Need deer rifle advice

[tuckerdog1]

I've done the search. I see there are a ton of deer rifle threads. Most are several years old, and things change.
I'm mostly a handgun guy. Know squat about hunting. However, because I have a bunch of guns, a friend has come to me for deer rifle advice. I was honest and told him I knew diddly, but would see what I could find out. So I'm coming to you guys, who I'm sure know a LOT more than me. We're in Texas. The deer here seem to be kinda small. His budget is $1K, which would include cost of a scope. He'd like to spend less. Caliber choice, rifle brand & model, and maybe a why would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tuckerdog1

 

[mshootnit]

I would look hard at a Kimber Hunter in 308, 270, or 257 Roberts.
Other option would be Tikka.
For a scope, I would look at a Leupold VX2 3-9X40. I have not tried a VX freedom.
For a new budget scope, the Weaver Classic is a good pick, made in Japan.
An old stand by would be a Ruger M77.
There are some good budget guns like the TC compass (trigger is a little heavy and stock is cheap) Ruger American, Mossberg Patriot. I wouldn't hesitate to take any of those out. Also a made in Japan Weatherby Vanguard is a fine rifle.

 

[Jessesky]

I’ll say this, being that your friend is asking for advice, I’ll assume he is relatively new to the topic. The Kimber as mshootnit mentioned is a fine rifle, and will meet all your needs and more. For a new shooter or only rifle, I would not recommend 257 Roberts though. Too scarce for a one gun guy. Still a very cool awesome cartridge.

Tbh most any centerfire .25 to .35 caliber rifle will do the job. A 2 moa gun at 100yd is more than adequate. And the 30-30 while anemic compared to today’s hotrod cartridges, is a great harvesting cartridge.

For spending less, he can get a used 30-30 rifle and be perfectly suited to take game. If a scoped gunnis desired, I’d get any of the bolt guns in the $400-600 range, and spend at least $300 on the scope. Me personally, I’d buy a used rifle.

 

[mustanger98]

In the area y'all reside, what kind of distances are involved? Out to 200yds? 300yds? I'd recommend keeping it simple.

Take it easy on the recoil. You don't need a cannon to kill deer.

Option 1- Get something affordable in .243Winchester or .25-06. Everybody has an opinion on glass and, a lot of the time, that advise will cost you an arm and a leg to follow. Last time I bought a Tasco 3-9x40, it cost $40 at wallyworld... still works real well. Zero at 200yds or 300yds. 100gr SP's at approximately 3000fps, or so they publish, will probably be 3-5" high at mid-range.

Option 2- Get a Winchester .30-30 with a quality aperture sight. If you can bust clay birds at 100-200yds, you can harvest a deer.

In any case, shoot it plenty and get good with it.

 

[roscoe]

There are so many accurate bolt guns out there for so little money, you probably would have a hard time finding a bad one. If it is from a reputable manufacturer, then the question is more what suits his fancy than what would get the job done. From any of Savage, Ruger, Remington, Tikka, Mossberg, Weatherby, CZ, Kimber, Sako, Winchester, or any other quality manufacturer, he would be unlucky to get a bad rifle.

I would say it is more a question of taste - wood or composite stock? Blue or stainless? Etc.

 

[MikeInOr]

I am a big fan of the 6.5 x 55 sweed.... EXCELLENT deer round! BUT I load my own ammo so I don't have to worry much about what types of rounds are available.

For someone new to rifles I would reccomend a caliber that is easy to get ammo for in different bullet weights and bullet styles.

.243 (GREAT white tail deer round! Low recoil easy shooting. A perfect deer rifle choice.)
.308 (A bit more recoil but incredible ammo selection... probably the widest selection of any round)
30-30 (Classic round that has harvested more deer than any other round. generally found in lever action rifles.)
30-06 (The "do-everything" round... and you are likely to find a really good used rifle at a decent price).

There are many other common rounds that make good deer rounds but the the above listed rounds (minus the 6.5 x 55) are sure bets for a good first deer rifle.

A bolt action rifle from any of the reputable manufactures is a great place to start. Bolt actions are a very simplistic design, not much to go wrong and usually more acurate than other style of rifles.

Start with a rifle that fits the shooter well and is comfortable to hold then choose a common round. Some people like Winchester, some like Sagvage, some like Ruger... etc. the best rifle is the one the fits the hunter the best. There is no reason to go any bigger than 30-06 for a deer rifle... a smaller round would be a better choice in most situations. Resist the temptation to look at any of the magnum rounds... a complete waste of power for a deer rifle and they are not much fun to shoot for someone purchasing their first rifle.

