Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in the June 1953 issue of Outdoor Life and it reflects the language and stereotypes of the times.

A COLD OCTOBER drizzle was soaking the Ontario bush when the old Ojibway Indian and his wife beached their canoe below our tent. They had a little boy with them, sort of wedged in the bow ahead of the woman, and he was yelling bloody murder. 

They looked too old to be his parents, and the man explained that, jerking a finger at the toddler and grunting, “Mamma dead.” 

After we welcomed them with cigarettes, the woman held the boy up and pointed to his mouth. “Hurt,” she said. And he wailed at the top of his voice. 

Neither my partner, K. K. (Knick) Knickerbocker, nor I is a medicine man, but we got the idea. The poor little cuss was teething, and they’d come to our camp hoping we could do something for him. I rummaged in my gear for the best remedy we had, a bottle of aspirin. We didn’t dare give them the whole bottle for fear they’d feed them all to the kid. So I shook out a dozen tablets, broke each in half, then pointed to the face of my watch and held up half a tablet for each hour. 

They were tickled pink. The woman poked the first dose into the boy without ceremony. He went right on crying, but they paid no attention to him. 

They came up to our tent and the man’s eyes fell on our two 70-pound-pull hunting bows and the arrows. Curious as a kid with a bulging Christmas stocking, he tested the razor-sharp edge of the four-bladed arrowheads, tried the pull of my bow. Then, after looking in vain for firearms, he grinned at me, and said, “Moose big. String-gun too little.”

KNICK AND I were still chuckling about it long after the Indians paddled away. 

“Honest Indian,” Knick said. 

But we didn’t share all the old man’s doubts. I started hunting big game with a bow in 1935, and I’ve never carried a gun since. Knick’s also an experienced archer, and he’d come all the way from Virginia to match his bow with a moose. Up to the time of our moose hunt, I’d killed nothing bigger than deer (though I’ve added moose, bear, antelope, and elk to my list since) and neither had Knick. Still we both felt our bows would stop a moose. Other archers had proved that. 

The Indian wasn’t the first to rate us underequipped for moose hunting. We’d had difficulty finding outfitters and guides willing to handle us, once they learned we intended to use bows rather than guns. 

One outfitter bluntly canceled our reservations. Another said he was booked full. 

We didn’t blame them. Surprisingly few know much about the killing power of hunting bows. And since big-game guides live largely by the success of their parties, it’s only natural that most shy away from archers. Guns get more game. 

It wasn’t until Knick and I contacted Archie McDonald in Quibell that we were able to arrange for a moose hunt in Ontario. And I confess we’d been in Archie’s main camp on Cliff Lake two days before we let it be known we were gunless. By that time it was too late to pack us out. 

For guides we drew Bill Humphries an Victor MacQueen, an Englishman and a Scot respectively, and they were good sports about the thing. We were to hunt in an area where they trap beavers in winter. They assured us there were plenty of moose there, and if we were willing to take chances on bows it was O.K. with them. 

So the four of us set out for Cedar River, the outlet of Lake Wabaskang, 100 miles north of International Falls. We worked through a chain of lakes—Twilight, Evening, Mystery, Cliff, Cedar, Perrault—traveling in two canoes with five-horsepower outboards, and portaging over rocky trails. Cold rain fell in an endless drizzle, broken only by harder squalls. We were wind-bound on Cliff Lake, on Cedar, and again at the lower end of Wabaskang. 

We made camp late one afternoon, dried our clothes and bags, and let a good fire drive the chill from our bones. By morning the rain stopped, and the world began to look like a fit place to live. 

It became a wonderful world when we took our casting rods down to the Cedar and flipped our spoons at the foot of a low waterfall. We caught wall-eyes and northern pike as fast as we could take ’em off the hooks. The pike ran 10 to 12 pounds apiece. In 30 minutes I landed three that totaled 40 pounds. We hung a few in trees around camp for bear bait. We put back the ones we caught after that; it was wall-eyes we wanted for eating, and the river swarmed with them. 

Yet we found the best fishing of all at Wine Lake, a few miles down the Cedar from Wabaskang. Lake trout from three to 12 pounds had come up in the shoals to spawn, and they pounced on our lures the way a leopard goes after a goat. Now and then we hooked lunkers that wouldn’t be handled on our medium-weight casting rods. We broke lines and smashed tips on some I bet weighed over 25 pounds. We kept no lakers, still preferring wall-eyes at camp, but we caught them at the rate of 10 or 12 an hour anytime we fished. 

It was raining again the second morning, but Knick and I had come a long way to kill a moose and we didn’t have all fall to do it. So after breakfast we climbed into the two canoes and headed downriver. 

Knick and Bill turned off where Wine Lake has its outlet in the Cedar, but Vic and I kept on another three or four miles. Then we went up a small creek and into a little unnamed lake that Vic said was a moose hangout. By that time the wind was blowing a gale and the cold rain had us drenched to the skin. We went ashore, got a fire going, and huddled over it until our teeth stopped chattering. Then we went moose hunting. 

Wet weather gives an archer one great advantage over the prey. He can move without noise, which he must do to get close enough to score with an arrow. Vic and I traveled slowly, combing every open place ahead. Eventually we spotted a sleek whitetail buck, a six-pointer, coming toward us. I picked an opening ahead of him in the brush and lined an arrow on it. When he walked into it I let go. It should have been an easy shot, since his neck and part of his shoulder were in sight at about 30 yards, but there was too much thick stuff in the way. Or maybe it was my fault. My fingertips were numb with cold by that time, and I didn’t get off a good release. 

I heard the arrow thud into something solid and saw the deer whirl and run. I found the arrow, bedded in a young pine, three paces short of where he’d stood. It had brushed a twig, glanced off, and whacked into the tree. “I got a name for this place.” I told Vic. “Let’s call it Arrow Lake.” 

He grinned, but it was a feeble performance, and I could see he was biting his tongue to hold back some remark on my performance. 

It helped when I missed another shot at a bigger buck late that afternoon. I shot high, and again I blamed my cold fingers. But I knew better than to alibi to Vic. We saw seven deer that day, including three bucks, and I could have killed all three with a rifle. By the time we got back to camp I realized that any fragment of faith Vic and Bill may have had in archery was as good as gone. At supper the guides exchanged significant glances across the fire and acted like a couple of guys who have picked a lame horse. 

THE WEATHER broke two days later, and we saw stars overhead and pink in the morning sky for the first time since the hunt began. We hurried through breakfast and were on our way before sunrise, running, the canoes through a winding canyon of gold and scarlet foilage. We hadn’t realized how far autumn had advanced. Ducks got up in front of us, and an eagle soared lazily overhead. 

We separated once again, agreeing to meet for lunch. Vic and I saw two cow moose that forenoon, but nothing with antlers. Knick and Bill stalked a good buck but couldn’t get within range. 

At noon we met in a cove formed by a big point that thrust half a mile out into the lake. We were finishing the last of our grub when a series of low, whimpering grunts rolled across the water to us. Bill lifted a warning hand. We listened until it was repeated. 

“Cow, calling,” Vic said softly. “She may have a bull with her.” 

We got up noiselessly and laid our plans in a hurry. The point was connected to the main shore by a neck of land about 200 yards wide and timbered with open stuff. Knick and I would have a chance for shooting there. The guides would drive, starting at the far end of the point, and if there was a bull with the lovelorn cow he’d have to come past us to get ashore. 

Knick and I picked our stands and Bill and Vic shoved off in one of the canoes. Ten minutes later a cow moose come out of the willows 300 yards away, splashed through the shallows, and struck out across the cove. When nothing else showed up in three or four minutes I relaxed. Then I heard a heavy animal coming through the brush in a hurry and headed almost at me. I caught a glimpse of brown, too light for a moose, and an eight-point buck came busting out of the adlers. He was spooked, and going places, but I had him in the open and I knew he was my buck. 

He went past me at 15 yards, running in long, reaching bounds. I shot when he was broadside. The arrow made a good solid hit, but I saw that I’d failed to lead him enough. I’d aimed for the rib section but the arrow had flashed into his flank. 

I found out later the shot would have killed him anyway, likely within 100 yards. The four-bladed head had severed big arteries and was bedded against the hip bone. But I didn’t know that at the time. 

The only apparent effect of the shot was to slow him down. His long jumps changed to short, high hops. I sent another arrow after him before he’d gone 20 yards. It sailed over his back, a clean miss. 

He was going straight away from me, 40 yards off, when I loosed a third arrow. That sounds like fast shooting with a bow but my average time between shots is five seconds, and the buck lost a lot of his speed as a result of my first shot. 

I took a little more time with that third shot. It struck him in the back of the neck, just below the head, and he went down like a dishrag. When we dressed him we discovered the arrow had gone through the first vertebra behind the skull and had driven deep into the brain. No bullet ever killed a deer quicker. 

Bill and Vic came out of the brush in a few minutes, plainly disappointed and disgusted. They’d heard no shooting, of course, and I realized it hadn’t even occurred to them there could be a kill without gunfire. 

“See anything?” Vic asked with patient resignation. 

“Saw a cow moose and a buck,” I replied. “The moose swam the cove.”

“What happened to the deer?” 

“He went right through here,” I said, pointing. 

I let them take the lead, and they almost fell over the dead buck. 

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Vic muttered. Bill added, “No shooting or nothing.” It wasn’t lavish praise, but the way they said it made it about the biggest compliment I’d ever had on a hunting trip. 

Back at camp that night, however, I could see the two weren’t convinced that a bow was proper moose medicine. They’d witnessed a trial demonstration and were inclined to give me more credit than I deserved, but there’s a difference of something like 800 pounds between a moose and a deer, and to their way of thinking, killing a moose would require a far more lethal weapon. 

Knick and I voted to try the Arrow Lake country next morning. We’d seen plenty of moose sign there and also a couple of cows. It looked like a good bet. 

Knick and Bill left camp first but they loitered on the way down the Cedar, scouting for tracks, and Vic and I passed them. But five minutes after we paddled into the little lake they came out of the creek behind us—just in time for the show. 

Right then, with both canoes in plain sight, a moose showed up at the edge of the alders across the lake. We saw his antlers first, over the top of the brush, and then he waded into the water. I had my glasses on him before he took three steps. He was a big bull with a fine head. 

WHY HE DIDN’T spot us, I still don’t know. While our canoes were fairly close to shore and he was almost half a mile away, we had no cover. I didn’t think there was a chance we could cross to his side of the open lake unseen. But we had to try. 

Vic and I crouched low and drove our canoe with hard, noiseless strokes. Knick and Bill were close behind as we rounded the end of the lake. A brushy point now hid us from the moose, so Vic turned the canoe toward shore. I was out of it and into the alders before its bottom touched land. 

When I’d last seen the bull he was coming down the lake in our direction, walking slowly in shallow water about 25 yards offshore. There was a strong wind, blowing in my favor and making enough noise in the undergrowth to cover my movements. A few yards back in the brush I found a game trail running parallel to shore, and I followed it until I figured I was halfway to the moose. Then I took a branch trail down to the water. 

Unable to see more than a few yards along shore, I crouched at the edge of the alders and waited. Nothing happened for a minute or two, and I was sure the bull had heard me and turned back. But I squatted there patiently and listened. 

Then I heard him, splashing and grunting. Another five seconds and I caught sight of him through a hole in the bushes, 75 yards off. 

For an instant I was as near to buck fever as I’ve ever been. He looked as big as a boxcar, and I recalled what the Indian had said about my string-gun. Suppose he was right? That was a lot of moose bearing down on me. I wondered what he’d do when my arrow drove into him. Would he come crashing for shore and pound me to a pulp with his big hoofs? 

Then I took another look, sizing up his black bulk and his broad antlers, that shone like polished mahogany. They’d go 48 inches or better. I thought of Knick, Bill, and Vic back on the point, watching from the brush, waiting for my shot. 

My bow was up to it. Was I? 

IF THE MOOSE kept his course he’d pass in front of me about 20 yards away. I could take all the time I wanted, and at that range I could hardly miss. 

I found another opening in the brush and settled myself on one knee. I could no longer see him but I could hear him coming. Then his neck and shoulders filled the opening. I brought the bowstring back to full draw and heard the sharp, satisfying twang as the arrow left it. And I was on target. The feathers of the arrow suddenly sprouted out from the center of the bull’s rib section. 

“That ought to fix him,” I murmured to myself. 

The moose flinched and stiffened. For an instant he froze in his tracks. Then he whirled and lunged toward deeper water. But he made only three jumps before he stopped broadside to me. 

I had a second arrow on the string when he humped his back, stretched out his neck, and blew a red gush from both nostrils. I eased off my draw then, knowing he was done for. He turned toward shore, but his legs buckled and he went down. One arrow killed him before he’d moved twice his own length from the place where he stood when it hit him. 

We got ropes on him and towed him ashore. When we dressed him we found that my arrow had entered between two ribs, sliced through the lungs, cut off big blood vessels, and stopped when the head sheared off a rib on the opposite side. The moose was dead a minute after he was shot. That’s how a hunting arrow is supposed to kill. 

The Indian and his wife and the little boy turned up at camp about noon next day. Maybe they smelled meat. Anyway, they heard of our luck—perhaps via the moccasin telegraph. The kid was quiet, but both he and the old ones looked hungry. 

