Deer Rifle Suggestions??

Lee struck a memory when he compared the .270 to '.06 for recoil. The 760 Rem has basicly a shotgun stock on it and make no mistake it kicks pretty hard. My answer was not to go smaller but to Magna Port the gun and does that ever work!! Pushes the barrel down so the recoil comes more straight back and not up into your face. Mind you this is from a guy who's 12 ga.trap loads are now 7/8 oz and bought a 28 because it is more fun to shoot longer. Keep it safe and fun. If your son gets a chance to try any of your choices jump all over that, you never know what works best until you try it.
 
Hi Rick,
The .270 is a great cartridge, I have two of them, but the 7mm-08 would probably be better for your son in your area, and I assure you they are very common. Another good woods gun for your area would be a used Savage Model 99 lever action in either .308 or the venerable Savage 300. When I hunt whitetail out here in Montana I use my Dad's hand me down Savage 99 in 300 with open sights. I've killed a lot of deer with that combo. For more open country and longer shots I use one of my bolt action .270s or my Rem 7 mag.
 
Okay, you're picking up a rifle for the 17-year old. To mis-quote a comedian, "how big a boy is he?" At 17, I weighed in at 155 pounds on a 6-foot frame...pretty lightweight.

You won't go wrong at the end of the day with either .270, .308, or .30/.06; the shells for each are fairly available. The .06 is maybe the most versatile in the number of different loads available, from varmint to grizzly, but the recoil can affect anyone.

My wife shot my old .06 for a couple of years, but last summer wanted her own gun. She settled on a Tikka (made by Sako) in .308. She would have gotten another .30/.06, but the Tikka was lighter than my old Springfield, so she figured the recoil would be about the same. The Tikka actually kicks her a little harder, but on the stand, she doesn't notice at all.

Remember that some of the recoil can be tamed by a PAST or other shooting pad in addition to the recoil pad on the gun. Laura found that shooting from the bench in warm weather required a pad, and that from the stand in November, the thick clothing just about made the length of pull equal. Again, when she puts the scope on a deer, she never notices the recoil...

My personal experience has been with the .06 and the .308, and I'll recommend them any day of the week. Both are capable, lethal rounds well beyond the distances you have stated, and shells can be had about as easily as you'd want.

Another idea...do you know anyone with a .270, .308 or .30/.06 you could borrow to test out?
 
John, he said "innexpensive"......have you seen what the old 99's are going for now? I love my 99 in 358 win and my buddy Bezubic found it for me about 10 years ago..300 bucks and it came with 2 boxes of shells and a 2.5 Weaver scope. He liked it and kept his eye out for one..found one a couple years ago....1100 bucks. We were hunting in Monida and I wanted to get some snow covers for the scope..I took it in a little gunshop there and the guy wanted to trade me for anything in the shop + boot. I've been watching for a 250-3000 for years in perfect shape but no luck.Hey! The 250 Savage is a great 250 yd deer gun too. I have one in a Ruger full stock that isn't for sale.....
 
Thanks for all the feedback, guys. I really appreciate it.

The reason I'm not too concerned about what my son wants is that he changes his mind every time we look at guns, and I'm not sure that he's going to stick with hunting once he moves out of the house. Wis Boz--As you mentioned, I don't want to buy him a gun for a lifetime, and then have him trade it in on a bowling ball in a couple of years. This is going to be my gun; he can use it as long as he keeps hunting.

I think I'll look at the possibilities of a 7-08 in newer guns, and keep looking for .270 in the used market. I've got plenty of time to see what's available.

Also, I appreciate what a number of you said about optics. I haven't been impressed with the cheap optics that come on many of the packages, and the main reason I'd like to go with used is to put a bit more of my scarce resources into a scope.

Rick
 
Wow Rick What a question. Ford, Chev,Dodge,Toyoda.

Buy used gun. Low recoil 30-30, .243, 7mm 08, 308,Savage 250-3000

Heavier recoil .270, .30-06 etc.

Best scope Your son may decide at a certain point to buy a different gun but a good scope you never get rid of.

Now personal preferences I like a low recoil gun. The scope I recommend is a Leupold 1-4 power

The reason I recommend that scope is I have had cheaper scopes. It is a very durable scope. It takes abuse. I don't baby it. It's water proof. Just in case resale value.High
I like the 1-4 Most of the time I have it at 1.5 If a deer is close you have a wide field of view. This is important if a deer is going hell bent for ever. In a wooded area Yet you can dial it up for a deer at a longer range that standing. I never use the scope for spotting deer. Bino's for that.
 
Rick,

He's a big kid. He could handle the recoil of a larger caliber physically, but he hasn't got the attitude. He does fine with shotguns, but tends to flinch at the rifle range. He has shot my .270 Ruger a few times, and that's about as big a caliber I'd like to go with him. Though, as you and several others mentioned, there's a lot of different factors that affect recoil, and my Ruger probably kicks as much or more than some .308s or 30-06s.
Rick
 
I like the Bushnell Elite 3200 scopes too. Mine have been super clear and tough as nails, better than the Burris that I have. I like a 2-7 power but my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. Hard to beat...and afford...a Leupold though.
 
