Rifle for on the move woods/marsh deer hunting...BLR maybe?

thusby said:
Why do you need multiple rounds? In that thick of cover you only get one shot anyhow. I went to a single shot, break action to cut way down on the overall length of the rifle. It is also light enough to one-hand it ahead of me when I need the other hand to move thick brush out of the way. I can't think of anything better at this point.

Otherwise, 30-30.
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Gotta fill all those antlerless tags the DNR gives us! Kidding - there are years I don’t even see enough deer to fill all my tags...
 
Buckyranger42 said:
Gotta fill all those antlerless tags the DNR gives us! Kidding - there are years I don’t even see enough deer to fill all my tags...
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I can't remember the last time there was a "limit" on the amount of deer to shoot in Wisconsin. I don't think those days have existed since I started to hunt back in the 90's. Man I miss those earn a buck days! Shooting 5 bucks in one year was a treat!
 
Lots of good choices on here already.
As a big woods and brush guy I will second a few of them.
The 760 GameMaster in 06 with a peep sight and either a brass bead or fiber optic front bead or with a VX3 1.5x5 Leupold
The 7600 in 06 with a peep and fiber optic front sight or brass front sight or a Leupold 1.5x5 power VX3 on it.
Marlin 336 Pre 1999 or earlier if you can get it in 35 Remington with a peep sight from Williams or Lyman
Winchester model 94 in the venerable old dirty thirty.
I have had or have all the above and loved them all for different reasons.
I like a good fast shouldering gun that points easy and packs easier. No reason for it to have a sling till the hunts over considering in that country a sling will only cause you to not be ready for a shot if it presents itself.
low power clear glass if you decide to go that route.
I love my pump guns but man if that old Marlin 35 isnt just a peach to carry. It has a Williams peep on it with super fine fiber optic front sight. Its fast and deadly out to around 160 which is about 60 yards further than I have ever had a ethical shot at anything in the type of country your talking about unless your hunting old strip cuts or clear cuts then its the old Remington Pump with the 1.5x5 on it or the Ruger M77 Mannlicher.
So many good choices.
 
Being from western Oregon, bears and elk are in the equation along with deer, so I went with a Marlin 45-70 lever gun with a 2-7x scope. Is it the best choice? I don't know, but it is kind of fun.

QQ
 
Another plug for the Browning BAR. Been hitting Wisconsin’s woods and swamps for over 25 years with one. It gets the job done.
 
Keeping with the OP limitations of not another bolt gun, no single shots, and not an AR platform gun.

I have a Rem 742 in 30-06 that does it's best work snap shooting in the woods. I also have a Win 1894 in 30/30.
At the end of the day, I reach for the Rem 742 most times.

I like "modern" levers like the Win 88 or the BLR. If Ruger made a stainless Model 96 today, I'd be screaming, "Take my money!"

Buying a new rifle today, I would be going for the stainless Marlin lever 45/70 tricked out like @noharleyyet
 
Ben Lamb said:
Savage 99's haven't made an appearance yet. Great classic woods gun.

Other classics: Remington #8, Winchester Model 07 if you want to be a standout w/ a cool semi-auto from the early 20th century.
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While talking cool old stuff, how about a model 88 Winchester. After taking his Winchester model 94 32 special mule deer and antelope hunting in Wyoming in 1950 my grandfather decided he needed more gun, so he came home and bought a model 88 in 308.

Grandpap also had a model 99 in 303 British.
 
I've got a lead on something I'm going to take a look at locally here in a few minutes. It's not something that has been mentioned yet but I am pretty stoked about it. I've wanted one of these for a long time and I think it might be about perfect for what I will be using it for. I will let you all know if it comes to fruition later on in the day.
 
Jess said:
I am in search of a rifle for on the move deer hunting in the woods and marshes of Wisconsin. I already own two bolt action rifles for stand hunting in 270 and 308 so I'm not going to purchase another bolt action. In another thread I mentioned I had ordered a Benelli r1 in 308 but I cancelled my order due to reviews about lackluster accuracy.