Read Next: Carmichel in Australia: Charged by a Backwater Buffalo

We had two moose tenderloins hanging in front of our tent. I took one down and gave it to the old fellow. He grinned from ear to ear, and the woman started to paw through the duffel piled under a tarp in the middle of their canoe. She came up with a faded sugar bag full of wild rice, and handed it to us. When they were making ready to leave the man saw my bow propped against a tree. He looked from it to the moose quarters hanging near by. “String-gun plenty big!” he grunted. 

It was Bill, the once-skeptical guide, who whooped a hearty “I’ll tell the world” back at him. Across the fire that night Vic put an interesting question to me. “How much would it cost me,” he asked, “to get a bow like yours?”

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“Big tracks don’t always mean big racks, but big racks always mean big tracks.” —Old deer hunter saying

“I’VE NEVER YET shot a big buck that didn’t have a big track. So a big track is key. You find a big track, and now you’re getting someplace.”

I listen closely to Michael Hirschi, even as my eyes wander incredulously across the handful of 200-plus Boone and Crockett mule deer mounted on the walls around him.

We sit in his office, which doubles as the master bedroom of his Utah home. There are a half dozen monster bucks on these walls and more on almost every wall in the house. And more still in the shop outside. Most serious mule deer hunters will spend a lifetime to catch perhaps one glimpse of a buck like these. One hunter in 10,000 might actually kill one. Once I asked Michael how many 190-plus bucks he’d taken. He thought a moment before replying, “More than 20.”

Michael and I have been friends for years. Yet awe still washes over me every time I see his collection of once-in-a-lifetime bucks. I’ve lived my life in some of the best big-buck habitat on Earth, and I’ve personally killed some big mule deer. I know many talented deer hunters, but Hirschi is different: He has a gift. His time to hunt is limited, but he’s the most dedicated hunter I know. He doesn’t own or pay to hunt private land. Despite all that—or perhaps in part because of it—he is, I believe, the finest big-buck mule deer hunter alive.

“I’ll keep looking, checking another area, and another, until I find a big track,” he adds. “And then I’ll key in on that area.”

I pry my eyes from those massive antlers and study my friend. He’s slightly above average in height and powerfully built, and he sports the small potbelly typical of athletic men in their 50s. He’s a good guy: generous, kind, and humble, and willing to help his friends and family who hunt. But you won’t find him talking hunting at the local convenience store. For him to tell you about his hunting spots requires years of unbroken trust. Monster mule deer are his passion, and he’s always thinking about where he might find the next one.

“We’ll be riding the four-wheeler down some remote desert two-track, flying along, me snuggled up and thinking we’re having this romantic ride together,” says Hirschi’s wife, Kristine. “Suddenly he’ll lock the tires up and we’ll skid to a halt in a cloud of dust. ‘I saw a deer track,’ he’ll say, and throw it in reverse. That’s how he is. Always focused.”

Focused is the only word for him. Hirschi hunts areas with such low deer densities that he’s gone up to six days in a row without sighting a single deer. Not many people have the mental fortitude to endure that kind of punishment. But it doesn’t faze Hirschi. Because on the seventh day, he just might spot his next monster buck.

Big Tracks in Big Country

So what is a large track exactly? This varies from deer to deer, explains Hirschi. A buck that lives in a rocky region will have shorter feet than a buck that spends his time in sand or grass. Anything more than 3 inches long is worthy of a second look, and a track in the 3⅜-to-3¾-inch range will usually come from a truly big, old deer. The track must be wide as well as long, which will give it a blocky shape—like something heavy made it. A big buck’s tracks will be wider apart than tracks left by a young buck, denoting broad shoulders and a thick, mature physique.

Once he locates a track big enough to pique his interest, Hirschi carefully considers his next move.

“I’m gonna ask myself, ‘Where does that track sit on the map to water, bedding, and feed? What is a deer going to do in that location?’” Hirschi says. “‘Where is he watering, and how often?’ Deer are habitual, and they will use a particular area more than others.”

Locating a big mule deer track and following it for miles across the desert sand, finally jumping the buck for a shot, is a vanishing and honored skill among mule deer hunters. Very few can accomplish it.

“An old hunter told me the story of this giant deer he killed,” Hirschi says. “He tracked it three days, slept on the track. Wherever night found him he’d just sleep right there. On the third day he caught up with the buck. He jumped the buck a bunch of times in between, but finally got the opportunity for a good shot.”

Hirschi explains that most bucks will usually circle back to the same place where you jumped them. If a hunter is smart, he can figure out the buck’s pattern before that happens—and use it to his advantage.

“There are the high bedders. They like to bed where they can see stuff. If you’re going down a track and you’re good with your field glasses, you can spot him there, underneath that tree or tucked under that ridge, watching you come. He’ll wait for the right moment to slip away.”

High bedders are the easier deer to hunt. Then you get the low bedders.

“Those are the tough suckers. A low bedder will lie down in the bottom of a wash, up against a cut bank, and you’ll never see him. If something comes up the wash, boom! he’ll blow up over the edge and run like the dickens. And he can run better than I can shoot, no question.”

So Hirschi will track a little way, then circle to try to spot the buck. If you don’t see him, relocate the track, get an idea of where he’s going, and loop again. Making that loop is important, especially if you are working alone.

That’s how Hirschi killed his first giant buck, at the age of 17. He jumped a big deer, followed the sign until he had an idea of his direction of travel, and then made a loop. As he eased in to his original position to reacquire the track, he spotted the buck. The mule deer was watching his backtrail and didn’t expect danger to come from the side.

A Master’s Plan

Any other hunter would want every advantage in his favor when pursuing a world-class buck. But about two decades ago, Hirschi made a decision to hunt only with a bow. He had become confident that if he could find a deer while rifle hunting, he could kill it. That didn’t sit right with him. But even with a bow, he remains improbably effective. Some big bucks do elude him for an entire season, and he never lays eyes on them. This simply fuels his fire. It means he has a deer to scout and hunt the next year. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Once Hirschi does locate a big buck, he uses every tool at his disposal to get to know that deer. He’ll study satellite imagery, set trail cameras, follow tracks, and glass from a distance.

When hunting season arrives, he will search for the buck with almost indomitable will until he finds it. This can sometimes take days; the territory Hirschi hunts is vast, and these bucks can and do cover miles each day.

Most often Hirschi will follow a track only until it enters an area he can glass. That’s when he stops hiking and finds a vantage point from which to study the area with his binocular. He believes it is critical to glass several hours from a single position. It may take that long for a deer to move or for the shadows to change so that a deer becomes visible.

If, after several hours of studying an area through his tripod-mounted binocular, he doesn’t spot the buck, he will relocate and start over, glassing the area from a different perspective. Hirschi often goes days, weeks, or even years without finding a buck he’s hunting. The country is vast, and the deer density very low.

When he does find the buck, he’ll watch till it moves into a huntable position. Then he stalks in for a shot. Once in bow range, Hirschi doesn’t believe in trying to make a buck stand by tossing a pebble, or doing anything at all to draw its attention.

“When a buck gets that mature and old, he doesn’t make many mistakes,” he says. “More often than not, he will blow out and never give you a shot. So I just wait.”

I think about what that wait would be like, expecting a shot at a world-class buck any second for hours on end. Those moments are few and far between, says Hirschi, which means he never gets drowsy or lets his mind drift from the task at hand.

“I’m very alert, and there’s enough adrenaline flowing to keep me in focus. Wind is my main focus; I have to pay really close attention, so if the wind swirls or something changes, I can adjust. One moment nothing at all is happening. And one or two seconds later, I might need to make a shot.”

Big-Buck Country

Early that morning, we loaded into Hirschi’s pickup and drove into God’s country, the beautifully barren territory he hunts. We were there, ostensibly, to hunt coyotes. I think we both knew, though, that our main purpose was to connect with one of the places he loves best.

I’ve never been here, where Hirschi has spent countless days. Still, this place is important to both of us. To me, it’s a shrine of sorts. You can’t understand how incredibly difficult it is to hunt this country until you’ve been here.

My friend shows me how the bucks like to move and where they prefer to feed at certain times of year. He points out places he’s given names of his own. Each is enchanting: the Pasture, Heaven, the Gold Coast, Paradise, and Hope Town. They are names no one else would ever recognize. Which is important, because Mike Hirschi kills almost all his bucks on general-season, public-land units.

In his home state of Utah, private hunting land is rare, so hunters must compete with hordes of other public-land hunters. The hunting is tough, and most people will shoot the first buck they see. This makes it hard for a buck to reach maturity.

Further exacerbating the challenge of hunting public lands is the fact that tags are becoming increasingly hard to get. So any hunter who routinely tags monster bucks on public land is regarded as something of a superhero, a status that Hirschi never sought but possesses nonetheless.

Some hunters admire Hirschi’s accomplishments without jealousy. Other “hunters” try to shadow him—to find his secret spots—and beat him to the big bucks he’s hunting. So Hirschi is cautious about who he speaks with and what information he shares. He’s learned that lesson the hard way; several of his top spots have been spoiled by unscrupulous hunters who have betrayed his confidences.

The Legend of Clusty

We hunt coyotes, talk about deer, and finally end up back at the Hirschi place. My eyes drift again to one of the mounts behind him, a buck with otherworldly mass and towering antlers that stands at number 11 typical all time in the Pope and Young record books. Hirschi believes that had he managed to kill the buck one year sooner it might have been number one in the world, because that year his G2 and G3 tines would have forked much lower and measured significantly longer.

I wonder how a buck that big could possibly be any bigger. I also wonder if I could hold it together for a shot at one of these monster bucks, especially after investing years of scouting, days of glassing, miles of stalking, and hours of waiting inside bow range. Praying the wind doesn’t swirl. Hoping the buck stands from his bed. Anticipating a shot before darkness falls.

I’ve heard the stories. While hunting another of his bucks, Hirschi stalked within bow range of a group of bedded deer and waited the afternoon away. When the breeze veered, he backed out, then stalked carefully back into bow range, the wind again in his favor. The wind changed a second time, and again he retreated and repeated his stalk from downwind. Like a ghost, he sneaked into bow range a third time, and the group of bucks still hadn’t a clue. When they started to rise and stretch, he watched a buck feed past. The mule deer’s antlers were more than 30 inches wide and would score over 200 inches. Hirschi never drew. He was waiting for an even bigger buck that he knew was among them. Minutes later, he killed a 33¾-inch-wide typical-framed monster that gross green-scored 213 inches in velvet.

But the story I most want to hear is about the biggest buck that Hirschi ever hunted—one that’s not on his wall. A shadow crosses his face and, briefly, he tells me about Clusty.

Clusty, so named for the massive clusters of tines reaching skyward from each antler, lived early in Hirschi’s bowhunting career. He watched Clusty one summer and hunted him hard that fall without success. He saw the buck only one time the following year. Then Clusty disappeared. As far as Hirschi knows, no one ever killed him. He’s quiet, studying the floor.

“How big do you think Clusty was?”

Hirschi responds without hesitation. “At least 250.”

“TWO FIFTY!” The words burst from my mouth.

“Yeah,” Hirschi says. “At least.”

I can see why Clusty’s memory haunts him. Most hunters who tell you they have seen a 250-inch mule deer have just perjured themselves. Not Michael Hirschi. If he says a buck was 250, it was 250. Or bigger.

Divine Intervention

Still, there is something surreal about Hirschi’s ability to find and harvest bucks that are so incredibly above the norm. There’s no doubt that he works hard for this extraordinary success. But I want to know how he thinks about those accomplishments. So I ask him to what he attributes his extraordinary success at finding and harvesting monster deer.

His eyes grow bright as he sits at his desk, a collage of trail-cam photos still open on his desktop and perhaps 640 inches of bone spreading regally above the three shoulder mounts over his head.

“I believe that when God asked us to do specific things, he meant it. I’ve always tried to help or teach friends or kids who want to learn to hunt, whenever I get a chance. We are told that when we serve our fellow man we are in the service of our God. I do my best to fulfill that commandment.”

Hirschi leans back in his chair, his voice gravelly with emotion.

“We’ve also been commanded to set our own affairs aside and do God’s work on the Sabbath. I take that to heart, and I’ve committed to my heavenly Father that I will not follow my passion on his day. I’ve asked him to bless me in return.”

I lean back in my own chair. Hirschi works five days a week and has limited time off. Fifty percent of his weekend is a high price to pay. I suppose the agnostic perspective would be that Hirschi is simply a naturally gifted hunter who lives in trophy mule deer country. And if he hunted Sundays, he’d probably have even a few more bucks on his wall.

But then I really study the walls surrounding me, looking once more at the huge deer mounted there. I think back to the time Hirschi helped my oldest daughter harvest her own 208-inch buck. Then I look back at my friend, and remember everything that he has just shared with me. Some faith, it seems, should not be questioned.

—

Gear Hirschi Won’t Hunt Without

I asked Hirschi if there is anything he won’t go hunting without. He smirked and informed me that he doesn’t like to go without a bow or rifle. We had a good chuckle and then got down to business. Here’s the gear that Hirschi depends on every time he goes afield.

