buying a deer rifle (uk)

[Evil_Crawling_eye]

im looking at getting a rifle for deer, as ive hunted grouse and game so far under the pretense that if i eat meat, i should have the balls to experience hunting it first hand, but always thought deer a graceful beast and brutal to gralloch in the field. Well ive decided to try it and stop being hypocritical in my ethos about it all. Im a bit gung-ho and want a 308, but at the same time so i also cover everything breed and situation wise, mostly only roe around my farm but may go on a hunt somewhere else for bigger red deer next season. If deer hunting isnt my thing id like to be left with something i can do some fun targeting with or something too. Scope info is welcome also. Sorry for no paragraphing im on my phone not sure how to. Thanks guys

[Miss Lucifer]

Everywhere you go, always take GameGossip....

Please send me some venison. It's delightfully yum.

[Evil_Crawling_eye]

Deal, if i ever obtain anything to do so. Ladies? Gentlemen?

[Miss Lucifer]

My only hunting experience is shooting a a mouse with a BB gun while wasted.


I hit the fucker though

[dedhed]

it depends on how good a shot you are. a .243 has pretty low recoil and it's easier to shoot accurately, but it's obviously a smaller round so you need to be able to put it where you want it. .243 is pretty much the standard for deer hunting in the UK, afaik.

ps send me some venison too

[Salvage Guy]

Eugh venison

[Evil_Crawling_eye]

im pretty good yeah, my only worry is if a 308 or bigger would do too much damage to something like a roe or if that depends on the type of round and not necessarily the caliber. Hollow point etc. Id prefer a bigger round to cover other situations and more diversity

[Viper-Reincarnated]

Originally Posted by Evil_Crawling_eye

im pretty good yeah, my only worry is if a 308 or bigger would do too much damage to something like a roe or if that depends on the type of round and not necessarily the caliber. Hollow point etc. Id prefer a bigger round to cover other situations and more diversity

.243 is a great round and will bag just about any species of deer in north america.

If you want something a little bigger you may want to look into the 30-06. Large enough round to bag anything in the Americas. (even if you don't live around here). It's easily found just about everywhere and it's an extremely versatile round. Me myself, I use a .308 bolt gun just because I have another that uses .308.

For a stick, just about any good manufactuer will do. Remington, Savage, Winchester, Mossberg, Sako, Mauser, ect.

You shouldn't have to spend more than $600-700 on a good stick. If you're looking at saving the big bucks you may want to even look into surplus weapons. Enfields, Mosin Nagants, Mausers, ect can all be had for $200 and under usually. All fire big enough rounds to take down just about any game sans if you go to Africa.

Moving onto the glass. A good rule of thumb is you want to spend twice as much on the glass & mounts as you did the rifle. The most expensive sophisticated rifle ain't worth shit if you've got crappy mounts and glass. Leupold, S&B, IOR, all are good makers. For the rings and mounts, badger makes probablly the best bar none.

Then again you could always just stick to the good olde iron's which will serve you well and never fail. (but if you're like me you like quality glass )

Hope this helps!

[dedhed]

if only guns were so cheap over here :unhappy

[Evil_Crawling_eye]

banter, thanks viper, thats grand info. If your saying though that a 308 is ok for roe then ill get that with the info you gave, alot of it makes sense anyway, my only last questionis , is there alot of bullet drop on these larger calibers due to size? My old man was saying thats why the smaller calibers are accurate. Ps Dedhed, bring yourself and hamigos to my farm this summer like we said in SF, Ill get salvage etc try and make a demi gg gather like i planned to too

[Miss Lucifer]

Can I come?

You can definately trust me with a gun :

[nemarsde]

I was at Sporting Gun Show 2007, there were some excellent deals to be had on bolt-action rifles. It was break-open shotguns that cost a fortune.

.243 is a good choice of chambering for the UK, since it's the minimum size required to hunt all deer species in the UK. i.e., With .243 you're covered, wherever you go. Whatever cartridge you use it must be hollow point.

That's all I know. I couldn't tell you what cartridge is best for hunting what deer, etc.

[Miss Lucifer]

Originally Posted by nemarsde

.243 is a good choice of chambering for the UK, since it's the minimum size required to hunt all deer species in the UK. i.e., With .243 you're covered, wherever you go. Whatever cartridge you use it must be hollow point.
.

Why is that? Something to do with killing it instead of wounding it, I assume?

[Evil_Crawling_eye]

Course ML, all from gg and close friends of are welcome.

