We had a guy come hunting with us and took down a fork horn with a 7mm. It damn near took the front end off the deer. 7mm Nosler
How bout this one? Yea, I know it isn't a deer round. Savage .17HMR in a leopard stock I painted. Took it to the range to zero it at 50 yards today. Five shot group after about 20 rounds through a new rifle. I was hitting a steel squirrel 1 in five shots at 300 yards with it too. A little gust of wind pushes it quite a bit. Dick's sporting goods usually has some decent sales on Savage centerfires, they have special for Dick's, called a Savage 11 VT that is a pretty good deal. Anything from .243 to 30-06 should work for deer and pigs. Though I've only shot pigs with a bow.
I use .223 for deer. Contrary to what some people Ive come across, you can drop one in one shot with it. Seen "hunters" with "traditional calibers" have to take 2 or more shots before the deer drops. My AR is my walk through the pines/ short range rifle. My slug gun for heavy brush and my Rem 700 BDL LA .300WIN is for sitting in spots where I have long ass shots available. Even took my Barrett out once. Long story, no deer exploded but did piss off the asshat who screamed at me about my ar the day before.
This season here in the SE mtns I'm using a Ruger Deerfield 99/44 semi auto .44 mag carbine(looks like a 10/22 but with a mini 14 action) with a Leupold 1.5x5 VX3 scope. No longer made now. I inherited it from my recently passed brother. Great round for short range brush hunting. Thru the 18" barrel, it should push some of the hotter stuff up around 1700+fps. I have a lot of the long ago disc and very hot Norma mild steel cased 240 soft tip. The rifle is short. Quick handling. Very light. Figure its good to about 125 yards. Also have the .308. Have killed many whitetail deer with the 5.56 from a AR. Have a 5.56 CZ bolt I might use sometimes.
Same rifle and its fine for elk as well and it doesn't take a whole ton of money to make them very accurate.
You said you want to keep it cheap. Mosin 7.62x54r soft tip ammo. Rifle and a bunch of ammo for a couple hundred $$$..... I'll stick with my Marlin .30-30 lever action.
+1 on the mosin nagant. 7.62x54r was/is used in machine guns also so there are tracer rounds, incinerary rounds, anti vehicle with steel core. Good times. old guns rock. Iron sights are for real men, but a scope and p[istol grip or thumbhole stock on a mosin nagant is fun and cheap. i want an SVD
I like that! I have a .44 mag pistol, .22 plinker, 12 ga slug gun, a few 30-06, and a .375. I've never hunted deer, but if I did I think I'd look for a Remington 7600 in 35 Whelen. 06 case and a 35 caliber bullet. I have a few thousand 06 cases waiting for reloading and would work for 35 Whelen, as they would for a 25-06 another round I'd like to try. BTW I've shot caribou with my 375 on the tundra in grizzly country. It's effective. Same trajectory as an 06. But I'd still like to have a 7600 in 35 Whelen.
My next will be a .25. Maybe a .257 Weatherby. Custom ammo isn't really that big a deal price wise when you figure how much you really shoot a hunting only rifle. 40 rounds will last 5 years. Little 100g +- screamer at up to 3800fps. Currently hunting with a 7mm Rem Mag now. Sight lines at my current least are over 800 yards in some spots. The 7 is good out that far but I'm not good over 400. A smaller rifle with For brush I have a Marlin .45-70 lever with a 1-4x scout scope. Big bullet that won't deflect easily off brush. Gotta wake up in 5hrs for opening day. Woot.
This was the last time I shot my sniper rifle, back in August 2012. Five shots at 100 yards with my Remington 700, Nightforce scope, shooting Remington 168 grn BTHP match. Fuck I miss it........
Since it's illegal to hunt with any semi auto rifle here, I can't speak to hunting with those platforms, although I've sure as hell shot with them a lot. As for a deer rifle, I'm yet another vote for 30-06, I absolutely love mine, lets you know you're shooting it, and is damn reliable. It's also a Savage, I paid $380 for it a few years back during our local annual hunters blowout sale. Just my $.02
What ranges will you be shooting at? How often will you sight in? Do you plan to modify or leave it alone? Following Jeff Cooper's advice: a .308 will take anything down that needs taken down, properly shot. If you're talking a heavy brush, within 150 yards, a 30/30 lever action will do you just as well. If you're talking the occasional 400-500 yard poke .300 WIN MAG (kicks about as hard as a light 12 gauge slug gun). Seriously, whatever ammo you can source cheap to sight in and shoot in your area is the key. If you intend on the .270 then also keep an eye on the .243 (faster, flatter trajectory).
Shit! Now you've done thrown another round into the mix! Ya ain't helping my decision There's a 100 yard range not too far from my house. So I'll prolly sight in there and do the majority of shooting (target & hunting) at the lease.
I have both 308 and 30-06. I tend toward the Rem 700 308. prob because it had a trigger job and I put a nicer scope on it. That being said. the is nothing wrong with the 30-06
Paul used to hunt with a 7mm.08 pistol for deer until rifles were allowed. He then moved to the .270 caliber. He got the Tikka T3 with the blue barrel. Very accurate and he is pleased with the set up. He reloads his own ammo so I can't give you any ideas on what to chose there. He only used the factory stuff to break in the barrel. Dawn
If I were looking for a cheap deer rifle I'd pick up a Ruger American in .30-06. Put a Redfield scope on it, zero it at 200 yards, and go after the hoof rats. Wouldn't have to worry about dinging up a plastic rifle, and .30-06 is about as universally available as you will find. Or find a bubba'd 1903 Springfield. Seems like every shop has at least one of those on the rack. Alas, where I'm at we can't use rifles. My deer gun is a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44mag.
What about this one? http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/mos...nfinity-stock-matte-blue-finish-p-130718.html
