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Best Budget Deer Gun

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coastalfreak

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Hey all. Recently got interested in deer hunting and have been looking for a cheap rifle for the application. I am wondering which caliber and gun to purchase.

I only have a 22lr that I use for small game and a 20 gauge that I use for flying targets. 

Here are the options:

-Henry Single Shot (Big fan of Henry Rifles, so easily one of my top choices.)

- H and R Handi Rifle

- Remington 783

I have heard quite bad reviews on Freedom Groups brands like H and R as well as Remington and Marlin. Apparently these companies where fantastic back in the day but have dropped in quality. 

"It's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most
Not where you live, what you drive or the price tag on your clothes" -Zac Brown Band

 

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Very hard to beat the venerable Remington 700 in 30-06. 

You can hunt just about anything in the United States with it, accurate and dependable

The Model 700 Stainless SPS (Special Purpose Synthetic stock) is weatherproof and goes about $650

I just wanta play everyday despite small nagging injuries --

and go home to a woman who appreciates how full of crap I truly am. ~ Crash Davis

 

Social Distancing since 1962

 

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2 hours ago, 55555s said:

This is the good old days for accurate budget deer rifles.  We are literally in the hey day if a cheap accurate budget gun is desired.

 

 

+1

Savage and Ruger. I'm not crazy about the Henry format or it's $427 msrp. There are a lot of good used rifles out there that are gethering dust, cash talks.

 

:v:

"I came into this world naked, screaming at the top of my lungs, and covered in someone else's blood. I got no problem leaving it that way."
Who can hope to be safe? Who sufficiently cautious? Guard himself as he may, every moment's an ambush. Horace

 

 

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Since its the enfield forum and we can nitpick about such things, and since ti may not have been argued on the interwebs in the past 23 seconds, i am gong to put n a vote for a different cartridge.    

 

Coming from a guy who owns a few '06's, if I were starting over I'd forgo the ole GI round for one of its smaller spawn.   

 

There are just so many good quality bullets these days that there is nothing that an 06 can do that a 270 cant do identically and sometimes better.  Check that.  Once you get to the upper end of what one thinks the 270 can handle,  the 06 doesnt step up enough to matter.  At that point, if one feels its needed, a 300 mag or better 338 etc etc etc blah blah blah...

 

In practical terms, what can an 06 do that my 7-08 cant?  And while I can get downright giddy over the various 6.5's and 257's new and old, a 243 is a damned versitle round.    What deer walks away form a 90 grain nosler?

 

Get a ruger american or savage or a new old stock marlin x7, or even one of those ugly t/c dimensions all get stellar reviews for accuracy and price.  All can be had in 243, 708, 308, or 270, which means (excepting the 7-08) the cost of ammo will be the same.  

 

My choice was marlinx7 in 7-08.   BUt I am rebarreling it to 250AI.      ;-)

.

 

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11 hours ago, coastalfreak said:

Hey all. Recently got interested in deer hunting and have been looking for a cheap rifle for the application. I am wondering which caliber and gun to purchase.

I only have a 22lr that I use for small game and a 20 gauge that I use for flying targets. 

Here are the options:

-Henry Single Shot (Big fan of Henry Rifles, so easily one of my top choices.)

- H and R Handi Rifle

- Remington 783

I have heard quite bad reviews on Freedom Groups brands like H and R as well as Remington and Marlin. Apparently these companies where fantastic back in the day but have dropped in quality. 

 

You're title of this thread is "BEST BUDGET DEER GUN" and the best AND cheapest deer rifle is a used one. ALL of my deer rifles were either bought used or handed down. A lot of good suggestions on caliburs and makes of rifles have been stated above and all gun shops sell used guns, just find one in your price range that fits you and "turns you on", sight it in, then go kill a deer.

fishinambition  Posted June 30 ·After a decade and a half of trolling and disrupting the website, frank's finally fed up with Tim's bull****

 

 

 

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Savage, Very accurate out of the box. Get a good scope to put on it. What's your total money outlay for a new rifle and a scope. Forget the henry, If you want a good lever action look for a used Marlin 336 30/30. great deer rifle out to 150 to 200 yds. just make sure it's a real Marlin and not one built by Remington, The Remi's are O.K. but the Real Marlins are better. But in the long run your budget will decide what you will get. But the forum member who gave you the info on your shotgun is right. out to 60 or 70 yds a smooth bore shotgun slug is deadly. Get a rifled shotgun BBL for your gun with a canterlever mount for a scope or just one with rifle sight's and shoot sabot slugs and your good out to 125 to 150 or more yds. Ho yeah more deer have been killed by a 30/30 round than any other caliber. I have shot most of my deer with a 30/30 and my beloved 30/06. 

Edited by hunter123
Capt, Frank Mundus. The man, the myth, the legand.
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55555s, that's an interesting rebarreling.  What led you to go from 7-08 to .250AI?  I thought the Ackley rounds, while improved over the standard rounds at the time, have been surpassed in newer rounds.  Is .250 ammunition more widely distributed then 7-08?

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Ruger American Rifle.  Hard to beat a sub MOA rifle out of the box for under $400.  I have a .204 that shoots everything from 32 grain to 55 grain under an inch with no scope adjustment.  I was amazed when I took it to the range and stuffed it with various weights from fiocchi, hornady, federal.  My buddy also has a RAR IN .204 and had the same results.  A lot can be said of the caliber but he also has a RAR 6.5 creedmor and the same results.  Those guns just seem to shoot great.

 

 

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