I figured out how to paragraph XD

@nem, thats cool thanks, so whats the point of the higher calibers?

@ML yeah pretty much i believe, hollow point does more of a thorough job, quicker

[Salvage Guy]

Originally Posted by Evil_Crawling_eye

banter, thanks viper, thats grand info. If your saying though that a 308 is ok for roe then ill get that with the info you gave, alot of it makes sense anyway, my only last questionis , is there alot of bullet drop on these larger calibers due to size? My old man was saying thats why the smaller calibers are accurate. Ps Dedhed, bring yourself and hamigos to my farm this summer like we said in SF, Ill get salvage etc try and make a demi gg gather like i planned to too

I'm game for a laugh. hah... game!

[Viper-Reincarnated]

Originally Posted by Miss Lucifer

Why is that? Something to do with killing it instead of wounding it, I assume?

Full metal jacket rounds have a habit of zipping through without much expansion, thus creating a very small wound channel. Hollow-points or other rounds with a softer core or bullet type expand when they strike a target. They create a much larger wound channel and leads to more blood loss and more shock delivered.

[nemarsde]

Originally Posted by Evil_Crawling_eye

@nem, thats cool thanks, so whats the point of the higher calibers?

There are lots of reasons why one cartridge might be better than another for a particular hunt, whether larger or smaller.

My point about .243 was a legal one. In the UK there are some deer species that require a minimum size of .222 and 1000 ft/lbs muzzle energy, some a minimum of .240, 1700 ft/lbs, and some a minimum of .243, 1750 ft/lbs... So by opting for a .243 Winchester chambering, for example, you're covered for all hunting deer species in the UK.

Having been traumatised by having to knife a wounded bunny rabbit, I'd probably go for a larger cartridge too. .300 Winchester Mag perhaps. That's a really popular cartridge for big game and I expect it'd give you a higher probability of a clean kill. (Wouldn't be so popular otherwise, I assume.) I'm no expert though. I've never tried deer-stalking.

One more thing, at the Sporting Gun Show 2007 there was one Remington Model 700 SPS rifle, .223, with synthetic stock, scope and bipod on sale on £200. That's an amazing price. Most bolt-actions, even American made, will be triple that. But it goes to show if you can find a rifle that no-one wants, you can get a great deal on it.

[Evil_Crawling_eye]

thanks for the info banter guys, it has helped alot, ill tell you all what i wind up getting. Now come to my farm this summer. Viper, its only a little pond...

[Viper-Reincarnated]

Originally Posted by Evil_Crawling_eye

thanks for the info banter guys, it has helped alot, ill tell you all what i wind up getting. Now come to my farm this summer. Viper, its only a little pond...

I actually could probablly swing that.

Give me a specific date a month ahead of time and i'll put in for some leave.

[madbomber1998]

You don't want a .243 - it's a good round, but you want something with a little more 'omph' to it.

A .300 Win Mag is too big for you right now. You don't need anything that big for deer.

Most important thing is shot placement. So you want a good medium sized round, that you can control and hit your target with properly. Yet something that will still take the deer down quickly.

A .308 is a good round, as is a .270. I personally use a .30-06, simply because my deer rifle was given to me by my father. (and a .30-06 can successfully be used for about anything - moose, elk, bear, etc.)

Stick to a main-stream, basic gun - a Remington, Winchester, Savage, etc. like Viper said above is best. Remember, this is an investment. You want something you can use in the future for other hunts, target practice, etc. Don't go get a top of the line, and don't get the super-bare bones one. You want something with a 18-22" barrel, give or take.

http://www.gunsamerica.com/976983466...00_SPS_308.htm

Something like this. A good used one is usually ok too.

As for scopes, get a Leupold. Spend $500-800.00 on the scope - get something like a 3-10 power variable power scope. Get a good set of mounts and rings - Leupold makes ok stuff. And get someone to professionally mount and then boresite the scope for you.

Then you need to take the time to get profecient with your rifle. Go out and carefully break in your gun. Shoot it a few times, clean it, shoot a few rounds, clean it, etc. Put about 20 rounds through it, cleaning it every 5 rounds. You can start sighting in the rifle while doing this.

Then put another 80 or so rounds through it so you can hit your target every time. At different ranges. Preferably out to 200 yards or more.

[nemarsde]

What you got there is magnificent specimen of Edinburgh white snake, and .300 Win Mag ain't too goddamn beaucoup.