TomTeriffic
Active member
t doesn't seem to exist anymore due to the price and availability of ammo. .243 ammo seems to be out of stock these days a lot and so does .25-06 and .270. I consider .223 and 5.56 too small for deer. If somebody shoots a lot of gophers, somebody is going to need a twenty-two rimfire or a .22-bore CF rifle. It might be cost-prohibitive to shoot gophers with CF cartridges fit for deer especially for non-handloaders. There's lots of .308 ammo available and some for even under $1 a shot at Freedom Munitions. It might be OK for an occasional varmint. One will probably need a battery of at least two rifles to be well-rounded hunter if a lot of rats are involved like ground squirrel, rat and gopher.
Choosing a big-game rifle (like a Browning BAR Safari Mark II) in .3o8 to me makes it a:
-deer gun
-elk gun
-moose gun
-lion gun
-pronghorn gun
-wolf gun
-black bear gun
-goat gun
-sheep gun
-occasional yote gun
-occasional chuck gun
-occasional prairie dog gun
-occasional fox gun if the pelts are of no value to you
-possible camp and home defender, but perhaps there are better choices for that purpose
One might also consider a .22 like Ruger 10/22 for the small stuff like gopher.
I have the two auto rifles in mind if one just wants an auto battery. Virtually every new under-1,200-dollar big-game rifle out there stinks to me in quality or looks. I figure you have to go $2K+ for a nice big-game bolt gun. I figure if you are going between $1K and $2K in a deer-hunting rifle, make it a Belgian Browning auto classic. Also make it a .308 for a sensible big-game/occasional varmint caliber. If you like a bolt gun between one and two grand, you might make it a Winchester Model 70.
Why not a new BAR Safari Mark II in 6.5 Creedmoor? Browning simply doesn't make that animal.
The Browning website lists only these calibers/barrel lengths for BAR Safari Mark II (no BOSS):
Only the .308 on this list seems the most versatile and feasible caliber for readily available ammo. What about .30-06 you ask? Why more shoulder kick than you really need? Why a Browning BAR auto? It is a great recoil tamer in a .30-something (deer+-size) caliber. Heavy and gas-piston-operated. No fouling the breech area like an AR. It's also a pretty European-made rifle. It's reputed to be as accurate as a bolt-action.
You can get a detachable bipod like a Harris to make your deer gun an occasional chuck gun.
Let me tell you about a deer/occasional varmint gun I owned in the 1990's. It was a Leupold-scoped Browning A-Bolt II in .25-06 Remington. I took my buck in the morning and about ten ground squirrels in the afternoon on my guide's private ranch in Trinity Co, NorCal. The Federal Premium ammo I had then was 117 gr. BTSP. $1 a round even in 1996! Was readily available back then though. Mr. Rourke, my guide, suggested I bring a .22 over the telephone but I had no such gun then. I had already sold my Remington Nylon 66 earlier that year. It was junk. Mr. Rourke allowed me to get rid of some ground squirrel on his spread as a bonus fun event after the deer hunt. It was fun blowing them up with a .25-06. In standing-only field position and mostly without the support of a fence post, I could only connect with squirrel about half of the time. The gun-shy squirrel were usually about 100 yards in a wide-open field. It was a walking squirrel hunt on flat ground with cover so a low position like prone was not feasible and I had no bipod. One squirrel's brains was completely blown out of its skull. My A-Bolt II shot 1 MOA offhand on the bench. It was hit and miss standing in the field for those little rat-size targets even with the Leupold Vari-X II 1.75x6 32mm dialed up to 6 power. I did manage to get my buck that morning and I was in fact in the prone unsupported position as the deer was up a slight slope. I'm glad I did not spook the 100-yard deer moving from standing to prone. In the field, I always strive for the most stable position available whenever feasible. If the ground were otherwise wet and muddy, I probably would have shied the prone in my nice clean Pendleton and orange vest. I have not had any practice or training with the kneeling or squatting position. I practiced and sighted in my rifle at an outdoor range with a bench. I could either sit at the bench or stand to shoot. In the army, BRM offered the foxhole standing position and prone unsupported for qualification.
