Getting a New Deer Rifle

[goodoleboy]

Well After reading the replies Ive talked with a few dealers. Ive decided to go with the Remingtom 7600 pump action rifle. Since I am a left handed shooter I can not operate a bolt action rifle. The pump was the most comfortable action I could handle besides an automatic.I would have gone with an automatic but some states do not allow semi-auto's for hunting, As I want this rifle to be as verstile as possible.
Here she is

I am going to get a scope and some rings pretty soon.

As for the Caliber I am going with the 30-06 as he has a few in stock and giving me a great price on one $380 tax and all. A .308 would run an extra $50 as he would have to order it.
Ive gathered the 30-06 is more versitile for the type of hunting I am doing. Again i only wanted one gun and the 30-06 seems to fit the bill. But I doubt this will be end of my Gun purchases so I may see a 308 in the future you never know.

Thanks for the all the replies and help!

 

[HGM]

Congratulations... A new rifle purchase always makes me feel good ..... Remington makes an excelent gun.. Just FYI, http://www.savagearms.com/10glxp3.htm this is the rifle I was refering to(although it would be a different model for he '06) and although the picture doenst show it, it comes in a left handed model(as do most MFG rifles).. Again, good luck and enjoy you new rifle..

 

[goodoleboy]

Thanks! i considered left handed models but I fear parts or accesorries might be hard to come used or new a few years down the road.

 

[egonegon]

That will be one nice rifle.

If you handload make a check for pressures.

Egon

 

[scott_vt]

Well After reading the replies Ive talked with a few dealers. Ive decided to go with the Remingtom 7600 pump action rifle. Since I am a left handed shooter I can not operate a bolt action rifle. The pump was the most comfortable action I could handle besides an automatic.I would have gone with an automatic but some states do not allow semi-auto's for hunting, As I want this rifle to be as verstile as possible.
Here she is

I am going to get a scope and some rings pretty soon.

As for the Caliber I am going with the 30-06 as he has a few in stock and giving me a great price on one $380 tax and all. A .308 would run an extra $50 as he would have to order it.
Ive gathered the 30-06 is more versitile for the type of hunting I am doing. Again i only wanted one gun and the 30-06 seems to fit the bill. But I doubt this will be end of my Gun purchases so I may see a 308 in the future you never know.

Thanks for the all the replies and help!

Very nice choice. I have always had good luck with Remington! I never owned there rifles but have the Remington 1100's that I shoot skeet with and they are very dependable !!!

Good Luck with your new rifle

 

[BrianW]

The .308 is definately more accurate- proven in competition, but for deer hunting this is the definitive weapon. http://www.buckstix.com/howitzer.htm

 

[bbse]

goodoleboy,

That is a fine choice for an all around deer rifle. It should be fast and quick handling. My advice after you get your good scope and quality rings and bases(or if you are young enough to use open sights, I can't see them anymore) learn to shoot it. By that I mean take the time to actually learn how it shoots at different ranges, at different angles (there is actually less drop shooting up hill or down!) and since it has a two piece stock, see how it shoot (left and right) when you put stress on the rifle, like with a tight sling. I used to use a Ruger number 1 and it also has a 2 peice stock. It would shoot great as long as I held it right. I could move the point of impact almost 2 inches at a 100 yards by stressing the rifle in different ways. One other thing if you ever decide to reload for it. Get a small base sizing die. That kind of resizing die restores fired brass to factory size. Regular resizing dies do not restore brass to factory size but work fine in most bolt guns and may work fine on your slide action. I have had some problems with tight chambered autos which would be like your slide action. Nothing wrong with a slide it just does not have the leverage of a bolt gun, hence better to resize all the way.

And lastly, you can get, I got mine thru Shot Gun News, a 30-06 to 308 adapter. It was developed for the military and mine works fine. I put just a dab of antisieze lube on it, use a fired 308 case to place it into the chamber, shoot as much 308 as I want, then I use my $10 broken shell extractor and it pops right out. It was a lot cheaper than having to buy a separate rifle to shoot that cheap surplus 7.62X51 Nato ammo.

 

[BB_TX]

The 30-06 is also my choice of rifle and have used it since '66 on many deer. I like it primarily for the versatility of bullet choices. And I also reload. BUT. It does thump your shoulder pretty good. It is a great hunting rifle, but not something you will want to go to the range and shoot several boxes of ammo, no matter how cheap. Shooting while hunting, you will not feel a thing. Shooting at the range you definitely will. After 5 shots or so, you will begin to feel it. After 10 or so, you will begin to get uncomfortable. And uncomfortable is definitely not a good thing when trying for accuracy.
Here is a chart for recoil energy. http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm The .308 is only about 10% less than the 30-06. And who in the world could hold and shoot a Weatherby 460 Mag?
My deer hunting has been almost exclusively TX hill country deer which are not very large. Factory rounds blow right thru with the exit hole not much larger than the entrance hole. Clean kill but a waste of energy, and you could possibly kill/wound another deer behind the first. I actually down load my rounds. I still get my accuracy at a lower recoil. The last deer I shot, the 165 gr bullet with a nice mushroom, was visible as a lump just under the hide on the opposite side of the deer after breaking that shoulder. Every last pound of energy was expended on the deer and he dropped in his tracks. That, to me, was the perfect load for that deer. For larger animals, I can load it a little hotter and/or a heavier bullet.

 

[greatrandini]

Nice choice. You will like it. I don't think you will be hit with the extracted cases shooting left handed?

 

[Slamfire]

A fine choice for the non gun nut hunter. I had one in .270 and Dad had a 6mm. They will do the job, and since you powder the action, are less likeley to shoot loose than the semi autos.