This is one of my favorite times of year preparation for deer season. I love getting after those whitetail and I hope you do as well and if it’s that season you know what that means, it could be time for a lot of you hunters to be buying a new rifle while it’s great to buy a brand-new rifle and there are some great ones on the market. We don’t always have the budget or the interest in a new gun, that’s why i’m here to write this article.
There are some awesome classic deer rifles on the use racks at your gun shop. I’m going to go through six of my favorites today that make great reliable durable and accurate buys that’ll bring you success in your deer season.
Best Deer Rifles
1. WINCHESTER MODEL 70
Who doesn’t love classic rifles, and one of the first that fits that description is the winchester model 70 and this is a fine specimen that I have here in a 243 those pre 64 actions that nice control round feed a claw extractor and are just fantastic guns for hunting and for collectors but even if you don’t want to pony up the money for a pre 60 for any of those use winchester model 70s that you find will serve you very well in the deer woods.
I can’t say enough about the pre 64 model 70s, it’s an awesome gun. Even if it’s not a pre 64 you’re gonna enjoy the model 70. It’s got such a smooth and reliable bolt action. The .243 is great, a lot of people will tell you that’s not enough power, but it is if you’re a good shooter and you can place a shot it’s what I shot my first deer with and let me tell you it did the job, and i’ll do it in the model 70 as well.
You’ve got beautiful walnuts stocks, sling swivels and these guns come in all the calibers that deer hunters would want.
2. REMINGTON 700 BDL
One of my next favorite classic deer rifles and one that I’ve shot a lot of deer with personally is my Remington 700 BDL, you can buy an AVL or a CDL but on those use racks these BDLs always catch my eye.
There’s that Monte Carlo stock that gloss finish to the wood, the Skip line checkering and that black end cap. They’re not expensive rifles but they’re accurate, they look good and they’re available in all the calibers that you want for a deer season. And in my opinion, those use Remington’s on the US gun store rack our head and shoulders above a lot of the new guns that you can buy today so why not grab yourself a classic deer rifle.
I love that glossy finish and the skip line checkering but I’m not afraid to get it out in the woods but i found it’s got some marks in the stock from my hunting seasons and memories of deer that I’ve taken. On these models you have the drop floor plate (not a drop box magazine) although there is a Model 700 BDL with the drop box magazine, so you can look for that as well if that’s your preference in hunting rifles. We’ve got the nice hooded front sight, the irons. I like to have a scope so i can reach out. It’s an accurate gun, the jewel bolt is really a pretty thing such a smooth action and very reliable, working very well with .30-06. That’s a reliable deer hunting rifle to buy.
3. SAVAGE MODEL 99
Next selection will make perfect sense and that’s the savage model 99. I love lever-action rifles and this is one of the most interesting with its internal rotary magazine you will not see an external hammer. They’re available in some awesome calibers like the 300 savage, .250-3000 and .22 high-power. It’s a shame they don’t make them anymore, i would get down on my knees and beg Savage to come up with another run of these, but for the time being this is a gem that you often find on the user racks at the gun stores.
It’s such a smooth action, the guns come up so nice whether you have a scope or your shooting iron sights, this is a great unsung hero in the deer woods, but the coolest thing about this is that internal rotary magazine, you’ll see if you’re not familiar with them, they actually have a brass round counter so as you put the rounds in there, you have the visible indicator telling you how many rounds are in that internal magazine.
This is a 300 Savage a great deer cartridge been around for a long time one of savages originals. There’s no external hammer to accidentally bump, you have the safety on the lever. You can put a scope on it if you’re lucky enough to find one of those undrilled and tapped originals, keep it as a collector but don’t be afraid to shoot it they are awesome rifles.
4. WEATHERBY MARK 5 BOLT-ACTION RIFLE
This next one is a classic American rifle and one that I like for its good looks and the way it shoots. I have a couple of these, this particular one is a 300 Weatherby, the Weatherby Mark 5 bolt-action rifle. You got a beautiful glossy finish to the stock, the skip line checkering, rip caps on the pistol grip. They’re
darn good-looking eye catching rifles. They can shoot and they make
great hunting companions.
If you’re in the market maybe you can’t afford a new Weatherby, but you can find some great deals sometimes on the used Weatherby Mark 5.
Sometimes, you just want something a little different outside of the ordinary but also very special and that’s the Roy Weatherby design calibers. I have the 300 Weatherby Magnum for testing, you can look at the 270 mags or 240s, all some great options even some of the bigger ones for a big game i just love the rounds. There’s a lot of power going downrange in these and it’s done on an over built rifle, the Mark 5 are excellent actions. With the .300 it may be a slight overkill for a deer, but this round will reach out and it’s a great rifle.
When you have a muzzle break on the gun this is a well used rifle that I’ve shot a lot. Nice smooth action but a very reliable gun and one that always catches my eye on the use.
If you’re in the Midwest or you’re a white-tailed deer hunter or somebody in your deer camp. Use a .30-30 and there’s good reason for that these guns have been around for years and what I’m talking about is a Winchester 94 and a Marlin 336.
5. MARLIN 336
It just a basic lever action design this particular one is a .30-30, you could get a 32 special even a 35 caliber if you prefer that for knockdown power, but these are some of the most reasonably priced deer rifles on the market today. They’re great guns whether you’re an experienced shooter or even a young hunter.
They come up with the iron sights, and the nice thing on the Marlin is the sight eject, it’s easy to mount a scope on top of the receiver. The model 336 probably one of the most inexpensive of these used guns on the racks, it’s a reliable feeding lever action. The only thing we want to be mindful of especially for newer shooters is practicing lowering that hammer once you’ve worked the action. Because you don’t have the traditional safety, you do have a resting half cock but it’s just to be mindful of spare always of trigger control but I’m making sure you’ve lowered that hammer back to half cock.
The 3030 is a light recoiling round that has accounted for so many deer over the years, and especially with hornaday’s new lever revolution ammo you can reach out even further to take down some nice whitetail deer.
When ejecting, you’ll see the sight eject got no problem with a scope on top of that rifle, and a very reliable action plus that little old western flair of the lever gun.
6. WINCHESTER 94
If you’re a fan of the american legend by all means look at those Winchester lever-action rifles, this is a 94 in .30-30, the pree 64’s again just like the bolt
action and collectible guns. But even if it’s not pre 64, these guns are going to serve you very well in the deer woods.
The main difference here with this particular winchester is your angled top eject. The scope sits in a sidesaddle mount so it’s not that you can’t put a scope on. It’s just a little different process so something to consider when you’re shopping for those used rifles.
If you like that 3030 around and lever-action rifles these winchester 94 s are indeed an American legend, great made guns again whether you’re pre-64 or some of the little bit older use models, they’re just great guns. You got smooth cycling bolt, and again you don’t have the safety so just being mindful of controlling that hammer as you lower it.
It’s a really nice deer gun, and best of all it’s inexpensive with low recoil,
nice shooting rifle accurate. You could reach out to 200 yards with some good lever revolution ammo, it a great gun and one that has taken lots of deer.
CONCLUSION
The Winchester, the Remington, the Marlin, Weatherby, Savage, all great names that have been making guns for decades make great new guns and these awesome used guns.
If you’re in the market, by all means shop around. Check out your local gun stores support those local businesses but also don’t be afraid to check out guns Cabelas, they have tons of used rifles there all of the ones that we listed above.