• BOW: PSE Full Throttle, with a draw weight of 60 pounds. His advice? “Use whatever bow you can shoot accurately and consistently. Shot placement is more important than poundage.”
• REST: Whisker Biscuit. Despite derision that it’s a beginner’s rest, Hirschi believes the Whisker Biscuit to be “the best bowhunting rest ever developed” because it’s bulletproof and quiet, and it keeps the arrow secure during stalking and waiting.
• SIGHT: Black Gold Ascent Custom Adjustable seven pin. Hirschi sets his pins at 10-yard intervals beginning at 20 yards and ending at 80. Then he relies on the adjustable feature on his sight to dial for even longer shots. Under ideal conditions, Hirschi is lethal to 100 yards with this setup.
• ARROWS: Victory VF TKO, 300 spine, cut at 29 inches.
• BROADHEAD: Grim Reaper 100-grain 1⅜-inch Razor Tip. Hirschi has used these broadheads since 2008 and has complete confidence in them.
• OPTICS: Along with a Leupold rangefinder and a sturdy tripod, Hirschi relies on a Swarovski 15×56 binocular with a tripod adapter and a Swarovski 20–60×80 spotting scope.
• OTHER GEAR: Leatherman multitool. Hirschi carries a 4-inch model and uses it constantly to measure deer tracks, repair gear, cut with the blade, or trim limbs with the saw. —A.v.B.

This story originally ran in the Diehards issue of Outdoor Life. Read more OL+ stories.

How to Listen to Season 3 of the Outdoor Life Podcast

• Listen to Season 3, available now, on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you listen to your podcasts. Seasons 1 and 2 are also available.
• Tune in every Wednesday for new episodes of Season 3.

The post Mike Hirschi Might Be the Greatest Trophy Mule Deer Hunter in America. These Are (Some of) His Secrets appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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On December 13, 2021, Logan Harlan carried a late-season buck tag onto New Mexico public land in hopes of finding a good-sized whitetail. After a few unsuccessful days with his dad Larry and sister-in-law Lorri, the group eventually eyed a large 6-by-6 on public land—a rarity in the heavily checkerboarded region they were hunting. Logan watched the buck for a grueling five and a half hours and belly-crawled a few hundred yards before eventually firing a shot with his 6.5 Creedmor. The buck went down instantly. This perseverance and grit shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows the Harlan family. They own a taxidermy studio and booking agency and, according to their Instagram and Facebook profiles, they live to hunt.

Whitetail deer aren’t exactly a top game species in New Mexico. Coues’ whitetails and Eastern whitetails, which New Mexico Game and Fish refers to as “Texas whitetails”, comprise roughly five percent of the annual deer harvest statewide. Mule deer make up the other 95 percent. This skewed ratio lends to a rather jarring statistic: Only two New Mexico whitetail deer have ever graced the Boone & Crockett record book. 

Or, at least, that was the case until Harlan took his shot in late 2021. After the requisite 60-day drying period, his typical 6-by-6 scored 176 ⅞ inches. This score would have been even higher had the buck not broken off its left main beam, but it was still enough to edge out the previous record holder, Samuel Beatty, by a half-inch. (The scarcity of New Mexico whitetails is so extreme that B&C doesn’t maintain non-typical records in the state even though the first two record-book whitetails were 6-by-5s.) 

Read Next: The True Backstory on Why the Mitch Rompola Buck Was Never Entered as a World Record

This is usually the moment where the hunting media frenzy hoists Harlan in the air and celebrates his success. But that didn’t happen in February 2022, when the drying period would have ended and the record would have changed hands. In fact, not many people really knew about the buck until North American Whitetails published the first known article about Harlan’s hunt on July 17, roughly 17 months after the drying period ended.

It’s unclear why it took so long for the story of Harlan’s buck to surface. As of right now, NMGF hasn’t updated the record book on its website. (NMGF didn’t immediately respond to OL’s requests for comment.) But Harlan’s name and scoresheet now reside in the B&C book at the top of the New Mexico records, right where they belong.

The post The Record Whitetail That No One Heard About…Until Now appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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More and more slug-gun states in the Midwest and East have legalized the use of straight-wall rifles during deer season in recent years. Straight-wall cartridges, like the .350 Legend and .45/70, give whitetail hunters superior accuracy at shorter ranges, making them safer to shoot than necked cartridges in densely populated areas. But rifled and sabot (pronounced “say-bo”) slugs are far from outdated. Countless hunters in the middle of this country take smoothbore and rifled-barrel shotguns afield each fall, hoping to punch a tag with these short-range projectiles.

Both rifled slugs and sabots are ideal for the distances hunters aim to kill whitetails—typically inside 150 yards—in shotgun-only states. Their lethality has been well documented after decades of successful use in the deer woods. But there remains a long-standing argument among slug-gun hunters: Which projectile is best suited for killing whitetails? Over the years, the editors of Outdoor Life have shot a variety of rifled slugs and sabots from the bench and in the field and know well the capabilities of each load. If you’re trying to decide which round is ideal for your hunting style, here are the realities of shooting rifled versus sabot slugs.

The Difference Between Rifled Slugs and Sabots

Hunters using shotguns for deer—either by preference or mandate—can select between a smoothbore that uses rifled (also known as Foster-style) slugs or a rifled bore for sabot loads. A rifled slug has small helical grooves cut into the base of the projectile, but the slug does not have a specified twist rate like a centerfire round does.

There is some conjecture as to whether the vanes in a rifled slug cause the projectile to spin at all. So, I talked to long-time gun writer Dave Henderson, who has decades of slug shooting experience and a wealth of knowledge after a 55-year career of interviewing some of the foremost ballisticians in the country. He also authored a book, Shotgunning for Deer: Guns, Loads, and Techniques for the Modern Hunter, which details the innovations in slug technology.

“Rifled slugs have no twist rate,” Henderson says. “The slugs transit the barrel static and exit that way. There are photos from a manufacturer in my book that clearly show the rifling on the slug is worn smooth in the barrel and the slug never rotates. The slug’s accuracy comes from the extreme nose-heavy design, giving it the ‘rock-in-a-sock’ or [badminton] shuttlecock flight characteristic.” 

The cuts are also there to allow the slug to pass through a choke tube safely. If the grooves were not in place, there would be more friction between the barrel and load, which would cause a considerable drop in performance or possibly result in a failure. The advantage with rifled slugs, of course, is that you don’t have to buy a special rifled barrel. You can use one shotgun to hunt deer, birds, and other small game.

“Rifled slugs may be fired in smoothbores or rifled barrels, with no advantage in either,” Henderson says. “The rifled slug sort of skids across the rifling in the barrel and exits the way it would a smoothbore.”

Sabot-style rifled barrels typically have twist rates that can fall between 1:18 to 1:36. For instance, the popular Ithaca Deer Slayer III and Savage 220 have a barrel twist of 1:24 (that’s one full rotation of the slug every 24 inches). But the Savage 212 has a 1:35 twist. Interestingly, former OL shooting editor Jim Carmichael found no statistical difference in accuracy between using a 1:28 and 1:32 rifled barrel in a 2008 slug gun test (more on this later).

“It’s the sabot slug that benefits from—in fact virtually requires —a rifled bore,” Henderson says. “The rifling grips the polymer sleeve(s) on the slug, imparting a stabilizing spin on the projectile while still in the barrel. In most cases the sleeve is discarded after exiting the bore.” —J.G.

Rifled Choke Tubes

Sabots can also be shot through a smoothbore with a rifled choke. Buying a rifled choke tube is a cost-effective way to use sabots in a smoothbore without incurring the expense of a completely new barrel. Sabots are streamlined bullets encased in plastic much like bird shot is loaded into a wad. When the round is fired, the slug remains in the plastic casing and spins down the barrel until the projectile leaves the muzzle. At that point, the sleeve and slug separate, and the projectile continues to spin as it travels downrange. Sabots are often polymer-tipped and sub-caliber, which translates to .50 in 12-gauge guns. By comparison, standard smoothbore slugs are between .72- and .75-caliber. —P.M.

Sabot vs. Slug Trajectory

Most 12-gauge rifled slugs weigh either 1 or 1⅛ ounces. Sabots weigh under an ounce, or 437.5 grains, and can range from 250 to 376 grains. Both hit hard enough to anchor any whitetail at a reasonable distance. But you will see more sustained velocity from sabot slugs. Sabots continue to travel at higher speeds for longer due to the aerodynamics of the projectile.

To confirm this, all you need to do is look at the trajectory of two 3-inch loads—Federal TruBall rifled slug and Federal Trophy Copper sabot—with a zero of 100 yards. The physical makeup of the projectiles is quite different, which drastically affects their performance downrange. TruBall has a weight of 438 grains and a muzzle velocity of 1,700 fps. Trophy Copper is lighter (300 grains) and leaves the muzzle 300 fps faster, at 2,000 fps. In the table below, you will see that TruBall’s trajectory dissipates more rapidly than Trophy Copper when both loads are shot out to 200 yards under the same conditions. —J.G.

Rifled Slug vs. Sabot: Which Load Offers Better Accuracy?

A few years ago, during a lengthy range session, I shot 2¾-inch 1-ounce Federal TruBall rifled slugs from an open sight Benelli M2 and Winchester 2¾-inch 375-grain Dual Bond sabot slugs from a scoped Browning A-Bolt. At shorter ranges (out to 75 yards), there wasn’t much of a noticeable difference between rifled and sabot slug accuracy. But when I started shooting out to 100 yards and beyond, the sabot excelled.

During my day on the range, I was not shooting rifled slugs through a scoped smoothbore, which could have contributed to the inaccuracies. But I have done so many other times and found that the rifled slug simply won’t perform at distance like a sabot can. For instance, that 12-gauge 1-ounce Federal TruBall slug weighed 437.5 grains, compared to the 375-grain Winchester Dual Bond sabot. The TruBall slug also had a muzzle velocity of 1,300 fps compared to the Winchester’s 1,800 fps. Slower, heavier projectiles are going to drop faster and have a less effective range than a slightly lighter, but much faster one. —P.M.

Jim Carmichael’s Slug Gun Test

Miller’s findings were confirmed by the ballistic data I gleaned from Carmichael’s test published in the October 2008 issue of OL. With the help of Randy Fritz, who builds the incredibly accurate Tar-Hunt slug guns, Carmichael tested 27 rifled and sabot slugs, shooting over 1,000 rounds from a 50-pound, remote-operated slug gun engineered by Fritz. Carmichael’s testing protocol called for five three-shot groups of each load out to 100 yards, though he did fire a few five-shot groups to confirm load consistency and the accuracy of the equipment.

The table below details the best 20- and 12-gauge groups from the four manufacturers—Federal, Remington, Winchester, and Lightfield— included in the test. Most of the loads Carmichael shot were sabots, but he did shoot two Winchester rifled slugs as well. You can see from the data that the sabot groups were much tighter than their rifled counterparts. —J.G.

Should You Use a 2¾-Inch or a 3-Inch Slug?

Most of my experience with slugs—rifled and sabot—has been with 2¾- and 3-inch 12-gauge offerings. It’s my contention that a 2¾-inch is adequate for killing deer, and that a 3-inch load simply generates more recoil with a slight amount of increased velocity. I chronographed Winchester’s Elite 3-inch Dual Bond sabot and found the muzzle velocity increase in a Browning A-Bolt to be only 50 fps faster than the 2¾-inch offering of the same weight. Granted, velocities can fluctuate for a variety of reasons, including the physical makeup of the bullet, elevation, and weather conditions, but I’ve never found that extra quarter-inch to make a marked difference.  —P.M.

 The 20-Gauge Sabot Slug  

When I worked in Illinois, a shotgun-only deer state, I noticed many whitetail hunters selected 20-gauge sabot slug guns. So, I was curious about 20-gauge range capabilities and asked Hornady’s Seth Swerczek about it.

“I think 20-gauge sabot loads are popular because of their reduced recoil,” Swerczek says. “Both of our 12- and 20-gauge sabot slug loads offer honest 200-yard performance, so you’re really not giving up any effective range by opting for the 20-gauge.”

A 200-yard shot with Hornady’s 2¾-inch 20-gauge SST sabot might be pushing the boundaries of that load’s effectiveness, especially if the shot placement isn’t precise. But the 250-grain slug can kill a deer at 150 yards. According to Hornady’s ballistics chart, the SST has a velocity of 1,331 fps and 983 ft/lb. of energy at that distance. Dial your shot back to 100 yards and the same load produces 1,200 ft/lb. of energy.

What helped sell me on the 20, aside from reduced felt recoil, was an opportunity to hunt hogs with a scoped, rifled-barrel Winchester M1300 pump several years ago. The longest shot I made was close to 100 yards, and the longest shot I saw anybody else connect on—with the same setup—was just over 120 yards. At 100 yards, those 20-gauge sabot slugs seemingly hit with the force of a .250-grain .45/70 (it’s actually about a 250 ft/lb. difference in favor of the Hornady MonoFlex over an SST slug in a side-by-side comparison). Regardless, the terminal results on 200-pound hogs, considerably tougher to bring down than a whitetail, were spectacular. —P.M.

Read next: The 15 Best Shotguns for Deer Hunting

Pick a Slug or Sabot Based on How You Hunt

Which option you choose—rifled or sabot slug—will be subjective based on your hunting needs. From 75 yards and in (with the occasional poke out to 100 yards) a rifled slug holds its own compared to a sabot. But if you have any chance of a 100-yard-plus shot, a sabot is clearly a better choice in terms of accuracy and trajectory.

