Ten Top Deer Rifles of All Time?

[ScreaminEagle]

Not in any particular order:
Ruger model 77
Savage 99
Rem 700
Rem 760 gameblaster
Winchester 70
Mauser 98
Springfield '03
Rem mohawk

That is the list of what you would find PA hunters to be using in my area. Top calibers gotta be '06 and 30-30. Though 300 savage, 250-3000, 7mm mag, and 270 shouldn't be to far behind. The 280 is still the BEST though!!!

 

[6mm Remington]

Do I hear an AMEN to that one! :wink:

 

[BK]

Best deer cartridges have to be 6mm, .25-06, .257 Weatherby, .280, and 7 WSM.

Just because I like them.

 

[cloverleaf]

Rifles:
Mod 94- 30-30 et al
Model 99 Sav
Marlin 336
Win. Mod 70
Mauser FN comercial (got one )
Savage 110
30-40 Krg
Ruger 77
Rem. 700
Ithica Model 37 16ga (I got one of these too < OK technically its not rifled, but they dont call 'em Deerslayers for nothin')
Mossberg 500 (OK...I'll admit to having one of these too)

 

[Polaris]

My personal picks, based on a combination of innovation (for it's time) field effectiveness and popularity. Completely unscientific, but here goes.

1. Win 94. Easily the most popular deer rifle of all time
2. Sav M99. very popular, innovative design, powerful calibers for a lever gun.
3. Rem M700.
4. Win M70 (#3 and 4 need no explaination)
5. Sporterized Mauser/springfield/enfield/Krag. Lumping all military conversions into one group. Very effective rifles for the man on a budget. They've taken a lot of deer.
6. Marlin 336 Another classic Lever timber gun.
7. Rem Mod 8 and 81. Innovative design from the early days of semi-autos. Effective, reliable and powerful. The first successful design for the high end deer hunter.
8. Browning BAR. Great semi-auto available in powerful calibers. Superb handling, accuracy and reliability.
9. Ruger .44 mag carbine. Can't remember the model number, but it's an innovative concept and a very handy, effective rifle for up close and personal work in the brush.
10. Sav. 110. Bare bones but highly effective, accurate rifles for the hunter on a budget. They keep coming up with innovative features.

Edit to include calibers. Same criteria.

1. 30-30 win. Pretty weak these days but was hot stuff in 1900. Probably killed more deer than all other calibers combined.
2. 30-06. Nuff said
3. 300 Savage. A truly great and innovative round, giving true high-power performance in lever guns, early semi-autos and short action boltguns.
4. 308 win. Short action version of nuff said.
5. 7X57mm mauser. Great old cartridge, many of the more modern flat shooters have emulated it's ballistics available in the early 1900's.
6. 270 win. The first flat shooting deer round widely available and still going strong. This round made the M70
7. 303 brit and 30-40 Krag. Very similar cartridges, put to great service in many sporterized military guns.
8. 280 Rem. My personal favorite. Gaining fresh momentum recently.
9. 35 Rem. Early round for the Rem md 8. Great performance in lever guns when more stopping power is desired.
10. 6.5X55 swedish mauser. Flat shooting, deep penetrating and accurate, light recoiling. Never super popular but it should be.

 

[Ridge_Runner]

In 1965 I remember checking out the rifles carried by hunters in this area they were as follows
2 pre-64 winchester model 70's in 270 win
1 sporterized 30/40 kraig
1 win. model 94 32 win spec.
2 win. model 94 30/30
1 savage 99 250 sav.
and a stevens in 32 long rimfire
the rest of the hunters that I knew growing up used shotguns and rifled slugs
fast foreward to the early 70's, same group of hunters and they're children who were old enough to hunt
same 2 win. 70's
same 30/40 kraig
yep those 3 94's
same savage
no more shotguns, they were replace with
760's in 243, 270, and 244
a browning BAR 270
another 99 in 243
742's in 308, 243, and a 30/06
now the 90's
rem 700's 7 mags, 6mm's, 270's
788's in 7mm/08, 6mm, 243
same ole model 70's,94's, savagees and such
a model 71 348 (my close quarters rifle)
today
ya never know what you'll see, from 223's to 458's
now I was quite young in 1965, but I remember ogleing over all the fancy deer guns, had no idea what they were but I grew up with these hunters and came to know what these rifles were by seeing them show up every fall when the hunt was on, I officialy started deer hunting in 1970
RR

 

[roysclockgun]

Isn't it true that if a man has only one rifle, over the years, it becomes the all time best rifle/cartridge combination?
In 1953, my cousin Harry, was given an old Savage 99, chambered in .303Savage. We were both 11 years old. Nearly every year he slayed local deer with that old rifle and its "obsolete" cartridge. To this day, if someone asked him to name a great deer rifle/cartridge combination, Harry will say; "No contest! The greatest deer getter of all time, is a Savage 99, chambered in .303Savage!"
The .303Savage round was introduced in 1894 and by the 1930s, it was falling from favor. I don't know where Harry continued getting cases for the .303Savage, but since he only deer hunted two weeks a year, he most likely did not need many cases to continue to reload.
I guess my point is that the greatest deer rifle of all time changes, depending on to whom the question is put.
Steven

 

[SJB358]

I will give this a whirl..

