Just curious what (if any) are your favorite rifles for Deer and/or Elk? Or whaterver purpose..

For the last several years my go to choice for deer has been my 257 AI built on a M-98 Mauser. But Im building a couple other rifles that just may un-seat it @ the top of the list..

For Elk it is a tough call, I REALLY like my 35 Whelen for the big Stags, but it seems like more often than not, the good old 30-06 is the one that ends up going along for the hike..

Which calibers are your "Go-to" guns, and why?

My favorite is a Ruger No 1 in 30-338. Used for elk and deer. The key to the retirement system is 180 gr bullets leaving the muzzle in excess of 3,000 fps. Mine has a compact 2.5X8 Leopold scope and is very accurate. My second choice would be a Mauser action 30-06 with 180 gr bullets.

My favourite for general purpose is my Remington 7600 synthetic carbine in .30-06.

quote:

Originally posted by cobra:
My favourite for general purpose is my Remington 7600 synthetic carbine in .30-06.

Great hunting rifle!
For deer---6.5 x .284, but only because the 6.5 R-Bar hasn't yet been blooded.
Elk Was the 30-06.
roger

medium? light 7x64 .. heavy? 470 AR

I think my favorite for deer sized animals is my Kimber 84 in 257 Roberts.

For years my deer rifle was Win mod 70 in .243. Past few years I have seen so many positive results with .223 and .222 that I'm going to use either my Rem 600 in .222 or my Win mod 70 in .223. Elk and moose Win mod 70 in 30-06. In past I did use the 30-06 on deer and antelope too.

I can't remember the writer that once said...

" My favorite rifle is the one I am shooting at the time..."

I shoot most things with my Harris Talon in .300 WM. For DG, a Savage safari in .458 WM or a Krieghoff in .470 NE.......Ton

Winchester Model 70 .375 H&H ..... then there's the Blaser K95 in 7x57R ..... my Suhler Drilling ..... Blaser R93 in 300 Witherbee ....

quote:

" My favorite rifle is the one I am shooting at the time ....."

kreyten's right.

Mine is my MGA 338WM.

i guess mine right now for white tail would be my ruger M-77 S.S in 260 remington..

but i also like my rem. 700 S.S In 7MM-08

I am not a caliber person, more of a proper placement with a properly constructed bullet.

However, guns that I have not sold may be a clue to my favorites and for deer I normally use my 30-06, or 300 H&H and if horseback my Savage 99F in .308..

For elk I prefer my .338, 300 H&H or 30-06 and if I'm horseback by Savage Mod 99F in 308..

Hmmmm, I guess then the 338, 300 H&H, 30-06 or 308 are my favorite for deer and elk..I just change the loads to heavier bullets for elk.

That said I love the 250 Savage, 7x57, 30-30 and 25-35, 6x45 and have hunted both deer and elk with all of these except the 6x45, and found them to be suitable with the correct bullets.

It also depends on the terrian that I'm hunting as to my favorite rifle, in the thick black timber of idao then its my .338 with 300 gr. Woodleighs, or my 9.3x62 with 286, 300 or 320 gr. bullets and my .375 works well here also, and I wouldn't feel over gunned with my .416..

I mostly pick a rifle by the rifle itself and caliber is secondary, within reason.

The question is way too complicated for me as a gun nut and hunter with so many guns.

I'm going to have to say my Tikka T3 light in 270 WSM gets the nod on both accounts!! Just switch to an Accubond or other premium bullet for elk!!

Although we'll see how I like my 338-06 next year, just getting it put together this fall so I'll have a year to get a load ready!!

My favorite at this time is a Merkel K3 in 30-06. My old favorite is a Remington 700 Classic in 35 Whelen.

My caliber of choice since 1974 has been the .300wm.

In 1996 I purchased a new Browning A-Bolt II Hunter in that caliber and mounted a Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x50 heavy duplex reticle scope in QR rings & bases and attached a Butler Creek Alaskan sling to it. This rifle has taken over 50 species of African game and has travelled to 3 continents and over 9 countries.

