caliber/gun for your personal trophy

Welcome.

My ruger m77 TS 7x57 gets to go out first, then if I shoot something and have meat in the freezer I'll use my second options.

My AR pistol is my current deer 'rifle', though I do take the .50 Hawken out for M/L season sometimes. I have hunted with several of my Mosin Nagants. When I was on a 4 person MN Moose license, I had a Ruger M77 in .300 Win. Mag. That was 1991, sold the gun a few years later as it was way more than I needed for deer.

I have already taken a very nice 169" trophy whitetail with my t/c Hawken.....

I have taken lesser trophies with other caplock rifles, but I would like to take one with my flintlock.

My 7mm/08 is my first choice for whitetails, second choice is my 1894 ruger 44mg

I have 2 "traditional" deer rifles- a Walmart 700 in 243, and a Ruger American in 6.5 CM. They both have done the deed, but the Ruger is more accurate and powerful- if I were hunting out west where the deer are bigger and the distances further, I would def. want the RAR. But here in the southeast, where a long shot is 100 yards, the 243 has done just fine.

The one I have the utmost confidence in is my Weatherby Vanguard .30-06 with a cheap Leupold Rifleman scope.

It took my best buck to date at between 225 and 250 yards, and he was walking briskly.

Here is the rifle, and the buck.

Welcome to the forum KaSkaEnthusiast!
Although I've never been a "trophy hunter" per se, I've taken a number of trophy animals over the years. Not that I have anything at all against trophy hunters. I appreciate them - trophy hunters pass up "meat" animals, leaving them for me to shoot. Which at my age is a very good thing because the hills around here just keep getting steeper and taller.
At any rate, the answer to your question about what caliber/gun I have the most confidence in for big game hunting (trophy animals or not) is kind of obvious - my custom built Montana Rifle Company 308 Norma Magnum of course. And that in spite of the fact that I've only had that rifle since I retired 10 years ago, and haven't yet killed a real "trophy" animal with it. As best as I can recall, most, if not all of the real "trophy" animals I've killed over the years were killed with a post-64 Model 70, 270 Win, or my old tang-safety Ruger 77, 30-06.
No wait - I just remembered. When I was about 16, I killed a trophy mule deer with my Model 100, 308 Win (my first big game rifle). I had "confidence" in that rifle too. Still do, but I have my "dream rifle" now - my 308 Norma Magnum.

No real Trophies, just decent Whitetail with a Browning BAR .30/06, Nikon 'Scope. I've never had to chase one.

My confidence rifle is "The Death Ray". Mauser K98K rebarreled to .280 Rem and restocked with nice thumbhole walnut. Fell in love with the caliber many years ago when I first started to accumulate discretionary income. My old Rem 788 was nearly worn out. Throat, trigger/safety/bolt stop. All needed work. Went to an August gunshow NEEDING a new rifle. I would have settled for lots of different options, but I stumbled on this rifle. Was sitting in an ugly Ram-line stock, a retired gunsmith was selling off his leftover projects. Apparently a guy had ordered the gun and never paid, so he was selling it dirt cheap. Picked it up for about what the Shilen barrel was worth. Had him D/T for optics, and he added a low-scope safety he had laying around for free. Hunted one year with the ugly stock. Rifle shot well, killed 2 deer that year, but the cheap plastic didn't feel right on a Mauser. Ordered a nice piece of walnut in dual grip thumbhole from Richards and spent the winter sanding...and sanding...and sanding. Was my first attempt at doing a stock, but it turned out alright. A nice, functional matte oil finish that holds up to inclement weather, even if it doesn't show off the figure and color of the walnut as much as I'd like. Over the years, I've added a glass bed to the stock, and upgraded optics, but left the 2 stage military trigger and free safety alone. I just like to shoot that way, especially with heavy gloves. Long after I purchased the gun, I discovered it had a rather rare original winter triggerguard which is a nice bonus. This rifle just shoots, points, and follows perfectly. Being a rugged military action without any boutique fragile parts, I trust it to work in any conditions. Everything I aim it at dies, including snap shooting in heavy cover and long shots on power lines. 19 years and 30+ deers later, it is still my confidence rifle, even though I could now afford some pretty swanky bang sticks.

Remington 700BDL in 7mm mag; bought new in Houston in 1980. 140s for deer and antelope, 160s for mule deer and larger

My Savage MSR-10 in .308 with 165gr Accubonds.

To me right now a trophy is probably a 400lb boar.

Arkansas Paul said:

The one I have the utmost confidence in is my Weatherby Vanguard .30-06 with a cheap Leupold Rifleman scope.

It took my best buck to date at between 225 and 250 yards, and he was walking briskly.