I did ask Swerczek which sells better, Hornady’s SST sabot loads or the company’s traditional American Whitetail rifled slugs. He confirmed sabots are much more popular. That’s not surprising since most hunters are interested in getting the maximum distance they can from their firearm. But also, a sabot capable of shooting 50 to 75 yards farther can be the difference between killing your target buck and helplessly watching as it walks out of sight on the last day of gun season. —J.G. and P.M.

The post Rifled vs. Sabot Slugs: Are You Shooting the Right Whitetail Load this Deer Season? appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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Best High-End		Leica Amplus 6 3-18x44i	SEE IT
Most Versatile		Riton X3 Primal 3-15×44	SEE IT
Best Lightweight		Maven CRS.1 3-12×40	SEE IT

Because every deer hunt is unique in its details, a single rifle scope that can cover the close-in terrain of a Midwest whitetail hunt and precisely place a bullet across the open plains of mule deer country is a unicorn. The fast reticles and bright glass of woodland whitetail hunters won’t do for prairie mule deer hunters, who want precision reticles and lightweight scopes.

Given the divergent needs of America’s deer hunters, we’ve divided our group into two classes, those configured for classic whitetail hunting situations and those engineered to make long shots in challenging terrain. Each scope in this roundup has features that elevate it above its peers. For some, that’s best-in-class glass, for others, it’s extremely useful reticles. The rest have a combination of optics and controls that will increase your success during deer season no matter where or how you hunt. Here are the best rifle scopes for deer hunting from the Outdoor Life 2022 optics test. 

• Best High-End: Leica Amplus 6 3-18x44i
• Best First-Plane: Trijicon Tenmile HX 3-18×44
• Best for Low-Light: GPO Spectra 7.5x50i
• Best Mule Deer Scope: Tract Toric Ultra HD 2.5-15×44
• Most Versatile: Riton X3 Primal 3-15×44
• Best Lightweight: Maven CRS.1 3-12×40
• Best for Blacktail: Leupold Patrol 6HD 1-6×24
• Best for Low-Light (Whitetail): Meopta MeoSport R 3-15×50 RD
• Best Budget: Hawke Vantage 30 WA IR 2.5-10×50
• Best for Big-Woods: Primary Arms PLX Compact 1-8×24
• Best for Treestands: Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8×24
• Best Throwback: Bushnell Elite 4500 2.5-10×40

Western Deer Rifle Scopes

Open-country deer hunters have specific requirements in a rifle scope. They want it to be light enough to carry for miles over rugged country. They want it to be fast, in case the buck of a lifetime busts out of a coulee before they can range distance and dial the turrets. And they want plenty of reticle references to place precise shots over longish distances. These five scopes have attributes that will put the muley or Coues deer of a lifetime on the wall. And they’re pretty good for antelope and Western predator hunting, too.

Best High-End: Leica Amplus 6 3-18x44i

Leica

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Why It Made the Cut

Built around Leica’s legendary bright and crisp glass, the Amplus 6’s reticle and controls make this an essential deer hunting scope. The hash reticle offers 20 MOA of elevation and windage references, and the exposed turret makes dialing for distant hits fast and simple.

Key Features

• Weight: 23.6 ounces
• Magnification: 3-18X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 44mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Reticle Type: MOA hash in second plane
• Turrets: .25 MOA click values
• Illumination: Yes, 10 intensity levels
• Parallax: Yes

Pros

• Available in MOA or MRAD versions
• European style
• Excellent glass and coatings
• Precise parallax focus
• Abundant elevation and windage references
• Capped windage turret
• Center-point illumination

Cons

• Matte finish shows mars
• Busy reticle obscures view

Product Description

An elegant, extremely useful rifle scope, Leica’s Amplus line combines European glass and styling with precise reticle and turret combinations. Our sample was tuned to MOA references, but Leica also has a mil-based version of the Amplus. The scope is also available in higher magnification ranges (all are in the 6X zoom range, hence the 6 in the Amplus name) and larger objective lenses, but our relatively lightweight 3-18×44 is just about perfect for a Western deer rifle. The ability to re-zero the elevation turret without tools is a great feature, and the turrets turn with positivity and precision.

The reticle gets mixed reviews. Long-distance precision shooters will love the 20 MOA of elevation and windage hashes, but hunters used to clean, clutter-free reticles will complain that it’s overly busy and image-obscuring. Either way, the illuminated center aiming point can be muted or daylight-bright, depending on light conditions. It’s not cheap, but this is an heirloom-quality deer hunting optic.

Best First-Plane: Trijicon Tenmile HX 3-18×44

Trijicon

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Why It Made the Cut

A true crossover hunting/target scope, the Tenmile HX and its first-plane reticle will dominate just about any mid- to long-distance shooting situation.

Key Features 

• Weight: 24.4 ounces
• Magnification: 3-18X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 44mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Reticle Type: MOA hash/dot in first plane
• Turrets: .25 MOA click values
• Illumination: Yes, red and green
• Parallax: Yes

Pros

• Liberal mounting dimensions
• Precise first-plane reticle
• Exposed re-zeroable elevation turret
• Capped windage turret
• 15 yards to infinity parallax focus
• Low-profile mounting
• Ships with integral lens caps

Cons

• Busy reticle for holdover shooters
• Exposed turrets can inadvertently turn
• Pricey

Product Description

We debated whether to put this very capable 30mm scope in our precision or our versatile scope categories. That’s how much of a fence-rider this optic is, between a full-on steel-ringer for long-distance target shooters and walk-about Western hunters. Our best description of its place in the market is that this is the perfect hunting optic for a shooter who is familiar with first-plane reticles and turret dynamics of the long-distance target crowd but who wants a slim and capable hunting scope.

That describes an increasing number of Western deer hunters. They want all the precision aiming components of their big 5-25×56 target scopes with the portability of slim and nimble hunting scopes. The Trijicon satisfies both populations with a bright and precise scope that can cross over from long-range steel to open-country mule and Coues deer.

Best for Low-Light: GPO Spectra 7.5x50i

GPO

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Why It Made the Cut

A classic German configuration updated for Southwest Coues deer and open-country mule deer hunters, this simple fixed-power scope places bullets with consistent precision and gathers light like few others in its class.

Key Features 

• Weight: 21.7 ounces
• Magnification: 7.5X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 50mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Reticle Type: German 4 duplex in second plane
• Turrets: .1 milliradian
• Illumination: Yes, red center-point
• Parallax: No

Pros

• Extremely simple aiming dynamics
• Infinitely adjustable illumination
• Durable
• Fast aiming platform
• Turrets move with repeatable precision
• Fixed power increases brightness

Cons

• Fixed power limits utility
• Limited reticle references

Product Description

An extremely capable modern variation on a classic fixed-power hunting scope, the GPO Spectra cuts out all the nonsense of reticle references and turret dialing. This is a bright, durable fixed-power 7.5, a perfect pairing with a flat-shooting bolt rifle when you want to concentrate on hunting, not fiddling with your scope.

The glass is very good, the center-point illumination extremely variable, and the turrets turn with repeatable precision. For hunters who want to concentrate on making short- to mid-distance shots every time, this is a good choice. Extreme long-range hunters and shooters may want more focal control, a more sophisticated reticle, and tactical turrets. But for the rest of us, this is a very capable close- to mid-range scope that performs best in low-light hunting scenarios. It’s nice to see this style of scope back in the American marketplace.

Best Mule Deer Scope: Tract Toric Ultra HD 2.5-15×44

Tract Optics

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Why It Made the Cut

The most capable cross-over target-to-hunting rifle scope in this year’s Outdoor Life optics test is a bright, tight, and precise first-plane scope that can reach out for both distant steel targets and open-country deer.

Key Features 

• Weight: 28.3 ounces
• Magnification: 2.5-15X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 44mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Reticle Type: Hash-style in first focal plane
• Turrets: .1 milliradian
• Illumination: No
• Parallax: Yes, 10 yards to infinity

Pros

• Wonderfully responsive turret clicks
• First-plane reticle rare in this configuration
• Bright, distortion-free Schott glass
• Capped windage turret
• Versatile first-plane reticle
• Wide parallax range
• Handsome graphite finish

Cons

• Reticle utility begins at about 5X
• Needs clear center aiming point
• Illumination would help with close-in aiming

Product Description

The top cross-over scope of 2023, this bright and tactile first-plane hunting scope can put Western deer hunters on target out to 500 yards and beyond, depending on how familiar they are with reticle references. The robust pull-to-turn elevation turret and capped windage turret are both tuned to .1 MRAD click values, and the hash-style reticle offers 10 mils of drop and 8 mils of windage hold on either side of the non-distinct center aiming point.

This Tract Toric is a relatively light scope with abundant mounting options, making it a good pairing for a long-range hunting rig or even for many flat-shooting ultralight hunting rifles. Surprisingly, it’s also an excellent precision rimfire optic, with close-focus to 10 yards and a capable first-plane hash-style reticle that can put shooters on target at a wide range of magnifications and distances.

Most Versatile: Riton X3 Primal 3-15×44

Riton

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Why It Made the Cut

A basic scope with just enough attributes to appeal to precision shooters, this is a scope that you can swap between platforms and seasons.

Key Features 

• Weight: 24.8 ounces
• Magnification: 3-15X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 44mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Reticle Type: Hash-style in second plane
• Turrets: .25 MOA
• Illumination: No
• Parallax: Yes, 15 yards to infinity

Pros

• Capped, zero-resettable turrets
• Removable throw lever on magnification ring
• Versatile PDTR reticle
• Magnification range suited to open-country hunting
• Decent mid- to long-range target scope
• 25 MOA of holdover references

Cons

• Mild peripheral distortion
• Could use distance wind references

Product Description

A basic but versatile scope built around a clean second-plane reticle that enables hunters to make longish holdover shots, the Riton X3 Primal can also do solid work on mid-distance steel and most precision rimfire courses of fire. As befits an optic that expects to see rough country, the re-zeroable turrets are capped. But the fast and precise hash-style reticle, which has 25 MOA of elevation holds and 15 MOA of windage holds on either side of the center aiming dot, is designed for hunters who don’t have time to dial the turrets for an aiming solution. Pronghorn antelope, broken-country elk, mule deer just about anywhere, Coues deer, and even Western coyote hunters can benefit from the simple efficiency of this scope.

Deficiencies include slightly squinty glass that lost light before its 44mm peers and lack of illumination. I’m not sure that latter point is a demerit; I’ve rarely used an illuminated reticle in hunting situations.

Whitetail Deer Rifle Scopes

I’m guilty of a gross generalization here, but the woodland and farm-country deer hunter wants a rifle scope that delivers good low-light performance and can assist with fast shooting. Big, exposed tactical turrets don’t belong here, and neither do complicated reticles. These seven scopes all have some combination of optical superiority and fast aiming.

Best Lightweight: Maven CRS.1 3-12×40

Maven

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Why It Made the Cut

While this charming little scope has plenty of attributes for a mountain hunter—light weight, bright glass, with just enough reticle references for mid-range work—it’s actually a wonderful whitetail scope. I’d stick with the CRS.1 for the widest utility, but if you want a little more magnification plus parallax focus, then go with the 4-16×44 CRS.2, which costs an extra $100.

Key Features 

• Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Magnification Range: 3-12X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 40mm
• Tube Diameter: 1-inch
• Turret Click Values: .25 MOA
• Reticle Focal Plane: Second
• Illuminated Reticle: No

Pros

• Light and compact
• Parallax fixed at 100 yards

Cons

• Fixed parallax limits long-range work
• Bold styling too blingy for some hunters

Product Description

A stylish, no-frills scope from a direct-to-consumer brand, the CRS.1 is the bare-boned version of a new Maven platform. If you want side focus and a little more magnification, consider the 4-16×44 CRS.2, but most whitetail hunters want a simple, durable, versatile scope, and the CRS.1 is just the ticket. The CRS.1 offers a ton of mounting dimension on its 1-inch tube, responsive turrets tuned to ¼ MOA click values under protective caps, and a velvety power-changing dial, and just enough bling to add some pizazz to your rifle. It’s also one of the best rifle scopes under $500.

To my eye, this is a perfect companion to a flat-shooting ultralight mountain rifle for a hunter who intends to get within range to hold right on the target with the center of the classic German 4 reticle. But in case you need some holdover references for mid-distance shots, the CRS.1 provides three hashes that should get you on target out to 500 or 600 yards. In other words, you can still make that long shot across the bean field at that whitetail of a lifetime.

Best for Blacktail: Leupold Patrol 6HD 1-6×24

Leupold

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Why It Made the Cut

This scope isn’t really intended for deer hunting. It’s designed for a wide range of firearms: AR platforms, or maybe dangerous-game rifles in Africa’s thickest thornbush, or even straight-wall lever guns. But its combination of low magnification, bright glass, and a laser-sharp illuminated aiming point make it an ideal treestand or whitetail brush scope.

Key Features 

• Weight: 16.2 ounces
• Magnification: 1-6X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 28mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Reticle Type: Duplex in second plane
• Turrets: .25 MOA
• Illumination: Yes, 8-step intensity
• Parallax: No

Pros

• Extremely light weight
• Fast and open duplex reticle
• Durable
• Smart illumination system
• Excellent glass and coatings

Cons

• Not a precision scope
• Limited distance utility

Product Description

Let’s start with what the Leupold Patrol 6HD is not. It’s not a precision scope. It won’t help you win long-range steel-target competitions or even precision rimfire matches. But it’s one of the best of a new generation of low-power variable optics that can absolutely put venison in your freezer. Paired with a straight-wall lever gun or an AR, a slug gun, or just about any centerfire rifle, this is a workhorse of an optic that enables fast shots, quick follow-ups, and decent performance at the first and last light of the day. 

