AlfieB
Member
270 Win., 3# trigger.
What is the heaviest rifle you would carry to hunt deer?
- Thread starter Tucker25
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I said, "while still hunting"...
I still hunt with a 28" barreled nearly 9lb rifle, topped with a 3-15x scope usually set at 6. My conditions can range from muzzle burn in rainforest and 30-50yd shots thru openings, to 100yd shots down tree lanes, and 400yd pokes out into the lava fields.
Many other guys here would chose something shorter, lighter, and topped with less glass.
Some guys have areas where they might want more than what I'd carry.
We can tell you what WE would use, and have offered those opinions, but you gotta decide for yourself what YOU are comfortable with and want.
I could easily shoot a deer at 300. You might want to practice a little bit...
gotboostvr
Member
As some others have said, it all depends on what type of hunting one is doing.
When acting as a driver through the thick flora and fauna I'll forgo a rifle all together and just pack a pistol.
As a stander on a drive, where I might have to hustle and relocate a light handy 16" 92 lever gun is the ticket.
From the blind I've got no problems packing a heavy scoped slug gun.
When acting as a driver through the thick flora and fauna I'll forgo a rifle all together and just pack a pistol.
As a stander on a drive, where I might have to hustle and relocate a light handy 16" 92 lever gun is the ticket.
From the blind I've got no problems packing a heavy scoped slug gun.
Cool, so you have taken game farther than that? and how often have you had to take 300yd shots? If so that should play into your decision as well
KsSkaEnthusiast
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My buddy just got a Benelli r1 in 300 win mag and absolutely loves it. He also has a Remington 750 in 308 and it works ok, not something I would bet my life on but for hunting its the first shot that counts the most.
Dr T
Member
Under 8 lbs, preferably under 7.5, including ammo and optics.
They tend to pt on weight later in the day.
You don't need the weight for recoil mitigation when hunting... at least I have never noticed the recoil in the heat of the moment. [But I haven't hunted with anything with more recoil than a 300 Weatherby magnum]
And it is not the weight of the optics, it is the quality. The no frills Leopold varx 3 in 2.5-8 is my benchmark for a hunting scope.
They tend to pt on weight later in the day.
You don't need the weight for recoil mitigation when hunting... at least I have never noticed the recoil in the heat of the moment. [But I haven't hunted with anything with more recoil than a 300 Weatherby magnum]
And it is not the weight of the optics, it is the quality. The no frills Leopold varx 3 in 2.5-8 is my benchmark for a hunting scope.
.308 Norma
Member
Idaho big game hunting regulations limit rifle weight to 16 lbs or less. I personally don't like carrying around a rifle that goes over 8 or 9 lbs scoped, slung and loaded.
mcb
Member
I would love to know the reason why they would limit a rifle's weight. That seems like a very strange thing to regulate with regards to hunting.
.308 Norma
Member
I don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard big game hunting rifle weight is limited in Idaho because if it wasn't, some so-called "big game hunters" would put their tripod mounted 20 or 25 pound rifles and spotting scopes in their ATVs and haul them to the tops of hills in order to shoot animals a half or three quarters of a mile away.
As I said though, I don't know if that's true or not. But I do know that there are plenty of hills around here where a person can drive an ATV to the top of, and spot deer and elk a half or three quarters of a mile away - even without a spotting scope.
Edited to add: Right now around here, it would be hard to spot a deer or elk a half mile away from the top of tallest hill and using the best spotting scope - Idaho is full of smoke from the California and Oregon fires.
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WisBorn
Contributing Member
That is an interesting regulation!
Thanks for posting
theotherwaldo
Member
A rifle's weight is pretty much irrelevant to me.
I've never had much trouble getting very close to deer.
My problem is usually keeping them away.
Did you ever wake up to find a forkhorn buck licking the salt off of your face while his harem watched?
-Or had one jump into the back seat of your car and ride home with you?
-Or have one blunder in to your travel trailer and have to let him out so he quits tearing up the place?
The last deer that I killed was taken with a big chunk of shale - accidentally.
Hunting deer does not excite me much - unless I'm hungry... .
I've never had much trouble getting very close to deer.
My problem is usually keeping them away.
Did you ever wake up to find a forkhorn buck licking the salt off of your face while his harem watched?
-Or had one jump into the back seat of your car and ride home with you?
-Or have one blunder in to your travel trailer and have to let him out so he quits tearing up the place?
The last deer that I killed was taken with a big chunk of shale - accidentally.
Hunting deer does not excite me much - unless I'm hungry... .
Officers'Wife
Member
I hunt deer from a tree stand so the weight isn't that much a factor. Since the most "extreme" range I'm likely to shoot is under 100 meters... Needless to say that even though Indiana now allows the use of modern firearms to hunt deer I still use a muzzle loader.
Robbins290
Member
I sit in a tree stand for hunting, so weight is not a factor. Sometimes i use a 20" ar10 in 308. Which is heavy!
RedlegRick
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After carrying more than a few ten plus pound rifles in the Uintahs, one without a sling, and having back and skeletal issues, no more than seven and a half with optics. That limits me, but where I live now, there aren't many three hundred yard shots you can safely take.
Garandimal
member
WisBorn
Contributing Member
The M1 Garand is one rifle that I have never shot, but would love to own one
Reloadron
Contributing Member
Roughly 8.5 to 9.5 pounds including any optics. During my younger years Ohio was not open to rifle so I hunted West Virginia. My rifle of choice was a Ruger 44 Carbine which when loaded is about a 6.0 Lb rifle, no scope just open sights. We walked but also sat so some days involved maybe 5 miles or more and others maybe a few miles or less.
What is the heaviest rifle you would carry to hunt deer?
Depends on where and how I am hunting, so really it's a pretty open ended question. I really never gave it much thought. Just choose a rifle to match the game and terrain.
Ron
What is the heaviest rifle you would carry to hunt deer?
Depends on where and how I am hunting, so really it's a pretty open ended question. I really never gave it much thought. Just choose a rifle to match the game and terrain.
Ron
Reloadron
Contributing Member
That's another rifle I always liked, the Remington 760. My wife's uncle had one and for reasons I can't explain I just enjoyed that rifle, it was a 30-06 Springfield chambering.
Ron
Newtosavage
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7 lbs. all scoped up. That's my goal for every hunting rifle I own. Life is too short to lug around benchrest rifles and boat anchors in the field. My most recent acquisition is 6 lbs. 7 oz. scoped and it shoots almost too good to be true. No reason for all that unnecessary weight. It just sucks life when you should be having fun.
I don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard big game hunting rifle weight is limited in Idaho because if it wasn't, some so-called "big game hunters" would put their tripod mounted 20 or 25 pound rifles and spotting scopes in their ATVs and haul them to the tops of hills in order to shoot animals a half or three quarters of a mile away.
As I said though, I don't know if that's true or not. But I do know that there are plenty of hills around here where a person can drive an ATV to the top of, and spot deer and elk a half or three quarters of a mile away - even without a spotting scope.
Edited to add: Right now around here, it would be hard to spot a deer or elk a half mile away from the top of tallest hill and using the best spotting scope - Idaho is full of smoke from the California and Oregon fires.
I would be okay with such a limitation because I do not think it possible to clear a target at 3/4 mile and I am not sure such a thing is very sporting either. But I could be convinced to listen to arguments to the contrary.
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