[rolledthatho]

hey guys, never been deer hunting in my life, but dont take it too easy on me, its in my blood i suppose, as much as my grandpa hunts, he has rifles, shotguns, remmingtons EVERYTHING and he said at the end of the day when he goes out to his spot, he always ends up with his mosberg pump. he said that would be a good gun for me, but each and every hunter has their own opinion

after mentioning it to some friends who hunt, they say get a rifle, more range to shoot etc

grandpa said you really need to be in a tree stand to hunt rifle around here, (he goes by the old ways i guess, while my friends dont care, and laugh at that) youd never know when someone else is hunting and the slugs will fly a lot further than buck shot

i was thinking about a 12g mosberg 835 ultra mag pump, 28 barrel, shoots 2 3/4-3 and 3 1/2 i believe

but i dont know much about hunting with rifles, he isnt against it, just said if he uses one, hes in a tree

what do you guys hunt with? pro's/cons?

[xxxflhrci]

I've hunted with both. A 3 1/2 magnum shotgun with buckshot is good under 50 yards or so. A good scoped slug barrel will get you an easy 100 yard deer gun and possibly more. Rifles range from the 150 yard trusty ole 30-30 out to some centerfires that are deer deadly at 600+ yards. There is no real answer. Personally, I hunt out of a tree where shots are usually well under 100 yards. I use a good scoped centerfire rifle.

BTW, I have a Mossberg 835. It is a mean gun with heavy 3 1/2 loads. I've shot slugs with open sights and can hit a paper plate with open sights off shooting off of a sandbag all day long.

[Flatbroke]

I use a riffle for big game and shotgun for birds. by the way, I am too big to fit in a tree.

[andrew2516]

30-30 for brush and thick areas.....30-.06 for fields and longer range shooting

[yankee07]

rifle all the way...I love my model 700 308.

[rolledthatho]

so whats the cheapest rifle (well best bang for my buck, no pun intended, lol )

whats the smallest caliber i should go

money is an issue, i dont need anything overkill, but i dont want to have to chase the deer and wrestle him to the ground

[yankee07]

Well me and my dad are both remington guys so I would recomend a 30 06 or 308, Remington is not the cheapest brand out there but you do get what you pay for. By far Remington is the most accurate gun out of the box.

just my 2cents

[fourwheelhigh]

yep it really depends on where your hunting, if your in the woods a shotgun would be fine but in a big open field you need more range so a rifle would be better sutied. In some places like here in johnston county NC the law says the you have to be at least 7 foot(i believe) off the ground with a rifle but you can sit on the ground with a shotgun. I have a winchester model 70 super shadow in 270 WSM that I got at the walmart for about $350 that I hunt deer with and its a great gun, it just that the ammo is expensive like around $25 for a box of 20. If I was looking another good yet inexpensive rifle I would go with something like a 30-30 or a winchester model 70 in regular 270.

[Tom in KY]

Remmington BDL, 270, a good no-fog scope, What else do you need? $500 -$600 for a rifle that will last the rest of your life is a deal in my book. A sniper scope works well for varmint popping in the summer. Reach out and bust a skunk on your neighbor's property. Heh-heh.

Shotgun? Remmington 870 super express 12ga 3 1/2" will fire every time and when deer season is over, change over to steel shot and go get a goose or a duck. My 870 mag was < $300 at the Wal-mart several years ago. It's black and works on turkeys too. Black works really well in the hardwood trees and pines here.

Why not a bow?

[wheelchairman]

I have a savage 3 shot bolt action .243 with accu trigger that is deadly to around 200yds I really like it since im only 5ft tall and 90lbs i really dont care to shoot a 270 since it bout putsd me on my butt

shotgun wise I have only one. A 15+year old remington 870 20gauge. I've dropped deer with it and i love it. Usually when I go out i carry a .357 pistol and my savage and a winchester is left in tjhe truck incase I wanna switch spots.

If im in woods i use a winchester .357 magnum 9shot leveraction 1894 Bout it new last year its a sweet gun out to 100yds

[fourwheelhigh]

Originally Posted by wheelchairman

If im in woods i use a winchester .357 magnum 9shot leveraction 1894 Bout it new last year its a sweet gun out to 100yds

My grandmother has a rifle just like that, She let me borrow it the first year i started deer hunting about 4 years ago and its an awesome rifle. Only problom I had with it was sense it uses handgun bullets I couldnt go down to the walmart and buy rounds for it, even though I told the guy at the counter that they where for a rifle and not a handgun...He didnt believe me.

[goldrush]

308 rifle, but I make a sport out of hunting and use a S&W model 29 (the Dirty Harry gun) in 44 mag. I hunt heavy brush and under 100 yds, I've put meat on the table 2 times with the hand gun. Of course more with the 308. but I'm now hooked on hand gun hunting!

[Texas ZJ1]

When I was stationed in Va, you could use a .50 sniper rifle for killing ground hogs the day before deer season but, the next day, you had to carry a shotgun.

With the newer rifled barrels and with scopes, 200 yd shots with groups smaller than 2 inches is not unheard of with a shotgun.


I carried a 870 with 3 inch mag slugs. That'd take care of any whitetail in VA for sure. Now, rifles are allowed in some counties because my first deer was a spike buck that I took in Danville. 30-06 at about 60 to 70 yds. One shot - one kill.


Hunter

[stathunter]

At 50 yards I love to use a 12 gauge shotgun with slugs. A good hit at close range and there is noooo tracking necessary.

[haustow]

Get an over and under and be done with it. 12ga over a 308. DONE