 

[Legionnaire]

If buying an older, second hand rifle, I’d look for something in .243, .260, or 7mm-08. All three of these short action cartridges are plenty for Texas whitetail out to reasonable shooting distances and lend themselves to a nice compact hunting rig. If buying new, 6.5 Creedmoor; probably the best of the newest intermediate cartridges out there today. Ballistic twin to the .260 Remington, very popular, and widely available with good hunting bullets.

As to rifles, too many to evaluate fully. Your friend needs to handle some. I’m partial to the Remington Model 7 for its compactness, but there are a lot of good options.

There are some great deals on Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10x40 scopes right now. Right around $300. Probably one of the best deer rifle scopes for the money.

Good luck, and tell us what he decides on.

 

[Shae1324]

It really comes down to the terrain you're going to be hunting in (deep brush or open range), price point (at $2.30 a round can you really afford 300 WSM?) and preference (light weight, light recoil, kicks like a mule, etc.)

I would never spend a grand on a rifle for someone who had never harvested a deer before, and I think it would be nuts for your buddy to do so as well. Loan him a shotgun, get him some slugs to go in it, and make sure that he really is into it before he goes out and buys a Kimber or a Weatherby. I have taken a few people hunting with me over the years that were really psyched about it, and then when it came down to the harvesting, they discovered it really wasn't their thing.

 

[labnoti]

If someone needs deer rifle advice, they probably need rifle advice in general and hunting advice. The best place to get that is not from an all-around gun-guy, but from an experienced hunter. Even though I don't think you'd take offense at not being the best source of advice, the real reason isn't so much your lack of deer-rifle knowledge, but the fact that deer hunting is overwhelming about hunting and hardly at all about firearm selection. Besides that, most experienced hunters would almost certainly have a rifle they'd be willing to lend a protege. Deer can be killed ethically with just about anything but novelty guns, but there is no caliber, cartridge or gun that can make a hunter ethical merely by possession. Archers can make quick, clean kills with a primitive bow an arrow. But just having a big, high-powered, centerfire rifle doesn't ensure an inexperienced novice won't make a mess of it. I suggest advising they seek out a mentor in hunting. But supposing they're willing to start immediately working on their riflecraft and marksmanship, there's practically no centerfire rifle of .25 caliber or greater that isn't legal and effective for deer. The larger calibers over .35 tend to have either shorter range or much higher recoil. Although they're not the most ideal for deer, some rifles are useful for building marksmanship and are less costly to shoot. They would include .223 Remington, 7.62x39, and .357 magnum. If a person were only shoot a couple boxes of ammo before they go out looking for deer, those won't be helpful. But if they're willing to build their skills over the next year with many range days and many hundreds or even thousands of rounds, they're worth considering. If they're primarily interested in deer hunting, there's no reason they can't build marksmanship with a gun well-suited to deer, many of which will be mentioned in this thread.

 

[Dr T]

In West Central Texas, the deer tend to be a bit on the small side. This year, I took a large one that field dressed about 130 lbs. My suggestions are based on my field experience, i.e. I tend to recommend what I use.

As to rifle: If your friend is a one gun guy with a $1000 budget he has a number of options, but my choice would be a Tikka T3. There are a number of other good options mentioned above. One that is usually overlooked in this forum is a T/C Venture. It is in the same accuracy class as the Tikka in my experience. However, I like the Tikka safety a bit more. A plus of the Venture is that the Weaver (Picatinney) bases are hard mounted on the receiver out of the box. Just add some Warne rings and a scope and you are good to go. Scoping the Tikka is a bit more exciting. The Ruger M77s are nice, classic bolt guns, but to not tend to be as accurate as the Tikka or T/C without some tender loving care. Also, I have had some trouble with the Ruger scope mounts on a couple of M77 and a No.1 RSI.

Optics would be a Bushnell Elite 3500 (Natchez has a 4-12 x 40 very attractively priced right now). I hunt with a Bushnell Elite. About the best scope I have found for Texas hunting is a Leupold VX-3i 2.5-8x36. They are bit pricey, but have the best lower light performance (sunrise and sunset =/- 30 minutes) of any scope I have used in West Texas field conditions. The Bushnell Elite 3200 (now superceded by the 3500) 3-9x40's are nearly as good as the Leupold 2.5-8 and cost $150 less. Redfield scopes should also be considered. Personally, I dislike scopes with large turrets. I don't have time to dink with them while hunting, they tend to get hung up on brush or dig into your back or hit against the pickup door jam (Murphy rules), and you put yourself in the position of accidentally knocking the scope off zero.

Cartridge: So far (in over 50 years of hunting West Texas) I have taken deer with 243 Win, 6 mm Rem (over 30 feeding myself and roommates in college and then myself after--our ranch is in a 5 deer county), 6.5 Creedmoor, 270 Win, 7-08, 30-40 Krag, 308 Win, 30-06 (10 or so), and 300 Weatherby Magnum. All of these deer were equally dead. Of the choices available, I think that the 6.5 CM is probably best balanced of these. The trajectory of the 129 gr SST Hornady Superformance 6.5 CM is virtually identical to the 117 gr Hornady American Whitetail loading out to 300 yards--then the 6.5 starts to be a bit flatter. It also has relatively low recoil. However, bullets from all the other cartridges will not bounce off deer as has been implied by other advocates of this cartridge. Also, I just happen to like short action cartridges.

