The Ideal Deer Gun ???

[rickster58]

Ok guys, when in doubt put it to the NES crowd for advice. Tomorrow I am going with my buddy down to Cabela's in Hartford, CT to help him buy a new deer rifle. He has a rather large gift certificate to use towards it, hence the choice of stores. The issue is he hunts in two very different situations. Maine where he is up close and personal and wants something light to bang around the bushes with and climb into the tree stand with (lever gun 30-30). Then he hunts Wisconsin where most shots are long (100-175 yards) from the stand as they sit on the edge of some gigantic fields. The issue being that he would like the size and weight of a lever gun, but a 30-30 is a little underpowered to shoot out beyond 100 yds. He borrowed my 7mm rem mag bolt, but found it heavy and sorta long for bashing around in the bushes. He was thinking maybe a 308, but there aren't many choices there in a lever except for the 308 marlin caliber which I am not sure is the same cartridge as a regular 308. Another popular lever gun caliber is 45-70 but I don't think that is a good long distance shooter either. So I'm looking to you guys for suggestions. Thanks in advance.
Rick<><

 

[MassMark]

Marlin .308 Leveroution seems to make sense to me. I haven't researched it a ton, but the ballistics tables I have read are quite impressive. I would suggest he look into the Marlin 338MX or 308MX...Or for even longer distance shooting, the 338/308 MXLR. To me, these seem to be ideal "do it all" rifles...

 

[Fixxah]

30-'06 is my favorite. Kills stuff quite well from all distances. Browning BAR is short enough to bushwack also.

 

[economist]

If your friends insists on a lever gun, have him take a look at the Browning BLR (various versions available). The gun is fed from a box magazine, as opposed to tubular, and therefore offers more chambering options than the usual lever guns (e.g., .308 win, .30-06, .270, all of which are fine deer cartridges). For my taste, the best deer gun is a bolt action .25-06.

 

[JonJ]

If your friend is a MA resident, don't forget the Connecticut 2 week waiting period.

 

[jar]

What about the Savage scout rifle (10FCM)? I haven't tried one yet, but it's on my shortlist for an all purpose 308.

 

[tung tide]

At the same weight, and nearly 4" shorter than the BLR, this .30-06 carbine looks pretty good to me. It looks even better when you compare the MSRPs.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/model_7600_specs.asp

I love my longer version, and while I am no big follower of the Benoits of VT, I understand they do too.

 

[MassMark]

What about the Savage scout rifle (10FCM)? I haven't tried one yet, but it's on my shortlist for an all purpose 308.

Yup forgot about that one - I want one of those badly. .308, removable magazine, scout mount, iron sights, great trigger...Awesome....Nice pick!

 

[n1zfg]

A rifle that fits the shooter. E.g. One your friend can comfortably hold.

Even the ultimate tack driver will suck if the act of bringing it to bear turns out to be a pain.

 

[Patriot]

30-'06 is my favorite. Kills stuff quite well from all distances. Browning BAR is short enough to bushwack also.

+1. The best part is that you can get ammunition anywhere and it isn't a wallet buster.
I would go with a Bolt Action and a Leupold scope on it and you will never regret it.

 

[JDOV SS]

I would recommend a Browning BAR 7mm mag. I have owned one for 5 years now and will never use another rifle for whitetails. I have taken a total of 9 deer with it and every deer has fallen immediately in its tracks. I have been using Winchester 165 grain ammo. Prior to this, I used a 30-06 which worked fine but now I can reach out to 300 yards +.

 

[arlow]

Remington 7600 pump "Gun of the gods" The Benoits
Browning BAR semi auto
Remington 7400 semi auto

 

[rickster58]

Thanks for the info guys. We'll see what hits us at the store. I want to look at a new bow also. I have a Jennings T-Star that I'm going sell cheap that I've been using for years. I'm leaning toward a Martin or a Diamond. Mathews are real nice but harder to find. I don't want to order a bow online. I want to shoot the actual bow that I'm getting. I'll have to report back when we get home. It's funny how many questions you can have even after hunting for 35 years. I guess it's because I have hunted with the same guns for most of those 35 years. I mainly use,

Model 94 30-30
Remmington Model 700 7mm mag
Remington Model 11, 12 gauge
Remmington Model 1148, 16 gauge
7.65 mm Argentine Mauser (sold about 20 years ago, bummer!)

 

[Chuck Would]

I use a Remmie 700 in .30-06 with a Leupold 1.5 x 5 scope. All I could get years ago in lefty was the BDL.

IF I could have gotten a Model Seven in lefty in .308, that's what I would have chosen at the time.

 

[rickster58]

Well we ended up with a Marlin bolt 30-06 with a Nikon 3-9x x 40mm scope, synthetic stock, stainless barrel, clip fed, and fairly light and short.

 

[Patriot]

Well we ended up with a Marlin bolt 30-06 with a Nikon 3-9x x 40mm scope, synthetic stock, stainless barrel, clip fed, and fairly light and short.

Excellent choice...

 

[rickster58]

I use a Remmie 700 in .30-06 with a Leupold 1.5 x 5 scope. All I could get years ago in lefty was the BDL.

IF I could have gotten a Model Seven in lefty in .308, that's what I would have chosen at the time.

My 7mm rem mag is a 700 ADL I wish I had sprung for the extra bucks for the BDL because it has a trap door. It's not a big deal but you have to cycle the bolt to empty the gun. I love the gun, shoots great way out to 300 yards especially with handloads.

ps: the kid at the counter talked us out of a used Rem 710 , said they suck. He said it has a plastic coated chamber and they melt sometimes.