How to Choose Your Perfect Deer Hunting Rifle

One of the most important decisions for you to make in your hunting career is what deer hunting rifle you should purchase. Picking a firearm that has the ballistics, style, action, sighting and size to match your hunting terrain and personal abilities is the key to completing your mission once a suitable prey in hunted and found. Your final success is dependent on having a deer hunting rifle that matches all these criteria.

Where Will You Be Hunting?

The two main types of deer hunting environments are the deep woods/dense brush and open range country. Some locations are a combination of both environments. You need different rifles and styles of shooting for each kind of terrain.

Deer Hunting Rifles for Deep Woods or Dense Brush

Deer hunting rifles with short to medium range shooting characteristics are needed for situations when you’re in the woods. Typically, you’ll be shooting anything from 25 to 200 yards at deer in this environment, so this range is important. It is to your advantage that your deep woods deer hunting rifle be relatively light (less than nine pounds with the scope), and be relatively short in length with a barrel length of twenty two inches or shorter. When in dense brush, you have to be able to move around. 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. Any cartridges that travel more than 2200 feet per second have a higher chance of being deflected by the brush, and are therefore not well suited to densely wooded terrain. Scopes of four power or adjustable scopes going down to 3X are suggested, and if the terrain only allows shots of up to fifty yards you may prefer open sighting. Practice at the rifle range to determine if you can become comfortable with open site shooting.

Deer Hunting Rifles for the Open Range

Deer hunting rifles which are good performers in open areas are those designed for longer range shooting, up to three hundred yards or farther. In this situation, mobility is less important than being able to shoot accurately, and the ability to make long distance shots.  That said, most open range deer hunting rifles are heavier than their deep woods counterparts, and have a longer barrel. 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. Generally, the larger the caliber is, the heavier the bullet will need to be for the best ballistic accuracy. Scopes with a 6 X 9 variable power are what most shooters will need at the very least.

Personal Preferences

When choosing a deer hunting rifle take the recommendations above as they apply best to your hunting environment and then Consider your ability to maintain a comfortable shooting manner when shooting high caliber or magnum caliber rifles. Do you really want to lug ten or twelve pounds of long rifle with you around your deer hunting terrain?

You can probably go to your local hunting rifle dealer and try out a variety of different deer  hunting rifles, and get a better feel for what you want and what “fits” you.. Whenever you have the chance, ask successful hunters what they use and why. 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

I invite you to learn much more about deer hunting rifles and other advanced deer hunting tips by visiting our website here: www.Deer-HuntingTips.com. And I also invite you to learn about deer calls and grunts here: www.Deer-HuntingTips.com/deer-grunts-and-calls.

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