Choices

ronecol

ronecol

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Choices?

There is something to be said for one having a dedicated deer rifle - no argument there. For years my dad never varied from his 94 30.30. My buddies are consistent year after year... i.e .270 bolt Remington, .300 Savage, Win 88 .308. Personally I love hunting and I like guns. Part of the enjoyment for me in the fall deer hunt is the opportunity for using one of my rifles? And maybe one for the first week and a different one for the second week.

Help me with this... here are my choices..

(my dad's) Win 94 .30,30
Ruger Carbine .44 mag
Ruger Deerfield .44 mag
Win model 70 7mm .08
Win model 100 .243

So which would you go afield with?
 
Deer?.....under 100y?.....wooded, not flat?
That's a no brainer, 30-30 and if it (was) is your dads? even better.

2nd place goes to the M70 in 7mm/08
 
Leave the .243 at home. Use the .30-30 if you're dogging, the 7/08 if you're on a stand. I hunt under similar conditions, and while most shots are close, there is the opportunity for some longer ones. I like rifles with the flexibility to handle both.
 
ronecol said:
Choices?

There is something to be said for one having a dedicated deer rifle - no argument there. For years my dad never varied from his 94 30.30. My buddies are consistent year after year... i.e .270 bolt Remington, .300 Savage, Win 88 .308. Personally I love hunting and I like guns. Part of the enjoyment for me in the fall deer hunt is the opportunity for using one of my rifles? And maybe one for the first week and a different one for the second week.





Help me with this... here are my choices..

(my dad's) Win 94 .30,30
Ruger Carbine .44 mag
Ruger Deerfield .44 mag
Win model 70 7mm .08
Win model 100 .243

So which would you go afield with?
Click to expand...


Ron, I once went on a weeks hunting trip and took two rifles, one a 270 and the other a 243. I would alternate each morning, on which rifle I took for the day. We did a lot of walking and the 243 was a bit shorter and lighter, thus nicer to handle. There were deer and elk on the menu, so I likely will get trashed here for carrying a 243 for elk, but I was very certain where I could put a bullet and had complete confidence.
As it turned out I did get an elk, one shot from the 270 which I had that day. The last day I had the 243 and made a one shot kill on a deer, so maybe it was just the gods looking after a poor, unknowing soul.
Bruce
 
Any of them are more than adequate.

For just rambling in the bush I don't know of any rifle that carries in hand better than the 94.
 
SuperCub said:
How so? ....... I've never used one, thus the question. I would think one of those 44s would be ok for the ranges described.
Click to expand...

I've hunted under conditions where seeing 10 yards was just a dream but that wasn't enough to make me wish for a pistol cartridge carbine. Regular rifles always seemed to work, and when the chance comes to shoot it never seems to be at ten yards anyway. Even areas with exceedingly tiight cover always seem to have opening to shoot across, or down , between or over the cover. I've got muzzleloaders that have more power by far than a 30-30. I've got bolt actions that weigh less than a 94 Winchester and are every bit as easy to carry. In close cover I've had many shots where a precise shot through a tiny opening solved problems that trying to mow down a forest wouldn't.
So while being "OK" is better than nothing, there's other ways of handling the situations that the little carbines are promoted for, with rifles that can handle every other condition that can also handle any other realistic scenario. Rifles that are better than OK.
 
H4831 said:
Ron, I once went on a weeks hunting trip and took two rifles, one a 270 and the other a 243. I would alternate each morning, on which rifle I took for the day. We did a lot of walking and the 243 was a bit shorter and lighter, thus nicer to handle. There were deer and elk on the menu, so I likely will get trashed here for carrying a 243 for elk, but I was very certain where I could put a bullet and had complete confidence.
As it turned out I did get an elk, one shot from the 270 which I had that day. The last day I had the 243 and made a one shot kill on a deer, so maybe it was just the gods looking after a poor, unknowing soul.
Bruce
Click to expand...

Both elk and deer were much smaller back then. I've seen it on TV...it was before they invented colour!
 
The M-94 is the nicest to carry, but the M-70 in 7-08 is an enthusiast's rifle, and you seem to be an enthusiast. The .243 is a nice varmint rifle, that can be used for deer, while the .44 belongs chambered in a belt gun rather than a rifle. You might well take your deer at ranges under 100 yards, but then again, if you come to a marsh, a cut line, a burn, or some other opening, you could well get a shot well beyond 200 yards. For that reason, I'd sight the M-70 for 200 yards, determine the bullet drop out to a quarter mile, tape a card with a drop table from 200-500 yards to the side of the butt, put a laser range finder in your pocket, and go hunting.
 
For me it would be dependant on the optics. A high magnification scope is all but useless in tight bush, so that would rule out anything but irons... or a low power scope.

If all are in irons, I would take the .243 and the .30-.30
 
Boomer said:
The M-94 is the nicest to carry, but the M-70 in 7-08 is an enthusiast's rifle, and you seem to be an enthusiast. The .243 is a nice varmint rifle, that can be used for deer, while the .44 belongs chambered in a belt gun rather than a rifle. You might well take your deer at ranges under 100 yards, but then again, if you come to a marsh, a cut line, a burn, or some other opening, you could well get a shot well beyond 200 yards. For that reason, I'd sight the M-70 for 200 yards, determine the bullet drop out to a quarter mile, tape a card with a drop table from 200-500 yards to the side of the butt, put a laser range finder in your pocket, and go hunting.
Click to expand...

Hard to argue anything in this group of words.

Something is romantic about the 7mm-awt ate.
Don't own one yet, but would of the other day if they had it
in their offerings.
 
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