The low-profile push-button center-point (that’s a lot of hyphenated terms) illumination is one of the Leupold’s best features. It’s dimmable for low-light conditions and can intensify to bright visibility in full sunshine. If you want to increase the utility of this platform, consider a custom elevation dial tuned to the ballistics of your favorite load. Otherwise, go with the out-of-box talent of this durable, athletic, and versatile scope.

Best for Low-Light (Whitetail): Meopta MeoSport R 3-15×50 RD

Meopta

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Why It Made the Cut

A scope designed for the German “hochsitz,” or high stands used by shooters in driven-game hunts, this scope’s low-light performance makes it a great choice for whitetail hunters who need to connect in the very first and last light of day.

Key Features 

• Weight: 23.1 ounces
• Magnification Range: 3-15X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 50mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Turret Click Values: 1 centimeter/100 yards
• Reticle Focal Plane: Second
• Illuminated Reticle: Yes

Pros

• Excellent glass for the money
• Best-in-class low-light performance
• Expansive 90 MOA internal adjustment
• Exposed pull-to-turn turrets
• 10-yards-to-infinity focus
• 30mm mounting rings included

Cons

• Some shooters want covered turrets
• Duplex reticle overly simple

Product Description

An affordable, supremely versatile scope, the main asset for deer hunters of this Czech-made rifle scope is its low-light performance. The German 4 duplex reticle has been around since the original Mauser rifles were doing duty on behalf of the armies of the Reich, but Meopta has added a smart center aiming point that enables holds in just about any legal light conditions. To be sure, this isn’t a long-distance precision scope, but it’s not intended to be. Instead, it’s a light-hungry optic that can conjure game out of the gloam and enable confident shots with your best deer hunting rifles. It’s also one of the great bargains of this year’s Outdoor Life optics test.

Best Budget: Hawke Vantage 30 WA IR 2.5-10×50

Hawke Optics

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Why It Made the Cut

Bright, affordable, and extremely versatile, this scope won’t win long-distance shooting medals, but it will place bullets in deer country with confidence.

Key Features 

• Weight: 21.1 ounces
• Magnification Range: 2.5-10X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 50mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Turret Click Values: .25 MOA
• Reticle Focal Plane: Duplex in the second plane
• Illuminated Reticle: Yes, red and green center dot

Pros

• Simple aiming system
• Durable capped turrets
• Red and green center-dot illumination
• 60 MOA internal adjustment
• Extremely affordable

Cons

• No side focus
• Indistinct turret clicks
• Meh glass

Product Description

The Outdoor Life optics test team still doesn’t know how Hawke packs so much performance in such an affordable package. This is one of the best all-around scopes in the 2022 test. If it’s not built for long-distance (or even mid-distance) precision, it’s fast, bright, and nimble in many close-in and moderate distances. The best feature of the Vantage is the bold reticle with a precise, illuminated (red and green) center aiming point. We also like the low-light performance of the big 50mm objective lens.

The basic Vantage 30 WA is a good value, but if you want more mid- and longish-distance performance, consider the tactical version of this scope, with exposed high-profile turrets and a holdover reticle tuned to the ballistics of standard .223 and .308 loads. That version is maybe the ultimate deer scope.

Best for Big-Woods: Primary Arms PLX Compact 1-8×24

Primary Arms

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Why It Made the Cut

A personal-defense scope that can hold its own in ground-blind and treestand hunting situations, the Primary Arms is fast and surprisingly precise with the right loads.

Key Features 

• Weight: 16.9 ounces
• Magnification Range: 1-8X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 24mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Turret Click Values: .1 MIL
• Reticle Focal Plane: Open-horseshoe in first focal plane
• Illuminated Reticle: Yes

Pros

• Close-quarters illuminated reticle
• Reticle zooms out to offer precise aiming points
• Reticle tuned to 5.56/.308 ballistics
• Night-vision compatible
• Extremely light and bright
• Ultra-wide field of view
• Useful dovetail throw lever

Cons

• Expensive
• Limited low-light performance

Product Description

Along with the Leupold Patrol 6HD, this is a new breed of deer scope—a low-power variable optic with plenty of chops for close to mid-range hunting. The best feature of the Primary Arms PLX, which is really designed for use on personal-defense AR platforms, is its first-plane reticle that zooms from close-quarters 1-power out to reveal a very useful holdover reticle at 6- to 8-power. That reticle is tuned to the bullet drops of standard 5.56 and .308 loads. 

Combined with excellent illumination (which is compatible with night vision) and sharp and bright Japanese glass, this is a scope that can easily be swapped between deer rifles, slug guns, AR semi-autos, and even big-bore dangerous-game rifles. Don’t laugh, but at a shade over a pound, I wouldn’t be shy about mounting this to a sheep rifle, especially if my approach passed through bear country.

Best for Treestands: Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8×24

Vortex

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Why It Made the Cut

Along with the Primary Arms PLX, this is the leading edge of a new type of close-quarters deer scope that is a perfect match with a AR, slug gun, or straight-wall cartridge rifle.

Key Features 

• Weight: 23.9 ounces
• Magnification Range: 1-8X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 24mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Turret Click Values: .25 MOA
• Reticle Focal Plane: Open-horseshoe in first focal plane
• Illuminated Reticle: Yes

Pros 

• Wonderfully versatile illumination
• Reticle offers useful holdovers at higher magnifications
• Short stature fits carbine rifles
• Tons of internal adjustment for turret dialers
• Battle-hardened hardware
• VIP warranty

Cons

• Limited to short- to mid-distance shooting
• Not great low-light performance

Product Description

You can pretty much copy what we said about the Primary Arms PLX to recommend this wonderful close-quarters scope from Vortex. It has best-in-class rapid target acquisition inside 50 yards, but its first-plane reticle enlarges to reveal some sweet and useful aiming points that make it useful for 400-yard precision. This is really an AR scope that can engage targets inside houses and then place precise shots across a field. Those attributes make it great for Midwest whitetail hunters (or Canadian bear hunters) who expect to see game right under their stand but need to be prepared to take shots out across a clearing. Paired with any number of firearms platforms, this has very positive and precise controls, from turret clicks to the power-changing dial.

Best Throwback: Bushnell Elite 4500 2.5-10×40

Bushnell

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Why It Made the Cut

This is your father’s deer scope, with some sweet Gen Y updates. Simple, reliable, and fast, the Bushnell has the benefit of excellent coatings and decent glass.

Key Features 

• Weight: 19.7 ounces
• Magnification Range: 2.5-10X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 40mm
• Tube Diameter: 30mm
• Turret Click Values: .25 MOA
• Reticle Focal Plane: Second
• Illuminated Reticle: No

Pros

• Very appealing price
• 30mm tube provides wide adjustment range
• Duplex reticle delivers fast aiming
• Excellent optical coatings
• Ample 4.3-inch eye relief

Cons

• Underwhelming glass
• Lack of illumination limits utility

Product Description

This is one of the best rifle scopes for deer hunting for every shooting situation. Want to put a scope on your kid’s new .243, this will place bullets reliably. Want a durable scope for your old .300 Win. Mag.? This will get the job done. It’s a workaday scope without a ton of flash, but the Elite 4500 is a smart update from the durable Bushnells that owned the whitetail woods 20 years ago. 

The bold duplex reticle in the second focal plane is fast, and for those shooters who want to dial for distant shooting solutions, the capped turrets turn with precision and positivity. The glass is a little disappointing, owing to the Elite 4500’s placement as a budget scope, but unless you’re shooting in the very last feeble light of day, you’ll hardly notice.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Rifle Scope for Deer Hunting

Deer hunters don’t really need a ton of features in their rifle scopes. A clear and clean reticle that lets them place bullets quickly and with mid-range precision. A bombproof build that will endure the hardships of the field. And versatility that will help hunters succeed in the deep woods or the open fields where you’ll find deer everywhere. That’s about it.

If deer are similar in their habits across their range, hunting styles differ by geography and species. The needs of an Eastern whitetail hunter (or Cascades blacktail hunter) are vastly different from those of an open-country Western mule deer or Coues deer hunter. For the former, fast reticles and the ability to make quick, reactive shots inside 100 yards are key. For the latter, lightweight builds that offer plenty of reticle references will enable shots that can stretch out to 400 and 500 yards will put bucks on the pole.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Just as no two deer hunts are the same, no two deer hunters will have the same needs for their rifle scopes. But the requirements for an Eastern or Midwestern deer hunter are so wildly different than those of their Western brethren that we divided this class in half, with scopes for Western hunters showing their long-distance precision capabilities, and those for woodland hunters having simpler reticles and fast, intuitive builds.

You may want a scope that splits the difference and offers a reticle that zooms from close-in visibility to mid-distance precision. We have a few low-power variable scopes in this mix that you should consider. And for those who want a scope that can reach way out to a distant buck and serve as a long-range target scope, consider the first-plane, tactical-turret models in this group. Regardless of your tactics or where you hunt deer, you’ll have no problem finding one of the best rifle scopes for deer hunting in these capable contenders.

Methodology 

Some of the scopes in this roundup are new for 2022 and were included in the rigorous evaluations of Outdoor Life’s annual optics test. For those, which include all but the Leica Amplus 6, I measured optical resolution on my resolution range, scored low-light performance against their peers, and measured the precision and repeatability of the reticle and turrets. I based my perspectives of the Leica’s merits on a rugged year of field work

But for each scope, I rate their ability to perform a series of shooting tasks, engaging targets at 20 yards, then at 100, and in 100-yard steps out to 600 yards. For each distance, I evaluate the reticle, image, and turret controls. I lugged all these scopes into a ladder stand and evaluated their abilities to make quick snap shots at close ranges.

For each, I make a subjective determination of optical quality, looking for distortions, optical aberrations, and any distracting jags of light. And I determine how quickly and precisely I can use the reticle.

Lastly, I assessed the extras, including the accessories that it ships with and each submission’s warranty.

The post The Best Rifle Scopes for Deer Hunting of 2023 appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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Bowhunting for whitetail deer is the most accessible and thrilling big-game hunt in all of North America. A mature, rut-crazed whitetail buck that stomps and grunts his way into bow range on a crisp November morning is a true spectacle to behold. Executing a perfect archery shot on that old buck—drawing your bow undetected, holding for the ideal window, squeezing the release, seeing the arrow in flight, and hearing it hit home—is perhaps the purest moment in all of modern hunting.

If you want to get in on the action, you’ve got a lot to learn. Bowhunting for deer requires general woodsmanship and hunting knowledge, plus some specific skills and gear. In this guide, we cover everything you need to know about how to bow hunt deer, including:

• How to find places to bow hunt
• Understanding deer behavior and deer sign
• Basic bowhunting gear
• How to practice shooting a compound bow
• Bowhunting tips and tactics
• Shot placement and shot selection
• Blood trailing and recovering your deer

The good news is that there are a lot of deer out there (more than 30 million), and every state east of the Mississippi has a robust whitetail population. Many western states also have excellent bowhunting opportunities as well. Find our full forecast on the 2022 deer hunting season here. With the right knowledge and gear, you can embark on a lifetime of bowhunting adventures. If you’re already a deer hunter and interested in adding an archery season to your fall, just skip down to the section on basic bowhunting gear. Otherwise, here’s how to get started.

How to Find Places to Bow Hunt

A bowhunter’s job is to ambush a deer at close range and then make a clean, killing shot. That can seem intimidating when you consider the fact that whitetails frequent large forests, small woodlots, rolling farm fields, expansive marshes, and almost every other wild land in between. So where do you start?

Begin your search relatively close to home. As a new bowhunter you’re going to need to spend time in the woods to learn. So, you want your main bowhunting area to be a place you can visit often with an easy drive. From there, consider the following types of land.

Private Land

Scoring a small piece of private land is a dream scenario for a new bowhunter. Maybe you have a family member or close friend with some farm ground you could hunt. Or maybe a neighbor might let you hunt on the back 40 acres. Or maybe you know some veteran hunters who might give you access to their private ground for part of the season. You could even try your hand at landing a small, affordable hunting lease. In any case, private land is ideal for a new bowhunter because it helps you avoid the biggest challenge in public-land hunting: competing with other hunters.

Public Land

If you don’t have access to private land, use a mapping app like OnX or Huntstand to identify public hunting lands in your area. Common public lands that usually allow bowhunting for deer included:

• State forests
• State wildlife management areas
• State natural areas
• National forests
• National wildlife refuges
• Waterfowl production areas
• Scenic wild river areas
• Bureau of Land Management lands

There are also a variety of private land programs that provide public access for hunting. Those programs include:

• Walk-in areas
• Voluntary public access areas
• Logging company owned lands
• Conservation easements
• Managed forest lands

Always check your local regulations before making plans to hunt a piece of publicly accessibly land. Even within states, similar types of public hunting land can have different regulations.

