Well, this year no deer, as the little stubby .44 mag bullets did not get through the brush. Next year I will use .30-06 with 220 grain bullets, these having good sectional density and perhaps a little better chance of getting through the brush. Still, I would like to comment on the Ruger Deerfield for those interested.
During the Minnesota deer season of 2000, I got a 40 yard shot at a nice 8 pt. buck in some moderately heavy brush. The first shot was deflected by the brush. The deer jumped into a small clearing 50 yards away, not knowing where I was. When I worked the bolt action the deer knew right where I was and fled before I could shoot. I resolved to use a semi-auto for deer hunting the following year.
In October of 2001 I purchased a Ruger 99/44 Deerfield Carbine, chambered for the .44 Magnum. I had never hunted with a pistol cartridge before. I chose the Speer 270 grain Gold Dot factory load because I felt it offered the best potential for the cartridge in the deer hunting application I intended. It offers a combination of sectional density and velocity that seemed to maximize the cartridge’s performance capabilities.
Upon opening the Ruger Deerfield shipping container, I was impressed with the protection offered by its construction and the placement of the firearm therein. There were three minor cosmetic flaws on the firearm; a lighter than the surrounding bluing spot on the receiver (small, about 1 cm squared), a small tool mark in the stock, and a less than perfectly contoured forearm nose under the barrel in front of the barrel band. I did not consider any of these cause for a return.
I chose to use a Burris 2 ½ power Widefield scope. Mounting the scope in the Ruger rings required the use of the shims provided with the Ruger rings. No problems once the scope was installed.
There is a little scope protector cover provided with the rifle. It is leather and fits around the scope at the position of the turrets. I never needed this with the little Burris scope.
Shooting the firearm at the range for the first time I discovered three things. One, this rifle had a surprisingly decent trigger for a semi-auto hunting rifle; two, it was a surprisingly accurate .44 magnum rifle at 100 yards; and three, it would quickly shoot its barrel band loose if the screw holding it in place was not tightened such that the sling swivel would not turn. I subsequently also discovered that after about 30-40 shots, all the screws securing the rifle in the stock would shoot loose and the point of aim would change about 2-3 inches at 100 yards. No problem, I applied nail polish indexing marks to the screws, and checking these after about 30 shots with tightening as required kept everything on the same point of impact. One last note; the magazine must be carefully inserted into the magazine well to insure that it does not fall out. Awareness of the magazine latch positioning is of great importance here. Once the magazine is latched in place, there is no problem.
The hasty bench groups run 2.0 to 2.5 MOA at 100 yards. Offhand, the rifle holds in a 4 inch circle as long as I can at 100 yards. Also, my rifle shoots 240 grain Remington loads only 2 inches away from the Speer 270 grain Gold Dots at 100 yards. Removing and replacing the scope never moved the point of impact more than an inch in any direction. As for the aperture sights furnished with the rifle, these are excellent, offering good target acquisition and quick pointing.
In the field, the rifle carries and handles very well. It shoulders quickly and points true for offhand shooting, the type I do as a still hunter. It is a little barrel light, as one finds with any short barreled rifle in the offhand position, and after a little exertion it may take a few breaths for the barrel to quit moving around.
I have fired over 500 rounds through this rifle with no malfunction of any kind.
My summary of good and bad points.
Good: Accuracy, dependability and handling. Also, the ability to provide a very good scope or peep sighting platform and the ability to switch between the two as required while maintaining the rifle’s effectiveness.
Bad: The ability of the Deerfield’s screws to loosen after a few shots.
Odd: The need for the scope protector.
Overall, I would recommend this rifle to anyone wanting a small, light semi-auto rifle with low recoil and the ability to use a firearm’s factory sights or a scope interchangeably and effectively.
Regards
