DEER GUN! DEER GUN! Maybe Elk...

[jonhearn]

I'm from California and I'm hoping to start doing some deer hunting soon. When I started looking into guns, I found that there were litterally hundreds of different guns and calibers, and since I havn't field tested any of these (I havn't deer hunted before) I decided to go to you all.
What is your favorite deer rifle and why? Calibers? Makes? PLLLLEEEEAAASSSSEEEE!! THANK YOU GUYS.

[Todd G.]

When looking at a versatile deer/elk rifle, its hard to argue against a .30-06 in a good bolt action rifle.

[protector]

I agree with the .30-06 bolt advice. Usable for anything you would hunt in North America, easy to obtain ammunition, flat shooting at all reasonable ranges, hard hitting as well. Other options might be a .270 or .280. Both would work well for almost anything you wish to hunt. Things to consider include your ability to handle recoil, how much weight you're willing to pack around in the field, and the weather conditions you're likely to face. These should help you decide on the material of the stock and the finish for the metal. I hunt deer/antelope and use a .243 with a composite stock. It's light, which is nice for the type of hunting we do -- lots of walking and scoping in Montana. But I also find it's hard to hold steady because it lacks weight. I used to shoot a .30-06 with a heavy wood stock and found it easier to keep steady, but had problems with weather, especially in the temperatre rain forest of southeast Alaska.

[Yooper]

You're going to get many, many responses on this. For deer and elk, especially if you're going to be doing any open-country hunting such as often is the case in the mid-west and out where you are, you can't go wrong with a solid bolt-action in 7mm Rem. Mag. It shoots flat, can reach out to ethical limits and is an all-around great round.

As was also mentioned, a 30.06 is the classic round and will do great too. Best thing I'd suggest is figure out a budget, find a rifle you're comfortable with and then select a caliber.

Good huntin'

[Madawaska]

Jonhearn, you are going to get a lot of replies to this one and it is very hard to argue with either the 30-06 or 7mm Mag (I use both). Excuse me if I missed it, but I'm guessing you don't have a lot of medium/big game experience? Are you recoil sensitive? If so you might also want to consider the 7 X 57 as well. Good choice of bullet weights and not hard on the shoulder which is conducive to lots of practice which in turn leads to good shot placement. I have a 700 Mountain Rifle in 7 X57 and it's the rifle I pick every time if I'm going to be doing any climbing. You're blessed with a lot of good choices though.

[farmer]

I love a 257 Weatherby you can purchase the Vanguard series and also spring for the upgrade to Sub-MOA, then put a good variable power scope and you will have a excellent hunting rifle. But the ammo will be expensive.

[hunter1992]

The best all around gun would be the 30-06. This is a very popular caliber so you can easily find quality ammo at a good price. I would recommend get a wetherby Vangard. I know of people who use them for varmints and people have used them for brown bear.

[Coug]

Hate to be redundant but the 30-06 is a great caliber for just about anything. It also lacks the recoil of the larger magnums which is nice. My big game calibers include a .243, 30-06, 300WSM and soon a .375H&H, but if I had to pick just one, it would probably be the 30-06.

[elk killer wannabe]

It's hard to argue against the 30.06 and I'm not going to try but another one to consider is the .270. It is a little flatter shooting than the 30.06 and makes a great elk gun with a premium bullet in it. The slightly lighter bullet (typically) is going to make the .270 a little easier on the shoulder as well.

Shot placement is the key. Don't shoot outside your effective range. I think very few people have the ability to make ethical long range shots (>350 yards). I consider an ethical shot to be a range in which you hit 5 out of 5 shots in an 8 inch circle for deer or 10 inch circle for elk. I hate the thought of only wounding an animal at a long range. It may be difficult to even find your blood trail at that distance.

[Yooper]

Another gun to look at too would be the NEF single shot rifles. These are inexpensive and highly accurate and just plain old fun. You can get one in .270, .280, or 30.06, as well as a few other calibers. If you want a excellent deer round, NEF offers their rifle in 7mm-08.

[Hard H2O]

Where are you starting from?

Do you do any other type of hunting?

Have you done much shooting before?

What if anything have you shot?

What is your price renge

Where will you be hunting?

What kind of terrain?