Above all, the rifle has to fit the shooter. Not all rifles will fit all shooters, and what works for one marksman may not work for another. Your friend should go to a good gun store and shoulder guns till he finds something that fits and gives him confidence. There are a lot of good choices (e.g. Howa/Weatherby and Sauer) that have not been mentioned. I have found that some guns will "speak" to me when I handle them. Often they tend to follow me home. Confidence in the gun tends to help the hunter be successful.

 

[greyling22]

Get a Ruger American in 243, 308, 7mm-08, 6.5creedmoor and put one of these on it https://www.natchezss.com/weaver-re-designed-grand-slam-rifle-scope-2-8x36mm-black-matte.html

It will do anything you could ever want a hunting rifle to do and only cost about $600-650. You could even go cheaper with a Thompson compass and the same scope and be out the door for 450 or less. Those are solid, accurate, relativly affordable rifles. They're not fancy, but they get the job done. A Tikka is much nicer, but it will cost you $700ish.

There are a million scope options, and everybody has an opinion, but as as a rule of thumb I'd stick to vortex (not a crossfire), Weaver grand slams, Nikon, (Leupold is fine, but you pay extra for the name) or minox zv3. Except for the minox, which is a great deal, look to pay $200-250 and in the 3-9 or 4-12x range. You can go cheaper, but they don't do real well at dawnd or dusk when the light isnt good and the deer are out. Dont buy a 50mm scope. I like Natchez for scope deals, or gun.deals.

 

[Bfh_auto]

One thing for him to think about is that a 243 and smaller generally do not leave a good blood trail if an instant kill doesn't happen.
I would recommend a 6.5cm or 7-08 as a first deer rifle. They don't recoil as much as the 06 class cartridges and still do a great job.
For my eyes, Nikon prostaff is better glass than Vortex. BuckMaster's reticle is hard for me to see.
https://www.fieldsupply.com/optics/riflescopes/nikon.html
This place sells refurbish which can get him into a better scope for less money.
Which rifle is totally on him. Feel when shouldering is dependent on the size of the shooter.
Run away from the Remington 710, 770, and the 783.

 

[someguy2800]

I really like the 6.5 creedmoor as an all purpose medium game rifle. Mild recoil, 40 grains more bullet weight than a 243, excellent ballistics, and ammo is very economical and available everywhere with a lot of good selection.

As for the rifle choice, he is going to need to go to a few stores and play touchy fealy and see what he likes. Most factory colt actions now are plenty accurate so that a pretty level playing field. If I were starting over today with that budget I would probably buy a Bergara B14 paired with a vortex diamondback 3-9x40. Really nice rifles with great triggers.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/415003711/BERGARA+B-14+RIDGE+6.5CM

 

[Random 8]

https://www.savagearms.com/firearms/centerfire/model-110/110-apex-hunter-xp Keeping it simple. This rifle package is complete, ready to go. I'd go with .243, 6.5Creedmore or .270, depending on his recoil tolerance. All common calibers these days, plenty of power for deer with lots of ammunition choices. Quality scope ready to go. A good tool for a first deer rifle. All business that will do the job with no frills, and well within the stated budget.

 

[redneck2]

I always advise thst you cruise the used racks. You’ll most likely find something in an adequate caliber and maybe find a complete package ready to go.

As already noted, I wouldn’t get too torqued up about caliber. Anything from 6mm/.243 up to .30-06 would work. As you move up the size chart, you’ll gain increased power at the cost of extra recoil. The tipping point is an individual choice.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I always advise thst you cruise the used racks. You’ll most likely find something in an adequate caliber and maybe find a complete package ready to go.

As already noted, I wouldn’t get too torqued up about caliber. Anything from 6mm/.243 up to .30-06 would work. As you move up the size chart, you’ll gain increased power at the cost of extra recoil. The tipping point is an individual choice.

When I read going point I immediately envisioned the 577 T-Rex video.
With hunting seasons winding down in a lot of places, that is an excellent idea.

 

[Picher]

I've never hunted in Texas, but have a situation where we may get a good shot at deer from 10 to 450 yards. I chose .270 Win, due to flat trajectory with 130 grain bullets and good retained energy. Today, I may have chosen a 7mm-08, having worked with rifles in that chambering and finding them very accurate and with decent trajectory in a short-action rifle. The 6.5 Creed is also very popular now, but I'd probably go with the slightly larger bullet of the 7mm-08, provided ammo is readily available where you are.

