ruger deerfield
- Thread starter m1978
- Start date
Owned 2 of them, great fun but accuracy not so good, thought I would use it as my short range/bush gun but cost me a nice 4 point mulie and a black bear so went back to my x bolt for all ranges fun to shoot but mag capacity not so good!
I've got a 44 carbine (the tube feed model) and love it for drive/push hunting and dogging. I think it's pretty much perfect for that since most shots are under 50 yards and 50% of the time the deer are running. I had always thought I wanted a Deerfield too (magazine fed model) however after trying my friends I'd take my tube feed any day as it just feels so much better to me and with the Williams peep sight I put on it i can get on target much faster. Mine also isn't picky about ammo, even hornady leverevolution functions without any problems and shoots quite well. It has accounted for quite a few deer and is one of my never sell rifles.
Very cool rifle, had one, as a 50 yard deer thumper its great. For the same price or less than a used deerfield you can get a new lever action .44 from various manufacturers. Thats the way I went, more accurate, just as handy, no jamming issues which do crop up with the deerfield. Another option is a mini-30. About the same size, semi auto, very deer capable and cheap and fun to shoot
.....for them.Had the tube magazine one. Great rifle. Regret selling it and actually tried to buy it back yesterday. Was told no. I don't blame him. Lol. I put about 500 rounds thru mine before I sold it. If Ruger made another one , I would be first in line to buy. Mine grouped around 4 inches at 50 yards with iron sights. Never put glass on it. Only shot 240 grain soft points out of it.
I have a tube fed model that I love. Very accurate with a VX-2 1-4x20 and wonderful to carry and shoot. Experiment with some different ammo as they can be fussy with cycling and need to be kept reasonably clean. The Deerfield does not have any features that I’d exchange mine for.
Patrick
Patrick
Don't shoot lead bullets, the gas port will get plugged and it won't cycle properly. My research found that it was designed around the 240 grain jacketed bullet. One other thing that I found was that lighter bullets such as the 185 gr bullet will cause cycling problems as well.
I had one, sold it way too cheap, it was a jewel. Cloverleaf stuff!
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
I passed on the Deerfield for the same reason. That and the short magazine. Not a fan of brass tossers meself.
I had one, sold it way too cheap. Had a Leupold Mx8 on it --shot really well with 240 grain bullets - no issues with jamming at all.
Personally I would not spend $1000-1100 to buy one.
I know a guy who still has about 3 of them and likely he would sell me one if I wanted one that bad.
They show up on the EE all the time.
Personally I would not spend $1000-1100 to buy one.
I know a guy who still has about 3 of them and likely he would sell me one if I wanted one that bad.
They show up on the EE all the time.
Deerfield's aren't a common sight on the EE. The Ruger 44 Carbine is a regular on the EE though.
They are great little carbines for thick Southeastern Ontario bush type deer hunting! Nice and light and lightning fast to point! I have 2, a regular one and an RS peep sight model. One always comes up with me for deer season. I find that the polymer tipped Hornady 225 gr. FTX rounds function perfectly! It's all I shoot out of mine.
Not really sure what the complaints are all about with only having the ability to have 5 rounds in a deer rifle. By the time you get to squeezing off the 5th, if that were to ever happen, I would think the deer would be long gone when you can only see like 50 to 75 yards through the bush anyway! Maybe others are in more open areas? Who knows, but where I hunt, this is an amazing little carbine for deer out to 100 or so yards. Will probably put a little 1-4x scope on the regular one as my eyes start to get worse. Will still be a super compact and light gun even then!
Not really sure what the complaints are all about with only having the ability to have 5 rounds in a deer rifle. By the time you get to squeezing off the 5th, if that were to ever happen, I would think the deer would be long gone when you can only see like 50 to 75 yards through the bush anyway! Maybe others are in more open areas? Who knows, but where I hunt, this is an amazing little carbine for deer out to 100 or so yards. Will probably put a little 1-4x scope on the regular one as my eyes start to get worse. Will still be a super compact and light gun even then!
Seems a bunch of the posters don't realize that the Deerfield is not the same rifle as the old deerstalker.
There is a huge difference between the Deerfield 99/44 and the old Deerstalker 44 carbine.
Aside from them being a completely different action and magazine setup, I believe the old deerslayer had a 1-38" twist while the Deerfield had a much better 1-20". I would love to try a Deerfield some day, deerstalker not so much.
There is a huge difference between the Deerfield 99/44 and the old Deerstalker 44 carbine.
Aside from them being a completely different action and magazine setup, I believe the old deerslayer had a 1-38" twist while the Deerfield had a much better 1-20". I would love to try a Deerfield some day, deerstalker not so much.
Yes, the Deerstalker has an internal tube fed action that looks like a Ruger 10/22 and the Deerfield has the detachable rotary magazine and an action that looks like a Ruger Mini 30.
Mine is on point every shot, with jacketed and lead bullets...clean and crisp barrel too. Dunno what the complaints are about from some of the guys up on here. It's an awesome brush hunter, upto 100yds if visibility goes that far.
Mine is on point every shot, with jacketed and lead bullets...clean and crisp barrel too. Dunno what the complaints are about from some of the guys up on here. It's an awesome brush hunter, upto 100yds if visibility goes that far.
