What makes a good deer rifle?

What makes a good deer rifle?

I’ve been contemplating this now since the first Reagan administration. Every time I pick up a rifle, I’m pretty well judging it based on how well it would take a Whitetail. However, for all that mental energy, I do not think I have ever sat down and written down my thoughts. It’s almost been 40 years. I’d best get started.

The first thing I have to state is that my idea of a good deer rifle is based wholly on where and how I have hunted. If you hunt somewhere radically different, then you are not going to see things my way. Additionally, I’m a large guy. My measurements are pretty much identical to John Wayne at the same age. You are going to have to take that into consideration when you read my conclusions. I hunt in Kentucky, which allows any centerfire rifle of .223 REM or better to be used. I’ll add a note at the end for Ohio and Indiana folks.

What comes first?

Accuracy? Fit? Yes. Accuracy and fit and they go together. A good deer rifle needs to fit you in order to be accurate. You need to be able to bring that rifle up and have it settle into a consistent weld between your cheek and the butt. A rifle that does that will be easier to make accurate. Without a good fit, you will be chasing your tail.

You also have to figure in things like your shooting position and the amount of clothing you are wearing. I have a distinct subset of my deer battery that is meant for late-season when I am wearing the maximum number of layers. They have the recoil pads removed. I also have a few rifles that are only going to make sense if I am shooting off a rest– a shooting rail or the sill of my luxury blind.

Accuracy is also key, but I do not mean that in an absolute sense. A 1/2 MOA deer rifle is no better than a 2 MOA deer rifle if the rifle is going to be shot at deer that are less than 100 yards out. In fact, if you look at it in a general sort of way, you just need to put it on a pie plate at whatever yardage, whatever position. If you figure that the average whitetail is taken by the average hunter inside 85 yards, that comes down to about a 4 MOA rifle.

I hunt mostly out of stands and blinds anymore, so I really do not pay attention to how well my rifle shoots offhand. Were I to stumble on a deer, I would limit my shots to about 50 yards offhand before looking for a fencepost or tree to take a rest. I have a new-to-me Ruger Model 44 Carbine that currently shoots no better than 4 inches at 100 yards, but it will be deadly accurate as a stalking rifle in the cedar thickets.

Recoil is next. The Whitetail is just not all that hard to kill. There is not all that much too them. If you are experiencing a lot of recoil, you are not killing the deer any deader. A 30-06 shooting 150 grainers develops about 18 ft/lbs of energy at under 12 ft/sec velocity. This was what our government decided was the optimal recoil for the average soldier of WWI and WWII. If you are shooting something that generates more recoil than that, you need a good reason and the Whitetail Deer is not a very good reason. If you find yourself steeling yourself before taking the shot, you have probably picked something to big.

Chuck Hawk’s Rifle Recoil Table

Chambering
I stick to the middle of the road when it comes to chambering. I like 30-somethings. A 300 Savage is probably the ideal whitetail deer cartridge. Just use that as a yardstick. You can also make the case for 7mm-08. I’m not saying you should limit your choice to just these two. What I’m saying is that for the average guy shooting the average deer at the average distance, these are in the bullseye for performance and recoil.

The Important Features

I am going to give you a list of what I think is important. You are welcome to disagree, but at least hear me out.

1) It must have a magazine. Single shots need not apply. I am not prone to making follow-on shots. However, I always try to prepare for them. I usually carry no more than 3 rounds. I’ve never had to use more than that. Only once did I rack in a 4th round, but it was not needed. When you need to make a second shot, you need it in a hurry. The magazine does not need to be detachable. A 4 round blind magazine is plenty.

2) It needs a scope, or at least the ability to be scoped. My eyes went bad a long time ago. I started putting scopes on everything. MY eyesight started to improve a little after 55, so I’m back to being able to shoot irons on a limited number of rifles, but scopes are a huge plus. At least make sure it can be scoped later. Believe me when I say age creeps up on you. It does not have to be that expensive either. I have a bunch of $80 Bushnell Banner scopes on my rifles, and I shoot them as well as the $300+ Bushnell Elites.

