Deer hunting decision/opinions.

[win38-55]

Alright here is my problem. I own a wide assortment of deer killing devices.
Ever thing from compound bow to long bows to modern artillery.
I have a very nice piece of family owned land in northern michigan to hunt on.
Half of this property is dense woods the other half is wide open fields where shots encountered
would be much greater than 250 yards. The woods side of the property is
a much better deer hunting area than the field side but it to has some wide open areas
in the 100-150 yard range. I have limited my choices down to to these firearms and cannot
come to a decision on any one of them for opening day. All of these guns shoot to point of aim at
100 yards. The first gun on my list is a Marlin 336ss topped off with a Leopold VX III
3x9 scope shooting Remington corloc's 170 grain bullets very good shooting gun that was holding 4 inch
groups at 200 yards off a sandbag last weekend. My next choice is a Winchester model 94 legacy
in 38-55 shooting 255 grain Black hills hard cast lead bullets. This gun also sports a Marble's
peep sight aperture with all of the different peep sight size's It also shoots very well
shooting 2.5 inches a 100 yards dead zero. My final choice is a Savage model 110 in 300 win mag.
This gun also shoot very well but I am thinking it might be overkill for deer sized game.
So let me have what you guys think I should use this opening day. Thanks Andrew.

[Kansas Ed]

38-55. I can't get into scopes or bolts. Just me. But when I shoot a deer with a bolt gun and scope I feel like I've taken the joy out of hunting. Kinda like..Ho hum that part's done. But when I shoot one with an early cartridge in a lever or SS platform I'm wound up with seeing what the cartridge and bullet performance was. To me shooting with a scope is just shooting, shooting with irons and classic cartridges is hunting.

Ed

[BlueStateSaint]

Andrew, you state that the longest range you might encounter " would be much greater than" 250 yards. Take the rifle that would be able to reach out and kill cleanly at that range. If you've practiced with either the 336 or the 94 Legacy at those ranges, use those. If you haven't, I'd go with the .300 Magnum. You owe it to the animal to be able to kill it cleanly at the maximum ranges that you could be shooting at for the proerty you'll be hunting on.

But, that's just my two cents.

[76/444]

Andrew, you state that the longest range you might encounter " would be much greater than" 250 yards. Take the rifle that would be able to reach out and kill cleanly at that range. If you've practiced with either the 336 or the 94 Legacy at those ranges, use those. If you haven't, I'd go with the .300 Magnum. You owe it to the animal to be able to kill it cleanly at the maximum ranges that you could be shooting at for the proerty you'll be hunting on.

But, that's just my two cents.

Yup.

[gglass]

At the expected ranges listed, go with the .300 Win Mag... Don't be cruel.

[Pete44ru]

I would use the .30-30, even though it carries waaaaaay too much scope IMHO.

..

[geobru]

Take them all ao you can change from day to day based on where you are going to hunt. If you are going to hunt the field side where shots could be long, use the 300. If you are going to hunt the woods, chances are you will be shooting under 100 yards, so either the 30-30 or 38-55 would be plenty of gun. When choosing between the two classic cartridges, I would decide whether I feel more comfortable shooting the scoped gun or the irons. Only you can make that decision. After that, shoot to your own skill level. If you see a deer that is beyond your comfort range, snap a picture and then you will have a story about the day that you wish you'd had a different gun with you. That is what makes hunting so much fun....

CHOICES CHOICES CHOICES !!!!!!!!!!!!

[wilko]

30-30 in the woods and the savage over the field for long shots...

[AJMD429]

I have limited my choices down to to these firearms and cannot
come to a decision on any one of them for opening day.

I'd pick TWO guns; one for the woods, one for the fields, and just the ONE gun on opening day that matched which terrain I'd be hunting on opening day. If you plan an AM hunt in woods and a PM hunt in fields, or vice versa, on opening day, I'd probably just take two guns.

All of these guns shoot to point of aim at 100 yards.

If that's the case and your long shots will often be in "wide open fields where shots encountered would be much greater than 250 yards", even with the 300 Win Mag you'll want to know your holdover, and have a rangefinder! 300 yards vs. 450 yards is pretty hard to tell accurately via eyeballs alone, and even the 300 Win Mag is dropping about an inch every 24 feet 'out there'.

Between a .30-30, .38-55, and .300 Win Mag. I'd think the only one I'd want to use for a shot I knew would be at least 250 yards or more would be the 300 Win Mag., although even with the under-900 fpe left at that range with a .30-30, the right shot placement would get you deer meat.

The 300 Win Mag sounds like way overkill for close shots, but you have two ways around that I could think of, if you just want one gun for all the hunting and/or go back and forth between fields and woods all day stalking. One would be to use a very solid bullet that won't misbehave at 3,000 fps on close shots, but will do the job at 2,000 fps on those really long shots. I don't know my premium-bullets enough to advise you on that, but someone surely makes one they at least claim fits those requirements. The other approach would be to use two different loads; I've seen SR-4759 reduced-loads for the .300 Win Mag that only have a muzzle velocity of 2400 fps, so would be essentially a ".30-30" you could shoot from the same gun for those under-200 yard shots. The trajectory would be different, so you'd need a good scope with repeatable elevation clicks you could count on for switching loads, or at least one with a 'mil-dot' or other reticle you could use to correct aiming points at close range with the lighter loads. I'd presume the Leupold would be up to the task; just make a note of the elevation under the scope cap for each load.

