Hunters: I need your opinions on what caliber rifle I should buy

[SWThomas]

So I'm in the market for a good deer rifle. I'm seriously considering the Remington Model 770 because it comes with a factory mounted scope that's already boresighted. That's just one less thing I would have to do. It's relatively inexpensive and comes in a variety of calibers. I'm basically looking for something accurate, powerful, and reliable. I'm primarily going to be hunting deer, but there may be a moose, elk, caribou, bear hunt in my future.....

So my question is.... In your opinion, what is the best caliber rifle for deer hunting.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/model_770.asp

 

[Posi]

7mm Rem Mag. You can hunt Whitetails with it and anything up to a Moose also. Don't go cheap on the scope either if you can afford it. I love Burris scopes and recommend them as well. Also with the 7mag you can shoot 150 grain Ballistic Silvertips made by Winchester Supreme.

.270 is to small and 30/06 doesn't shoot as flat. You're going to hear all different opinions soon and I've had all three of them and the 7mag is by bar my favorite gun.

Also Scope wise do not get a 3 x 9!!!!! Get at least a 4.5 x 14 for the gun. Reason is you'll never shoot with the scope on 3 and with the 4.5 x 14 you'll get to zoom in a lot closer for your shot.

Longest shot with it so far is 418 yards and the doe didn't go 15 feet.

 

[03Sssnake]

That is a great rifle. What cartridge are you going to go with? I personally have never hunted moose or elk (just deer), but I would probably want something a bit heavier, like .308, 30-06 etc. I would not go smaller than 270 in that rifle. More important than the caliber is shot placement, i.e. your ability to shoot well. Judging from your signature, that won't be a problem

 

[03Sssnake]

Will you be hunting in Alaska? I would also want something that is capable of taking down a bear, you never know when you might end up in close proximity to nasty grizzly.

 

[bugmenot]

Dont get the 770, its a renamed 710. Fit and finish isn't there like it is on the 700s. Get the 700. Buy a used one if you have to, and have a gunsmith bore sight it. If you plan on elk, then it needs to be more than .270. I personally have a .30-06 as my hunting rifle. Easy to find ammo for, and packs a punch. I'd stick with the .30-06 over the 7mm mag, but thats more of a personal preference for me. The 7mm is a great round.

Just looked at the price, and for 550, I got my tikka t3 lite. Great gun, and perfect for deer hunting due to the weight. Very accurate rifle, nice fit and finish, and has a magazine which is a nice thing to have.

 

[BayouFX4]

Don't get the 770. It's cheap for a reason. Get a 700 and a good scope like a Nikon or Leupold. I have a Leupold VXIII 3.5-10 x 50mm and it is the clearest scoped I've seen. They are pretty expensive though.

If you're gonna go after deer, moose, and elk, the 7mm is a great choice. The .30-06 is also a good choice because of the different grain bullets available for it. The .270 is an excellent deer rifle, but it is kinda small for elk and such.

 

[motoman991]

This gun should work, I don't know if it would be big enough though.

 

[50 BMG]

Easy choice:

7mm mag. The retained energy, sectional density and flight characteristics of the projectile made it an easy choice for me in a hunting rifle.

 

[FX4 SAPPER]

I bought a 700 recently, 30-06 and i like it, its economy priced and shoots accurately even with the el cheapo scope. But i honestly think alot of that is in the shooter which being AD you know that. You can bring down an elk with a 30-06, it is possible and ive seen videos of it being done. For deer its ideal IMO, powerful and and true. My only suggestion is if you zero your scope with a 160 grain round, and you decide to go out hunting with a 150 or 180 grain round be ready, it will be off. ive never had any other cal other than 30-06 that was That picky about grain amount.

 

[Sea Pony]

I have heard good things about the 7mm

 

[BittenInBama]

7mm Mag; 700; Leupold FTW!! What I'll be using in just a few weeks!!

