Suggestions for a deer gun

jmccracken1214

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Looking for a 20” or so rifle with ability to drop medium/ small game and critters out to 400.

So far, I’m looking at the ruger American predator in 6mm creedmoor. I’ve had a few 6mms and love the round. Very fast and flat shooting. With Hornady 103gr eld x hunting loads, should be able to keep them at 2400fps at 400 yards and 1350-1400 ft lbs of energy. Most shots on deer would be within 200, but wanting something to stretch out if the need arose. Small game and critters would be more out to longer distances

I’d imagine that would be enough for my needs.
 
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Price range?

If you want a quality firearm that will last a lifetime and has the best accuracy on the market (5-shot sub-MOA), look at the Sauer 100. They have a couple different appearance variations, but all have the same function.

I picked one up for a mule deer hunt out west in .300 Win Mag (Sauer 100 Cherokee). I will likely purchase another from them in 6.5, as the .300 Win Mag is terrible for recoil. I have another rifle from them that was a joint venture, the Sig Sauer SSG 3000 in .308. It is by far the best precision rifle I've ever owned. I can consistently shoot .700 MOA or better if I do my part with a 5 shot group. That's not at 100 yards either, so far my most accurate group has been at 300 yards, but I can make equal groupings out to 550 so far.

As much as I like the 100 though, I may wind up with a 404 next, but that will never see poor weather.
 
While 6mm Creedmoor is a good round, why not just go with .243? Ammo can be had in a variety of bullet weights to handle most game and can be found just about anywhere.
My reason for it, I have the dies, I’ve had a few rifles chambered in it already. My trimmer is set up for my 6.5 brass, which is trimmed to same length. Make sure it a little easier loading. I rarely buy factory amino anyways
 
I'll never shoot anything under 6.5mm and sub-2000lb/ft at another 150lb animal at extended (100+ yds) again. Seen too many run off with good hits to bother with. Sounds like a great way to lose a trophy
 
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.308, .30-‘06, .270 in a Remington, Savage, Winchester, Howa, etc. bolt action. Can’t go wrong with these.
This. The new fangled rounds out these days take away the attention these calibers deserve. I shoot a 270, I shoot the rifle well, and when I re-stocked it last fall, I added night vision. I love it that much
 
.308, .30-‘06, .270 in a Remington, Savage, Winchester, Howa, etc. bolt action. Can’t go wrong with these.
Jeff Cooper wrote in one of his books that when he was a kid living on Catalina Island in the 1920-30s the old men had a saying...There ain't many things a man can't fix with a Hundred Dollar Bill and a 30-06.
While the Hunnert is the new 20..the other still stands as true as ever.
 
I’m a .27o shooter. 130gr bullet at 3000fps is just pure magic, just like Jack knew it was. HOWEVER, I think any of the STANDARD calibers from 6.5mm-7mm are perfect for deer-sized game (.257 Roberts, .25-06, 6.5 Swede, .260 Rem, 6.5 Creedmoor, .270 Win, 7mm-08, 7x57, .280 Rem) and the 7mms can punch pretty hard for bigger game with heavier bullets. Your 6mm cartridges work well too, especially if you’re going to use it for smaller game along with deer.

Pick one, love it, and tell the fans of the others that yours is better than ours when they all pretty much do the same thing: Throw a 120gr-140gr slug between 2800fps-3000fps.
 
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Jeff Cooper wrote in one of his books that when he was a kid living on Catalina Island in the 1920-30s the old men had a saying...There ain't many things a man can't fix with a Hundred Dollar Bill and a 30-06.
While the Hunnert is the new 20..the other still stands as true as ever.
That’d be the period when William Wrigley (who owned the island) was busily developing it...including a casino.
 
@jmccracken1214 , you crack me up. You start a thread a week asking which rifle to buy when you have already made up your mind. Just go buy what you want and show us pics of the gear and some dead critters. It’s all good. You don’t need our permission or approval. Even if you are wrong about that 6mm! :p
 
@jmccracken1214 , you crack me up. You start a thread a week asking which rifle to buy when you have already made up your mind. Just go buy what you want and show us pics of the gear and some dead critters. It’s all good. You don’t need our permission or approval. Even if you are wrong about that 6mm! :p
Lol!

There ain’t nothing wrong about a 6mm!!
 