If it were me, I'd take the Savage for the fields, and whichever of the other guns I like the most for the under-250-yard shots. If you have a kid in the family who needs drug out from in front of the television but can keep quiet, have them be your 'gun bearer' if you don't want to carry both afield...

[madman4570]

The 38-55 in the woods will do!

[Pete44ru]

[All of these guns shoot to point of aim at 100 yards.]

Oooops ! I sure missed that, in the OP.

WHY, for the love of God, would ANYONE zero a .300 Magnum at only 100 yards

That puppy needs to be zeroed at around 2" high @ 100yds, for a nice, long effective PBR of around 350yds.

.

[wm]

I normally don't get involved in these questions but as a fellow Michigander I will say all would be good and understandable choices.

Persoanlly I would go with the 38-55 because that is one of my personal favorites but that is a entirely sentimental reason. Which one do you feel best about making a shot at deer in the low light of dawn or dusk?

Wm

[Wes]

Can't you take your 30-30 or your 38-55 and sneak closer?

[Les Staley]

Win 38 55: what county is your property located in? I will be up in Charlevoix county in Dec. for the Michigan muzzleloading season. Our family farm is north of East Jordan, and continues to give up many whitetails each year.. my bro. and my mother live there. Les

[O.S.O.K.]

Most of us have the same dilema - we have several or many or a huge number of rifles, handguns, muzzle loaders, and bows to do the job.

The thing is - what do you want to get the deer with?

What's going to give you the most satisfaction and how willing are you to consider it a successful hunt if you had to pass on the shot because it was out of the range or your capabilities with the rifle.

I am hunting with a 356 Win chambered 336 Marlin scoped with a 1x5 Leupold and shooting 250 grain/2000fps loads this year. For the reasons and considerations sited above.

After the deer, I am going after hogs with my xs-sighted 94 Marlin in 44 Mag with 310 hard cast boolits - 1550 fps.

I cast both the boolits listed and that's the thing for me this year. I've also put some work in to both Marlins.

Hope that helps.

[win38-55]

Win 38 55: what county is your property located in? I will be up in Charlevoix county in Dec. for the Michigan muzzleloading season. Our family farm is north of East Jordan, and continues to give up many whitetails each year.. my bro. and my mother live there. Les

Wow! That is almost scary our family farm where I am hunting at is half way between Advance and
East Jordan. in Charlevoix county. That is an awesome area to hunt, lots of deer in that area.
I have already shot 2 does this year with my bow on the farm. The reason I started this post is because there is an open field, that the deer seem to travel back and forth on all day long. The problem with this field is it is just way to open, no trees any where close to where they are traveling. That is why I thought
Maybe the .300 would be a good choice. I have already come to a conclusion I am taking them all.
Why not ? And the reason my .300 win mag is zeroed at 100 yards is because that is the farthest range we got around here. I did not want to put it at an inch high because I at least know what my point of aim at 100 is. I know this gun well. I shot a deer with it last year in the 300 yard range and I
only had to aim 3 inches higher than normal and that is the beauty of the 300 a very flat shooting gun.
On the other hand I enjoy shooting and hunting with famous/vintage cartridges some may consider them obsolete, but they still get the job done. You just have to get closer to the game. In some places I hunt this is not possible. Thank you all for your replies. you guys had some great suggestions.
Thanks again Andrew.

[Bogie35]

If you can make the long shot, then shoot whatever will get there. For me, I just don't feel confident past about 150 yards (with a peep sight). My worst fear is to wound an animal instead of kill it cleanly. My dad taught me to know my limit, and don't ever shoot beyond that. For me, the funnest part of hunting is everything I have to do before I pull the trigger. Most days, I'm plenty satisfied to leave the woods empty handed. And thankfully, I've never left the woods worrying that I've only wounded an animal (other than bird hunting).

Good luck with whatever you choose!

bogie

[Old Time Hunter]

It's too bad you don't have a 6.5 X 55 that way you could sight it in at 150 yards and not vary more than a couple of inches from 50 to 300. But, since you don't and you are down in southern Michigan (the U.P., which my relatives don't consider part of Michigan, is Nothern Michigan to me and a different ball of wax when it comes to hunt'n guns), I'd say the .30-30 is more than sufficient, especially if you have it sighted in at 200 yards. If you were up in the U.P., without a doubt the 38-55 would be my choice on what you have.

[gak]

336 with premium bullets and 4x scope. Or maybe consider a hi-mount (see thru) scope to accommodate both open field and dense wood conditions--though that somewhat changes the balance and reduces the handiness of the lever gun which is its main calling card. +1 get closer to your quarry if need be for that secure shot and avoid risking a wounded animal. When I first read the OP's post and stated field conditions I thought of the quick handling Win 88 .308, but the 336/30-30 should be just dandy.