The ideal gun would be quick to the shoulder and handy while walking, leaning towards open sights, manageable in the weight department, and hold multiple rounds. I'm not interested in any AR 15/10 configuration. Right now I'm leaning towards a BLR but am interested in some suggestions I may not have thought of.
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TO be perfectly honest, those reviews about lackluster accuracy are highly likely to be really Sh!$ shooters. Some of those reviews you have to take with a grain of salt. I have a 200$ mossburg 30-06 for my beater gun that has all kinds of bad reviews about accuracy. If its so bad why am I able to drill the steel plate at 400 yards no problem? As long as your willing to buy good ammo "most" all guns will shoot quite well, the tooling used to build these days is pretty impressive. But for your purposes a pump or lever action in whatever you want will work fine heck even a semi auto if its legal in your state would be great. a 45-70 rifle would be a nice light gun to carry around. Or have you thought about a slug gun? 410 slug or 20g slug would more then do the job at 50 to 75 yards. Or go with a handgun.... You have a lot of options
 
Jess said:
I am in search of a rifle for on the move deer hunting in the woods and marshes of Wisconsin. I already own two bolt action rifles for stand hunting in 270 and 308 so I'm not going to purchase another bolt action. In another thread I mentioned I had ordered a Benelli r1 in 308 but I cancelled my order due to reviews about lackluster accuracy.

The ideal gun would be quick to the shoulder and handy while walking, leaning towards open sights, manageable in the weight department, and hold multiple rounds. I'm not interested in any AR 15/10 configuration. Right now I'm leaning towards a BLR but am interested in some suggestions I may not have thought of.
Click to expand...

My though is first what action do you favor? Whatever will work if it's what your used to. Next I'd give though to barrel length and if I were looking for something like that I think I'd look for a 20" barrel max. I'd also go with something on a standard length, 308, action just to shorten it a bit more. On sight's there is no doubt in my mind. Fixed 2 3/4x scope. It's small light weight and give a ton of sight picture in cover and gather's light really well. Mine was an very old Redfield 2 3/4x 4 plex CCH. You'll never see open sight's as well in heavy shade as you'll see through a low power scope. also the fixed power is a bit smaller than any variable. My next choice would be a fixed 4x and then a 2-7x, I,ll stick with the fixed 2 3/4x. I also have a very old fixed 1-4x Redfield that is very nice and the same size as the 2 3/4x but, I have it set on 3x and there it stays. Imagine trying to re-set a variable in dense cover. With my variable scope's the are normally carried on the lowest power and shot on the lowest power. One time with my 25-06 I got a very close shot at a deer and threw the rifle up and shot, clean miss. Forgot to turn the power back down and a branch in front of the rifle didn't show up in the scope and I hit the branch!

I had the 2 3/4x Redfield since it was new about 50 yrs ago now. I got it for a Rem 660 in 308 and hunted woods in Western Montana with it, it was fast to get into action and on target. If I was to have changed anything I'd have got a new stock and slimmed it down some more. The 600 series Rem's had fence post's for stocks!

My son has that 308 today but I have the scope on my 30-06 It's my elk rifle! I still have that old 1-4x also. It's on another 308 that all I shoot through it is cast bullet's! On 1x I can see about half of the barrel looking through the scope! That is a field of view and one reason it stays on 3x.
 
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I hunt similar woods in the north eastern corner of Pennsylvania, I use my Marlin 336C in .35 Remington. It handles and balances well, and despite it's weight,(almost 8lbs. with scope), whether in my hands or on my shoulder it doesn't bother me carrying it all day, (plus to me anyways, it doesn't "feel" like a heavy rifle). The there nice thing is that I find it's perfect for heavy woods with shots mostly under 100yds, but the capability to take a 200yd shot if necessary. I personally have hit targets out to 250yds, my best group at that distance measured just 2.5", which isn't bad at all. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
 
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