Best All Around Deer Rifle for Alabama

So here we go...... dig deep in your vault and tell us what your choice for Bama Bucks would be?????
This would be for all around, so no bean field rifles and no 25 yard brush guns...
This would cover tree stands to shooting houses, stalking and still hunting, short and long range.....
Include caliber and load if you want and scope too.

I will start. How about the tikka t3x in the wood laminate. Short action so .308 or .300wsm(mine). Swarovski Z6 3x18x50.

Browning BAR in 308

1. Remy 700 mountain rifle stainless/laminate in .280 Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44 #4 reticle 140gr TTSX

2. Kimber 84m stainless/walnut in .308 Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44 #4 reticle 150gr AccuBond

Haven't we been here before...

I'm looking forward to hunting with my Tikka T3X Superlite with a Leupold VX3i 2.5-8X36. The 1-8 24" barrel should suit the 6.5Creedmoor nicely.
Lightweight affordable and I hope accurate.

my rem 700 30/06 has killed deer in all hunting situations in Alabama . I've shot deer from less than 10 yards sitting on the ground in a thick bottom to across a clear cut .

300 Weatherby mag

Bolt rifle in a short action like a .243, .260, 7-08, ,308 etc....

Not this shucks again

Easy, I have it leaning against the wall. Model 75 Sako Finnlight in .308 topped with a Leupold Vari-X 3 2.5-8 with custom heavy duplex .

50 BMG

.257Bob, 6.5x55Swede, .300Roy, .45LC, #57 stone, sharp stick, ninja throwing star, etc

Life's too short for one perfect deer rifle

22 short

20mm Vulcan

Then one you can shoot accurately - without flinching - and make clean kill shots at any range you are realistically gonna shoot

You get to an age when the lengthy 270 or 30-06 cartridges on a cold winter day or in the dark require less fumbling. The cheap 3-9x40 works, the Blue Box Federal works better than some other caliber’s premium, and a Ruger All-Weather Hawkeye is the greatest.

The 30.06 is never a mistake, but really a glorified pine goat ain't hard to put down.. Find a rifle & round you like & hit the woods

I like the kimber 84m in 308

Or 7-08 maybe even better.

I would like to have one of the first pattern Kimber Mountain Ascent rifles is .308. Topped with a silver VX3i 4.5-14x56.. What a combo!

Jason

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
I will say this based on the answers I’ve seen here — a lot of you bitches got really nice hardware.

Browning A-Bolt 30-06 w/ 165gr Nosler Partitions

too heavy for stalking, and too loud for a shooting house. But it will kill.

Better to play it safe and have both

Come on 257webymag! You old sour puss! Don’t be ashamed to say Marlin 336 in grandpas silvertip 30-30 with open sites....we won’t judge you.

Do huh???

hell ,,,, i wish they still sold them sliver tips

hell ,,,, i wish they still sold them sliver tips

yeah i know they still make them but to me they don't look the same

I believe quailman recommends at least a 45-70 for spikes.

Too much scope. If I was going to shoot long range,I would choose a heavier rifle. I use mine in the woods with a 1.5-8X32. To me it's short,fast,and light. Sort of a modern version of a lever gun.

I'm a .280 Ackley fan, because it is a great all around rifle.

Kimber's 84 Hunter with a spare mag, in that caliber, with a Swarovski Habicht (older scope) 2.5-10 x 42 mm would weigh about 6.5-7 lbs with Talley lightweight rings. Probably shave 6-8 ounces off that if you went with 7mm-08, which is also a fine cartridge

I'm gonna have to agree, , scope don't match the gun per OPs question. I just don't understand a "mountain rifle" type gun with a Hubble on top, never have , never will.

Agreed. Hubble scopes have their place, just not on a lightweight sporter rifle.

Yep, I have a 1.5 - 5x on my .243. Never needed anything more.

Depends on how your hunting. Do you run dogs ? An autoloading centerfire or a 12 gauge shotgun. Do you have have thick woods ? A lever action. Do you have long shots with open ag ? A bean field rife in 7 mag or something flat shooting. Why pick 1 if you don't have to ?

My mountain ascent in 300wsm shoots sub moa at 700 yards, so it's not a bad combo. I don't hunt with mine in AL though.

amazing

Just a basic Model 7 in either .308 or 7mm-08 would be the best all around rifle for the money.

older remington 700 with a timney or a good trigger job in .308 with a 22" barrel or an older ruger m77 zytel stock in .308 that thing can be in the rain for a month and not rust

For poaching ?

Model 7 LSS 20" barrel in 308. Topped with a 2.5-8 x 36 Zeiss Diavari C.