Once you’ve identified the piece of land you like (either public or private), then it’s time to look closer using your mapping application. Take note of access points, farm fields, bodies of water, and general topography (hills, ridges, lowlands, etc.). Once you have a lay of the land, it’s time to put boots on the ground and do some scouting.

Understanding Deer Behavior and Sign

There are an infinite number of articles written about whitetail behavior, deer sign, and the rut. But at the most basic level, deer need to eat, drink, and find a safe place to bed every day. During the rut, they need to breed. Deer leave sign behind as they move through the woods and progress through the breeding season. Understanding deer behavior, deer sign, the rut and how hunting pressure impacts it all, will help you pinpoint the best places to hunt at any point throughout the season. The following basics will get you started.

Basic Deer Behavior

In general, deer are most active in the early morning, the late evening, and at night. During the middle of the day, deer bed down in areas where they won’t be bothered by predators. This could mean thickets, grassy patches of marsh, or remote wooded ridges. However, deer do feed throughout the day, usually just closer to cover.

By late afternoon, deer will typically stir from their bedding areas, and start to mill around looking for food and water. By evening or nighttime, they’ll head for major feeding areas like agricultural fields or oak flats where there are lots of acorns on the ground. By morning, deer will start to head back to the security of their bedding areas. This means that ideal places to ambush whitetails is on trails between feeding areas and bedding areas or on core feeding areas themselves. But remember, there are no hard-and-fast rules on deer behavior. Whitetails will do whatever they like, whenever they like.

The Whitetail Rut

The rut (or the fall breeding season, which is spurred on by decreasing daylight) greatly impacts deer behavior and patterns—typically in a good way for hunters. As the photo period shortens testosterone in whitetail bucks increases, which drives them to breed. This means that rutting bucks will spend more time on their feet, searching for does when the rut begins. There are several phases to the rut, but in most parts of the country heavy rutting activity begins in late October and continues through mid-November. During the rut, bowhunters should target major deer trails or naturally occurring funnels (like a strip of woods between two ponds) to intercept cruising bucks.

It makes sense to hunt all day during the rut, since bucks could stomp by at any time. Many mature bucks are killed each year between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Bucks also fight for dominance during the rut, however it’s important to note that whitetails are not territorial. Bucks are fighting over breeding opportunities, not the ground itself. So, when all else fails, hunt where the does are, and soon enough a buck might come charging by.

Reading Deer Sign

The best bowhunters are knowledgeable woodsmen. They know how to read tracks, scat, sign, and interpret how deer use the landscape. This takes a lifetime of practice to master, and the only way to get good at it is to spend time in the field. However, these basics will get you started.

Tracks

You’ll find deer tracks in mud, sand, and snow. The points of the hooves tell you which way the deer was heading. Buck tracks are typically longer and wider (they appear blockier) and doe tracks are typically more slender. If you consistently see fresh tracks in the same area over and over, you know that’s a good area to hang a trail camera or a stand.

Scat

Deer poop is another easy way to identify that whitetails have been in the area. Look for an area that has a variety of scat freshness. In other words, there’s fresh poop, old poop, and very old poop laying around in piles. You’ll find this in main feeding areas or bedding areas.

Buck Rubs

As soon as bucks shed their velvet, they begin rubbing their antlers on trees. These rubs are sometimes made one after another along a trail—this is called a rub line. Rubs are good for showing that a buck was in an area, but they are not necessarily a dead giveaway for a hunting spot. However, spots that receive rubs every year, or large “sign post rubs” are worth targeting, at least with trail cameras.

Scrapes

A whitetail scrape is a circular dirt spot where deer have scraped away leaves and debris with their hooves. They can vary in size from about two feet in diameter, up to the area of a small dining room table. Above the scrape there will be a branch that hangs to about chest height, this is called a licking branch. Both bucks and does will urinate in scrapes and rub the glands on their face against the licking branch. Doing so leaves behind their scent and lets other deer know who’s around. You can dig into the details around hunting scrapes and making mock scrapes here, but for a simple explanation, think of them as that fire hydrant in the neighborhood that every dog likes to sniff and urinate on. Scrapes are most often used at night, so hunting over a single scrape is a bit of a gamble. However, active scrapes (which are often made along field edges) are good places to hang trail cameras. If you find a buck hitting a scrape in the daytime, it often pays to hunt it right away.

Basic Bowhunting Gear

Getting started bowhunting is an investment in time and money. Buying the wrong gear can cost you more of both, so here’s a guide to make sure you’re headed in the right direction. You’ll need:

• Bow or crossbow
• Arrows
• Broadheads
• Release aid
• Rangefinder
• Quiver
• Treestand or blind
• Knife
• Pack

Choosing a Bow  

The brand or model of bow you choose is not important. What’s important is that the bow fits you. There are two key things for bow fit: draw length and draw weight. Modern compound bows are so efficient that you can effectively hunt with low draw weight, so leave your ego out of that equation. You want to be able to draw the bow straight back easily. No wrestling the bow back through a series of awkward and dangerous movements. Just a nice easy pull, straight back. 

Equally important is draw length, which requires a studied eye to set properly. Also, your draw length might change a little as your form improves. That’s why you really need the help of a great archery shop to buy, set up, and tune your first bow. For many people, a good archery shop (not a big box store) requires a drive, but trust me, it’s worth it to get started properly. 

The Complete Bow Setup

There are many shiny and seductive accessories at archery shops, but for a new archer, keep it simple. A three- or five-pin sight, a Whisker Biscuit, and a bow quiver are all you need. A lot of the best bows for the money come as ready-to-hunt packages, which make things easier and save you money, which you can use for archery lessons. 

Arrows and Broadheads

You can’t shoot just any arrow from your bow. Arrows come in sizes, called spines, that correspond to your draw weight, arrow length, and point weight. When you’re buying a bow, the shop staff will help you figure out that equation, and every arrow manufacturer has a spine chart or calculator to help you find the right size arrow. 

Broadheads, like bows, are a matter of personal preference. Many will work great, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on them to kill deer. But you do need to make sure that the broadhead you choose is sharp and shoots where you aim it. I recently tested more than 20 of the best broadheads, and you can use that review to help guide your choice. But you still need to shoot the head you choose and get it sharp again before you go hunting. 

Hunting Gear

You can kill a deer in jeans and flannel sitting in a natural blind. But a treestand makes the already difficult task of shooting a deer, a little easier. You’ll of course need all the treestand-related gear like a safety harness, lifeline, bow hanger, and bow pull-up rope. A small bowhunting backpack is helpful for carrying essentials like a knife, license, food, and layers. Trail cameras aren’t necessary, but they’re a helpful tool for new hunters because they can give you the confidence that there are deer in the area. 

READ NEXT: What Colors Can Deer See?

Avoid Gear Rabbit Holes

Bowhunting gear is fun. There are a lot of interesting products on the market as well as communities of people who are zealots for their preferred gear style. From heavy arrows to tree saddles, bowhunters can get downright tribal with gear choices and they can be pretty convincing that their way is the best way. But, becoming a successful bowhunter is not about the gear you choose. It’s about spending time shooting at the range and learning in the woods. Stick to the basics and let your taste in gear evolve through experience. 

How to Practice Shooting Your Compound Bow

Basic Archery Form 

You’ll hear the term “archery form” thrown around a lot in archery discussions, and form just means the set of steps you follow each time you shoot. Here are the important steps:

Grip

A good grip uses your body’s natural bone structure to help you support the bow and imparts no torque. Start with a relaxed hand and slide it up the bow’s grip until it can go no farther. The web of your hand should now be in the throat, which is the deepest part of the bow’s grip.

Next, rotate your hand until only the area between your thumb and the palm’s lifeline contacts the grip. As you look at your hand, your knuckles should be set back and at a 45-degree angle to the riser. Point your thumb toward the target, and lightly rest your other fingers on the front of the bow. If you find yourself squeezing the bow’s grip, tuck in your fingers, so they don’t touch the bow. If you use the tucked technique, you’ll need a finger or wrist sling to prevent the bow from dropping. Apply slight pressure to the bowstring to set your grip into place, and keep your hand relaxed throughout the shot.

Draw

Straighten your arm that holds the bow and pull with your arm attached to the string via the release aid. Keep your finger away from the trigger during this process—the one time I failed to mention that to a student, it resulted in a dentist visit. You should not need to make a violent motion to bring the string back, if you do, your draw weight is too high. Imagine the arm doing the pulling as a train, where your elbow is the locomotive leading the way. 

Anchor

Your anchor is simply the point at which your bow is at full draw and you settle in to aim. An often-missed portion of anchor is something called alignment. As your cams rollover and you feel the draw stops hit, it’s time to move your elbow and shoulders into position. Moving them into alignment means you’ll be supporting the weight of the bow with bone structure, rather than muscle. Bring your elbow back and around your head so that it’s in line with the arrow. Your shoulders should be aligned with each other and pointed toward the target. Once in this position, you’ll feel that keeping the bow back is very easy. Then look through your peep sight and center the circular sight housing within the circle of your peep. You can add more reference points to your anchor like a kisser button, which can make centering your sight an easier process. 

Aim 

Place the pin for the distance you’re shooting on the target and let it float around your aiming point. Don’t try to stop the movement. Just let the pin naturally float and move on to executing your release. 

Release

There are a lot of ways to activate a release. But the easiest to start with is to set the release so that the trigger is fairly heavy. You should be able to rest your finger on the trigger without it going off. Step one is to touch the trigger and hook your index finger around the trigger. Then slowly increase the pressure until the shot breaks. 

Follow Through 

There’s enough time between the release and the arrow disengaging for you to change the arrow’s path. So, your job in this moment is to do nothing. Don’t move, and don’t add flair to the shot. Just keep your eyes on the spot you want to hit and maintain your position. 

Learn to Shoot

You can learn archery form by reading articles, watching videos, or from old uncle Bobby, but you’ll be much better off by getting instruction from a qualified coach. A few lessons to learn the fundamentals followed by a lot of practice will set you up for success. 

Making Shots Under Pressure 

Shooting groups in the backyard is one thing. Making the same shot when your pin drops onto a live animal is the true test. Success here is not about making yourself less nervous. It’s about shooting the same shot despite the nerves. To do that, don’t focus on how much you want to shoot the deer. Instead, keep your focus on the steps you need to do to achieve that result. Focus on the key steps of your archery form—one by one. By executing each step and only focusing on those tasks, you reduce the chance of making a bad shot. 

How to Bow Hunt Deer, Tips and Tactics

Hunt the Wind

Whitetails navigate the world by scent. They have incredibly powerful noses that lead them to food, other deer, and help them avoid predators. This means that bowhunters must always stay downwind from deer. Check prevailing wind data and hang key stands based on that info. Also make sure you have stand setups that are optimal for different wind directions. If the wind isn’t right for a given stand location, simply don’t hunt it on that day. If deer get downwind from you, they are almost guaranteed to smell you before they get into bow range. If you blow out deer from a stand location, you can burn that spot for several days.

It’s just as important to factor in wind when approaching your stand. Never let your scent blow into a bedding area. Likewise, don’t let your scent blow across the main trails that you are trying to hunt.  

Kill Your Scent (as Much as Possible)

Many veteran bowhunters (myself included), believe that it’s worth trying to reduce your scent. To do this, you can shower with scent-free soap before you hunt. Wash your hunting clothes with scent-free detergent. There are a variety of scent-killing sprays that you can spray on your outer layers before you walk into your stand. Avoid getting strong scents (like gasoline while filling up your truck) on your clothes or boots before a hunt. Wear rubber boots and spray them down. Avoid touching vegetation with your bare hands on the way into your stand.

All these tactics will help prevent you from being busted by deer; however, you’ll never consistently beat a deer’s nose. So always hunt with the wind in your favor, no matter what scent mitigation tools you use. 

Set Up for Close Encounters

Bowhunting for whitetails is a close-range game. When you’re a new bowhunter, it needs to be an ultra-close-range game. No matter how accurate you are on targets, your first shot on a whitetail deer should be 20 yards or less (read my story about deer jumping the string). To make this happen, you need to set up your stand or blind close to where you expect deer to show. Treestands are the go-to option for most bowhunters. Pick a good-sized tree that’s about as wide as your shoulders. If you’re using a hang-on stand, mount the stand so branches or forks break up your outline. Make sure that you have cover behind you. If you’re using a blind, brush it in diligently and tuck it into existing cover so you’re not sticking out in the open. Confirm that you’re setting up close enough to main trails by using a rangefinder. And when you’re sitting in your stand waiting for deer, range trees, rocks, bushes, ect. Establish a 20-yard perimeter and don’t shoot beyond it.

Hunt Does

It’s important for anyone learning how to bow hunt deer to get useful field experience. The only way to do that is to start shooting deer. And the best way to do that is by targeting does in areas with high deer densities. Many states have areas where whitetail populations are too high, often where rural lands meet suburbia. Trophy potential usually isn’t very high in these areas, but for a new bowhunter, any cleanly killed deer should be considered a trophy.

Use Calls and Scent Attractants

There are dozens of different deer calls and attractant scents on the market, and many of them are useful. They key is to use them sparingly. You can’t simply hammer on a grunt tube and expect deer to come running from far and wide. When it comes to calls, a grunt tube and a doe bleat are a good place to start. Read about deer calling tips from the experts here.

When it comes to scents, I’ve found that a little Tink’s 69 Doe-in-Rut sprinkled on a scent wick will get bucks (at least younger bucks) to stop in shooting range during the rut. But you still need to be in the right place at the right time.

