Deer Rifles

Remington 700, in 270 win

Congratulations on buying a new deer hunting rifle. W/o knowing your budget or style of hunting, my personal recs are:
Caliber: 25-06, 260 Rem**, 6.5X55 Swede, 6.5 Creedmoor**, 270 Win, 7-08**, 280 Rem, 308** and 30-06. ** denotes the gun should be available in a short action; compared to a long action gun, the short action will be a little lighter, little shorter and, all other things being equal (bullet wt and wt of gun), will have a little lighter recoil. For the type of whitetail deer hunting usually encountered in the south, I don't think a magnum (whether it's long or short) adds significantly to the gun's effectiveness.
Gun: LOTS of good options here. Go to a store and see which ones handle best to you and what features you like (2 position safety vs 3 position safety; hinged floor plate vs internal blind magazine vs detachable box magazine, etc. You get the idea). I'd look at Browning X-Bolt, Winchester M70, Rem M700, Savage, Ruger M77 and Tikka. If you want to spend a little less money, Savage Axis, Mossberg, Ruger American are good ones.
Scope: Lots of good options here as well. Nikon, Leupold, Vortex, Burris, Redfield are good ones for <$300. Natchez Shooters Supply also sells factory refurbished scopes at a good discount. 3-9X or 3-10X is plenty magnification.
Rings/mount: I've used a bunch of different set ups through the years, but now only use one piece Weaver base w/ Burris Signature rings (the ones w/ the plastic insert).

So what do I use? I deer hunt w/ specialty handguns now but when I started deer hunting I bought a Winchester M70 in 270 Win w/ a Leupold 3-9X scope (I later changed it to a 2-7X Leupold). When my son started hunting at 10 y/o I bought him a Savage bolt action in 308 Win that came w/ a 3-9X Simmons; I later changed to scope to a 3-9X Leupold Rifleman. A few months ago I bought a T/C Compass in 7-08 as a grand kids' gun. I've not shot it enough yet to endorse it.

Keep us updated w/ your decision. It's always fun buying a new gun.

Economy Class: Ruger American or Savage Axis with Nikon Prostaff


Buisness Class: Xbolt w/ Leupold


No idea what first class looks like

Whatever you buy make sure to spend more on optics than you do the gun....this is always a good rule of thumb.


I have hunted with a Rem model 700 for years and been very happy with it. Depending on your budget, Savage makes some very affordable guns that are absolute tack drivers (after you have the trigger worked on).

Upgrade the stock and/or scope with that money instead

Just got me a .308 Remington 783 great gun

Long time rem and wby fan

the T3 is no joke!

Helluva buy on that scope.

Cabelas has a Savage model 12 in 6.5 creedmoor and .308 for $269 after rebates right now.

I bought a Weatherby Vanguard in 25-06 3 years ago and scoped it with the Burris that’s mentioned in this thread. Couldn’t be happier with the rifle. It shoots 1inch groups at 200 with 115 grain Hornady Whitetail rounds which you can get at less than $1/round. It has a lot of feature for the price including a raised comb stock and a fantastic 2 stage trigger. Recoil is barely more than a 22, so it’s a lot of fun to shoot. If you had seen what it did to the front shoulder of the doe I took on Sunday, you’ll know it’s all the bullet you’ll ever need for deer hunting. I also shot a bobcat with it 2 years ago, an it completely blew out the abdomen. 25-06 is plenty of bullet.

The scope is serviceable, but in hindsight, I’d probably spend more money there.