Posted on 06/04/2012 4:54:22 AM PDT by marktwain
Deer hunting has been a Pennsylvania tradition for many years, and each man and woman who goes afield has a favorite deer rifle.
Hunting conditions and technology have affected choices, but there are those models and designs that stand head and shoulders over the others.
I thought just for fun - and controversy - I would name what I think are the best deer rifles produced since 1900.
I decided to concentrate on sporting designs and ignore rifles what were simply military designs used for deer hunting. A good example of those would be the 30-40 Krag. Before and after World War II, the Krag was very popular among deer hunters and downed a large share of the state's deer.
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Current rating: NaN The top 10 I'm listing are the finest deer rifles there are or have been. I consider popularity now or in the past, while also adding suitability for the job as a criteria.
There is also, of course, a little bias involved.
My No. 10 is the 19th Century designed 1873 Winchester. This was the first successful center-fire rifle, and in the 38-40 and 44-40, it downed many Pennsylvania deer. It's creation dates back to 1873, but it was still being produced in the 20th Century and was Winchester's all-time No. 2 seller.
No. 10 was perhaps my toughest decision because there were so many good designs omitted.
At No. 9 is the John Browning-designed and Winchester-built - just to compete with the big single shots - 1886 Winchester.
I would also include the model 71 Winchester in this category since it is nothing more than an updated 86 with better steel. Both rifles handle large, hard-kicking rounds, and both actions are the epitome of smooth lever actions. Both are also highly collectable.
My No. 8 rifle is Remington's old slide-action rifles, the model 14 and 141. Winchester made lever actions, but it was Remington that dominated the pump-action design. In my youth, this was the rifle of choice of some of the best deer hunters in the state.
At No. 7, why not stay with another Remington pump, the model 760 and 7600?
While the 14 was well made, it couldn't handle modern cartridges like the .30-06 and .270. Thus, with the 760, Remington still made a pump but a more modern one with updated chamberings. At one time, this was a top-selling deer rifle.
My favorite, the model 70 Winchester, comes in at No. 6. If this category was expanded from deer to all big game, this rifle would place higher. Many deer hunters just couldn't afford to buy this outstanding bolt-action rifle. Nonetheless, it is one of the top rifles in the deer woods, especially in the featherweight version.
Decisions get a little more difficult as I get to No. 5, but I will choose the Ruger 77 here. Ruger has offered a quality bolt-action rifle for many years at a reasonable price. Produced in a variety of calibers and versions, the 77 has become one of the industries' top sellers. The idea of offering scope mounts with the rifle was a unique, but good, idea.
Ruger has also always offered a good product and smartly filled some unique voids in the gun market.
No. 4 is a design that dates back to the 1800s, the 99 Savage. From the late 1800s until now, the 99 as been considered at or near the top of the lever-action rifle field. The rotary magazine meant it could use pointed bullets, and its strength allowed the use of modern high-pressure rounds. It adapted to modern pressures well.
Coming in at No. 3 is the 336 Marlin, a rifle that has been sold in high numbers. Its solid receiver allowed the scope sight to be placed where it belonged, on top of the receiver. It also had the advantage of being chambered for the 35 Remington cartridge. Its only drawback when compared to the Winchester rifles was one of weight. It is a tad heavier than the Winchesters.
At No. 2 is what is probably the greatest-selling bolt-action rifle, the model 700 Remington. Actually, the model 700 began manufacture in the 1940s as the 721 and 722 series of guns. From deer to varmints and elephants, there is a 700 that will get the job done.
Many bench-rest shooters have built rifles on 700 actions, and many deer hunters have downed a trophy with the same action. It is safe to say that the 700 is the most successful bolt-action ever made.
My top deer rifle is, of course, the model 94 Winchester. There isn't much I can say about it that hasn't already been said. This rifle and its clones have been around longer than any of us. The 94 and the .30-30 cartridge are mentioned in the same breath. To some, they even mean the same thing.
It was this rifle with which the old timers began hunting deer, and is the same rifle that many of us started out with. It has to be No. 1.
George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter
There's a lot of great deer guns out there.
While I like .30-06 up on the flats (180 gr Core-Lokt from a Winchester Model 70), down in the bottoms and the breaks here I like the Marlin in .44 Mag. It is short and easy to work with in the brush, with all the knockdown power you need at shorter ranges, and not easily deflected by the stray willow.
Say, Colonel, Assuming that is the venerable .250-3000, do you know of any good places to get ammo? No one up here stocks it.
Concur. The M1A has better iron sights, a consideration for me if it's raining in deer season. Conversely, they're all grooved and tapped for a scope mount if that's one's preference.
The adjustable gas system of the FAL/L1A1 allows a wider choice of commercial ammunition, anything from 125-grain *light recoil* ammo from Remmie, to 180-grain softpoints for double duty in dear country where a surprise encounter with a bear is also possible.
My usual pick is a Garand. But the last whitetail deer I got was with a Kar98k German Mauser boltgun. They'll all do the job if the shooter does his or hers, and the deer are there.
You'll find "spruce" 94s, which were used by military (possibly privite security but don't think so) guarding the spruce forests in the northwest needed for aircraft production during WWI. Early in WWII Canadian militia forces organized to conduct guerilla actions in the event of a Japanese invasion were issued 94s. Interesting, the 95 was used militarily due to chamberings, but in NW Canada (US too), 30-30 would have been easier to come by for guerilla forces. Don't know if that was part of the decision, but the rifles are out there on the used market. Think I've read about 94s being exported under lend lease and to Central America, but don't know specifics. The National Rifleman has had a couple articles on the subject in the last 6 or 7 years.
As an aside, I went as far as having a .250-3000 barrel made for my Encore and it's a tackdriver.
V/R
Texas
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