My Next Deer Rifle Debate

[Sgt7330]

I bought 2 single shot 44 mag rifles for my sons and myself the upcoming season. One is a CVA single shot and the other a Rossi single shot. Each are topped with a scope and seem to handle pretty well. The 44 magnum thus far is about my most cost effective deer gun, other than a muzzleloader. My 500 S&W, Remington 1100 slug gun and multiple muzzleloaders work just fine, but my sons will be needing something with tolerable recoil.

 

[Toole]

I'm pretty dead set on building an AR style .450 bushmaster

 

[Hiker1911]

Click for close-up view.

While a scope may not be the direction you're headed, a circle reticle in the center such as the Bushnell on my Mossberg 835 is quick to find, and use for deer or other game. The photo-above is similar to mine, and of an unknown brand. My Bushnell is probably darker/larger, and easier to find than the one in the photo.

 

[JKEdge]

I finally was able to take the ML to the range and happy to report this is a pretty accurate rifle. I can't wait to use it on opening weekend. At 75 yards I had a 1/2" grouping overlapping eachother. I'm ready

 

[Matt52]

I went with the 458 SOCOM bought a Rock River upper 16inch carbine. It is an amazing round it will do probably 98% of what a deer gun needs to do in Indiana. I shoot the Hornady 325gr FTX it flattens deer. I can cloverleaf shots at 100 yards and it will stretch to 200-250 yards with practice easy. Yes factory ammo is a little high but its worth it save you brass and when you begin to reload it will be there. I also believe a major manufacture will adopt this round and prices will fall. I can say enough about the gun and the cartridge it also loads in most standard AR15 mags which is a huge bonus no pricey mags like 450 bushmaster

 

[whiteoak]

I will go against the grain, and vote for the inline ML, it's a great hunting gun that gives you a longer season. The other positive is the price and ability to just order one through the mail. I have been using a .44 Ruger Deerslayer carbine for RIfle/Shotgun season for several years now, and have yet to fire more than once. I like to keep the does around until the late season then use a H&R 50cal inline to take the late season meat. That way I have the does as bait up until the late rut if I am still hunting for a buck I cant get a chance at.

 

[JKEdge]

I had 2 successful kills this weekend with my muzzleloader. I can say I love this gun

 

[Flinttim]

Well, since this thread started centerfires have become legal (a lot but not all of course ). Due to that a lot of pistol caliber rifles will be hitting the stores as used. Some good cheaper options now opened up, like the .44 mag, for a new guy to wet his feet. As for muzzleloaders, I cannot stress this enough. You have to clean them and clean them good. Two wet patches followed by an oily one won't do it. Be prepared to spend at least 10 minutes cleaning. I simply cannot count the number of ruined guns I have seen over the years because of this. Don't leave loads in them either, that's a quick road to trouble. And if some genius tells you a certain powder is clean enough to not clean a gun...........he's an idiot and run away. The so called "no cleaning needed powders" are the worst offenders. Treat it well and it'll last yours and your grandchildren's lifetimes.

 

[clfergus]

I don't think as many people made the move to the new calibers as expected. Every shop I have been to said that they have seen an increase in sales but nothing tremendous. I also haven't seen many .44 mags, .357 etc for sale in the classifieds. I for one tried the .308 this year and loved it.

 

[Farm1]

I'd venture to say that many hunters already had larger caliber rifles so there wasn't a push to buy new rifles ..

 

[Hookeye]

I bought another .243 win (now have 3)...........but that's because I want it rebarreled to .300 savage.
So yeah, I bought a rig just because of the regs change........doesn't really matter what rig I carry this yr............
aint seen diddly.

 

[gregr]

I had a sweet shooting Winchester 94 in .44 mag, and yes, I put a Leupold 3x9 on it to compensate for my aging eyesight. I shot the Hornady LeveRevolution ammo through it, which it liked, and it was a great short range deer rifle. I sold it for a song to my nephew, and now both his son, and teenage daughter have killed deer with it. You cannot go wrong with a PCR for white-tails. I also have a Knight Disc Extreme in .50 cal, and it shoots a 3 pellet charge of 777, pushing a Knight, (Barnes), 250 grain Boat Tail bullet with a CCI 209M shotgun primer, also topped with a Leupold 3x9, and it shoots tight groups, and has excellent knock-down for White-Tails. But since Indiana now allows certain centerfire rifles for deer, I`ve been hunting with my Ruger M77 MarkII in 30-06, also topped with a Leupold 3x9, shooting the Federal 165 grain Trophy Bonded Tip bullet, and this rig is crazy accurate.

My personal preferences would be a PCR, or the muzzleloader, if you`re not going to go centerfire.