Select the Ideal Deer Hunting Rifle
Selecting your deer hunting rifle
is one of the most significant hunting decisions you can make.
Selecting a firearm which has the ballistics, design, action, sighting and size to accommodate your hunting area and personal capability is the basis of achieving your goal once your prey is hunted and located. Your ultimate success depends upon having a deer hunting rifle that fits all these criteria.
The Significance of the Location You will Hunt
The two main types of deer hunting environments are the deep woods/dense brush and open range country. Some areas contain a mixture of both environments. Each environment commands its own unique shooting style and rifle traits.
Deer Hunting Rifles for Deep Woods or Dense Brush
Deer hunting rifles that work best in the woods are rifles made for medium or short range shooting. The average distance you will be shooting in this environment runs from twenty-five to two hundred yards. You will be best served if your deep woods deer hunting rifle is relatively light, less than nine pounds including scope, and short, with a barrel length of less than twenty-two inches. Portability is important when moving in dense brush. Deer hunting rifles which can be reloaded quickly, such as automatics and lever actions, are suggested in rough country deer hunting since fast follow up shots are frequently needed. I would recommend using heavy bullet cartridges, .270 caliber or greater, with at least a 120 grain bullet, in order to penetrate any brush that might be in the way of your intended target. Calibers/cartridges that travel at over 2200 feet per second are not recommended to minimize bullet deflection by the brush. Scopes of four power or variable scopes which go down to 3X are recommended, and if your hunting terrain only permits shots of fifty yards or less then you might prefer open sights. If you want to find out if open site shooting works for you, test it out at the range.
Open Range Deer Hunting Rifles
The best deer hunting rifles for open areas are made for long range shooting, and most are best at shooting 300 yards or farther. Rifle portability is of less importance than accuracy and velocity in long shot environments, rifles tend to be heavier and of longer barrel length than deep woods rifles. The best calibers and cartridges for open range deer hunting, are flat shooting, and high velocity. Calibers in the 6MM (.243) caliber range or higher will be OK, and bullets from 100 grain and heavier will work. When shooting larger caliber rifles, heavier bullets are generally best for accurate shooting. The minimum required scope for most shooters is a 6×9 variable scope.
Find What You Want
As you select your deer hunting rifle, heed the advice you’ve just read where it talks about the environment in which you’re hunting; once you do that, figure out what other characteristics you need to fit your shooting style. How willing are you to lug around ten to twelve pounds long rifle across your hunting terrain.
Visit a nearby hunting rifle dealer and test out various models, kinds, and sizes from different makers of deer hunting rifles to see what feels good. Get advice from hunters who have a lot of experience in your chosen hunting area when finding the best rifle. If you’re really interested in learning about their firearms, you could ask your friends to let you hold and handle their rifles, and ask if there are any things that they don’t like about them
You can learn a lot more about deer hunting rifles and other advanced deer hunting tips by visiting our website here Deer Hunting Tips.
If you want to learn how to harvest true trophy bucks you are welcome to find our free resources here: deer hunting tips and secrets.
To your Success!!!
John Eaglesmith
Deer-HuntingTips.com
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