Saw the all around post, and working on my M1917 sporter and cleaning the M99 savage put me in a nostalgic mood for Buffalo plaid, leaky tongue and groove and bad stew. How 'bout the top 5 cartridges pre-1980 in the great deer woods?
My picks are:
1: 30-30. Gets the nod based on sheer numbers. An effective although outdated round for whitetails. Not impressive on paper but it puts venison in the freezer. Probably made a legend by the rifle originally chambered for it.
2: 30-06. Many military sporters have been fielded in the iron belt by blue collar gents who were handy with a file and a drill. Add in the big city hunters with Rem autoloaders and the occasional Rem or Win boltgun and this has and will continue to be a popular, effective option.
3. .303 British. Still not uncommon to see a sporterized SMLE or an as-issued jungle carbine in my part of the country loaned to a youngster or used by an old-timer who's killed more deer in his life than the Polar Vortex.
4. .300 savage. An M99 was the status symbol of the vintage deer woods. The guy carrying it either really took his hunting seriously or had money and wanted to look like he did. A fine round in a nice handling rifle. A step above the .30-30 in a handy lever gun. Find a Rem 722 and it's a real tackdriver.
5. .35 Rem. Whether chambered in a Rem autoloader or pump or later in a Marlin lever gun, this is a classic Northwoods round for bear and deer. Not much range, but it'll punch a hunk of lead through a lot of meat and bone at woods ranges.
My picks are:
1: 30-30. Gets the nod based on sheer numbers. An effective although outdated round for whitetails. Not impressive on paper but it puts venison in the freezer. Probably made a legend by the rifle originally chambered for it.
2: 30-06. Many military sporters have been fielded in the iron belt by blue collar gents who were handy with a file and a drill. Add in the big city hunters with Rem autoloaders and the occasional Rem or Win boltgun and this has and will continue to be a popular, effective option.
3. .303 British. Still not uncommon to see a sporterized SMLE or an as-issued jungle carbine in my part of the country loaned to a youngster or used by an old-timer who's killed more deer in his life than the Polar Vortex.
4. .300 savage. An M99 was the status symbol of the vintage deer woods. The guy carrying it either really took his hunting seriously or had money and wanted to look like he did. A fine round in a nice handling rifle. A step above the .30-30 in a handy lever gun. Find a Rem 722 and it's a real tackdriver.
5. .35 Rem. Whether chambered in a Rem autoloader or pump or later in a Marlin lever gun, this is a classic Northwoods round for bear and deer. Not much range, but it'll punch a hunk of lead through a lot of meat and bone at woods ranges.