Choosing a big-game rifle (like a Browning BAR Safari Mark II) in .3o8 to me makes it a:
-deer gun
-elk gun
-moose gun
-lion gun
-pronghorn gun
-wolf gun
-black bear gun
-goat gun
-sheep gun
-occasional yote gun
-occasional chuck gun
-occasional prairie dog gun
-occasional fox gun if the pelts are of no value to you
-possible camp and home defender, but perhaps there are better choices for that purpose
One might also consider a .22 like Ruger 10/22 for the small stuff like gopher.
I have the two auto rifles in mind if one just wants an auto battery. Virtually every new under-1,200-dollar big-game rifle out there stinks to me in quality or looks. I figure you have to go $2K+ for a nice big-game bolt gun. I figure if you are going between $1K and $2K in a deer-hunting rifle, make it a Belgian Browning auto classic. Also make it a .308 for a sensible big-game/occasional varmint caliber. If you like a bolt gun between one and two grand, you might make it a Winchester Model 70.
Why not a new BAR Safari Mark II in 6.5 Creedmoor? Browning simply doesn't make that animal.
The Browning website lists only these calibers/barrel lengths for BAR Safari Mark II (no BOSS):
- 243 Win • 22"
- 308 Win • 22"
- 25-06 Rem • 24"
- 270 Win • 22"
- 7mm Rem Mag • 24"
- 30-06 Spfld • 22"
- 300 Win Mag • 24"
- 338 Win Mag • 24"
Only the .308 on this list seems the most versatile and feasible caliber for readily available ammo. What about .30-06 you ask? Why more shoulder kick than you really need? Why a Browning BAR auto? It is a great recoil tamer in a .30-something (deer+-size) caliber. Heavy and gas-piston-operated. No fouling the breech area like an AR. It's also a pretty European-made rifle. It's reputed to be as accurate as a bolt-action.
You can get a detachable bipod like a Harris to make your deer gun an occasional chuck gun.
Let me tell you about a deer/occasional varmint gun I owned in the 1990's. It was a Leupold-scoped Browning A-Bolt II in .25-06 Remington. I took my buck in the morning and about ten ground squirrels in the afternoon on my guide's private ranch in Trinity Co, NorCal. The Federal Premium ammo I had then was 117 gr. BTSP. $1 a round even in 1996! Was readily available back then though. Mr. Rourke, my guide, suggested I bring a .22 over the telephone but I had no such gun then. I had already sold my Remington Nylon 66 earlier that year. It was junk. Mr. Rourke allowed me to get rid of some ground squirrel on his spread as a bonus fun event after the deer hunt. It was fun blowing them up with a .25-06. In standing-only field position and mostly without the support of a fence post, I could only connect with squirrel about half of the time. The gun-shy squirrel were usually about 100 yards in a wide-open field. It was a walking squirrel hunt on flat ground with cover so a low position like prone was not feasible and I had no bipod. One squirrel's brains was completely blown out of its skull. My A-Bolt II shot 1 MOA offhand on the bench. It was hit and miss standing in the field for those little rat-size targets even with the Leupold Vari-X II 1.75x6 32mm dialed up to 6 power. I did manage to get my buck that morning and I was in fact in the prone unsupported position as the deer was up a slight slope. I'm glad I did not spook the 100-yard deer moving from standing to prone. In the field, I always strive for the most stable position available whenever feasible. If the ground were otherwise wet and muddy, I probably would have shied the prone in my nice clean Pendleton and orange vest. I have not had any practice or training with the kneeling or squatting position. I practiced and sighted in my rifle at an outdoor range with a bench. I could either sit at the bench or stand to shoot. In the army, BRM offered the foxhole standing position and prone unsupported for qualification.
