Your best hunting rifle? Here's mine.

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Here's the newly assembled 7mm-08 (from post 48) ...

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... and the original .308 for comparison.

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Pretty easy pick for me as my .358 BLR has been my go to deer rifle for over 35 years. I’ve hunted the Louisiana swamps, thick woods of Mississippi and open scrub brush of West Texas. I’ve lost count of how many deer I’ve taken with it

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Well in bolt guns it would have to be the Winchester model 70 Featherweight's for me. They just fit me perfectly. I have one in 223, my go to 30-06, and a re-bored 35 Whelen. The Whelen is a reform 270 that was on the wagon. All 3 early 80's if I remember right, push feed guns. I remember that the Whelen cartridge was not standardized by Remington yet. That was my second Whelen at that point in life. The first was a 98 Mauser with double set triggers and a very beautiful piece of wood. Awesome rifle, couldn't shoot it worth a hoot.
As far as levers go, I use a early 94 in 30-30 saddle ring carbine and a 348 model 71. But, my go to lever around the homestead is a Browning 92 in 44 mag.
 
@bushmaster1313 How do you like that Weaver K-2.5? I just picked up an externally identical scope with the original Weaver tip-off base and rings for my M99 .300. Mine has a heavy cross and post reticle that looks similar to the British Enfield sniper reticle. Glass is remarkably clear with good low light performance for a 1950s optic
 
Random 8 said:
@bushmaster1313 How do you like that Weaver K-2.5? I just picked up an externally identical scope with the original Weaver tip-off base and rings for my M99 .300. Mine has a heavy cross and post reticle that looks similar to the British Enfield sniper reticle. Glass is remarkably clear with good low light performance for a 1950s optic
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Ditto on the glass clarity and low light performance.

There is, however, noticeable parallax at 100 yards.
 
earlthegoat2 said:
Here is my go to. I got it when I was 17 and it has taken more game than any other weapon I have...except for my .22 Mag.

I grew up in a shotgun zone so this is what I am used to. I know even most of those old shotgun zones allow straight wall cartridges now so this is getting pretty obsolete but it does the job. Plus, there is an area I hunt down here that has shotgun only zones.

I know this is Rifle Country and this is a 12 gauge rifle. Ithaca Model 87 (37) fused barrel Featherweight Deerslayer. Basically the late eighties equivalent to the present day Deerslayer II. Kings Ferry production (hence the 87 model designation that happened in 1987) Leupold Vari-X III 1.5-5x20 which is my favorite scope for anything.

Shoots Winchester Partition Golds pretty well and they work great on hogs.

I just got a rifled barrel for my 20 ga BPS so that should be fun too and may give this some competition. I am using my LR-308 more as well and am dabbling with the .45 Raptor and .450 Bushmaster so who knows.

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I found an old deerslayer at gandermountain for about $300-350 used in good shape and wasn't too sure about it until I asked around and everyone said buy it. I called Ithaca for info and it was a good deal. The Ithaca guy wanted the serial number to confirm date of manufacturing and when I asked the Gandermountain kid on the phone for it and said I would be there in an hour to purchase it the gun was gone. We switched from a shotgun state to straight walled cartridges that year, so I'm glad it got hidden in the back room.
 
ohihunter2014 said:
I found an old deerslayer at gandermountain for about $300-350 used in good shape and wasn't too sure about it until I asked around and everyone said buy it. I called Ithaca for info and it was a good deal. The Ithaca guy wanted the serial number to confirm date of manufacturing and when I asked the Gandermountain kid on the phone for it and said I would be there in an hour to purchase it the gun was gone. We switched from a shotgun state to straight walled cartridges that year, so I'm glad it got hidden in the back room.
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there's a deerslayer at my lgs for $220. if i hunted nj i would pick it up.
 
my "best " hunting rifle ? Well that depends on distance expected (terrain) and target game ! In game animals under 50 yards, pigs usually , that might be my 1973 Ruger .44 Mag Carbine with the 1.5-5x Bushnell Command post on Pachmayr low swing mount. If game is bigger and under 100 yards my Marlin first year of reindroduction 1895 45-70 is a real killer. If the game is elk or below and less than 200 yards one of my big time favorites is the Model 600 .35 Remington with a 1-4 Leupold with heavy duplex and the 200 grain Remington Corelokts work very dependably . Favorite as in deer or what ever to 300 yards ? The 1955 Savage Feather weight Model 99 with it's Leupold compact M8 4x with peek under mounts (long obsolete and surprisingly low) is a real nostalgic relaxing rifle to be strolling with. Long range antelope ? Well the 1961 Winchester model 70 .264 Westerner with 3.5-10x Leupold VX three is hard to beat. Especially since Wells Gunshop gave me a class into blueprinting it 13 years back in Prescott. The later 19989 .270 WSM in a Ultimate Classic Stainless went to Africa and Alaska and is really my "go to" rifle with 150 grain Nosler Partition ammo and a Swarovski z5 3.5-18x44 ranging scope . For the small deer around where I live my 1956 Mannlicher Schoenauer .243 Carbine with 3-9 Ziess Conquest 5hd is all I need and make me feel all comfy to carry . The Thumbhole stocked Harry Lawson built much modified Remington .308 gorgeous light rifle with 2-7 Leupold VXR Firedot is hot if the deer are of the Oregon white tail or Northern Calif Mule deer variety up to 400 yards . Anything heavier and out come one of my .375 Weatherby chambered rifles, each built for differing terrain, or straight up long range. Ask if you want a picture of a specific one, not emptying my safe for a thread :)
 
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Enfielder said:
Come down to Tompkins county. Lots of deer and no rifles.

Bastards, they are. All those county politicians making dumb laws about rifles. Thankfully, my 12 gauge shoots straight.
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well i be coming up lol. topkins by ithaca right?. i am 5 miles from nj, i should see what i got to do to get my license there.
 
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Please excuse the yellowed photo, copied from an old slide, taken about 1960, when I was 16 yrs. old. It's a Savage 110, 30-06 bought about the first year of production, but with a Bishop blank stock that I tried to configure to match a Weatherby. It fit me very well and I glass-bedded the action, free-floated the barrel, and applied 14 coats of thinned varnish.

Being in high school, I didn't have much money, so bought/mounted a Weaver K 2.5 and went on to shoot dozens of varmints and a deer with it. It shot handloads under 1 MOA and I shot one woodchuck at 450 yards with it (second shot). Also, shot a power line in a valley, (accidentally) while trying to hit a woodchuck at about 600 yards. Missed the chuck, but it made a spectacular "fail".

Like a dummy, I sold it and bought a Rem 700, .22-250. The guy who bought it still has and loves it. I offered to buy it back a couple of years ago, but he wouldn't sell. He said he'd probably be buried with it.
 
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