How long of shots do you expect?

Is weight of the firearm a factor?

What is the general size and weight of whitetails in the area you will be hunting?

Felt recoil is a factor of weight and design of the firearm and stock and how much powder you are burning when you pull the trigger. You should take that into account when selecting a firearm and caliber.

The .30-06 is capable of harvesting any big game on the North American continent. Other reasonable selections include anything from the venerable .30-30 on up to and through the various .300 magnums. Their is really quite a range to choose from.

Bullet placement is really the key when all is said and done. Any round from the .30-30 on up should be capable of harvesting whitetail sized animals with in normal ranges. Putting the bullet in the right spot on the animal is the next step.

Choose one that you can shoot well. Choose one that has a recoil that you can tolerate and still place a bullet on target accurately. Choose one that will have enough energy left, at the ranges you might be encountering targets, to cleanly kill the animal.

I use a lever action .30-30 with a scope. It has never let me down.

If I was looking to buy a new deer rifle I would probably look at the various Savage models in .270, .280, .308, or .30-06.

I might also look at the newer .270 WSM, 7mmWSM, .300, WSM or the .325 WSM.

If you are into handloading you have another level of possibilities for calibers. If that were the case I would look seriously at the .338-06.

Good Luck.

[RAMJET]

I think the 30.06 is the most versatile weapon period.
Ammunition is easy to find, it's reasonal, doesn't have a massive recoil, and will kill anything in north America.

I like what hunter1992 said about the weatherby's. I personally own a 300 Weatherby Mag Vanguard Stainless Steel. You can buy bullets ranging from 110 grain to 220 grain and maybe more with handloads. The lighter loads I use for coyotes and prairie dogs, 150 grain for deer, and 180 grain ballistic tip for anything bigger. The 180 grain BST has an energy at 300 yds. of 2867lbs. A 338 mag is 3109lbs. and a 375 mag is 3076lbs. With the 338 shooting a 200 grain bullet and the 375 a 300 grain respectively.

Buy Stainless with a composite stock. Never have to worry about the elements.

Happy Hunting

[Yooper]

I am currently restoring my 30.06 after some damage that occured when I moved a while back. While my main gun is my 7 mag. I am planning on taking out my .06 and shooting a deer dead this fall.

Go for the .06. You won't be sorry.

[Fred949]

I use a .308 Winchester which is a Ruger MK II, an older Marlin 30-30, model 336, and a 7mm-08 Remington Mountain Rifle, which is my favorite. The reason it is my favorite is because it is relatively light in weight and recoil. It has sufficient power and distance to cleanly take deer to 300 yards or so. I can reload a variety of bullet weights, plus I have found factory ammo that shoots nearly as accuracte as what I can reload. It just looks like a deer rifle. I know the stainless and synthetics have their place, but are not my idea of a classic deer rifle.
I am fond of all the rifles I deer hunt with. I enjoy them because they are lighter in recoil which inclines me to do more practicing at the range with them, and they are all fairly accurate rifles. Most of my deer hunting is done in PA, and have begun to hunt out West for Mule Deer.

[camoNick]

You cannot go wrong with any caliber betwen 240 weatherby and 338 for deer and elk the 240 is a light recoiling gun and the 338 is a heavy recoiling gun I personally own a 7mm-08 it will shoot very acuratley and is a excellent deer gun. a 308 and 30-06 are classsics along with the 30-30 all will do a job on the game you will encounter. In my opinon the 270, 7mm 300 win mag, 270 wsm, 300 wsm, 308 and 30-06 are the best calibers avaliable. Gun wise you cant ro wrong with getting a winchester model 70 or any remington, browning and tikka also make very good guns, for a little bit more money. search some of these manufactures websites to find out if you would like a bolt action lever action or semi auto or pump rilfe. the way the stock fits you is also very important in an accurate hunting rifle.
good luck

[Gofish]

You should buy a new gun with an idea of how you will use it. Consider you own marsmanship limitations (effective range, recoil sensitivity, etc.), as well as the conditions you will want to hunt. To expand on the previous post, the RANGE of calibers form .240 to .338 roughly fits the RANGE of big game animals from pronghorn to elk. But DO NOT buy a .240 with the idea of hunting elk with it. For hunting pronghorn and whitetails .240 is a good minimum caliber, with the .243 being an excellent choice. You can hunt mule deer with these light calibers, but the gun will limit the shots you can ethically take. Similarly, a .270 is an excellent mule deer round that can be used on elk with disciplined shot selection. If your goal is to primarily hunt elk and mulies, do yourself a favor and go with something in the .30 cal. group. 7 mm and .30-06 are great choices.