If I had to choose a new all purpose rifle today, it would again be a .300wm caliber Browning rifle with a Leupold scope.

It's not a matter of favorite, it's picking out which one of your favorites to take whilst leaving the others, sobbing quietly in the safe, behind.

When I wasn’t hunting with a bow and arrow or flintlock muzzleloader, this was my first choice for elk, deer, and antelope. 7mm Remington Mag. The first one I owned had a red recoil pad that I bought in 76. It’s Hell on coyotes too.

Geez, that's a toughie.

For deer, I guess I'd have to say my .270 pre-'64 M70 FW, though I've killed a slew of them with a Marlin M36 carbine in .30-30, too.

For elk I started out using the .300 Wby (a rechambered pre-war M70 standard wt.), but I eventually switched to a Ruger No. 1 in 7x65R and have stuck with that ever since for those guys.

For moose, I began with the 7x57, then switched to a pre-war M70 standard wt. in .30 Gov't-'06.

Funny thing is, if I was going out for anything bigger than coyotes tomorrow, I'd take either a Steyr Profesional in 8x57, or a Steyr Professional in .376 Steyr, depending on the terrain being hunted. Or, maybe not....maybe I'd take my new Marlin in .338 Marlin Express...or then again, my new-to-me Marlin 336-A in .32 Win Special...or....

Geez, that IS a toughie!

For Deer/Antelope size game I use a winchester mod 70 .243

For Elk and Bear I use a Wby 300Wby

Yes, it is a toughie. I don't have any guns that I don't like. Forced to pick a favorite? Well Id' have to say my octagon barreled M1894 rifle (1907) in 32Spl that I've had since I was 14, and my pre 64 M70 (1948) in 30-06 Govt that I bought used just before I got out of the Marine Corps way back in '71.

I'm with Kreyton though my custom all-weather .375 from Jaeger might edge out the others.

For everything in North America short of brown bear, my 40 year old Rem 700 BDL in 270 I've handed down to my son. For brown bear, my 375 Weatherby. For cape buffalo to dinosaurs my 500 Jeffery lol ...

My favorite rifles are the ones I have kept and use on a fairly regular basis. At present the one I carry the most is my 35 Whelen. After having had a good selection of calibers, I whittled my collection down to the following and will keep them as long as I live, the Whelen, my 375 H&H, the 38-55 Chief Crazy Horse Commemerative, a 1915 Norwegian Krag carbine in 6.5x55, my wife's 257 Robert's, a 1907 .351 Winchester Self Loader and an 1894 Marlin in 44 Rem Mag.

All of them shoot well and I have killed deer with all but 2 of them, the 38-55 and the 44 Rem Mag, but have killed game or varmits of some kind with all of them.

For the past 30+ years, my favorite Deer, Pronghorn antelope, Bighorn and Dall sheep rifle is my .257 AI. It was built on a Mauser Mark X action, fitted in Fancy walnut from Fajen, and topped with a 6x Leupold.

For most of that same time, my favorite Elk rifle was a .30 Gibbs shooting 180 gr Partitions at just under 3000 fps. This was my first centerfire rifle, and started out as a .30-06 that I put together back in 1967. That rifle has kept my freezers full of Elk and Moose meat since 1971.

A couple of years ago, I retired the Gibbs and replaced it with a .300 Weatherby, which is my new favorite Elk rifle. It's a Vanguard that I stocked in Fancy walnut from Richards and it wears a 4-12x Leupold.

For the biggest critters, I put together a .375 RUM back in 2004. It's a stainless 700 Remington that I put in a grey/rose laminated stock from Richards, and topped it with a 2-7x Leupold. I've taken it to Africa twice and hunted everything from Steenbuck to Buffalo and Eland with it. I think my longest ever one shot kill on any big game animal, a Gemsbok at 348 yds, was made with this rifle.

