Author Topic: Opening day for deer-which rifle do you start with? (Read 3181 times)

deerman12 · « **on:** June 17, 2006, 04:42:00 AM »

Okay, I am bored. I know alot of you guys are like me and several rifles.
I like to sit and look in my safe and think about which rifle gets the opening day call. Which one are guys going to start out with first? For me I am going to harvest my first with a 270 WSM Kimber. Then I will switch to something else. How about you fellas?

George Foster · « **Reply #1 on:** June 17, 2006, 05:54:13 AM »

For me it will be my Ruger 77 in 6mm, if I am lucky enough to kill a deer with that rifle then I will use my Ruger 77 in 243.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #2 on:** June 17, 2006, 05:54:29 AM »

Marlin 336 in .35 Remington, or Marlin 1895 in 45.70......

Cheesehead · « **Reply #3 on:** June 17, 2006, 06:10:28 AM »

I have a fine collection of semi, lever, single shot and bolt rifles in my safe. I does confuse me at times. The M1A will probably be the choice for opener of deer season. I bought one thousand 150 grain partitions at Midway for 115 bucks and have yet to develop a hunting load for this bullet. Once I have done this I will be convinced the M1A will be the gun. The places I hunt offer multiple shooting opportunities at large numbers of deer. This is when the M1A shines as an effective game getter. The tags for antlerless deer cost 2 bucks each and are nearly unlimited in amount. As you can tell I am a meat hunter but also set time aside for trophy deer.

Cheese

muzzleblast525 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 17, 2006, 07:39:15 AM »

7mm-08....But which one, got a Remington LVSF that is a good shooter, but then I just bought a custom 700 also that is a shooter....

poncaguy · « **Reply #5 on:** June 17, 2006, 08:28:06 AM »

If I'm after a good buck, my Winchester Super Shadow 270 WSM. Next would be my Ruger 77 260, Stevens 7-08, Stevens 25-06, Handi 7-08, 308, 270,45-70, 243. My pistol wold be My 15" SS Encore 7-08. Now, you got me all excited! :-D

SuperstitionCoues · « **Reply #6 on:** June 17, 2006, 08:29:53 AM »

I'm still trying to figure this one out myself...

Probably my 25-06, and then maybe my 30-30, depending on what I scout.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #7 on:** June 17, 2006, 08:44:43 AM »

And I thought I have a bad case of the what ifs'. My all time favorite is my well worn M760 in .270 Win. But currently I have been shooting a 7MM Rem. Mag. Today it has the call but will it have the call the end of September. Only time will tell.

verhoositz · « **Reply #8 on:** June 17, 2006, 11:34:41 AM »

It all depends...if I get to go to the east Texas deep deer woods I'll take two guns, the 9.3x62 w/ fixed 4X - might try the "new" steel El Paso Weaver K3 I just got this week - for hunting the thickets and pine forests with no understory and the 300Wmg 4x12 for shooting the 50' wide power line cut with shots out to as far as you can see in some places. North and Central Texas the 270 3x9 as the primary and the 9.3 for hunting the mesquite & live oak thickets , far West Texas's open Sonaran Desert or Big Bend ountry I'll start with the 300WMg for the averge shot is 2-3-400+ yards with the 270 as the backup ...just dunno where I'm going yet. the 9.3 is good out to a little under 300 yards at point blank with a 200 yard zero shooting 250's and only 2 1/2"s high at a hundred. Most of the time I leave it set at a 150 yard zero and point it dead on in the woods where the average shot is between 35 and 75yards...nothing walks away from it.

glshop20 · « **Reply #9 on:** June 17, 2006, 02:11:15 PM »

I will start with a scoped Ruger .270 International. If I am lucky early, I will try to fill my lottery tag with either a Marlin 45-70 or .375 lever with open sights. Black bear season overlaps with deer season in the zone I hunt in PA. It's a good idea to have enough gun at hand. How great is it to have to make these tough decisions?

flintlock · « **Reply #10 on:** June 17, 2006, 04:24:22 PM »

Easy...My Ruger .243...Only bolt centerfire rifle I own...

257 roberts · « **Reply #11 on:** June 17, 2006, 05:29:57 PM »

Remington 700 BDL/AS 270 Win. 3.5x10 Leupold and ?
:wink:

marylandeer · « **Reply #12 on:** June 17, 2006, 05:31:13 PM »

I will shooting my Tikka T3 in .30-06 without a doubt. Since I have bought this rifle I have sold or traded off most of my other bolt actions. The Tikka is just the perfect hunting tool for me. It's light, accurate, reliable with no wood to warp and the steel is low maintenance stainless. It's has a good lifetime scope on it (grandslam) and we all no how good the 100 year old 06 is. I think I'm set for life with this one.
I might take my Savage 7MM-08 out after I get a couple with the Tikka. I want to see what the 7mm-08 is all about. I know Zachary and Mr. Graybeard say it's one of the best deer loads going. It's also good fun popping one with my 44 mag to. COME ON DEER SEASON.....