That's what I shootz. In 7-08

This guy gets it. Except mine is an 85 and the scope choice is a tad different! Wish I had the 75 instead though there is very little difference in the short action calibers.

H&R Handi in .280
Sightron SIII 1.5-6x50 4a

Might call me crazy,but I know what works for me

Have the handi in 280 Remington. Love it. Favorite is 7mm-08 have a couple and never lost a deer I properly hit.

CVA makes an inexpensive single at academy for around $200 in 7mm-08 and 308. great little cheap starter rifle.

I'm a fan of the Handi.Some won't shoot,some will,and some will drive tacks.There nothing much to look at,but fun to hunt and tinker with...

Agreed. I learned a hard lesson a while back. My brother-in-law wanted to get into hunting and bought the cheapest savage with a scope available. It shot circles around my rifle, all the bullet holes touched with the cheapest ammo he could find. What was disheartening was that it cost less than the wood on my gun. I still have a nice featherweight, but have enjoyed hunting/playing with much less expensive rifles and have found that I have killed more deer with those than the more expensive ones

i got a 243 , 357mag ,30-30 and a 35 whelen . they all shoot great . the little 357mag after the trigger job really surprised me .

as for hunting out of a pop up imo they are the best

You guys are probably correct about the 4-14 being too much scope for that 308, but I still like it! Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy who uses a 44 mag lever gun with NO GLASS on 90% of my hunts. I am still a fan of a good ole 30-30 with a 3-9x50 on it for a good all around rifle. With the newer bullets you can get good accuracy at distance with one.


Jason

Not saying that scope is too much for a 308, just too much for a lightweight sporter rifle designed for carrying. I have a heavy barrel 308 with a fat fore end stock that I have a 6x24x50 scope mounted on top and weighs over 10 lbs. Good for its purpose which is long range target shooting and sitting in a shooting house, but it's not an "all around rifle". Not a gun I'm going to carry in the woods or tote up a tree in a climbing stand.

Johnny loco will disagree weight doesn't matter lol

Reread, I said THAT 308. I understand what your saying tho, its a lot of scope for THAT rifle. I still like it tho! Lol.

Jason

308,270,6.5 Creedmoor,300 win mag,260,280,25-06 take your pick. If lower recoil is desired by all means look at the Creedmoor

Ruger Super Redhawk 454 casual with Adco red dot.

223

You don't need a cannon
17 Hornet and a Texas Heart shot

For me and my style of Alabama hunting, Caliber doesn't matter too much. I would say 243 to 300 win. My rifle choice limits caliber more. I want something light enough to drag up and down hills and hollers. It needs to be fast handling with a good woods scope and capable of accuracy out to about 200 yards. That's all I need in Alabama. I've killed a lot more deer moving at 50-75 yards than standing at over 100.

If you don't at least shoot a .338 Lapua, you a punk

**A 5pound 338 without a muzzlebrake.

I'll shoot a 5 pound 338 Blackout.

I think this would describe most everyone's hunting in Alabama. But people buy guns more suited for long distance shooting with high magnification scopes and 50mm + objective lenses, none of which are needed for typical Alabama hunting. I know a guy who went to Africa with one of these type set ups and when he came back he told me how difficult it was to find game in the thick brush with a 15x scope.

The Swarovski sales rep has told me that Alabama is an anomaly in their sales. They can't sell their scopes which have objective lenses under 50mm here, but those scopes are their top sellers in other areas. Folks in this state have bought in to the myth of the magical 50mm objectives.

I don't think I own a scope with a 50. I believe 44 is my biggest. I know looks don't matter but they just look goofy on my rifles.

two: long one for clearcuts, power lines and such; short one for the woods ...

I reckon the top tier for Alabama rednecks must be a Browning with a 50mm scope.

I've killed one deer "by luck" at about 400 yards. Other than that I don't think any have been over 150 with most in the woods real close. I've shot several that landed literally at my feet while I was on the ground. For some reason,I've had several nice deer come running dead toward me ,and I nearly had to shoot them in self defense. My preferred 1.5-2X woods scope helps when you shoot one at 20 feet running dead at you.

I remember as a teenager (a long time ago) there was an obnoxious guy in our club who got a Kahles 3x12x50 scope and mounted it on a Remington 742. He bragged about his scope and how he always kept the magnification set at the highest power.

Of course, this is the same stupid Sumbitch who managed to run over that rifle with his truck...twice.

