What do you hunt with most?

jmccracken1214

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2017
Messages
5,751
Location
Thomasville, North Carolina
Rating - 100%
152   0   0
Trying to decide on a "do all" rifle, as my current rifles are very heavy. Just curious what you guys like to take into the woods most often.

Im racking my brain on finishing a 6.5 grendel AR, a 6.5 grendel bolt gun... a 6mm CM bolt gun, a 300blk, or getting a henry lever action.

The lever is teasing me the most, but would suffer ammo capacity and ease of mounting optics in comparison of the others.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JT
What are you hunting. what conditions, brush, open fields, mountains?
 
Mossberg 835...

I have hunted ducks, geese, swan, turkey,deer, squirrel, quail, dove, and rabbit over the course of the last 25 or so years. It isn't the most elegant, but I have used everywhere from powderpuff 8shot, slugs, and 00 Buck.
 
What are you hunting. what conditions, brush, open fields, mountains?
This....

I’ve been in heavy woods the last 4-5 years and have been getting it done with my PSA AR and .223 Hornady American Whitetail ammo. I can barely see more than 75 yrds. On the rare occasion I’m on a field, any of my LR rigs get it done.
 
Last edited:
Last 4 or 5 years: .300 BLK AR. It just works....

Let me expand upon that.....

I have owned or presently own and have hunted and taken deer with various 12 gauge shotguns with 00 buck or slugs, various bolt guns from .243 Win to .308 to .30-06 Sprg, Lever guns from .45 Colt to .30-30, pistols from .357 mag to .454 Casull, and various black powder and archery tackle.

I've had deer drop DRT and I've had deer who were solidly hit through the lungs and heart, dead on their feet, run for a quarter mile with a fist sized exit wound leaking blood.

Of all the deer I've shot with the .300, they have dropped right there or within feet of where they were standing when shot. Now, that's not to say that the .300BLK in and of itself is some magical caliber, but the combination of caliber and very effective bullet (110gr. Barnes tipped-TX) just works....
 
Last edited:
Marlin 1894 in 30-30 that was made around 1917.
If they are within 100 yards and I have a solid shot I'll take it, if not I'll wait.
 
An AR in .223/5.56. I’m not hunting moose, I’m hunting small-ish S.C. whitetail. I’ve dropped three with it, never had one run. Furthest was at 150yds so far

Got rained on yesterday (opening day) but it was still a nice morning
yQg9Sm9.jpg
 
Mossberg 835...

I have hunted ducks, geese, swan, turkey,deer, squirrel, quail, dove, and rabbit over the course of the last 25 or so years. It isn't the most elegant, but I have used everywhere from powderpuff 8shot, slugs, and 00 Buck.
I’ve hunted all those with a .270 :D


Just kidding, just kidding before everyone gets all up in arms. I missed the turkey
 
What do you hunt with most?

80s model 336 chambered for 30-30.

Just a solid, workhorse of a rifle.
 
I've been through many types of firearms trying to find the "do-it-all" that fits best for all scenarios. I started with a .270 Remington 700 BDL, Bushmaster AR 5.56, FN SCAR17S, Steyr Scout .308, Benelli SBE II, Springfield M1A National Match, 1895 Winchester .405, SKS, HK MR762, Sig SSG 3000, and most recently a Sauer 100 Cherokee .300WM.

What I have found, is that no one firearm is going to work for all scenarios well, they will do OK for most conditions, and poor in some conditions, but none will be great.

You're going to want to have a few.
 
I have finally settled in on a Model 700 that started life as a .243 youth I bought for my girlfriend kid to hunt with when he was about 10. Not a fan of .243 (just preference) So had it blueprinted and a 20" Shilen match chambered .308 barrel installed. Barrel is just slightly larger than standard contour. Short, light and quick. Also produces 1/2 inch groups with Barnes ammo. Out of the guns in my basement, I usually grab it now. I like the .308 for an accurate short action cartridge and have used it on deer and hogs. Also common enough you can pick up ammo anywhere if needed. All my shot gunning, I am using a Versamax.
 
I've had this R700 BDL in .270 since I bought it new in 1988 and have killed at least 25 deer with it. It currently has a VX3 2.5-8 on it and has a Rynite stock that was a new thing back then. I'll take out something else once in a while, but have never had anything better for deer hunting.
DSC00002.JPG
 
I hunt the most with the rifle my wife gave me for our wedding anniversary ten years ago, a Browning A-bolt in .30-06.
The .30-06 can do it all, especially if you're a handloader - from mice to moose
I've shot 110gr soft points with triple7 BP substitute at 1100fps, and I've shot 165gr 2800fps Elk slayers out to 300yds.
 
Last edited:
My vote is .30-06 for big game. 12 gauge for small game/birds. And a .22lr for anything else.
Really good article in this month's Shooting Times about the 30-06. Good info. Remember the old saying from the early 1900s.....There ain't many things a man can't fix with a hunnerd dollar bill and a 30-06.
 
According to my data the highest percentage of animals I have taken is with various .500 caliber rifles.......at 35.21%

You asked....
 
Rifle ... if a person knows how to hunt and is sticking to average Carolinas type land hunting you’re going to be taking a majority of your shots under a hundred yards unless you have major bean field type connections. For that I’d take an old Marlin with a vintage fixed Weaver 4x scope all day long. It has enough to take down anything in the SE if you know what you’re doing, a bullet designed and with enough weight to work thru brush and easy to handle.

