Ten Top Deer Rifles of All Time?

[onesonek]

Back in my earliest years of big game hunting, my first rifle was a single shot. Then some slick salesman convince me I needed a 742 for hunting in case I needed a fast follow up shot. So I went home with it, set up exactly as 35 described. Had a heck of time with that scope mounted that high. But regardless, it must have been the heat of the moment, as the first deer I shot at about 75 yds in a small 5-6 acre meadow. I shot 3 times completely destoying the offside shoulder with the last 2 shots. It was plenty dead from the first shot, just not down. I went back and traded that rifle for a TC Contender, and been using #1's and TC's ever since with no regrets and feeling no handicap in using single shots. In timber, I really can't recall where I could get of a second shot if needed anyhow. Hitting a moving target rather than a tree or brush seems slim 99+% of the time from my experience. And in my mind, nothing is handier in timber then a single shot action coupled to a 18-20" barrel, having a shorter AOL and generally less weight to carry on longer still hunts. Or even longer spot and stalks in open country, I can make a case for it, at least in my thoughts. As of now, I have 2 TC barrels setup for close cover, with those giving me an AOL's of 32 and 34 inches.
But even with those 2 being around long enough and being my favorite's, you will not see them in a general "top 10 list ". The only repeater I have, is the Marlin GG. I bought it mostly because I have always wanted a lever gun. But I can see it's use more prudent, in case of hunting game that might or could bite back. That too, won't make many if any "top 10 list". But that is what is great about the industry here in America,,,,there is a wide selection to suit most everybody's wants. I wouldn't wish it any other way!!!

 

[Polaris]

:shock: Well here in the state of Maine of course the older Winchesters really had it sewn up until after the war.............. but after that here is the list. 1/10
Number ONE;
A Remington 742 in either 06/308 caliber toped off with a set of see thru mounts and the cheapest Tasco scope they could get . The scope was so high above the bore that you needed to literally hold your face almost OFF the stock to shoot it . This model of course had the standard 7-12 lb trigger pull, and the shorter the barrel the better . The only other gun they would consider; was a 760 pump. The theory was that they more "lead in the air" the better the chance of bringing home the bacon!
They also had somehow decided around here that shooting a set of open sights is "faster" than a scope and I have heard alot more than a few proclaim that that the always switched to open sight as soon as it started to get dark as it was far better than a scope.
There was quite a following locally that used "heavy" bullets in these guns as it "busted brush alot better" so I always wondered how much of a deer they really needed to see before they let fly???Maine at one time had one of the worst "hunter accident rates" in the nation. I am sure this type of thinking had alot to do with that fact. The common talk around the gas station in hunting season was that so and so had seen a flash of white and fired at it, or cusin Bill had heard a twig snap right after he saw some brown go into the jack firs and fired the whole clip in there???
We sold hundreds of boxes of shells to the public, and there was most certainly a direct corolation between the guys that wanted 180/200 and even 220 gr bullets, and the tough luck they were having with deer getting away wounded...............
There was a gunshop in Lincoln Maine that has since gone outta bussiness, that used to advertise they had 1500 guns in the shop and I would venture to guess that the racks in the back were holding about 60%/70% of that flavor of gun I listed above..... what a pile of iron in one place.
People have in the last 10-15 years moved away from them and that whole line of thinking but for almost fourty years Remingtons best customer for their automatics was the Maine woods. And that probably accounted for more stories of "big ones getting away" than all the others combined..........
there was no number two........................... in that era big green had it all..................

Too funny. You could replace Maine with Minnesota and be right on the mark. I think you'd have to split young vs. old hunters. The oldsters here still wielded their 30-30's, 32's and a few Md 99 300s through the '80s. Got a lot of grief from a group I hunted with for my bolt action .308. Fired 4 shots that season, got 3 deer for the party, 2 of them running in heavy cover, finished off after poor hits with semi-auto 30-06's, easy shots with the scope dialed down to 2X, no more grief. That "heavy roundnose bullet goes through brush" line is still alive and well. 180 gr RN '06 is still a big seller here, one gunshop advertises that they keep it in stock always.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I left Maine before my mind was totally clouded by the 742 & 760 Remington group with the see through scope mounts. I did though buy a .32 WS, Model 94 Winchester as one of my first rifles though and just finally gave it to my oldest son last week. It has come full circle though and he really likes the old double, with dash, numbered lever big bores. They were a mechanical wonder and this one still shoots as well as it did in 1947 when it was made.