For year I would have answered that my favorite rifle was my Model 70 .300 Win Mag. It had been my go to gun for years. However it has become finicky and I think the barrel is starting to give up the ghost. So I have not named a new go to but my .308 I built on a K98 action and my Rem. 700 in .270 WSM are probably tied.

Well my favorite packin rifle is my CZ 550FS that i had rechambered to 9.3x64 with a lil 2x7 leupold. Then theres the big Imperials (338 & 360 ), both on M70 actions with Kreiger barrels but a lil heavy too pack along way anymore. And then theres....

My favorite rifle is a Heym SR21G Caliber 8x68S with an Schmidt-Bender Classic 3-12x50 L7 with Recknagel mounts.

Heym SR21 G Cal. 8x68S

Recently picked up a Rem 721in 30-06. Sweet gun. Over 50 years old and works like a charm.
Also a 1953 Marlin 336 in 35 rem.

I have 3 favorites, in order of preference:
Savage 99E in .308 Win
Sporterized Swedish M38 in 6.5x55
Winchester Model 70 (push-feed) in .30-06

For deer, I usually use the model 99 or the Swede, for elk, I'd probably pick the '06 or my as yet not quite finished .35 Whelen on a 98 Mauser action.

I like all the rifles I have. The Fav is the Sportized 30-40 Krag.

This is my current favorite -- but only because it's dropped a good bit of game over the past few months. Tomorrow my answer may be different...

Number 1 = .358 STA, Number 2 = .270 WSM, Number 3 = .300 Winny. All Model 70 Winchesters. Good shooting.

For deer and such, my Rem700 in 264WM. If I was to go elk hunting again, it would be my Browning Highwall in 30-06.

If you took away all my nice rifles and told me I could have only one, then I would naturally have to take my old very worn out Ruger 77, custom stocked rifle with a mod. 70 3-pos safety and control feed that I built up 50 years ago before such things existed. What caliber? What else but a 30-06, gimme a handfull of 200 gr. Nolsers and some flat nose solids and I could hunt the world and do very well indeed cuz I'm a lot better shot than Teddy Roosevelt who wounded every animal he shot in Africa! He was a blind old bastard, but I wish we had him today to lead this country. I hunted with that old gun this year for the first time in 30 years or so, it was like hunting with an old friend, and it still did its work to perfection.

Probably my prewar model70 .3006.


Cal30

I have always been a great fan of the 300H&H. I have owned a few rifles in that caliber. The cartridge is adequate for anything I will ever hunt (I don't see elephant and rhino in my future) and is the most forgiving and versatile cartridge I have ever reloaded. It feeds and extracts like no other and it is inherently more accurate then I am capable of shooting it.

I have also been a great fan of the single shot rifle. I have owned a couple of Ruger No.1s (one was assembled by H&H), a Falling Block Works rifle, a couple of Martinis, a Rigby Farquharson, and more. To me, nothing carries nor handles better than a good falling block rifle.

So, as you might guess, my favorite rifle is a fairly new falling block single shot in 300H&H. The more I use it, the more I grow to like it. It weighs about 8 pounds but, because it is balanced perfectly just at the front of the action, it handles like 6-1/2. It is accurate, a joy to carry in hand or on a sling, shoots equally well with scope or open sights, and isn't too bad looking. It even exudes a pleasing aroma comprised of equal parts Vaseline, Hoppes No. 9, Nevarust, stock wax, and saddle soap.

My 9.3´s are nice, it´s a toss up if it´s the x62 or x64. Both are custom, stocks made by Boha (handle for this forum), metalwork done by Sam Bjorkholm, built on a Husky M98 and Husky 640 actions. Great guns, lovely calibers.

Now, wait just a minute.

Jeff Cooper (may he rest in peace) wrote (and believed) that the Steyr Scout was the greatest "general purpose rifle" ever conceived or built. Clearly, you men didn't get the word.