Personally my go to rifle is my old Remington (pre-Freedom Group) 700 in .308. I actually do not truly hunt I cull for two older families. I haven’t done stalk or call in nor stand hunt in years just mostly setup on the edge of a field or pasture and waited for the right cull deer at dawn or dusk depending. I know that rifle and load’s holds well and it’s pretty much a bang flop cull type thing.

That being said the one rifle I own that draws blood every year, usually the first of the year, is my Grandpa’s late 1940’s Winchester Model 70 in .30-06. It does so because that was his only “hunting rifle” and put meat on the table every season he hunted and I chose to continue that tradition. I do not take it out unless it’s a beautiful day and then rarely fire more than a few shots a season with it ... but as quoted above There ain’t much a man can’t fix with a hundred dollar bill and a .30-06.
 
I don’t hunt anymore. I kill.
For years I used a .270 and that cartridge puts a hurt on them.
Then I went to the .308, mine is a tack driver and kills deer very good.
I have killed them with .3030, .35 rem, .357, .44, 22/250, .223, .243, .270, .30/06, .45,.50,.54cal bp, 12g slugs. And a few I won’t mention here.

When it comes to filling 4 freezers I like the .308
But once they are filled and I want to have some fun, out come the lever guns.

Of which the .35rem is my favorite. Its a hammer.
 
Last edited:
My go-to hunting gun for the last 20 years is my 1895 4570. As others have said I have hunted with 270, 3006, 44mag, 12ga but my most favorite is the 4570.
 
Been thinking of a ar platform, 223-556, 6.5 , 6.8, 300 blk, 458, and a host of wildcats....switch out a upper for the game you want.

Life is to short for just one, I need choices.
 
My hunting experience is not vast, but I have taken an equal number of deer (2 each) with my inline M/L & my Marlin .30-30 with typical (excellent) results. That said, my g0-to from here out will be my 18" 6.8SPC AR (Bison Armory SPR upper with Vortex Viper 2-7x32). MOA accurate, handy & absolutely clobbered the one deer I've taken with it.
 
Last edited:
If I was to ever start hunting...I’d join @303hunter and @Crazy Carl in the 6.8 camp. I have an AR that started with a 16” Bison Armory BSP barrel. I had it cut down to ~12”, and run a YHM ULT on it.

The BSP is a faster twist to handle subs, but I’ve never bought/loaded any. It works just fine for supers as well.

Would just want to swap the red dot out for a decent scope.
 
Everybody wants.

The gun doesn’t make you a better killer. Its a learned and practiced skillset.

Equipment wise, killing deer is easy.

Most people complicate this stuff. Want a do all, end all gun? Get something simple, like a bolt gun.

I know, not exciting enough. Gotta have the latest blaster with large amounts of ammo at your beckoned call, in case he runs.

DDF3EB20-0D13-41A2-B428-B0A335CEA894.jpeg
 
Last edited:
...with large amounts of ammo at your beckoned call, in case he runs.

I want to kill a deer this year with my 1911 Marlin 94 in 38-40 (thank you, @BillWild )... it holds 14 rounds! No way I'll fill it up jus' to hunt deer!
 
Ehh...the only reason I load a 20rd mag is in case a passel of hogs or a pack of coyotes drift through. I’ve been caught off guard by hogs once when I was a kid...not going to happen again
 
Last few years have been with a suppressed 300BLK SBR with a flush magpie mag to keep the noise down, or when it’s too cold on my ears, Anaconda 44mag using electronic ear pro.
Both anchor the deer.
 
Last edited:
Currently have rooga m77 all weather boat paddle in 30-06.

I had one of those, stainless/synthetic with a Leupold. Very accurate!

I gave it away. It was a very appreciated gift.

My deer rifle has been a 700 BDL in .30-06 for going on three decades. Not much an aught six can't do. Yeah, overkill perhaps, but I know the drop out to 600. They can't be too dead.
 
... Just curious what you guys like to take into the woods most often. ...

First off, I infer from your post that you're talking center-fire rifles.

That said, If I were being completely honest, I'd admit that I could have gotten by with nothing more than my old Savage 110 in .243 Win -- flat-shooting tack driver for all targets at minute-of-NC distances.

(Though, if I could only have one of my rifles past or present, I'd probably keep my Remington 700 BDL in .30-06.)
 
They can't be too dead.

I might have to disagree with this.

I have seen a lot of deer blown to $h:t with large caliber rifles. Especially the “I took out both shoulders with my .300 win mag” guy, all smiles he’ll say it “didn’t run at all”.

That’s too much wasted meat.

I know an .06 can be detuned with hand loads but most guys want all the bang they can get. They don’t want the deer to twitch, let alone run twenty yards.

No offense to you or anyone on there caliber choice, shoot what you want.

And in reality bullet choice has a lot to do with it.
 
Last edited:
I might have to disagree with this.

I have seen a lot of deer blown to $h:t with large caliber rifles. Especially the “I took out both shoulders with my .300 win mag” guy, all smiles he’ll say it “didn’t run at all”.

That too much wasted meat.

I know an .06 can be detuned with hand loads but most guys want all the bang they can get. They don’t want the deer to twitch, let alone run twenty yards.

No offense to you or anyone on there caliber choice, shoot what you want.

And in reality bullet choice has a lot to do with it.

No offense taken but a good, expanding round through both lungs leaves a blood trail Stevie Wonder could follow. If they drop right where they're hit, it's a bonus. A hunter should be capable of tracking and blood trailing. Aiming for the shoulder wastes to much meat. A perfect shot loses a couple pounds of rib meat.
 
Back
Top Bottom