 

[aristico]

First time I went hunting was up in Maine with a buddy of mine who had married a girl from up there. Most of the family used a 7600 pump and I thought they were the coolest thing ever.....Have one sitting in the safe collecting dust. P.O.S. loves to jam every chance it gets.....

 

[Elkman]

35 Whelen wrote:
:shock: Well here in the state of Maine of course the older Winchesters really had it sewn up until after the war.............. but after that here is the list. 1/10
Number ONE;
A Remington 742 in either 06/308 caliber toped off with a set of see thru mounts and the cheapest Tasco scope they could get . The scope was so high above the bore that you needed to literally hold your face almost OFF the stock to shoot it . This model of course had the standard 7-12 lb trigger pull, and the shorter the barrel the better . The only other gun they would consider; was a 760 pump. The theory was that they more "lead in the air" the better the chance of bringing home the bacon!
They also had somehow decided around here that shooting a set of open sights is "faster" than a scope and I have heard alot more than a few proclaim that that the always switched to open sight as soon as it started to get dark as it was far better than a scope.
There was quite a following locally that used "heavy" bullets in these guns as it "busted brush alot better" so I always wondered how much of a deer they really needed to see before they let fly???Maine at one time had one of the worst "hunter accident rates" in the nation. I am sure this type of thinking had alot to do with that fact. The common talk around the gas station in hunting season was that so and so had seen a flash of white and fired at it, or cusin Bill had heard a twig snap right after he saw some brown go into the jack firs and fired the whole clip in there???
We sold hundreds of boxes of shells to the public, and there was most certainly a direct corolation between the guys that wanted 180/200 and even 220 gr bullets, and the tough luck they were having with deer getting away wounded...............
There was a gunshop in Lincoln Maine that has since gone outta bussiness, that used to advertise they had 1500 guns in the shop and I would venture to guess that the racks in the back were holding about 60%/70% of that flavor of gun I listed above..... what a pile of iron in one place.
People have in the last 10-15 years moved away from them and that whole line of thinking but for almost fourty years Remingtons best customer for their automatics was the Maine woods. And that probably accounted for more stories of "big ones getting away" than all the others combined..........
there was no number two........................... in that era big green had it all..........

Lots of memories, the war was over, everyone drove a ford or chevy truck, wore red and black wool checkered shirts and coats. In the west camped in tents. The 30-30 was king and the 03 was now in the woods, and not in battle. It was the beginning of a new age, and now most of them are gone.

 

[roysclockgun]

Elkman, I pray that you and lot more of us here, have many more hunts left to do!

I do remember post WWII days, when my Uncle Arthur returned from the war in Europe and had to wait until 1948 before a Win. M 70 in 220Swift was available anywhere!
Conversions of War Trophies was very common and the accuracy to those was strictly based on how good was the gunsmith who performed the work. Uncle Walter took his Arisaka war trophy and had a 220Swift bull barrel hung on it. He and Uncle Art campaigned to see who could kill the most groundhogs each summer. At that time we could still ride the county roads and kill whistle pigs out of the car window, resting a jacket or other handy pad on the car's window sill. Talk about shooting being wide open. Only sissies did not shoot! Then, only the very western part of Maryland had open season on deer and that was for one week, buck only. When someone shot a deer, they would hang out at the checking station or go from bar to bar, showing off their buck! No one that I knew ever thought of letting the first buck walk by because his rack was small. Getting a buck was very special then. I do not remember any of my family or friends owning more than one deer rifle. My Dad had the Rem. 722 in 222Rem for groundhogs, and a cut-down British .303 for deer.
Steven in DeLand

 

[Oldtrader3]

What I can most remember from after WWII (late 40's) is my dad coming home in 1947 from Germany and a friend's father who lived up the road on the island in Maine that I lived on. Once in a while, his dad went out to the back shore to shoot seagulls with an Arisaka 7.7mm (Model 99?) machine gun when he could find enough ammo to shoot it.