1. Win M94
2. Win M70
3. Win M71
4. Rem M700
5. Marlin 1895
6. Marlin 336
7. Browning BAR
8. Browning BLR
9. Remington 11-87
10. Browning A5

The last two are shotguns seen and used all over my county growing up. I have killed a pile of deer with my 11-87 with the M8 4X Leupold. Cloverleafs Remington 2 3/4" Buckhammers at 100.

Now for my list of cartridges.

1. 30-30
2. 35 Rem
3. 358 Win
4. 7mm Remington Magnum
5. 270 Winchester Short Magnum
6. 35 Whelen
7. 348 Winchester (probably my biggest want)
8. 45-70
9. 444 Marlin
10. 12 gauge

That is just Scotty's list of my favorite set ups. Scotty

 

[Ridge_Runner]

Isn't it true that if a man has only one rifle, over the years, it becomes the all time best rifle/cartridge combination?
In 1953, my cousin Harry, was given an old Savage 99, chambered in .303Savage. We were both 11 years old. Nearly every year he slayed local deer with that old rifle and its "obsolete" cartridge. To this day, if someone asked him to name a great deer rifle/cartridge combination, Harry will say; "No contest! The greatest deer getter of all time, is a Savage 99, chambered in .303Savage!"
The .303Savage round was introduced in 1894 and by the 1930s, it was falling from favor. I don't know where Harry continued getting cases for the .303Savage, but since he only deer hunted two weeks a year, he most likely did not need many cases to continue to reload.
I guess my point is that the greatest deer rifle of all time changes, depending on to whom the question is put.
Steven

according to the handloaders guide of cartridge conversions the 303 savage can readily be made from the 220 swift
RR

 

[SJB358]

according to the handloaders guide of cartridge conversions the 303 savage can readily be made from the 220 swift
RR

RR, just wondering, what do you shoot outta your 348? Scotty

 

[Ridge_Runner]

I've shot 200 gr silvertip factory loads and 200 gr hornady's in front of IMR 4895, they seem to shoot the same, with the same performance. ya got a pm scotty
RR

 

[ROVERT]

All this love for the for the 99 and not a single mention of an 88 or Finnwolf?

I'm a sucker for bolt guns, but I have to admit that these lever guns bring a lot of utility to the table for a deer hunter.

 

[onesonek]

All this love for the for the 99 and not a single mention of an 88 or Finnwolf?

I'm a sucker for bolt guns, but I have to admit that these lever guns bring a lot of utility to the table for a deer hunter.

Well considering the gist of the thread is popularity,,,one looks at the numbers.
The M-88 was in production about 23 years and iirc, about 285,000 made.
Not sure on the Finnwolf, other than it was behind the 88.
The Sav. 99 was in production in various forms for 99 years. I don't know the number produced,,,maybe somebody here knows it, or can find it. I didn't in a simple search. But I would hazard a guess it was over a million. In it's earlier days, it was so popular, the military nearly adopted it to replace the "trapdoor". The Krag won that honor, and I would surmise that was due most generally to the fact bolt guns are quicker to break down for field cleaning.

 

[ROVERT]

All this love for the for the 99 and not a single mention of an 88 or Finnwolf?

I'm a sucker for bolt guns, but I have to admit that these lever guns bring a lot of utility to the table for a deer hunter.

Well considering the gist of the thread is popularity,,,one looks at the numbers.
The M-88 was in production about 23 years and iirc, about 285,000 made.
Not sure on the Finnwolf, other than it was behind the 88.
The Sav. 99 was in production in various forms for 99 years. I don't know the number produced,,,maybe somebody here knows it, or can find it. I didn't in a simple search. But I would hazard a guess it was over a million. In it's earlier days, it was so popular, the military nearly adopted it to replace the "trapdoor". The Krag won that honor, and I would surmise that was due most generally to the fact bolt guns are quicker to break down for field cleaning.

Sorry, I didn't read the OP as being based on general popularity or sales numbers. I haven't come across all that many Jarrett Beanfield rifles or Tar-Hunt slug guns.

 

[SJB358]

Sorry, I didn't read the OP as being based on general popularity or sales numbers. I haven't come across all that many Jarrett Beanfield rifles or Tar-Hunt slug guns.

I have actually never seen a Tar Hunt or Jarrett rifle in person. I agree with you about the M88. Again, I "think" I might have seen one of them, but I can't recall where... I just took it as a good place to rant about my favorites!

 

[ROVERT]

I typically see several 88's on the local used racks throughout a year. I was just surprised no one's list included one.

Scotty, after you get yourself a 71, you should try to get your hands on one of these:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=265153258

 

[ROVERT]

Here's my list:

M70
M88
M94
M700
M7
M77
99
110
336
VL63

 

[SJB358]

I typically see several 88's on the local used racks throughout a year. I was just surprised no one's list included one.

Scotty, after you get yourself a 71, you should try to get your hands on one of these:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=265153258

Man, that looks like a sweet rifle. They don't want much for it, huh! :roll:

Those run about the same price point as the Savage M99's in 358.

 

[DrMike]

It does look like a sweet rifle, and it has a sweet price.

 

[ROVERT]

...and it has a sweet price.

For the would be seller, at least.

I've seen .243's and .308's for very reasonable prices lately, mostly post 64's though.