re: What’s the best gun for deer hunting in heavy timber

quote:

---

35 Whelen is a great weapon, period. If you hunt in a state that has a "primitive weapon" season, you should own one.

---

FWIW I’ve never heard of being able to use a cartridged rifle in a primitive season until a couple years ago on this board, this is extremely rare. The vast majority of states are muzzleloader only and some are even primitive muzzleloaders and go so far as no in line guns or no scopes.

Given that, while you can shoot open sights past 60 or yards I’m not a fan hunting with them that far. Just too much room for error. 12 or 20 gauge rifled slug gun is a heck of a good brush gun and plenty accurate out to 120 yards or so. If you are looking at hunting a gun season from a bow stand I’d go open sights all day long with shots under 50, but if you are likely looking at 50-100 yard shots I’d prefer a scope.