Maine Woods · « **Reply #13 on:** June 18, 2006, 03:08:58 AM »

We only get one deer ( with rifle or BP, can get more with Bow) if raining Rem 760 30-06 williams peeps if clear Win model 70 supergrade 30-06.

nomosendero · « **Reply #14 on:** June 18, 2006, 07:14:47 AM »

I do not know until Nov. 11th, opening day of modern gun season. It could be my 450 Marlin Ultra on one end or a 25-06AI or 300WM on the other. It depends on wind direction mainly as to which part of the property
that I will hunt. On some parts I have a couple of long range stands & in places I hunt thickets. If things don't look certain then I will take a "do it all" gun like my Win. Model 70 30-06AI.

Dave in WV · « **Reply #15 on:** June 18, 2006, 08:02:07 AM »

It depends on the weather, where, and how I'm going to hunt. If it's not too cold, probably my 7600 7mm-08. If it's cold my M70 30-06 with a 12.75" LOP. If I'm going to walk in the rain my M77 stainless .243. I could have the 7600 stock shortened 3/8" for a 13" LOP and do it all with one. :eek:

RaySendero · « **Reply #16 on:** June 18, 2006, 08:07:22 AM »

Quote from: deerman12

Okay, I am bored. I know alot of you guys are like me and several rifles.
I like to sit and look in my safe and think about which rifle gets the opening day call. Which one are guys going to start out with first? For me I am going to harvest my first with a 270 WSM Kimber. Then I will switch to something else. How about you fellas?

Easy - I ALWAYS start with my 270 until I have meat! Only then will I begin to "play" around with the others.

Mannlicher · « **Reply #17 on:** June 18, 2006, 12:06:52 PM »

Decisions, decisions..........
I have a new (to me) Remington 700 BDL Custom Deluxe in 30/06. I ordered a Burris Full Field II 3x9 scope today, and if I will be hunting in a certain WMA across a clear cut, I believe I will take this one on opening day.
If I go in on the still hunt side, or on my friends's farm, I will take the old stand by Marlin 17894S in .44 Mag.

Demonical · « **Reply #18 on:** June 18, 2006, 12:08:45 PM »

Remington M700 .300 H&H.

Archblackmage · « **Reply #19 on:** June 18, 2006, 01:46:47 PM »

either my wichester winlite .270win featherweight stock lookalike or my marlin .357mag 1894C no felt recoil and holds 9 rounds :eek:

HuntingGuy · « **Reply #20 on:** June 18, 2006, 05:06:36 PM »

Only one rifle can fit my opener performance expectations... Kimber 84M Montana 7mm-08!

Sigma · « **Reply #21 on:** June 18, 2006, 06:48:59 PM »

Probably will try my new Tikka T3 Lite Stainless, 6.5x55. :grin:

Savage .250 · « **Reply #22 on:** June 19, 2006, 02:15:55 AM »

Love my Savage 99`s but my choice in the "early" running is my
early model (1960) Savage 110 in .243.
I will take one of my 99`s for back-up but the question is, whick one?
One decision solved, (kind of) one left un-resolved. Maybe i`ll just flip a
coin............

Chuck White · « **Reply #23 on:** June 19, 2006, 03:52:36 AM »

I plan to start out with my TC Encore 50 ML!

Then when the regular season starts, I plan on opening with my Marlin 444P in 444 Marlin! There's still a lot of underbrush at the begining of the rifle season!

My next step is when the underbrush starts to clear, at that time, I'll switch to my Remington M-7 in 7mm-08 Remington!

Then when the underbrush is all gone and we have snow, I will most likely switch to my Remington M-700 BDL in 7mm Rem Mag! At this time, I do quite a bit of all-day stand hunting in my Tree Lounge, at about 25-30 feet! At that height in some places, I can see out to about 500 yards!

june6th1944 · « **Reply #24 on:** June 19, 2006, 08:35:20 AM »

Remington 700 .30-06 scoped and a Win. 94 .30-30. I want to try my new fiber optic iron sights if I have a chance. I can shoot 1 1/4" at 100 yds with iron sights now w/ my handloads of course with that Winchester.

kudzu · « **Reply #25 on:** June 19, 2006, 05:03:37 PM »

Depends on what stand I hunt Could be my Ruger M77 stainless 270wsm or my Stevens 200 25-06(it's new without a kill). May be my Sendero 7mm rum or, or, or. Oh man too early to tell.

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #26 on:** June 19, 2006, 05:30:13 PM »

This year it has to be a .50 muzzlestuffer Probably the Rem M700ML.

Slamfire · « **Reply #27 on:** June 19, 2006, 08:13:04 PM »

I've several suitable rifles, but since muzzleloader season comes first, I'll start with my .50 cal sidelock. I seldom hunt outside of my own woodlot, so I'll probably stick with it until the bitter end. :lol:

Wing · « **Reply #28 on:** June 21, 2006, 02:35:03 PM »

I always start with my 300wby mark V, then usually move to 280 rem Mdl 700 MTN rifle then my Model 7 308 win satinless, which is what I got my buck with this year on the last day of the season. It's great to carry when covering alot of ground to get the deer moving out of their beds.

j.trevor123 · « **Reply #29 on:** June 21, 2006, 05:20:19 PM »

I actually bow hunt most of the time now but if i was taking a rifle out opening day it owuld be my .270 rem. Never had a deer go out of site with that baby. A awesome caliber and has yet to let me down.(knock on wood)