[Obsessed]

My favorite gun is a 12 guage shotgun. There is a lot of power in those babies. They have a good range of about 125 yards. It isn't that far but if your planning to hunt in the woods you don't need to shoot that far. I've read there is about 1 and a half tons per sqaure inch hitting that deer at 2000 fps. That is a dead kill.

[YoungBuck]

I would personally reccomend a .270 winchester. It has handled every animal I have pointed it at, Whitetail, Muley, and Elk. Of coruse, I have been shooting it for 6 years. Put a few rounds through it and practiced a lot.

[WHkIiTlElTeArIL]

.30/06 or .270, popular and low recoil.

[Suka]

I think you've recieved some excellent caliber suggestions. Now get ahold of some ballistics tables and compare the different calibers to each other, that will help you make up your mind. www.remington.com has a ballistics comparison where you can compare up to 3 calibers with different wt bullets for each caliber side by side. Note the energy and drop of each caliber/bullet wt. at different ranges. Also note some guns can shoot a mile pretty accurately(exageration), some are only really good for 100 yds(not exageration). Some long distance calibers couldn't knock down a pop can at distance, some are shoulder cannons. Finally, some you might as well lobb rocks.
.270 and 30-06 are great, and common for a reason. I'd say the 270 is better for deer, the '06 is fine for that, and good for pretty much anything in N America. While the 270 may be on the lighter side for elk, many are taken with 270's every year.
Guess my suggestion would be if you're certain you'll be hunting elk at least a few times I'd go with the '06. If you're going to hunt deer, and maybe elk once or twice in your life, I'd go with the .270. To be fair, I'd bet you'll be happy with either of those 2, plus a dozen other calibers. Biggest thing is practice, practice, practice whatever you pick.

[beards]

i like my .300 winmag. good for deer, elk and bear

[turner1978]

My vote goes to the most popular (for good reason), most versatile, and the most accesable supply of quality inexpensive ammo. That is the venerable 30-06.

[HAIKU_RODNEY]

I gotta go with what Hard H20 said. I shoot a 30-06 and a 7mm-08. I cannot tolerate a lot of recoil. Although, the amount of perceived recoil is less when you are shooting at game as opposed to shooting from the bench, a lot of your confidence in shot placement will come from shooting from the bench. If your gun beats you up on the bench, the chances of good shot placement on game decreases.

The magnums are great for guys who are recoil tolerant. I am not, which is why I picked the calibers that I shoot. Additionally, I have not had to chase any of the game that I have shot. The bullets have gone exactly where I wanted and the animals dropped in their tracks.

The 30-06 is a great round!

[daddywpb]

How about a Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70? If you reload, the 45/70 is a very versatile caliber. Anything from 250 grains to 500 grain thumpers. I wouldn't trade mine for anything.

[winchester70]

id go with a 270wsm because it packs a lot of punch with adequate recoil if you dont like that then the .308 would be a great choice

[Sourdough]

If it was just for deer, I'd recommend a good proven round with low recoil. But you threw in the ELK factor. Because of that I have to recommend the round all others a judged by, the 30-06. Factory ammo will be a bit high in recoil for a non reguler shooter or a newby. A recommendation: Single shot rifle with multiple barrels. The reason I say this is you can get one with something light like a .243,
.257, or any other low recoil cartridge, and then also get the 30-06, .35 Whelen, or any other heavier cartridge for Deer and Elk hunting. Single shots range in price from around $200.00 up. I own a NEF Handi in 30-06 with an extra .223 barrel. Cost was reasonable. I also own a TCR, extra barrels ranginf from .22-250 to .338 Win Mag high dollar gun and expensive barrels. So depending on how much you want to shoot, and how involved you want to get. All types of guns out there.

But again I have to say: The 30-06 is the one round all others are judged by. You can't go wrong there.

