SmallCaliberCentral

Since Deer Season is coming up...whats Your Favorite or best Caliber Rifle or Rifles You use or have used during Rifle Deer Season?


Mine would have to be my Browning A-bolt Hunter,wood stock in a .243 with a Leupold 3X9X40mm scope,using the Hornady Custom 100 grain shells,my second favorite would be my new Savage Model 11 GCNS 7mm-08 Bolt-action with the Accu-Trigger,wood stock using a Leupold 3X9X40mm QDM scope in matte-black shooting 140 grain bullets...I will probably be using it again this coming Deer Season as my Go To Rifle.I was thinking about looking into a lighter bullet in the 120-125 to 130 range...just have to check around and see whats available?

.257 weatherby

dont laugh but my go to gun is a mossberg 100atr in 30-06 it was one of the first ones that came out before they started stamping there name on the bolt and was bought for me by my father, it has clamed over 15 does and my 130" ten point from last season! but from now on it will be my safe queen which i will never part with! this season i will be taking my savage ten custom in 6.5 lapua which is my favorite and most accurate rifle and a redhawk 5.5" 44 magnum shooting my hand loaded 310 trushot hard cast bullets loaded with 20.5 grains of h110 !

Sure, I'll play too.

My favorite pet deer rifle has been with me for just over 45 years....a Winchester Model 70 (pre-'64) in .270 Win restocked by McMillan in fiberglass, and matte reblued by Robar. Custom Leupold 2.5-8X with target elevation and mil-dot installed, shoots a stout handload of the old H4831 with a Nosler 130gr Accubond right at 3,125 fps. It's accounted for over 200 deer between here and BC over the years(we could shoot ten a year in the logging camp I used to live in.)



My "light" deer/antelope/sheep rifle is a custom titanium M700 clone built for me by Prairie Gun Works in Winnipeg in 7mm-08 Ackley Improved. It has a titanium action and bolt, heavily fluted stainless Gailiard barrel (Canadian) that Darrell Holland Tuff-Coated in matte black for me. The stock is from Lone Wolf, and it wears the same scope as the Winchester, but shoots the Nosler 120gr BT at an honest 3,400 fps. This rifle weighs exactly 7.0 lbs scoped, with sling and a loaded magazine. It also shoots bugholes with it's pet load. Here it is with a nice little "freezer deer" taken two years ago.



My last 'favorite' hunting rifle is my dedicated elk rifle for black timber. It's also a pre-'64 Winchester, this one has a custom barrel made for me by Chic Donnelley (former apprintice of P.O. Ackley) here in Oregon (Siskiyou Gunworks). It is chambered for .338-06 Ackley Improved, and shoots either a 210gr Nosler Partition or Barnes TTSX right at 2,800 fps, and will penetrate even a large bull elk end-to-end every time (done it). It's scoped with a Leupold VX3 1.5-5X, and has also accounted for numerous bulls here in the black timber of Oregon, but is still fully capable of making cross-canyon shots (done that too) out to 400 yards when needed. This thing has shot groups in the 1/2" range....not bad for a medium bore.

Here's the Winchester with a small spike elk shot on the last day of the season a few years ago:



There's more in the safe, but those are my favorite real 'hunting' rifles.

Rick, as always, you are a tough act to follow. My one and only for big game since 1981 is a lefty Remington 700 in .270 Win. Re-worked stock trigger, stock barrel (still shoots). Sits in a one off fiberglass stock since you could'nt get a LH one off the shelf back then. Topped off with a 3X9 Leupold also purchased in 1981. Always been fed IMR4831, 130gr Nosler Partitions for deer, mtn goat and such, 150's for elk. I've also used it with 90gr Sierra HP's for cats and dogs (not domestic). Breaks my heart to hear what Remington seems to be turning out these days.

My one favorite deer rifle is an older model 77 Ruger, w/tang safety, in 270 Winchester. It wears a Leupold 3-9x40mm scope. With my reloads, 130gr Nosler partition bullets and a medium load of IMR4831, 52.7grs. and WLR primers in Remington brass, and restocked with a composite stock, I am getting muzzle velocity of between 2800 and 2900 FPS. It has accounted for all but 1 of the deer I have taken over the last 40yrs. Has even taken a buck at an estimated 400 plus yards, off hand! But that was a few years back when I was younger and able to make that shot. Any more, If I am unable to get a rest, I don't pull the trigger.

Here's an Antelope and Mule Deer shot in '09 in Wyoming. Weatherby Vanguard 7MM Remington Magnum. 140 grain Nosler. Both were DRT. Shot the Mule Deer at 332 yards and the Antelope at 81 yards. Gun is topped by a Nikon Monarch 4-16-50 with BDC reticle. Will sell the scope to anyone who wants it.

1947 Remington 721 in 30/06 - doubt there was a box of shells fired through this rifle before I bought it 4 years ago. 180 gr Nosler BT's over H4831 is ASTOUNDING accuracy out to 600 yards.

Long action Savage that I assembled with a factory Savage stainless/fluted/braked....just dial up to a grand if you need to.

Come on Guys....Deer Season is upon us and there has got to be more of us Deer Hunters out there...tell Us what your going to use and show us some more of those great Deer Rifles!


This weekend is the Youth Deer Season and next weekend (Nov 12) is our regular Rifle Deer Season....can't wait to get out and hopefully get me a nice Big Missouri Buck!

Well, I grew up in the backwoods of Oregon and I don't think I ever killed a deer with anything other than a Winchester 30-30. I still have that old girl that I grew up with and I'll never send her away. I just recently bought another very sweet handling .30 caliber that in some ways reminds me of hunting with that old 30-30, although I have no idea why. Maybe because it is quick to shoulder, maybe because it is a low recoiling 30 caliber, or maybe it is because it cycles quickly?

