as to what I will use.
A fellow should have more than a hammer, screwdriver and a pair of pliers in his toolbox.

Buddy and I have discussed this for years.
Rifle and scope weigh 7 lbs and under
3x9 or 3x12
Caliber. This is where one really should think about their choice. If you EVER figure on traveling, you better weed out the wildcats and the not popular cartridges. Why? Get off the grid and see what a mom and pop store has in stock for ammo (if your favorite rig was separated from its ammo).

This will be my first year hunting whitetail, but JSH's post is exactly what I was thinking. Tikka superlite rifle plus scope is under 6.5 lbs. Stainless with synthetic stock for all weather conditions. Cheap 3x9 scope that is accurate enough, and I don't care if it breaks (but I do care if it fogs). Readily available ammo almost anywhere for the caliber. Specific caliber intentionally left out of this post. I'll let you know how it did after deer season.

 

[JSH]

Clunker, don’t drop the coin on a junk piece of glass. Gotta say a Leupold rifleman 3-9 will make you happy in the long run.
The friction adjustments can make you expand your vocabulary, but once zero’d life is good.

Let us know how the Tikka runs. I doubt you will be in happy.

 

[davidjoe]

So .... the polls (maybe more than these) are best pocket knife, perfect hog rifle, perfect deer rifle, perfect shotgun, perfect deer shot placement:

(Larry only aspires to nearly perfect but here goes)

1) Victorinox Swiss Tinker for pocket carry, but more is better;

2) hogs change directions running, so a short 30/30 lever action iron sight;

3) pre ‘64 M-70 stalking on “safe”, with a 270 Winchester, in the pipe;

4) any pump action 12;

5) mid neck through spine to save meat.

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

Tikka 695 model with Krieger 257 weatherby barrel. 80grain ttsx barnes bullet's at 3950 fps . point blank to 300 yds.

 

[shooter65]

6 Creedmoor / Barnes 95 gr LRX

 

[Papa Charlie]

Growing up on the Oregon Coast, very steep mountains, a lot of heavy brush. The best rifle for me was a Winchester 94 30-30. Light, short for the brush and accurate.

 

[clunker]

Clunker, don’t drop the coin on a junk piece of glass. Gotta say a Leupold rifleman 3-9 will make you happy in the long run.
The friction adjustments can make you expand your vocabulary, but once zero’d life is good.

Let us know how the Tikka runs. I doubt you will be in happy.

Agreed! My cheap scope spreads my target shots by at least 0.25" radius compared to my good x32 scope at 100 yds. Eventually, I will upgrade to a better scope, but it will have to wait until next season. After harvest season ends, I'll be spending many hours at the range.

 

[7887mm08]

The one I have in my hands when I see a deer!

 

[okie]

The one I have in my hands when I see a deer!

yeah--whichever one happens to be in the truck/tractor

 

[sw282]

Nephew sent me a pix of his 6.5Grendel with a new Vortex on it.. l think the upper/lower are Palmetto State Arms... Getting ready for opening day on Shaw AFB where he works... Not an AR fan, but l think the pkg will get the job done... Deer hunting is putting the right bullet in the right place at the right time! l was at Kenny Jarrett's range sighting in Jackson SC my 22-250 VLS 700 yesterday(Not for Deer). Saw maybe a half dozen deer rigs for customers... Everything from 6.5Creedmor to 338 Lapua... All had test targets under 3/8''.. ALL will get the job done..

My old Winchester Coyote Mod 70 in 223 has taken about 4-5 SC Whitetail for the last eight years in the hands of a friend shooting factory 63gr Partitions... l passed it on to him because he fell in love with it at first sight... l never killed anything bigger than a Coyote with it along with a truck load of prairie dogs.. Sadly that Winchester Coyote wotaking any this year...
My friend had several STROKES around Mothers Day.. 48 is way TOO young for a STROKE!!