Shot Selection and Placement

We’ve already covered taking close shots only. Now you need to know where to place your arrow. In the simplest terms, you want your arrow to enter behind the deer’s shoulder, pass through the heart/lungs area, and exit the body cavity (here’s our ultimate guide on where to shoot a deer). In other stories and on social media you might read about shooting heavy arrows that will penetrate the bones in a whitetail’s shoulder. It’s true that certain setups will penetrate bone without issue.

But beginner bowhunters should first learn proper shot placement behind the shoulder, no matter what setup they’re shooting. That means broadside and quartering away shots only.

On broadside shots, aim just behind the deer’s front leg (when it’s in the forward position) and halfway up the body. There are a lot of charts and videos online covering archery shot placement on whitetail deer. But this simple video from the National Deer Association is the best.

On a quartering away shot, visualize a line coming up from the front of the deer’s offside front leg. You want your arrow to exit through that line. However, you should pass on extreme quartering away shots. Buy a 3D deer target and practice shooting quartering away angles, and the high angle from a tree stand, as much as you can. When shooting from high angles pay close attention to how the arrow enters the 3D deer’s “body cavity.” With the arrow’s downward angle, you still want it to penetrate the top of the heart.

Blood Trailing and Recovering Your Deer

You got to full draw, waited for the deer to get into the right position, and let it fly. Congratulations, but your hunt isn’t over. You haven’t fully learned how to bow hunt deer until you’ve developed blood trailing skills. There are two keys to recovering deer: patience and attention to detail.

Watch and Listen

At the shot watch and listen. Listen for how the arrow sounds when it hits the deer. A hollow sounding “thunk” often means a shot through the body cavity. A loud “crack” often means a direct hit to bone. Watch how the deer reacts. A mule kick often means a shot through the lungs. A hunched up, arched back often means a gut shot. Continue watching as the deer runs (or walks) away. Mark the last spot that you saw the deer, and take a photo of that spot with your phone. Continue listening even after you no longer see the deer. Oftentimes you can hear them crash down. Mark the direction it sounds like the deer was traveling. From your stand, take a photo of the spot the deer was standing when you shot (this is called the hit site).

Wait for 30 Minutes

If you didn’t see the deer fall or clearly hear it fall, you job now is to wait. Just hang out in your stand and relax for 30 minutes. Set a 30-minute timer if you must. Climbing down early and rushing the blood trailing job is a good way to bump (scare off) a mortally hit deer. Bumped deer can run a far way and are often impossible to recover. Do not make this mistake. 

Call for Help

If you have hunting buddies or even a friend who likes the outdoors, now is a good time to call them. It’s much easier to blood trail a deer with a little help. Plus, when you find your deer, it’s nice to have a friend to help drag it out.  

Analyze the Hit Site

After a full 30 minutes, climb down from your stand or leave your blind and go directly to the hit site (the spot the deer was standing when you shot). Look for blood and look for you arrow. Bright red blood with bubbles in it typically means a lung shot. If you find your arrow and it’s covered in bright red blood with some bubbles, this is a very good sign. Mark the spot of first blood.

Now, follow the blood trail slowly and carefully. A deer that was shot through both lungs (and the heart) will bleed profusely. The trail should be relatively easy to follow. Still, take your time and leave trail markers every 20 yards or so to mark the trail. Within about 100 to 150 yards, you should find your deer.

Marginal Hits

If you comb the hit site and don’t find an obvious splotch of blood, or if you find blood that smells, rank and gutty (or has green slicks in it) then you’ve likely made a marginal hit. Quietly, and I mean very quietly, work your way toward the spot you last saw the deer. If there’s still a poor blood trail, or signs of a gut shot, it’s best to pull out and leave the woods. You should wait several hours, and likely overnight, before continuing the search. A gut shot deer can take hours to expire, bumping it means you might never recover it. Many states have volunteer blood trailing dog programs. Calling in an experienced blood tracker with a dog can be incredibly helpful for a new bowhunter. Tracking a marginally hit deer is a real challenge that even experienced hunters struggle with. For more information, click on the links below.

• 6 Blood Trailing Lessons Learned from Tracking Dogs
• 10 Myths About Blood Trailing Deer
• How to Bloodtrail and Track Wounded Deer
  

What it Means to Be a Bowhunter

The best bowhunters are patient, thoughtful woodsmen. They’re excellent shots on the range and in the field. And more than anything, they enjoy being in the woods and trying to get close to the animals they pursue. Bowhunting takes more practice and attention to detail than other types of hunting. Becoming a bowhunter means committing to mastering a craft. If that sounds like fun to you, then welcome to the club. We’re glad to have you.

The post How to Bow Hunt Deer appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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Officials with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office in southeast Alabama are warning hunters about a scam letter that recently popped up on Facebook. The counterfeit letter, which claimed to be from the governor’s office, stated that cellular trail cams would be banned throughout the state beginning this deer season. It explained that the Alabama legislature made the decision out of a growing concern for public safety, and it listed the penalties for the first, second, and third violations of the new rule. The letter even included a fake signature from Gov. Kay Ivey.

“This letter is FALSE and has no truth to it,” HCSO officials wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week.

The prankster went to a lot of trouble to create what might look like an official letter to a casual reader, but there are several red flags—including the scammer’s poor grammar. The very first sentence contains a basic spelling error. (The second word in this sentence should be “effect,” not “affect.”) Apart from poor grammar throughout, the language in the letter is often difficult to follow and nonsensical, although that alone doesn’t rule it out as a government document.

Read Next: The Best Cellular Trail Cameras of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

We could go on, but this would be an even bigger waste of time than mocking up a fancy letter only to riddle it with elementary errors. Fortunately, the folks at the local sheriff’s office noticed these mistakes on their own, although it’s unclear where the letter, dated May 8, was originally posted.

Fake News Abounds on Social Media

The Alabama scam letter is a reminder that misinformation runs rampant on social media. It’s also not the first “fake news” post that has targeted deer hunters in the South as of late. Last month, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources had to debunk a Facebook post that claimed the agency was offering hunters cash rewards for killing collared deer.

“Be cautious of what you see on social media,” the agency warned.  

And in April, a satirical Facebook page named “Arkansas Game Fish” posted a fake arrest report about a 43-year-old woman who was giving whitetails meth and training them to attack hunters.

“At the time of the arrest Watkins was in possession of several grams of meth, four deer and many stolen broken electronics,” the satirical post reads. “Attention was drawn to Watkins when she began giving meth to the young deer and they were caught rummaging through people’s garages and back porches.”

Outlandish? No doubt. But at least the grammar is sound. Well, mostly.

The post A Scammer Forged a Letter from Alabama’s Governor That Banned Cellular Trail Cameras appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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Knowing where to shoot a deer for a quick kill is the responsibility of every deer hunter. Most of us were taught that the best place to shoot a deer is the “boiler room,” which means the top of the heart and the lungs. For the vast majority of hunting scenarios, that’s still the best option. Penetrating these vital organs (with a bullet or an arrow) leads to massive blood loss and a quick death. It also results in very minimal meat damage.

So, if you know you want to shoot a deer in the heart and lungs, where exactly should you aim?

Put simply, if the deer is broadside, follow the front leg up the deer and aim just below the halfway point on its chest. Look for the “crease” that the deer’s shoulder creates. Shooting with a rifle, you can edge tighter to the deer’s shoulder. Bowhunters want to hit just an inch or two behind the crease, which allows a little more room for error (more on this later).

There isn’t much of a difference in aim point for rifle hunters or bowhunters, as you can see in the photo below. 

The video below, created by the National Deer Association, does an excellent job explaining where to shoot a deer on an anatomically correct deer target. Look closely at the bone structure of a deer’s shoulder. It is not one solid mass of bone. First the bone angles forward of the leg and then the shoulder blade sweeps back. Understanding this anatomy is especially important for archers who generally want to avoid hitting these large bones with their arrow (well constructed rifle bullets will easily blast through bones). This is a key difference for bowhunters: There’s simply a much smaller margin of error.

Understanding Shot Angles

Now, the discussion on where to shoot a deer gets more complicated when deer are quartering away from you or angling toward you. You still want to hit the vital area of the heart and lungs, but now you must change your aim point. The best way to do this is to visualize where the heart and lungs are placed within the deer’s body cavity and aim so that your bullet or arrow angles through them. In general, this means holding farther back on quartering away shots and farther forward on quartering-to shots. 

Quartering-Away Shots

Many hunters prefer quartering-away shots to broadside shots. In some cases, the angle creates a larger margin of error for hitting the lungs. Plus, the deer is facing away from you so it’s easier to draw or shoulder your gun without being detected.

Visualize an angle that takes your bullet or arrow through the deer’s heart and lungs and then continues into its offside shoulder, or just in front of it. One way to do this is to look at the offside leg. Follow the front of the offside leg up to the body. 

The photo above is the aim point for bowhunters on this angle. Rifle hunters should aim a few inches farther forward.

Quartering-To Shots

Quartering-to shots are not ideal for bowhunters. This is because you must hold into the shoulder or risk hitting guts. Lighter arrows and lower draw weight bows will not penetrate bones in the deer’s shoulder. But for rifle hunters shooting quality bullets, the quartering-to angle still presents a good shot opportunity. You must hold into the frontside shoulder now, with your bullet exiting the middle or back of the rib cage. This shot will damage more meat than a well-executed broadside shot.

Frontal Shots

Frontal shots can be incredibly effective but they offer a smaller margin of error than broadside shots. When a deer is facing directly toward you, aim between the two shoulders, just below the half-way point on its chest. Executed properly, this shot typically drops deer very quickly. Because your target is much narrower at this angle, however, this shot should only be taken at close ranges. 

Bowhunters who hunt from the ground and rattle in or decoy bucks commonly see frontal shots. If you’re a bowhunter and intend to take frontal shots, you should opt for a heavy arrow with a high FOC and heavy, durable fixed-blade broadheads. But most importantly, you must have your setup tuned properly and be able to shoot baseball sized groups without fail. 

Where to Shoot a Deer with a Bow

Shooting a deer with a bow is more complicated than shooting one with a gun. As we’ve already discussed, there’s less margin for error with archery gear. Plus, since bowhunters are often hunting from treestands and taking close-range shots, they have to account for the sharper angle of the shot. Lastly, deer commonly jump a bow string on farther shots, meaning they duck or spin the instant you loose your arrow. Here’s what you need to know about where to shoot a deer with a bow.

Crease vs the Vital V

Many bowhunters advocate for shooting deer through the shoulder in the “vital V,” instead of the crease. By this they mean, holding into the deer’s shoulder, where its humerus and scapula make a sideways V shape. If you place your arrow through this window, it’s unarguably deadly. There are no bones (besides the ribcage) in this V. Plus, bowhunters shooting heavy arrows, stout draw weights, and durable fixed-blade broadheads are able to penetrate these bones without issue anyway. The YouTube personality “Ranch Fairy” has been one of the most prominent modern advocates of aiming for the Vital V, and you can see his explanation in the video below.

Aiming for the vital V is problematic, however, especially for new bowhunters. If you pull your shot low or forward, you’ll hit heavy bones in the shoulder, which your arrow might not pass through. Plus, the lungs narrow in the deer’s forward body cavity. The National Deer Association, bowhunter’s education courses, and this author recommend holding farther back into the crease of the deer’s shoulder, and not aiming for the vital V.

As long as you’re using quality archery gear, a well-placed shot through the crease will be deadly, almost without fail. Arrow weight, broadhead style, and draw weight aren’t as much of a factor here. Plus, you have slightly more room for error by holding behind the shoulder. By aiming for the crease, you’re holding for the area on the deer’s body where the lungs are the tallest and widest. If you miss a little forward, you’ll likely hit the vital V, if you miss a little back, you’ll likely hit the back of the lungs and liver. 

It’s also easy to see the crease and use it as a specific spot to aim for. Picking a singular aim point is crucial.

Read Next: Why Mechanical Broadheads Are Still the Best Option for Most Deer Hunters

Shooting from a Tree Stand

When shooting from a tree stand, your arrow will be striking deer at a downward angle. The higher your stand and the closer the deer, the steeper this angle will be. For example, if you’re 20 feet up, shooting a deer that’s 15 yards away, you’ll be shooting downward at an approximately 60-degree angle. When your arrow strikes the deer, it will look something like the photo below. 

So for close shots at a steep angle, you want to aim slightly higher. This ensures your arrow will pass through both lungs. But the keyword here is “slightly.” Generally speaking, hitting a deer too high with a bow is bad.  

The best thing you can do to master elevated shot angles to is practice them. Use  a 3D target and shoot from an elevated position, as if you were in a treestand. This will help you get an instinctual understanding of where to hold for different shot angles. You want your arrow to pass through the top of the near lung and the bottom of the far lung.

Jumping the String

All of this gets a bit more difficult for bowhunters because so often deer jump the string or duck at the sound of the bow releasing. This is typically only an issue beyond 20 yards. Some bowhunters solve for this by simply aiming a little lower for farther shots. For shots beyond 20 yards, it’s a good idea to hold a little lower, but still in the vital zone. However there is no rule or formula for outsmarting string-jumping deer.

