Favorite hunting rifle/caliber

Ruger 77 MK 1 in .25-06 for deer. Ruger Standard (Mk 1) for squirrels, rabbits, coons, etc.

Browning BAR .30'06.

This 358 yeti AR15 is my current first rifle to grab.

My GoTo gun for many years was a Savage 10 Sierra in 300WSM. It went after deer 75% of the time. It wore a 2-7X Leupold and was sub-MOA with 165gr Accubonds. Then I got the Creedmoor bug. I have owned 4 and presently have 2. The M18 Mauser with a 3-9X Leupold is deadly with 130gr TGK's. My field gun is Bergara B-14 wearing a 6-18X Vortex and is good out to 500 yards with 129gr Accubond LR's. Once in a great while I'll pull the Rem 700 243 out just for kicks and giggles, but the Mauser gets most of the attention now days.

My goto big game rifle is a Browning Mountain rifle re-bored to .58 caliber. For small game it is a toss up between my .32 black powder flint lock North Carolina long rifle or my .36 flint lock long rifle. I have pretty much stopped using suppository guns for the last 10 years. Black powder rifles put the hunt back in hunting for me.

Usually the first out, or my goto is rem 700 sps in 7mm08. Used to be 4006 savage m110's but injury has reduced ability to tolerate recoil. Next up would be 243 win, but it now belongs to my granddaughter. Do either the 6.5x55 or 7x57 will fill that role.

My favorite changes every few years. The past two years its been an AR-15 in 30 Remington AR.

Twenty-two. For me, hunting is more about the walk, fresh air, and getting away.

mcb said:

My favorite changes every few years. The past two years its been an AR-15 in 30 Remington AR.

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I sure wish they would do a strong re-release on the .30 RAR.

Love vintage walnut and blued Winchesters.

Not too selective with my pairings, I like the “moribund” 38 WCF and 32 Win Spl on my Model 1892 and 1894, as much as 44 WCF and 30-30.

But as much as Jack O’Connor popularized the 270 Win with the Model 70, my favorite pairing is the Pre-War Model 70 in 30 Govt 06. Nothing like it!

My big game (deer) rifle is a Ruger American 308. A Ruger 10/22 for the little critter’s. I’ve got a couple of others but these two are always the ones to jump out of the safe when needed.

Christensen Arms Ridgeline 280 Ackley improved.....

Only picture I currently have on my phone.... Guns in the background lol.

30.06 for deer. But i never shot a deer with it. I get mine in archery. I only take one deer. 22 for ground hogs. 20 ga for rabbits. Some times i'll take a 22 out for tree rats. mostly my 20ga though.

My trusty old 94ae 30-30, unless I know I'm going to have some longe range shots, then it would be my 700cdl sf 30-06. But my X-bolt pro lr 300wm is starting to grow on me for long range shots.

Remington 760 30-06. It's the hardest kicking '06 I ever shot but I've sure put up a lot of deer with it.

My deer hunting property is primarily thick woods and shots are 50yrds less so I take either my .35 Rem or .444


With the .35 two years ago

Captcurt said:

My GoTo gun for many years was a Savage 10 Sierra in 300WSM. It went after deer 75% of the time. It wore a 2-7X Leupold and was sub-MOA with 165gr Accubonds. Then I got the Creedmoor bug. I have owned 4 and presently have 2. The M18 Mauser with a 3-9X Leupold is deadly with 130gr TGK's. My field gun is Bergara B-14 wearing a 6-18X Vortex and is good out to 500 yards with 129gr Accubond LR's. Once in a great while I'll pull the Rem 700 243 out just for kicks and giggles, but the Mauser gets most of the attention now days.

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Interesting never tried either of those or the Creed

Although my Rem 760 in .300 Savage is quickly becoming a woods favorite, the rifle I feel the most "oneness" with is a Mauser K98 that was rebarreled to .280 Rem sometime in the early 80's, then back shelved by the gunsmith when a client didn't pay up. Picked up the barreled action for a song, and put a dual grip Richards claro stock on it. The stock is shaped for solid shooting from less than perfect positions. With a light-medium for caliber Speer GS bullet stepping right along, it's a death ray on whitetail. With 150+ soft point moving at 7x57 speeds, it drives through on tough angles and is easy on meat. One of my friends named it the Nazi death ray after the waffenamts still somewhat visible on the receiver and the 2 deer I dumped on the run with consectutive shots as they broke cover into a field at 125-150 yards. We'd watched a show on WWII secret weapons the night before, I think that influenced his name choice, but it stuck.

Weatherby MarkV ultra lightweight in 7mm Rem Mag (my avatar). I just love the feel of the rifle how quickly it comes up and the balance of the rifle. I have a 3.5 x 10 varx III mounted on top and have used 154 grain Hornady SST in ot the past several years.

I got a good deal on this 1st year production Winchester 70 Extreme Weather 308. I picked it up used in 2009. The economy had tanked and somebody lost it to a pawnshop.

I used it as is for a year before putting the McMillan Edge stock on it. As it sits it weighs 7 1/4 lbs and shoots everything I've tried in it very well. This photo was taken in 2018 in Colorado. I didn't get an elk, but had a great time.

Depends when, where, what and how I’m hunting. Bolts, levers, revolvers and semi-autos. Calibers 22, 284, 30, 38, 45.

Rifles, handguns and archery. Each one has a purpose. And all are my favorites

Smokepole14 said:

Everybody has that go to rifle or favorite caliber for hunting. Mines a Ruger M77 Mark II in 270 win and a Browning SA-22 in 22 lr for squirrel and rabbit. What’s everybody else carrying in the woods or to the field?

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Hint - it's my screen name.
The rifle itself is a custom job from Montana Rifle Company in Kalispell, MT. It's bead-blasted stainless with a granite-grey synthetic stock, and it wears a 3-9 Weaver scope.
I guess "favorite for hunting" kinda depends on what I'm hunting though. My custom .308 Norma Mag is my favorite big game hunting rifle. However, in the last month or so, I've slayed several hundred ground squirrels on our friend's ranch using a Kimber .22LR bolt action (I don't know the model number), and it wears a straight 6X "Alaskan Guide" scope from Cabela's.
For larger varmints (like coyotes) I prefer my .22-250 (also a Kimber bolt action that I don't know the model number of) and it wears a 3-9 Leopold. I did shoot one ground squirrel at a little over 100 yards with that .22-250. It just seemed like a lot of noise and expense considering there were hundreds of ground squirrels running around within 50 yards of us.

Custom FN SPR



308 win loaded with 150 Accubonds

mshootnit said:

Interesting never tried either of those or the Creed

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The M18 was a pleasant surprise. I caught it on sale for $400 wholesale. It is a push feed with a pretty smooth action and an excellent trigger. I think that it has taken 26 deer with 27 shots. The doe that took 2 was at 230yards and was going down when I hit her again.