 

[Bartojc]

When I had the opportunity to go to Wyoming ( I'm from MI) and hunt many years ago I chose the 30-06 for no other reason other than lots of choices for ammo and unlimited availability. My other option was a .270.

If I were choosing today 20+ years later and thousands of rounds downrange I'd lean towards something like a 7mm-08, optionally a .308 or 6.5 Creed.
You will find .308 ammo everywhere.

For a rifle choice any suggestions you got above will work. For a first rifle I'd suggest one of the cheaper options and spend the money on a good scope and likely have a little cash left out of that $1k. A Ruger American Predator and a nice scope for hunting from Leupold, Nikon, or Vortex should set someone up nicely for a first hunt, and will not break the bank.

-Jeff

 

[Dr T]

You should note that often you can find some really good deals right after the SHOT SHOW. After the show, a lot of the guns that were used on the floor for display start showing up (at least in Denver) on the used gun racks. I got a Weatherby Vanguard 25-06 with a Leupold VX-2 3-9x40 that way a few years ago. It may travel with me to Texas next year as my backup (to the 6.5 CM). As I noted earlier, they have virtually the same trajectory out to 300 yds.

 

[BigSteve57]

Other than getting a rifle with a strong action and good extractor I don't have much over what's been recommended.
But I have a recommendation that isn't the brand of rifle or scope but the ammo. I've been on many hunts in many places. Some of the places were remote and some were not.

Things get lost. You sometimes forget to pack things. "What! I SWEAR I threw that 2nd box of cartridges in the saddle bag!!!"

So for hunting, I'd recommend a rifle that shoots a caliber that you can get at a Walmart, local hardware store, Bass Pro or even borrow/trade from another hunter in a hunting camp. If you can't get the EXACT load when traveling you can always sight-in; even in the mountains at 9000 ft. Been there done that.

 

[TN Outlaw]

I've never hunted in Texas, but have a situation where we may get a good shot at deer from 10 to 450 yards. I chose .270 Win, due to flat trajectory with 130 grain bullets and good retained energy. Today, I may have chosen a 7mm-08, having worked with rifles in that chambering and finding them very accurate and with decent trajectory in a short-action rifle. The 6.5 Creed is also very popular now, but I'd probably go with the slightly larger bullet of the 7mm-08, provided ammo is readily available where you are.

These were my exact chamberings I would recommend. I'll add,

260rem, 6.5CM, 7mm-08, 270win, 280rem, or 308win would all be great choices based on performance.

Considering ammo availability and price the CM, 270win, and 308win would be the easiest to find multiple flavors of ammo for at any brick and mortar shop. These could also double for good hog hunting rounds if he so chooses to and should be able to practice and plink without worrying too much about spending up all his ammo. They are easily replaceable. I do have to admit, 7mm-08 being the perfect fit for most South TX deer and if easily accessible in his area, would be a strong candidate.

If hunting a thicket of sorts to where 200yds would be a max shot, I'd strongly recommend the 7.62x39. Way cheap to shoot, way easy to find, can pop soda cans all day and then take deer the next all on the cheap. Very low recoil too.

Lots of guns and scopes out there. Buy from a reputable maker and don't cheap out on the scope. Do this and he will be happy for decades with this purchase.

 

[IdaD]

Pick your preferred flavor of bolt action. My favorite mid-range caliber is 7mm-08. I think it's a little light for elk but it would certainly work if that might be possible in the future. I may have missed where you are from in this thread so I'm not sure what game might be available. Alternately a 308 would be a great choice and factory ammo would likely run a little less.

On the glass I recommend sticking with the classic and getting Leupold. The scope matters more than the brand of rifle he gets.

 

[BigBlue 94]

For average prairie hunting in KS, .243 and .270 are the most popular. My family has always used .243 because its powerful enough, but doesn't waste a ton of meat and it's a flat, fast shooter.

Remington 700 or Winchester 70 have been our go to rifles, topped with Leupold scopes.

 

[Choctaw]

Tikka in 6.5 Creedmoor works just fine here.

 

[Axis II]

How far are shots?

Id go with a stainless savage in 308, 30-06, 7mm rem mag. Ammo for these is fairly cheap and found at Walmart if need be. The calibers will also out a hurting on a deer. For a scope anything in the Nikon prostaff or higher, Vortex Diamondback or higher, Burris, or Luepold. If hes new to this and just starting out i wouldn't spend $1k on a tikka or anything of the sort. I know two guys who all of a sudden wanted to deer hunt and ran out and purchased ruger super redhawks, tree stands, bows, rifles, etc and now neither one of them hunts anymore and ones stuff just sits there and the other sold his for half of what he paid. This is why i recommend a savage maybe model 110 or so in a very easy to find caliber like i mentioned above.