Sometimes I think you have to give the Alabama redneck his due.There's actually some logic behind the large objective craze.Albeit skewed,it does work to a small degree.Most of us on here realize glass quality and coatings equates in low-light definition and use in a rifle scope.But it also equates to a higher price tag on any given optic.Your basic redneck doesn't have the kind of money it takes to purchase a quality rifle scope;so instead of buying quality glass,he opts for the highest exit-pupil he can achieve.That's obtained on low magnification paired with large objectives.That explains the popularity of the 50 and 56mm objective scopes to me.In a lot of areas in this state,the last 15 minutes of daylight are when you're going to see the most deer activity,on most days,during hunting season.The poor redneck has to adapt,therefore he mounts the Hubble telescope-like,Chinese scope on his Creedmoor

Those Alabama Rednecks need to be told going from 40mm to 50mm objective only adds 1-2% brightness and his bloodshot , Redneck eyes can not tell the difference.

What gets me as much as the 50mm plus crowd is the super high power range. Many tote scopes for shots on deer only out to 400 yards tops that are 12 power and up , military snipers don't use scopes as high as some I see listed on Aldeer and their "happy zone" is 1,000 meters.

Whatever you pick, outfit it with these two thoughts:

Speculate
Contemplate

There aren’t many of us who haven’t sat there speculating or contemplating then said to ourselves, I think “over there” would be a good spot too. And, many times an opportunity presents itself where you didn’t think it would, which many times is “over there”.

So, You need a rifle that can be right here, and “over there”.

Happy Hunting

I killed an 8 point with a huge VX6 50 something mm with a 30 mm tube this past weekend. It was not far away at all, but if I hadn't had it, I wouldn't have been able to tell if he was a shooter. It got dark real early Sunday night due to the misty rain and clouds. For greenfields I use a big scope.

But by your own admission, I DOES add brightness. You'll never convince said. redneck he's eyes can't see that extra 1-2%

In regards to scopes,I've come to realize one thing that seems to ring true.Your eyes aren't my eyes,and my eyes aren't yours

Yup, Alabama Rednecks are thick headed (not) . BTW, I had a long conversation about objective size, glass quality, 1" tube V 30mm and such with Leuplod engineer a few years ago , very enlightening!

2dogs, I luv ya man

Wish they made a 3x70x100. I'd put wheels on my 338 and pull it with the 4wheeler

I have a remington 750 270 with a Leopold 3-9x50 and a ruger 77/44 with a 3-9x40 weaver 44/40. Not as fancy as some of yalls but I use the auto on good weather and places where i can see a long ways off and the ruger for bad weather and when i setup like I'm bow hunting. Oh yea 870 slug gun for the corps land

Personally, I love the "Hubbell" rifle scopes. Yes, I pay a 10-12 oz weight penalty for the 56 mm lens. But, I can shoot hogs on a greenfield with a quarter moon on a clear night, and I can judge a deer at 7 am on a cloudy drizzly morning.

That 15x comes in mighty handy if I have to shoot through a gap, or a long way off, but I can also dial down to 3x for close, dark, or wooded shots.

I'll just buy rifles that are lighter to make up for it.

I'll agree here.

Not saying higher magnification or light transmission are not good for some circumstances, but for woods hunting there's absolutely no need for 15x or even 10x magnification. A 3x9x40 is plenty for a 200 or 300 yard shot on a greenfield. For 500 yard pokes on open farmland, yep, 15x or 20 X is nice.

Well my 15x dials down to 3x. I don't hunt woods much. But if I do I can dial it to 3x easily

When you need a rifle that will shoot right here and over there, the individual has to determine how far over there is.

For me, it will never be over 200 yards.

.257wbymag,

I don’t believe these boys have seen the Z6! So yes. Like .257 said, lots of scopes give low to high options. My longest shot in 40+ years of hunting in Alabama was 395 yards. That’s a long way but I will be the first to admit that if a buck is 100+ yards out, I dial it up!!! So I am a Hubble guy. Bring on the 3x70x100 in the 60mm tube!!!

BLR .243 Leupold 2-7x33

My sentiments exactly.

I know you understand how to use the dial, but I've met more than one hunter in Alabama who did not. They also have no understanding of magnification and how it affects the exit pupil size and the amount of light transmitted to the eye.

Thats sure might be the winning combo

Only thing that would make that better would for it to be chambered in 308 or 358Win. Be a damn fine setup for most of AL.

Nope. Doesn't have a super duper Hubble elite on top.

There ain’t nuthin in Alabama that a 22magnum won’t work on, a 243 is more than fine.

I bought a Remington 783 in 30-06 last year for $250 on sale and it will group Core Lokt 165's just as well as my Browning A-Bolt Gold Medallion 270 shooting Hornady Custom. Now, long term durability might be a whole other discussion, but there are some really accurate cheap rifles out there.

Up here in these hill and hollars I want something thats more apt to dropping one in his tracks. Killed several with a 243 and found them all but I like the chances of a DRT better with a 308. A 358Win ups the anty even more UP HERE.