Very utilitarian caliber. Perfectly capable for most N American animals.

 

[GTFlow]

So I'm in the market for a good deer rifle. I'm seriously considering the Remington Model 770 because it comes with a factory mounted scope that's already boresighted. That's just one less thing I would have to do. It's relatively inexpensive and comes in a variety of calibers. I'm basically looking for something accurate, powerful, and reliable. I'm primarily going to be hunting deer, but there may be a moose, elk, caribou, bear hunt in my future.....

So my question is.... In your opinion, what is the best caliber rifle for deer hunting.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire_rifles/model_770.asp

Hey brother I just bought this rifle and absolutely love it!! Bass Pro shops have it on sale of about $379 bucks it think.

 

[crew_dawg16]

Why not a .300 Mag? Just asking, I don't think that I'm an expert, but I've shot this rifle, liked it, and I've been told by some friends that it shoots pretty much flat out to 500 yards.

 

[Jpalm]

Why not a .300 Mag? Just asking, I don't think that I'm an expert, but I've shot this rifle, liked it, and I've been told by some friends that it shoots pretty much flat out to 500 yards.

That's a good choice.

 

[Double"O"]

personally i think the 7mm Mag and 300 Mag are a little too big for the average whitetail (they will destroy a deer!, take it from a guy that working in his uncles deer processing shop for 10 years)

i love my .270 and i have NEVER once had a deer run more than 10feet after a shot to front shoulder.

you have to consider where you will be doing most of your hunting if you plan on shooting LOOONG (350yds + range at deer than a 7mm mag or 300 mag is good to go. but if you shots are under 350yds i recommend a .270, .308, 30-06, or 7mm mauser. All three will wreck a deer pretty good.

Once again if you are going to be hunting in SC most of the time a 3-9 Scope will do you fine...heck i never take mine off 4-5 when i am shooting, If you can't see the horns on 4 or 5 then he ain't worth taking IMO. I recommend a Leupold, Burris or Nikon.

 

[bugmenot]

300 mag is way too much for a deer.

 

[SWThomas]

Thanks for all the input fellas!!! I knew I could count on some of you to deliver the knowledge.

So how about the 770 as just a gun? I can always replace the scope and boresight it myself later down the road if the stock one ends up being a POS.

 

[Slo3kgtVtr]

I deer hunt with my Remington model 700 30-06, with a leupold Vari-x5 scope. I've had the best luck with Hornady 160 grain mag bullets. I've killed 3 bucks in the last 5 years with it and two of them were down on the spot and one ran for 50 yards because I threw my shot high and to the right and got him in the neck away from vitals. My brother believes in shot placement so much he uses his .243 long-rifle when he has a .300 mag sitting at home. Everyone says it's too small of a gun, but he kills more deer than anyone I know. His biggest is a 200lb 8 pointer and it ran, but we found it a few hundred yards from where he shot it. Shoot as many guns as you can, but try to get the model 700 if possible IMO.

 

[mrspeedy69]

If i were you i'd check out a local Gun Shop. My father owns one and you can get guns farely cheap and they will probably line them up for you. But if you're set on that one i'd probably say 30-06 if you plan on hunting bigger animals. If you decided to go with a different gun, and i'm not sure they make this caliber anymore but i loved it, it was the 25-06. Alot like the 30-06 but with a smaller bullet that was really fast. It packs a good punch for bigger game too. A 243 is good and reliable but maybe a little small for the bigger game.

 

[floyd4ford]

If i were you i'd check out a local Gun Shop. My father owns one and you can get guns farely cheap and they will probably line them up for you. But if you're set on that one i'd probably say 30-06 if you plan on hunting bigger animals. If you decided to go with a different gun, and i'm not sure they make this caliber anymore but i loved it, it was the 25-06. Alot like the 30-06 but with a smaller bullet that was really fast. It packs a good punch for bigger game too. A 243 is good and reliable but maybe a little small for the bigger game.

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