 

[Mr. Ten-X]

I hunt the woods because that is where whitetails in WI spend the bulk of their life...and they head to the deepest cover they can find for safety. Though I have a lightweight 6.8SPC for use in the woods, I have had many combinations over 50 years. Given a choice, I prefer a front-loader. For centerfire, just about anything with a 1-4X or 1.5-5X scope will fill a tag reliably. A single shot at an animal is the norm and any caliber that can deliver 1000ft/lbs minimum at the extreme distance inside of the woods will do everything I need it to.

 

[Anon331717]

Never had a need for anything more than the 30-06. This year I finally got a new, lighter one with a muzzle break. Never missed or lost one with an '06.

 

[284winner]

I came up with the same combo. Light sporter barrel and medium sporter fore-end, Pac-Nor 10 twist for the 140s. 2-8x glass with the #4 reticle.

Had this made in the late 90sView attachment 1121749 View attachment 1121750

She's a beaut !!!

 

[Tommie]

My gun is the best

 

[Webster]

I don't own a perfect deer rifle, I own rifles, they all kill deer.

Agree. You don't need a $3 to $4000 rifle to kill deer.

 

[Roe]

I started with a Rem700 Classic 6,5x55 topped with a Zeiss 6x42, later 8x56. Worked very well, was never unable to shoot a deer with it. Used 120gr NBT

I tried building my PERFECT DEER RIFLE around that time. Spoonfed by gunwriters, it was as close as I could get on the cheap, it was Sako Vixen 6mm-223 shooting 85gr Sierras. Shot maybe 30-50 deer, mostly bucks. Found it lacking, a lot of deer ran far.

Returned to a 2nd hand Sako Finnbear 6,5x55 in a McMillan stock as I wanted something weatherproof. Used 140gr Amax and grew proficient as a hunter with that rifle. Used a Zeiss 8x56 scope, later a Schmidt Bender PMII 4-16×50.

Used a Sako Forester 243. The 87gr Vmax dropped the deer really well. S&B PMII 4-16×50 was moved over.

Bought a Blaser R93 270 when it was time to rebarrel the Sako. Changed calibre to 6.5x284. Sure, it worked too. Shot 123 and 140 Amax. Used a Zeiss 2.5-10×50 scope but switched to my S&B PMII 4-16×50.

Upgraded the R93 to R8 and tried a 300 NM with 225gr Hornady ELD. Way too powerful. Got a 6 XC barrel and have shot a few deer with that (30?) using 90gr NBT and 105gr Amax. Works very well. Using a Minox ZP5 5-25×56.

Tried building the PERFECT DEER RIFLE again a few years back. With a few hundred deer under my belt, it was shaped by my own ideas. Sako action with a synth stock mated to a Lilja barrel and topped it with a 5-25x56 scope. Chambered for 6,5 Grendel shooting 123gr Amax, it worked too and it cost a lot more than my first rifles.

All in all, the only thing that has happened is that my pricetag and weight has increased. I always invested in top optics and wouldn't change that, but I have really wasted a lot of money on rifles. When all is summed up, I could probably have done a really fancy hunting trip for that. Looking into my closet, it is depressing to see how much $$$ I have turned into gear I don't use.

Here is a film with my PERFECT deer rifle which I threw a lot of money on and ended up not keeping

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

This will be my first year hunting whitetail, but JSH's post is exactly what I was thinking. Tikka superlite rifle plus scope is under 6.5 lbs. Stainless with synthetic stock for all weather conditions. Cheap 3x9 scope that is accurate enough, and I don't care if it breaks (but I do care if it fogs). Readily available ammo almost anywhere for the caliber. Specific caliber intentionally left out of this post. I'll let you know how it did after deer season.

For a budget hunting scope the Leupold 4-12 VX Freedom gets my vote, holds zero and very nice glass for the price

 

[67gt350]

My personal favorite is a pre-64 model 70 in 250-3000 savage topped with a straight six power Leupold scope. The reasons are it reminds me of days gone by,it still rolls deer like a shotgun rolls rabbits and not every Tom,Dick and Harry has one.

1959 model 70 in 30-06 - featherweight my favorite