[GooseHunter Jr]

1st choice would be the 30.06 and then followed up by a .270.....both will do the job you want!!

[john hempel]

Savage 30-06 would be a 'value' gun for your needs. Reasonably priced and yet accurate and powerful enough for the game your after.

[rem 700]

Makes and models of rifles that are good choices are the Remington 700, Ruger 77, Weatherby Vanguard, Weatherby Mark V, Winchester Model 70, TC Encore, and various Savage rifles such as the model 110 and 111. Some useful cartridges are the 280, 30-06, 7mm Rem. Mag, 300 mag, 7mm-08, and 7x57 mauser, all of which are great for both deer and elk.

[huntinny]

Deer hunting is best when hunting with friends- If you have an experienced buddy that your planning on hunting with, he liekly has a couple of guns and will be more than willing to let you try them at the range. Make a day of it and try a couple before you decide on one.

[bmurray]

30-06 for sure

[will79]

Good quality bolt action 30-06 and your search will be over.

[Erik.300ULTRA]

My initial vote goes to the .30-06, BUT.... It all depends on what type of country you plan to use the rifle in the most. Heavy brush or a thick forest will be complimented by a pump or semi-auto. If you do a lot of open country hunting, go for a bolt action or single shot. If you hunt in hilly country and want a light, short action rifle, go for a .308 or a7MM-08 or even a .300WSM.

The best part is, depending on your budget, you're not limited to just one gun!!!

One last idea, if there is a Rod and Gun club in your area, call one of the members and find out when the next "open range" day is. Go there and talk to other hunters. look at what they use. And if you ask nice, you will have a great chance to shoot a variety of rifles.

But I would start by going to your local dealer, and getting a variety of catalogs from Remington, Winchester, Browning, Kimber, Ruger ect....

Have at 'er
Erik

[Diamondshot]

I ran into the same problem I was looking for a deer an elk gun I found a weatherby in 300 win mag best gun ever and unless you plan to put a hole box of ammunition through it in one hour your shoulder will not hurt one bit I use 150 grain XP3 for deer And 180 grain for elk a very versitile game getter very much like the 30-06 but I felt that if one is to go after game that can weight up to 1500 pounds you need to get the job done right with a 300 win mag

[will79]

The 30-06 would be my first choice. I have a browning single shot B78 in 30-06, sweeeeet rifle. My wife has a custom 30-06 on a mauser action. Believe it or not, it shoots 1/4 inch 3 shot groups at 100yds. with my handload using 150gr B-Tip over 50.5gr. Ramshot TAC powder. Take a look at the CZ550 American in 30-06. I have one in 6.6x55. Outstanding value and quality on these rifles. Cost less than a Rem. 700. I would put mine against any out of box sporter weight 700 with my handload using 140gr hornady A-max over 47.2gr Reloader22 powder. They also come with a superb single set trigger.

[uncle jerky]

I'd invest in any decent 270.My preference is the Browning BAR in 270.

[rantingredneck]

A couple of thoughts. Since this is your first gun you'll want to go with something where recoil is manageable. For me that drops all "magnum" calibers from consideration as well as some of the big bore cartidges like the .45-70. You're gonna want to practice with this gun so you'll want a gun where ammunition is affordable and easy to find. As an aside I saw a box of 7mm STW shells at Wal-Mart the other day selling for $48.99 for a box of 20........jeez......and those were Rem Express Corelokts!

I'd recommend two options and they're both tried and true calibers. If you think most shots are going to be in the range of 100-300 yds, go with a .30-06. Recoil is significant but manageable and there are low recoil loads available if you are sensitive to that. It will kill deer and elk efficiently. If you think your shots are going to be 200 yds and less, go with a lever gun in .30-30. With the new LeverRevolution bullets elk are on the menu for this gun (actually it would kill them anyway, it just does so more efficiently now). And the .30-30 has very little recoil. I'd go with either a Remington or Savage bolt action in the -06 or a Marlin 336 lever in .30-30. I own a Winchester 94 but if I had it to do over I would buy the Marlin. Neither of these guns will break the bank. For both of these guns you can buy ammunition starting at around 10 bucks a box for the .30-30 and 12-13 for the .30-06. That will get you a lot of time on the range for less cost.