hunting newbie. what rifle?

[vujade]

This will be my first year hunting.

I have (2) rifles to take. I wish I had something better but I blew all my lunch money on the hunting clothes and the hunting handgun (Someone seeded me the idea that my 9mm carry was inadequate and I needed something bigger just in case).

Anyway - I want to hunt deer. I don't think I'll be climbing up a blind, just walking?

I have a Savage 10FP in 308. Bull Barrel and a heavy stock. I'm very accurate with it (1 hole at 100 yards) and it's a good round but it's SO heavy (I even took out the bipod) and unwieldy.

The other is a ruger m77 in 7.62x39. It's VERY light and i can carry it all day long. But I understand the round may be on the weak side. And this being my first time, I need every thing that I can move in my favor. Using cheap monarch ammo, I can get 1.5-2 inch groups at 100 yards. I bet most of the error is attributed to the cheap ammo. If I use this, I'll get some Remington/Federal/Fiocchi 'hunting ammo' (unless someone tells me that the 150-ish grain Wolf 'hunting' ammo is good enough).

Thanks for your thoughts.

[dats82]

Either round would work just fine. I think it depends more on your hunting situation. I don't really know anyone around here that walks that much while hunting deer, so a heavy rifle would not be that concerning to me.

As far as choice of caliber, many people go way way over board while deer hunting, so I would think the Ruger would be plenty powerful to whatever distance you would be comfortable with an accurate shot. I will never understand people using a 300 mag on a 200 yrd shot for a 150 lb animal.

I would want to use them both. I have this urge to kill a deer with every gun I have that meets the legal requirements. You may not share this desire, but either way, I think both would be appropriate.

[Guest pfries]

I agree with dats82 both will work fine. Shot placement is key for me as I try not to lose meat.

I am using my the new to me (not my only) 91/30 this year to pop it's cherry.....

[vujade]

thank you; I think I'll go with the 7.62x39 then. Thanks! I hope to report back with meat.

[whiskey]

thank you; I think I'll go with the 7.62x39 then. Thanks! I hope to report back with meat.

Take both! If you are sitting on a stand and have a rifle rest, use the .308. If you get down to do some walking, swap out and take the 7.62. Either is a good choice IMHO. The 7.62x39 is comparable to a 30-30. Do you know how many deer have been killed with a 30-30? Atleast 10, cause I killed atleast 10 with mine.

[quietguy]

thank you; I think I'll go with the 7.62x39 then. Thanks! I hope to report back with meat.

Just make sure to choose a good hunting round, and make sure it shoots well in your platform. Personally, I would seek out a box of the Cor-Bon DPX 123g TSX load.

Do you know how many deer have been killed with a 30-30? Atleast 10, cause I killed atleast 10 with mine.

I can add another 16 or 17 to your tally.

[tugboat]

i used to hunt with a mini 30 which was the 7.62x39. Never had a problem killing a deer with it. It was a great round. I also have a 308 and have killed numerous deer and hogs with it as well. Both rounds are awesome and is more than adequate to morally take a deer and it not suffer. A well placed shot with any legal round will work but the key is "well placed".

[gregintenn]

thank you; I think I'll go with the 7.62x39 then. Thanks! I hope to report back with meat.

That would be my choice for carrying. I'd probably be a bit more confident shooting the Savage, however. As for power, think how many deer fall to a bow and arrow each year. Which do you think has more power; a bow, or your 7.62x39. A well placed shot with an expanding bullet will anchor a deer. You are aware it is illegal to hunt deer with full metal jacket ammo, right? Nothing you said made me think you might use it; the thought just came to mind.

[Guest adamoxtwo]

The 30-30 is a great Round! Very Popular and common hunting round.

The .30-30 is considered by many to be the "entry-class" for modern deer cartridges. While it will take deer- and black bear-sized game, it is limited in effective range to approximately 200 yards (183 m) for that purpose. It is common to define the characteristics of similar cartridges as being in ".30-30 class" when describing their effectiveness. The .30-30 is typically loaded with bullets weighing between 150 and 170 grains (9.7–11.0 g), but lighter loads are possible. Bullets of up to 180 grains (11.7 g) can be used but the overall length restrictions of the lever action rifles used for this round limit their usefulness.

One of the primary reasons for the .30-30's popularity amongst deer hunters is its light recoil. Average recoil from a typical 150-grain (9.7 g) load at 2,390 feet per second (730 m/s) in a 7.5-pound (3.4 kg) rifle is 10.6 pounds-force (47 N) of felt recoil at the shooter's shoulder. This, combined with the cartridge's ability to take the majority of large game in North America, as long as the game is within 200 yards (180 m) of the shooter, results in a highly effective hunting round.

Because the majority of rifles chambered in .30-30 are lever-action rifles with tubular magazines, most .30-30 cartridges are loaded with round-nose or flat-nose bullets. This is to prevent a spitzer-point bullet (the shape seen on the .30-06 Springfield) from setting off the primer of the cartridge ahead of it in the magazine during recoil. Were that to happen, the gun would probably be damaged or destroyed and the shooter seriously injured. The Savage Model 99 was introduced in 1899 with a rotary magazine, in part to avoid that issue. When used in single-shot rifles or handguns, such as the Thompson Center Arms Contender or Encore series, it is common for shooters to handload the cartridge with spire-point bullets for improved ballistics.

[DaveS]

I'd like to pitch in and add "ammo availablity". Is ammo for your rifle readily available? I only ask you for this reason.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to deer hunt the Mountains in North Georgia. I had no clue how I managed to "forget my shells". Was using 7mm/08. No stores open no where. However, there was a bait shop there and they had 3 calibers of ammo. 30-30, 30-06 and 12 Guage slugs. The clerk says that's "all folks around here use".

The trout fishing was great by the way!

In years since, everytime I go into a back country store, I make it a point to look for ammo. It seems the calibers mentioned above reign king!

Just something to think about.

[CharlieTN]

Don't let the heavy barreled Savage scare you off. The reason I say this is you are confident with it. Confidence goes a long way when having to shoot under the pressure of your pounding chest when taking your first deer.

As for the 7.62x39, out of that rifle it would be a good deer cartridge. Look for the Corbon ammo or Hornady's new steel case load with SST bullets. Either would be more than capable of grounding a deer quickly.

Good luck.

Charlie