Pick me a new deer rifle, please

[Omnivore]

Kimbers are nice if you want a real beauty, .308, .30-06 or .260 Remington.

If you can tolerate not so pretty but very practical, my son got a Ruger M77 MkII stainless/synthetic and I love it. Light in weight, fits pretty nice, not a dream trigger but tolerable, and it can take punishing weather with no worries. Easily within your budget as topped with a nice Leupold variable. I got some Leupold rings for the Ruger M77 and they are (sorry Ruger) superior to the rough Ruger scope rings that come with the rifle. Mount the scope as low as possible (I had to nick the barrel slightly using a file, so as to clear the 40mm Leupold objective, and that's about the right height.

.308, .30-06, or if you want a pretty cool 6.5 cartridge that can take some amazingly high BC bullets, the .260 Remington. That would be great for Antelope too.

 

[Old Time Hunter]

.30-40 Krag, load it light with 220 gr pills. Will work on any eastern deer.

 

[Essex County]

Anything but a recent prduction Remington. I think I'd sprin for a 6.5X55 in a CZ. Essex

 

[TCB in TN]

Second of the M77 Ruger stainless all weather, great all around gun. Currently have one in .243 and have had others in .270 and 30-06. I would get it in 30-06 and then you can share ammo with you Win 70.

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

Florida boy beat me to it. But I'll heartily throw another vote to the CZ 550 in 6.5 Swede.

900F

 

[Nhsport]

We know you are really set to go as is but here is my thought.
You don't talk much about how your present guns are set up but I will assume your 30/30 is iron sights and the 30/06 has some kind of scope.
Are the guns you have set to go or do they need upgrades? Perhaps now you are 15 years older (than when you last hunted) and your eyesight might have slipped some you would consider a peep sight for the levergun and a nice high quality leupold (bright and clear!)for the 30/06.
If your 30/06 is a heavyweight full sized gun perhaps a short action,short featherweight barrel rifle would be more to your likeing. Say a 243 or one of the medium 25s or even a 308.

 

[Hokkmike]

I have 2 SAKO's in 6. 5 X 55. My favorite is the Finnlight with a compact Leupold. But, it is pricey. You CAN find a Winchester featherwieght in 6.5 X 55

The CZ is nice. Ruger and Remington have rifles in the 6.5 X 55. So do Tikka and SAKO. There are a few Winchester Model 70 SPorters around in 6.5 X 55. (a little hard to find)

The .260, 7mm .08 and .257 Roberts re also fine choice middle calibers - but I guess my preference is obvious.

 

[bromdenlong]

Leagle -

I'm pretty sure Kennedy was killed with an Italian 6.5mm (a Mannlicher-Carcano, I believe), not a .270...

 

[IV Troop]

Just deer? a 6.5 Swede Tika T3 would be a classy deer gun.


.260 is another cartridge to seriously look at.

 

[aspade]

Kimber 84 .260

CZ 6.5x55

BAR (the hunting rifle, not the M1918A2...) 30-06

 

[ojibweindian]

Weatherby Vanguard in .300WM.

Overkill for deer, but if you reload, it would be no problem cooking up something with a bit less oomph.

Then top it off with a Leupold VXII or a Bushnell 3200 or 4200.

I've got a Vanguard in 7mm Mag, topped with a Bushnell 3200. Groups a wee bit less than 3/8" at 100 yards with a 150gr Core-Lokt. The 3200 holds zero, is clear, and tracks well. My only beef with the scope is that I'd prefer a little more eye relief, but it's not something that's terribly inconvenient.

 

[lubbockdave]

ruger #1a 30-06, 270 or what ever caliber you like-top it off with a leupold 4x, 6x or 2-7...does not get much classier!

Dave

 

[DakotaSig]

Why not buy a new rifle for your wife, so she can go hunting with you?

 

[sterling180]

winchester .270
goes 1 1/2 miles accurately, it was the gun that killed JFK

Not true,he was killed with an Italian WW2 6.5mm Carcano,bolt-action rifle.The gun was supposedly ordered,by mail order,by Lee Harvey Oswald,a former US Marine.But,there is speculation as to who,actually ordered Kennedy's assasination,and for what purpose.

Leagle -

I'm pretty sure Kennedy was killed with an Italian 6.5mm (a Mannlicher-Carcano, I believe), not a .270...

Absolutely 100 percent spot on,he was.

Now back to the topic:I like the Steyr-Mannlicher range of rifles myself,so you could go for the old Mannlicher SSG69 Police and military rifles in .308 Winchester,or in.243 calibre.They have a decent magazine capacity and are both highly reliable and durable,for all kinds of uses.Or you could go for the Steyr Scout Rifle,(The basic model.).308 or in .243.However the Steyr SSG69,might exceed,your $1000 limit.

Are the SSG69s priced higher than $1000 in the US?

If they are,then the other choices you could have are:The Remington 700 series model,the Ruger M77 and the CZ model rifles.

 

[tbtrout]

TC Encore, you can buy both calibers and accessories for $1000. You just have to be a good shot and hit it the first time.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Ok 30 cal... Remington 760 pump gun. Get the carbine model in .30-06 or .308

6.5 mm? I'd say a CZ550 lux with a full length stock.

 

[Frog48]

I really like my Savage 110 in .30-06, and would recommend it to anybody. It came as a package with a Simmons 3-9x scope. I replaced the original black synthetic stock with a camo Ram-Line, simply because it looks cool. Also, the Accutrigger is awesome. Lots of bang for the buck.

 

[FireArmFan]

I want to get a new deer rifle. On the top of my list is a Browning A Bolt Micro Hunter (left hand bolt for me) in 300 WSM. So that is my reccomendation, however my semi auto remington 7400 in 30-06 works like a champ too. I don't believe reading a preferred action your interested in.