Hey HughW, now let's try this scenario. You limited your survey to 100 yds. of thick cover.
What if we open it up to "what action and caliber for an eastern whitetail gun for any range and cover on the east coast. What if you could only have one gun? As we discussed, we have hunted the same area, so you know that covers a lot of differant types of terrain. We have the thick stuff where visibility is 20yds. We have open hardwoods(say 100yds.). We have powerlines (say 600yds.). The tree folks love coming in and clearcutting. We have swamps that are fairly open, but a gun can get covered in mud pretty quickly. That should about cover it. Remember, one gun is all you get to cover all the above situations. Look forward to your replies.

My choice,,,,,,,,hmm. For 9 years all I had was a 7mm Rem. Mag.. Took deer from 10 to 250 yards with that one. It servred me well. But I think my one choice now would be a,,,,,Remmy M700 in .308 Win.. It would be an all weather stainless of standard weight and lenght. I would propably add see-through mounts. Yup, I think that would cover all that. I dismiss the levers and autos because of the swamp scenarios. Their actions would be pretty tough to clean in the field if they were filled with mud.

JMHO

Jason,

for thick cover I like a Browning BAR Carbine in 308. Mine just gives great balance, is easy to get through thick stuff (short and stubby).
With a 1 1/2 to 6 Bausch and Lomb.

For bean fields I use a bolt either in 270 Win or 270 WSM. One a 70 one a 700. Both wear Zeiss or Kahles 3-10 x 40 scopes.

But you bring a great rifle with the Rem 700. I might have to get the new Rem 700 Classic now offered in 308. One of the greatest rounds ever for balancing pin point accuracy, ease of handling (recoil) and useable power. You can shoot anything you encounter in the lower 48 with it.

My original poll was issued wandering if bolts had completely taken over lever / semi auto rifle market share. From looking at gun store shelves I would have to belive that there are 10-15 bolts sold for every lever or semi-auto (for deer rifles). But, I was pleased to see the strong out powering of support for these fine deer stoppers! Hugh

Looks like you need a drilling - 12 ga barrel under loaded with buckshot and a rifle barrel over chambered for 280 rem (or your favorite deer cartridge). You could do combo hunts too - grouse/deer, rabbit/bear, duck/moose, trout/bass, carp/tuna, oh wait those are fish, sorry. Tomesimes I'm lisdexic - bet things all gackwards. It's frealy rustrating. That's why I gave up on the drilling - always get the barrels wrong and buckshot aint no good on tuna.

Do not know about all the East.But here in
New England,you rarely get a long shot at a
Deer.So your best served,by a gun that handles
and carrys easy.Caliber for the range your shooting is a matter of what works for you
I use a .270 for Whitetail,but know people
that use 35 Rem or 30-30.

HuhgW, I agree with the numbers on the bolts outselling the levers. I don't believe I've ever "bought" one. I have used a couple that were loners, just never owned one. My 12 yr. old son just kill his first deer with a Winchester 30/30 a couple of weeks ago in Twiggs County.

Yes, I'm recently starting to appreciate the 308. The more I shoot one and study on it, it just seems to be the perfect all around rifle. The one I have is a custom Remmy 722 set up for silouette. The mag has been filled in so it is now a single shot. It has a 26" stainless bull barrel( I don't know the barrel maker). I do know that with 168 gr. Sierra Matchkings and 42 grains of IMR-4895 it'll shoot consistent 1/8" groups at 100yds. 165 Ballistictips will do as good and Partitions will cluster at 1/4" If I had to give up all of my 15 or so rifles but one, this would be the hands down choice. It would be a little heavy in the woods, but it would be worth it.

Clem,
hadn't considered a combo. Yup, I beleive yor choice would also fit perfectly. I had a Savage 22/20 for a while. As I recall it felt pretty good. Not too long or too heavy. Good choice.

I've culled whitetail deer by permit yearly since '94. Most are in the foothills and are healthy, well fed and above average in size. My recorded shots have been near point blank in thick cover to open fields at + 200yds.

I've shot quite a few w/ various hunting bullets in the 165gr range from a .308 M40 and was never pleased w/ the overall performance. Most of the bullets had a narrow range at which they performed well; as example, a bullet that performs well at long range is worthless at close cover distance because they blow apart. Bullets that were constructed to work well at point blank ranges fail to open at long open field distances. I'm of the opinion that bullet makers are limited in bullet construction for a 308 because the lighter gr. weight and lower velocity.

On the other hand, I've had excellent results w/ 180gr flat base bullets out of a 30-06, even 150gr flat base bullets out of a 270. In magnum calibers, anyone who has experience shooting whitetail w/ a 375H&H w/ a full load 270 - 300gr bullet knows that it is extremely effective on deer w/ minimal meat damage. I have a lightweight/compact 375H&H I use for bear that has proven my favorite when I'm culling. Anything from point blank to +200yds can be taken cleanly from most any angle w/ very little edible meat damage.

If I were to pick a benchmark for most shooting conditions I've experienced w/ eastern whitetail; I'd say for an adult, a .270 or 30-06 w/ the proper bullet out of a reliable bolt rifle. Both will work equally well if black bear is on your plate as well.

Gary

My TC Encore with a custom 264 Win Mag barrel. I like the Hornady 140 gr spitzers at 3000 fps or so. It'll shoot at longer ranges than I have any business shooting. My .02 worth.

For many, many years (32) I've mostly used a 760 in 308 without complaint.I also use a 30-06 M70 but it's not as fast handling and easy to carry as the old 760. The 760/7600 just says "whitetail " to me. If I only hunted eastern whitetail deer and limited to one rifle I would stick with my 760 in 308.Ahhh, if life were so simple for big game hunters.