Here is the rifle, and the buck.

View attachment 925032

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Nice buck and rifle. Hard to beat a 30-06.

The gun that I pick depends on the the terrain and conditions that I am hunting in. If I hunt timber like I have the last 2 years I'll pick up my Savage 10 300 WSM. I had a 2X7 Leupold Vari-XII on it but put a 3X9 Sig Whiskey3 on it this year.

If it is a bad acorn year and the deer are hitting the fields I will grab my Bergara B-14. It is a 6.5 CM with a 6x18 Crossfire II. If I have my rangefinder it is good out to 500 yards, but I draw the line at 400. I shot a 3 shot group at 500 that measured 2 1/2" with two in the 3" Bull.

KsSkaEnthusiast said:

First poster here, I've been interested to hear what people want and have the most confidence in for when they're hunting and that trophy animal, whether it be deer, elk, moose or whatever quarry suits you. I'm fairly confined to hunting whitetail currently and when that trophy buck steps out I hope to have my old savage 110 in .270 with me. What're some of your guys most faithful rifles?

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Everything I have from .41 rem mag (blackhawk running aframes or Barnes cuz Merica* stupid autocorrect) to .22-250 on up can take one kind of trophy or another. Really, deer and antelope aren't hard to kill. For my one day hunts, the .243s are my minimums. My rifles are mostly Savage, 1 older rem 700bdl, some ar15, and a lonely Benelli r1(.270wsm).

Most recentlyy rem 700 sps in 7mm08. I took this 7 point this past season.

Spent 4 years carrying a m111 savage 243 win. Didn't get any trophies with it, but did take 4 deer. This rifles low recoil allowed me to hunt again after a shoulder injury.

I shot 1 200 + lb 10 point with a m110 3006. How's pair and logged 30 or so deer over 15 years.

@KsSkaEnthusiast welcome to the forum.

I would have to say my Weatherby Mark V ultra lightweight in 7 mm rem mag. I have owned the gun for 20 years and have shot my best bucks with it and kept the freezer full with many small bucks and does.

WisBorn said:

@KsSkaEnthusiast welcome to the forum.

I would have to say my Weatherby Mark V ultra lightweight in 7 mm rem mag. I have owned the gun for 20 years and have shot my best bucks with it and kept the freezer full with many small bucks and does. View attachment 925343

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And it's a LH to boot!.... (Us LH have to stick together)

The one on the left is mine and the one on the right my grandfather shot 70 or so years ago.



Mine was taken with a rifle I am quite fond of but no one else seems to appreciate them much and that is a 12 gauge rifle. This one was an Ithaca Model 87 (37) rifled Deerslayer with a Lightfield Hybrid sabot.

I still use slug guns but usually in 20 ha these days. Particularly a Browning BPS. I also like my Marlin 1894SS. I’ve shot several deer with it in only the last year and though it’s not that accurate, it is accurate enough.

earlthegoat2 said:

it is accurate enough.

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That's what matters.

ive had 3 deer rifles in the last 30 years. a rem model 7 in 243, a rem 700 in 06 and a sporter mauser in 6.5x55. they all worked fine

all of them would shoot dead center and kill a deer quickly.

that being said the 243 was always my first choice.

Some people might shake their head, but I have a Zastava Mauser in .458 WM. I draw filed and refinished the factory stock. I have it because I like two things a lot; 45/70 and bolt action rifles. I load the Mauser with cast lead bullets ala 45/70 velocities, and hunt with it. The brass lasts forever, and it's a real thumper in the game fields. With a cast lead bullet, I can pretty much eat up to the bullet hole, and bang flops are pretty common.

I shoot all of my rifles well, and hunt with what ever i have ammo for at the time.
I dont trophy hunt which gives me more options in targets, so even cartridge means little to me.

If i were going on a "special" hunt id take either my christensen .280 or my Abolt .375.

.54 caliber, Cabin Creek Pennsylvania Mountain Rifle, in flintlock.
I don't normally go for the large buck with the rack, in my normal hunting area. Not that I wouldn't take a large racked buck if I was on a special trip.
The reason I don't take him is that the buck, and since this has continued for many years where I hunt and the current buck displays the same behaviors as his predecessors, keeps the does over on the small farm/wood lot that I hunt. They don't like the horse boarding farms to the East nor the West. I've seen the dominant buck move his harem of does across roadways and fences onto the property where I hunt. So as long as the old boy is so obliging at helping me put venison in my freezer..., he gets a "pass".

As I've mentioned, IF I'm out on a special trip in a new area...,



LD

Since “deer rifle” is a relatively new concept in Ohio I’m still using a 20 gauge ultra slughunter for my deer gun.