Lee, I've been looking for a nice 250-3000 for years to, if you find one that isn't quite up to your standards, let me know. I didn't realize 99s had gotten that expensive, glad I have a good one in my cabinet. Where I hunt WT deer there is always the possibility of running into elk so I don't mind the 300 a bit.
John
 
My 60 lb 8 yr old shhots my .270 and .243, My ten yr old prefers the .270. I myself prefer the .270, It is a used remington 700, bought it for 250..00. I suggest the .270 for deer, I've heard of guys shooting bears with it but I'm skeptical. Here is the reason why I suggest the .270 caliber.
1 It has a very "soft" recoil for a high powered rifle.
2 The kick is a backwards push on your shoulder like a 12 ga duck load.
3 The ammunition is readily available at almost any store that sells ammo.
 
If you read the history on the 300 Savage, the old boys of the time thought it way too powerful for Elk! Must have been wimpy Elk back then. Do you reload for it? I think I have a set of dies in the pile....
 
Lee,

So I should stop using my old 308win 99F as a spare jack handle? I didn't realize the 99s were appreciating so much or is it just in the specialty cal's?


Rick,

Deer hunting is for fun! Take your son shopping at a larger gun store that has a good selection of rifles to handle. Figure out what he likes as far as actions, see what fits his frame and then see what calibers are available in that set up. 10 to 200 yard deer rifle means everything will work fairly well. 257 to 35 Rem. (I personally like to stay away from 243 & 6mm but it's hard to argue with others results). Bolts, levers, pumps, and autos, plastic or wood stocks are all out there, again what does your son like?

Scopes, I started with inexpensive basics, Bushnell Tasco and Simmons. For young eyes they work fine to 200 yards. Now that I'm older and need reading glasses, the slightly better glass of the $200 - $300 scopes helps a lot. As clutzy as most 17 year olds are, I would stay away from anything that you will cry over if it gets scratched. If you pick the wrong rifle, trade it in for something else. Practicing with it this summer will work out the kinks.

Now go have fun with your son!

Scott
 
My two cents....and it's probably not worth half of that.....

I shopped for a long time before I bought my deer rifle. Basically what it came down to for me was versatility of one rifle/caliber. I didn't want to have to buy a rifle for this type of game and that type of game and have a gun cabinet full of guns and rifles. I am not a collector of guns and I do not intend to be. For me I just want to be able to say Deer, Elk, Audouds, and Pigs with this rifle and Dove, Quail, Ducks, and Sandhill Cranes with this gun.

I chose the Winchester Coyote Model 70 in a .300 WSM (Win. Short Mag). The rifle itself feels very comfortable for my frame. With this rifle I can shoot any game animal in North America.

I say find the caliber of rifle that will suit the needs of your son today and what he may have the opportunity to hunt in the future. Then find the make and model in that caliber that feels most comfortable to him.

Same thing when it comes to a scope. Don't settle, if you settle you will never be happy with your equipment.

Just my penny's worth of advice.
 
All my deer or varmit like coyote .... i kill it with my .243 with a scope ..

Where you shoot , it where to riffle go .... i have a remington for sure not cheap but i buy it for a life .. it very lite ( my wife love it ) ....

I can shoot a deer at 20y like 200y ..... , i remember to shoot a fox at over 300y , just put the scope few inch over the body ... and i got it .... ( closer fox it a little bit to much , each time i dont need to clean the body .. heheheh )

i remember when i go to Anticosti island , the guide see a deer at 500f, when he see my gun.. he dont want i shoot the buck deer ... my target are 3 inch x 3 inch on the neck only at over 500f .... i tell where i shoot it where the riffle go .... and i got it ....

stef
 
Scott, all of them are going up but if you see a 284 or 358 win. for 3-600....call me. I'd really like to get one of the old takedowns in 250 Savage..a 22 Hi Power would be sweet too. They touted that as a tiger killer. Back then,anything that did 1500 fps was a real screamer and the marketing boys at Savage really played it up with stunts like Tiger hunting with the 22 Hi Power. My 358 carbine pluks 200gr softpoints into an inch or so at 100 yards with boring repeativeness....when in Montana last time, on the last day of the hunt with no game seen and the sun sinking...Bezubic laser ranged a rock I had been wanting to kill...it was 250yards and I held right on it...dead rock.
 
Jeeesh ya opened a can o worms with this one...lol

The idea of a big gun store escaped me as we don't have that "luxury" here but that is definately a bonus if it is available to you.
Take him there and let him shoulder EVERY type of rifle there to see what one "FITS" him. This will make all the differance in the world for accuracy also.
I'm with others also about optics...a 2-$300 is all that is needed ...for now for him, spending more on a scope than a gun is just crazy IMO...not that I wouldn't if I could easily afford it but for me I don't need to see a deer after dark and a mile away that I wouldn't shoot at anyway.
I hear alot of good things about the Bushnell Elites and when it comes time to replace the one that came with my rifle it will be one of them unless something comprable comes along in the meantime.
 
Rick, try this little tip a freind of mine and I use. At the range we load each others gun. Sometimes we put spent shells in there to see if we are flinching. You would be suprised how much of a eye opener that is. I know I'll catch flack bout a dry fire but we use spent shells and the pin hits the primer. This helped me tighten my group right up.
 
Lee, thanks for the offer on the dies, but since the gun has open sights, I just use Rem Corelocks, which seem to work fine. I do reload for my .270s and 7mm Rem mag though. I always look forward to a woods hunt with that old 99. I don't even have a sling on it, it is so comfortable to carry with that rounded action in the palm of your hand.
 
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