3) Slingable. I put a sling on every deer rifle, for several reasons. It makes for a safe carry. It keeps both hands free. Once I’m up in the stand, it is something else to hold onto besides cold bare metal.

4) It needs to be economical to shoot and have ammunition readily available. I once got mail from a guy who wanted my opinion on buying a 300 WIN Mag so he could shoot Remington Reduced Recoil loads. I told him to buy a 30-06. For one thing, he knew he could buy ’06 ammo anywhere. He was also going to be paying premium dollars to do essentially the same thing. I prefer lobbing standard Hornady Interlocks at the deer. If I think I need premium bullets, I need to rethink things.

What Action?

With the exception of single-shots, I’d say they’re all good. I am less enamored with lever guns than I was a decade ago. I used to think bolt actions were boring; now I see them as simple and efficient. I used to think a semi-auto was the greatest. Now I see them as overly complicated.

I’m a huge fan of stainless mounted on wood. I like stainless because it is going to stand up to the weather and require less upkeep. I like wood, because. . . it’s wood. What can I say? It’s more about aesthetics than anything else.

Safeties

I like a bolt gun with a 3-position safety like the Winchester Model 70 and the Ruger Hawkeye. I like them because it allows you to unload the rifle while keeping the trigger inactive. In levers, I like a half-cock like the Marlin 336. I like a safety I can look at and see its position without guessing.

Feel

I put Feel near the bottom, but it really needs to be at the top. It is the one factor that makes you bond with the rifle. It allows you to forgive its shortcomings. If you asked me about the best feel of my deer rifles, it would be my Thompson Center Hawken. I have taken very few deer with it, but going out with that rifle was always a treat. It just looked and felt right. It breaks all the other rules, but I still dream about it.

Ohio and Indiana and Iowa

Ohio recently went to a more liberalized selection of acceptable deer cartridges. I’ve got a 357 Mag and a 44 Magnum rifle, and I’m working up a rifle in 38-55 WIN. Most factory 444 Marlin and 45-70 loads generate more recoil than I care to endure.

Indiana: Given the chance to do things right, Indiana chose to get weird– yet again. You can now shoot 243 WIN and 30-06, but not a 270? That’s bizarre. If you can, stay with the 30-somethings and pray for a return to sanity. Were it me, I’d take the 30-06 or 308 WIN.

Iowa: If somebody told me I was hunting Iowa tomorrow I’d grab my 44 Magnum Ruger Model 44 and go. If I had time to drill out my Marlin 336, I’d get it done in 375 WIN.

The 350 Legend: I hear good things about the 350 Legend, but I’m not going to say that it is legal in any of these 3 states. It looks like a good alternative. It was designed for the Pistol-Caliber Rifle states. However, some have argued if it fits under the restrictions of various states. Ditto, the 450 Legend.

Shaman, Why not AR’s?

The AR platform AKA “Modern Sporting Rifle” is perfectly reasonable for deer hunting. I think they’re ugly, but that is about the only big downside I can see. The thing to remember is that the AR answers questions a deer hunter is not asking. In your everyday deer hunting experience, you don’t have to worry about carrying multiple magazines to take on targets that are firing back. You will not have to produce suppressing fire to keep the deer pinned while you and your buddies advance. You will not need a dizzying array of attachments. You will not need an option to fire grenades, etc.

I had a friend from work show up once for a squirrel hunt wearing camo fatigues, a web harness, a pistol on a hip holster, and a sheath knife worthy of Rambo. It was a bit over the top, but I suppose it worked for him. You get the idea.

Shaman’s Top Pick

Nobody sends me rifles to review, so this is based on my personal experience. It’s all about trade-offs, too. About the closest thing they’ve got out there to my ideal deer rifle is Lipsey’s special run of the Ruger Scout in 308 WIN or 7mm08:

. . . but then I’d take all the goofy extras off, mount a nice 3-9X40 scope and use a small-capacity magazine. The $1000 price tag is a bit steep, so I might think about one of the Ruger American. If I was really budget conscious, I’d try the Mossberg Patriot. In my current battery, I’d have to go with My Ruger Hawkeye in 30-06.