I bought myself a .30 Remington AR.

I picked up one of these Remington R-15 rifles in 30 Rem AR a few weeks ago. Couldn't pass it up at $799 on sale at Sportsmans Warehouse. Seems they couldn't get ammo in stock for this cartridge and were having a hard time selling the rifles chambered in it. $799 is under their cost which doesn't surprise me since $1150 seems to be the normal price for the R-15.

I've been wanting an AR-15 for a while now and I am getting ready to move to Georgia next month. As a consolation to myself I decided to treat ME to a new rifle for pig hunting down there. I'm a reloader so availability of factory loads doesn't bother me... I scooped one up.

On to the cartridge. Man this thing is fun! It is based off of the .450 Bushmaster, basically necked down to .30 cal and the overall length is the same as or shorter than the .223, so it feeds (single stack) from standard AR-15 magazines. It thrives on 110gr to 150gr projectiles. It just about matches .308 Win velocities up to the 150gr bullets. That is the limit of it though. For 160gr+ bullets you gotta with another cartridge.

I took some of my reloads out deer hunting last week. I got the opportunity to test out the 130gr Speer HotCor (flat point) on a 3-point Muley at 107yds. He didn't even take a step. Just collapsed right on the spot. When field dressing I found that both his lungs were completely liquified. I am impressed. I am looking forward to trying this cartridge out on some Georgia hogs.

In the photo below: 7mm-08 w/130gr Matchking... 30 RAR w/ 130gr Speer HotCor... 30RAR w/123gr FMJ... 30 RAR w/ 125gr Nosler BallisticTip... .223 Rem

You can see that the case is slightly bigger in diameter than the .308 family of cases and the overall length is roughly the same length of the .223.



The rifle. So far I am extremely happy with it. Burris P.E.P.R scope mount and a Nikon Buckmaster 3-9x40 scope.

The really cool thing about this cartridge is that it uses the standard AR-15 platform instead of the AR-10 platform that the .308 AR requires. So it is about a pound lighter and I can still swap out the upper with any AR-15 upper I want (.223, .204... Etc)

Awesome looking Rifle Trent....I bet those short fat bullets will knock a Hog right off their feet!


What kind of recoil does that Rifle have and will You be using it on Deer?Several Guys I have talked with down in GA seem to have plenty of Deer down there to Hunt!

GTOHunter wrote:Awesome looking Rifle Trent....I bet those short fat bullets will knock a Hog right off their feet!


What kind of recoil does that Rifle have and will You be using it on Deer?Several Guys I have talked with down in GA seem to have plenty of Deer down there to Hunt!

Absolutely will use it on deer as long as the shots are under 300 yds. It flat anchored my mule deer last week. Total bang-flop and no wasted meat. Hit a rib going in and about a golfball size entry wound. Very small exit wound, and the lungs were complete jello.

I'm not going to have a job down in Georgia for a little bit so I am hoping to be able to help some farmers out in my spare time. HOG WILD!

In 1964 my Dad gave me his Remington 721 in .270 It shot a lot of deer for me and had for him. No scope and no problems. I bought a .25-06 adl and killed a lot of deer and several elk with it. Decided I needed more bullet weight and got a .30-06 adl. It worked as advertised. I lucked into a .300 winchester bdl for almost nothing and it became my go to. Ruger came out with the all weather and it was first available in 7mm. I got one and it has been my go to gun ever since. I hunt the salmon river whenever I can and shots can be from 50 feet to across a canyon. The air is clear and I can see way farther than I can shoot. The 7mm does not disapoint. I have a Luepold 4.5 by 14 scope on it and the rifle is an ugly thing of beauty.

I have been in a number of camps where new, way cool cartridges like warbirds and short mags are the new standard and I have shot quite a few at targets and they work well. One of my regular partners has a 7mm Lapua and it is pretty impressive.

Since elk are usually a possiblility for me I feel that anything in the .270 thru .30 at about 3000 fps or more is a good choice. I'll stick to my 7mm most likely but I would be ok with my old .270 or my new .300

If elk are not in the equation then taylor to the shot. It nothing but brush and short shots a .44 might be right. Probably a .243 or .25-06 would still be my choice. In truth my choice would still be my all weather in 7mm Remington magnum. I know it doesnt need a belt. I know there are faster. I also know mine works really really good.

Since I'm done to only one rifle above a 223, this is an easy question to answer.


It's a Husqvarna 8000 Imperial Grade in 30-06. I've had it a very long time. 30 plus years. Anyway, it is very dependable, will keep 3 165gr. Partitions in a 3/4" group or less. I have fired 10 rounds of that load with all ten rounds staying under an inch. It's wearing a Leupold 3-9 in Leupold rings and base. The factory trigger breaks at 2.5lbs. and I have pillarbedded it. The barrel was free floated from the factory. These have always been very accurate rifles, but from a bench they do love to jump off the bags.

If I was going to hunt Deer again, I would probably look for a 243. I don't like recoil anymore.

Looks like some more great Rifles to add to the growing list....and K22,thats a great looking Rifle You got there. I've got a great idea for You if You want a Rifle that kicks less.....keep the very same Rifle You have and get the Remington "Managed Recoil" shells,they work great and shoot awesomely with a lot less recoil and it will probably only be an inch lower or even right on the money from whatever grain bullet Your shooting now?

I'm using them in my older Bolt-action Remington 30-06 and I shot tight groups that literally touched out at 100 yards,the bullets are 125 grains and have the felt recoil of a .243 Rifle...I don't think You'd be disappointed in the Managed Recoil shells!