@jmccracken1214 , you crack me up. You start a thread a week asking which rifle to buy when you have already made up your mind. Just go buy what you want and show us pics of the gear and some dead critters. It’s all good. You don’t need our permission or approval. Even if you are wrong about that 6mm! :p
I just like to hear opinions from everyone. Make spark a new thought on something.
 
.30-06 is probably the most versatile round there is for medium to big game hunting. Midway USA shows over 100 factory loadings from 125gr to 220gr. It does it all....... IF I was gonna shoot 400 yds around here for deer I'd want a little more bullet than the 6mm provides. The powerlines and beanfields around here where 400yd shots are possible are often surrounded by swamps and cutovers, neither make tracking very easy. Even a well hit deer can run 150yds or better before they die. I'd want the extra punch a bigger gun such as .270/.280/.30-06 will give you.
 
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Out of all the calibers I own my go-to deer rifle is a Winchester M70 Featherweight in 7mm-08. I shoot store brand ammo, 140 Grain Nosler BT's. It is simply a meat gun and magic on deer out to 300-400 yards. Bang flop. I've mentored a few ladies over the years and they all shot their first deer with this rifle. It has a walnut stock with a few working dings and it is almost priceless. I say "almost priceless" as I could be talked into selling it for say $10,000....cash.17282_10153270994609714_6936342155130794760_n.jpg :D

Copy of Misc pics 024.jpg
 
Picked up a ar10 in 308 today on here. 18”. Might free float it sometime but should be a pretty good fit for what I want. If I decide against the barrel, swapping over to 6mm or 6.5 is a 20 minute job

What's the weight like on that one? My PA10 weighs nearly 11 lbs with a nice Leupold 3-9x50.
 
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I think it’s 10 something without optic. I looked it’ll at that last night and thought DANG gonna be a heavy if I have carry around all day. But that’s what slings are for
Yep it will wear on you real fast. I like my rifles to be lighter than 9lbs if I am doing much walking around with them. 8lbs and under is a real treat, or when I am going out West and walking mountains.

Some of those mountain stalker type rifles weigh less than 7lbs. With a .300 magnum. No thanks. 8-9lbs is the sweet spot esp if I am to shoot it much.

Since you are into reloading, look into the .280 AI because alot of those types of rifles are chambered in it for Western 500+yd hunting
 
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Yep it will wear on you real fast. I like my rifles to be lighter than 9lbs if I am doing much walking around with them. 8lbs and under is a real treat, or when I am going out West and walking mountains.

Some of those mountain stalker type rifles weigh less than 7lbs. With a .300 magnum. No thanks. 8-9lbs is the sweet spot esp if I am to shoot it much.

Since you are into reloading, look into the .280 AI because alot of those types of rifles are chambered in it for Western 500+yd hunting
Almost regretted purchasing it when I saw the weight, lol. Tempting to just use the Grendel but the Grendel has a lot less energy behind it, but it’s a light weight for sure. We will see how it goes.
 
Almost regretted purchasing it when I saw the weight, lol. Tempting to just use the Grendel but the Grendel has a lot less energy behind it, but it’s a light weight for sure. We will see how it goes.
My PA10 is purely a toy, something to play with in a bigger AR.......until I need it on overwatch and/or things really hit the fan. Then it's gonna be on a tripod on my vehicle rooftop platform ;)
 
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My PA10 is purely a toy, something to play with in a bigger AR.......until I need it on overwatch and/or things really hit the fan. Then it's gonna be on a tripod on my vehicle rooftop platform ;)
I hear ya! My friend has a brand new aero 18” mid gas 6.5cm barrel he wants to sell me cheap, I’m tempted to get it and swap it out but kind of want to keep a 308? I am already set up for 6.5, have 2 bolt guns in it.

Then I’d have to get a free float rail and they aren’t cheap for 308
 
My PA10 is purely a toy, something to play with in a bigger AR.......until I need it on overwatch and/or things really hit the fan. Then it's gonna be on a tripod on my vehicle rooftop platform ;)
That's like my MR762, but it tips the scales at 16 pounds all decked out, but it also has a Spuhr IDSM and Nightforce NXS 8-32x56 up top. I've hunted with it one year, that was plenty.
 
Go Light. This one is a Remington Mdl Seven .308 20" barrel.. Right at 7 lbs as pictured.

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Good try...but nope. :D

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Far end of the photo just before the red dirt there is a pop-up ground blind.


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He was working this scrape. DRT

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For a so-called deer gun I still have not seen one here that would work for beings without opposable thumbs and no trigger fingers.
 
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