 

[Elkman]

roysclockgun
Elkman I pray that you and lot more of us here, have many more hunts left to do!

Thank you Roy, for the kind thoughts. I am sure that the others here feel the same way. I am not of that age group but my father and uncles all were, and its apparent that many of the guys here remember those early days after the war. Good hunting to you all, and may the sun always be at your back.

 

[35 Whelen]

Elkman,
To add to those old memorys of yesteryear.............. how about all the guys tieing their deer all over those old humped fenders of their cars to haul them all home with the blood trailing down over the sides????? Or the red/black wool pants with the elastic bands at the bottom?? Marbles compasses before they were a collectors item?? The most popular automatic was a model 81 in 300 Sav or 35 Rem???? The guides here always commented on the size of the sporting mans knives! For what ever reason alot of them showed up here, with ones that made Crocodile Dundees look meger........
Not exactly sure what they planed to do with a knife that big. Everyone that ever came here wanted to shoot a bear as well as a deer and for some unknown reason they usually tied them ONTOP of the cars???? Everyone smoked cigarettes and most 2/3 packs a day! Scopes were for sissys...........
We always had a few that didnt NEED a compass and claimed to have a "natural sense of direction" and Dad would always comment to the guides "keep an eye on that fella as he will most likely be overdue tommorrow, when dark overtakes him" More often than not he was right.
A huge tip back then was a pendleton shirt or a knife; if a guide were given a gun by a sport that story would be told for hundreds of miles away![of course everyone would try to get him the next fall] if two guys were hunting togeather and one got a buck you always split the meat??? And the buddy would always help drag it out????? Tree stands were something you heard about but had never used, as eveyone you knew still hunted???? No one had ever watched a hunting movie unless it was on 16mm film and B&W usually with no sound???? When a father and son went hunting and the boy shot his first buck and the old man was showing more dampness around the eyes than the boy was...............
We used to have alot of hunters from a workmans club in Amityville NY .......... two groups of ten hunters each. As one went out the other came in. There was no interstate here then and it was around 14 hrs up here on old US Route 1 that went right past LL Beans front door. Everyone stoped there and usually some had been into the brandy so there was some very interesting arrivals here at about 3am ............... my mother always had a hearty hunters breakfast ready for them but some had no intentions of eating anything and ruining the buzz they had acquired enroute???
Yes that era after the war was an interesting one!

 

[Elkman]

35

I had that very thought today, about the pictures of deer on the hoods, and smoking "pipes" . It was very interesting and entertaining when we think back on it now. !!!!!

 

[mcseal2]

I guess it all depends on where and how you hunt.

I'd have to say my #1 is any brand bolt rifle capable of pushing a 130gr or bigger bullet with a BC of .450 or better at 3000fps plus and putting 3 shots under 1". Oh, and it must also have a 3 position or tang safety. Pick what barrel length your choice needs to get the speed, add a scope somewhere between 2.5-8x and 4.5-14x depending on where you hunt, and you are set for 95% of deer hunting anywhere. I lean toward the open country end of this for my use with my 264WM with a 25" barrel, using the 140gr AB and 4-12 Leupold CDS. A shorter lighter 22" 270 win with a 2.5x8 will do most of what my rig will and be handier, but I like mine.

I do agree with having the Remington pumps on the list, I still like these rifles. I have a worked over 760 in 30-06 with the 2lb Timney 870 shotgun spring kit in it and it shoots as well as many good bolt guns. It's a darn nice gun if you may need a second shot, and comes up real smooth. I never use it much in our country unless we are doing a drive or I get called to track somebody's crippled deer. I know 2 local hunters that are color blind, and one of them is also a poor shot. I got him talked into a buying a new scope for his 243 and bought him a box of factory loaded 100gr partitions for it. I somehow managed to use all of his old box of cheap 80gr ammo getting it dialed in for him :grin: He was proud of being on the same box of ammo for X number of years, and I was thinking of the deer I had tracked for him through those years. Now since I sighted it in it won't be the gun's fault.

I took lots of deer with a short barrelled 243 with excellent results also, but mainly in antlerless season. It all depends on where and how you hunt.