“Their reactions are so dynamic and different in every situation that you cannot predict what the deer is going to do,” says Aaron Warbritton of The Hunting Public. “Over all the video we’ve watched, we noticed that some deer would duck straight down to the ground. Some deer would drop a foot at 30 yards. Some would drop four inches at 30 yards. Some would not move at 30 yards. Some would duck and roll away. So, they would be broadside at 30 yards, duck six inches, roll away and by the time the arrow impacted, the deer is actually quartering away instead of broadside.”

Every scenario is slightly different, but here are some basic tips and takeaways to deal with deer jumping the string:

• Big animals duck less. Small Southern deer and twitchy does generally duck more.
• Watch the deer’s body language and attitude. For example, rutting bucks that are distracted by does duck less.
• Ambient noise matters. Windy days with blowing leaves and grasses generally means less ducking than dead-quiet days.
• The vast majority of whitetails do duck or react to the shot in some way—upward of 80 to 90 percent.
• Stopping deer for a shot does promote ducking. Ideally, let the deer stop on its own or stop it as softly as possible (by using, say, a squirrel noise). But some rutting bucks will require a loud bleat to stop.
• Depending on the conditions, ducking is most problematic from 25 to 40 yards. At long ranges whitetails seem to react less to the shot. But setting up for close shots, is the best way to ensure good, lethal hits.

Where to Shoot a Deer with a Gun

Because rifle bullets carry so much more energy and generally do more damage to bones and organs, rifle hunters have more options besides the heart and lung area. With a heart/lung-shot, deer often run off even though they die quickly. A heart-shot deer can still make it 100 yards. Some hunters want to drop deer in their tracks, so should these hunters aim elsewhere? We asked a number of deer cullers—sharpshooters whose job requires them to kill deer quickly, for their perspectives on bullet placement. Their advice, detailed below, is: “It depends” on distance, bullet type, shooting ability, and your goals for meat retention. Besides the heart and lung area, other options include high-shoulder, neck, and head. There are pros and (major) cons to each.

High-Shoulder Shot

Pros: The ultimate shock-and-awe shot. A big, fast-moving bullet will likely snap the spine, short-circuit the nervous system, break bones, and anchor a deer where it stands. 

Cons: The volatile, upsetting bullets best suited for this shot damage a lot of meat, from the shoulder through the neck and upper backstrap. Plus, it’s easy to miss high when aiming here.

When you sharpshoot deer for a living, as Grant Woods did for 21 years, “you can’t afford misses or wounded deer running around,” he says. Both cost you time and money—especially a wounded, bleeding deer, running for its life and spooking other deer.

Woods, a noted whitetail biologist, did much of his deer-­control work on golf courses. There, shots usually ranged between 200 and 300 yards. His first choice was the double-shoulder shot, with a .308 round entering a shoulder blade on one side, slamming through the body and into the far shoulder blade.

“If you watch slow-motion video of a deer being shot this way, its whole body flexes when the bullet hits,” says Woods. “That snaps the spine. That deer’s never going to move again.” This shot can damage more meat than the heart-lung approach, but the benefit is that the deer will likely drop immediately.

READ NEXT: Best Deer Hunting Rifles

Head Shot

Pros: A deer dies instantly when its brain takes a direct hit. Plus, there is very little meat lost to a head shot. 

Cons: The brain is a tiny target, and it’s easy to miss the deer entirely or, worse, to wound it through the jaw.

How do you guarantee a drop-it-where-it-stands shot? For Anthony DeNicola, owner of White Buffalo, a top deer-control operation, it’s all about the brain.

“Draw a line from tear duct to tear duct, then go 2.5 to 2.75 inches above that line, centered,” says DeNicola. “That’s where you want to place your bullet—first and best option.”

A bullet in the brain instantly incapacitates the animal; death follows in seconds. Of course, DeNicola and his team have an advantage over hunters: They shoot at night with infrared optics, from raised mobile platforms, over bait, at known distances (usually 50 to 60 yards), and (where legal) with suppressed rifles.

DeNicola uses .223-caliber rifles, firing 50- to 55-grain frangible varmint projectiles that expend all their energy into the brainpan. In the urban and suburban environments in which he works, DeNicola can’t afford to have a round exiting an animal.

The second best shot placement for headshots is a brain shot from the side. DeNicola’s third choice is a shot just below the back of the skull in the first four cervical vertebrae of the spine.

“The deer drop immediately,” DeNicola says of the vertebrae shot. “Heart and lung functions will cease. They lose consciousness and die in eight to 12 seconds.”

For hunters, however, taking head shots is ill-advised. 

“There’s simply no margin for error around a deer’s relatively small brain (about 3 inches on the average deer, as much as 4 inches on a large adult buck),” NDA’s Lindsay Thomas wrote for OL earlier this year in his column, Don’t Aim for a Deer’s Head. “Plus, a deer’s brain is a deceptively small target. Yes, a big whitetail might look like it has a large head. But for reference, compare a deer shoulder mount to a skull mount. With the skull mount, you’ll see that the cranial cavity only makes up a small portion of the skull. It would be easy for hunters to misjudge the location of the brain, within the skull, on a live, moving deer.”

Head shots should be reserved for sharpshooters only. 

Neck Shot

Pros: A correctly placed bullet will kill with massive shock to the spinal cord and vertebrae while damaging very little meat. 

Cons: The vital area on a neck shot is quite small. Hit low, and you will wound a deer with very little chance of recovery. Plus, this shot often merely paralyzes a deer, requiring a second shot.

Like the head shot, the neck is a deceptively small target. This is especially true for bucks with swollen necks during the rut. Unless the deer is at close range and you are extremely confident in your marksmanship, avoid attempting neck shots and wait for a better opportunity. 

Q&A

Where is the best shot on deer?

The best shot on a deer is tight behind the shoulder, through the lungs and heart.

Will a deer survive a shoulder shot?

Deer can survive a shoulder shot if the projectile doesn’t penetrate through the scapula or humerus bones. Deer that are hit high behind the shoulder often survive, too.

Where do you shoot a deer to save the most meat?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, shooting a deer tight behind the shoulder, through the lungs and heart, is ideal placement, and does not ruin meat.

Final Thoughts on Where to Shoot a Deer

Unless you’re a professional sharp shooter, the old school deer hunters had it right all along on where to shoot a deer. The best shot placement for deer is through the lungs and the top of the heart, just behind the shoulder. With any standard deer hunting cartridge or any quality broadhead, a well-executed shot here will mean a quick death for the deer, plus a highly visible and short blood trail for the hunter to follow.

The post Where to Shoot a Deer appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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Great Plains Stalker		Tikka T3x Lite	SEE IT
Great Value		Savage 110 Hunter	SEE IT
Northwoods		Henry Lever Action X Model	SEE IT

As everyone knows, the best deer rifle is the one you already own. There might be other rifles like it, but that one is yours and therefore is superior to the rest. But every now and then, someone needs—or wants—to buy another deer gun. Perhaps you’re familiar with the sensation? From personal experience I can say this has only happened to me 10 or 12 dozen times over the years.

So if you’re a new hunter who is looking to invest in one of the best deer hunting rifles, or a gun nerd who has a hard time saying “no,” this list is for you.

• Northwoods: Henry Lever Action X Model
• Alaska: Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan
• Beanfield Sniper: Christensen MPR
• Western Mountains: Sako 85 Finnlight
• Great Value: Savage 110 Hunter
• Southern Piney Woods: Bergara B14 Ridge
• Technical: Proof Research MTR
• Great Plains Stalker: Tikka T3x Lite Stainless
• Family Heirloom: Winchester Model 70 Super Grade
• Straight Wall Shooter: Mossberg Patriot
• Pennsylvania Stalwart: Remington 760 and 7600

How I Picked the Best Deer Rifles

I structured the list loosely based on geography and hunting style to give it a bit of variety and to help provide some ammunition to whoever finds themselves arguing with their significant other over the justification for buying a new gun. “But honey, I can’t take that rifle, I’m going hunting in Kansas…”

These are also deer rifles that my colleagues and I have shot, tested, and hunted with and have passed muster. We didn’t include any that we don’t have hands-on experience with. All but one of the rifles are currently in production, and most are affordable, though we threw in a couple that are worth saving for or aspiring to.

But the bottom line is that these rifles are ones you can rely on to handle any deer hunt you might encounter, whether that is on your family’s plot of land in farm country, in the snowy hardwoods in the North Country, in a stand of alpine timber, or in the distant rainforests of coastal Alaska.

Northwoods: Henry Lever Action X Model

Henry

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One sure sign of the decline of Western civilization is the scarcity of new lever-actions to choose from. Marlin is thankfully back on its feet, but their iconic 336 isn’t yet in production. Henry Repeating Arms, however, hasn’t missed a beat since it was founded in 1996, and has added new guns to its lineup at a pleasing clip.

The X Model in .30/30 is one of the more recent additions. While the bones of the X Model are rooted in tradition, the rifle is finished with modern hunters in mind.

It is stocked in a nearly indestructible synthetic material with recessed sling attachment points molded into the fore-end and butt stock. The fore-end also has a section of Picatinny rail up front to mount a light for night-time shooting applications. That section also has M-Lok slots to mount accessories compatible with that format.

The tubular magazine holds five rounds and can be loaded through the gate on the receiver or by dropping cartridges into the cutout at front end of the magazine tube.

It comes with a nice set of adjustable fiber optic sights but in keeping with modern tastes the receiver is drilled and tapped for mounting a scope.

Being chambered in .30/30 Win., the X Model will do its best work within 150 yards, but for most deer hunting that is plenty adequate. You can also get the X Model chambered in .45/70, .45 Colt, .357/.38 Spl., .44 Mag./.44 Spl as well if you want to go with a straight-wall cartridge.

Alaska: Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan

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By many accounts, the small Sitka blacktails that live in Alaska are the finest table fare of any venison. While these little blacktails don’t require anything special in the way of shooting, the best deer rifle for this country takes into account the other critters in their neighborhood—coastal brown bears, which do require an adequate amount of gun to deal with.

The Hawkeye Alaskan is currently available in three chamberings, .375 Ruger, .338 Win. Mag., and .300 Win. Mag. The .300 is a good compromise cartridge for this thick brushy terrain, but if a hunter wanted to shoulder one of the other cartridges, it’s not as if the deer would notice. The rifle ships with a muzzle brake to help tame the recoil of these thumpers.

The Alaskan holds three rounds in its hinged-floorplate magazine, has as 20-inch barrel, and measures a handy 42 inches from muzzle to recoil pad. The Hawkeye is the heir to the old M77 Rugers and has a non-rotating full-length Mauser style claw extractor and a fixed-blade ejector. Those classic turn-bolt design features have been giving hunters the warm fuzzies since the late 1800s and will appeal to sportsmen who like traditional rifles.

The Alaskan comes with fixed sights geared toward dangerous game, with a shallow V rear express-style sight and a bold bead on the front post. But the Alaskan can easily accommodate a scope as well.

Even if you don’t hunt deer in bear country, this rugged rifle is a good option for those who live by the “use enough gun” and “can’t be too dead” mantras.

Beanfield Sniper: Christensen MPR

Christensen Arms

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The term “beanfield rifle” was coined by former Outdoor Life shooting editor Jim Carmichel when reviewing the hyper-accurate bolt-actions made by master riflesmith Kenny Jarrett. Kenny is one of the godfathers of hunting rifle accuracy and incorporated benchrest rifle technology into his exquisite firearms.

Why “beanfield?” Well in some stretches of ag land down south those fields that deer favor can be many hundreds of yards in length, and when the beans have grown high, they don’t leave much of a deer’s body as a target. Thus, you had the need for a rifle that reaches out with pinpoint accuracy to guarantee success.

Jarrett still makes those wonderful rifles, but their stratospheric price tags—many are north of $10,000—put them out of reach of all but the well-heeled or ballistically irresponsible.

The Christensen MPR doesn’t look much like Kenny’s creations, but what it has in common is the ability to shoot tiny groups. When the MPR debuted I tested it and produced five-shot groups with factory ammo that averaged .557 inch across a wide variety of brands and bullet weights in 6.5 Creedmoor. Several of the loads I shot from Norma, Barnes and Hornady averaged in the .4s. Today, you can get it in .223 Rem., 6mm Creed, 6.5 Creed, 6.5 PRC, .308 Win., .300 PRC, or .338 Lapua Mag.

For beanfield hunting, the flat-bottomed fore-end makes for a stable platform when positioned in a blind or stand. Without question, it is one of the best lightweight long-range rifles in production.

It’s a modern, sexy looking rifle with lots of carbon fiber and an adjustable folding stock and will appeal to hunters who are sci-fi nerds. Though not cheap, it costs a fraction of the original beanfield rifle. 

Western Mountains: Sako 85 Finnlight

Sako

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There’s no shortage of mountain rifles to pick among for hunting deer in vertical terrain. The first criteria hunters consider is weight because a rifle that’s too heavy to lug uphill isn’t going to do you much good.

But there’s more to a quality mountain rifle than a sub-6-pound readout on a scale. A good mountain rifle must be able to handle awful weather, survive in an unforgiving rocky environment, and be able to deliver an accurate first-round shot on what might be the hunt of a lifetime.

The Sako Finnlight checks all these boxes through its rugged construction, excellent ergonomics, and superb accuracy. The Finnlight I tested a few years ago was chambered in .308 Win. and delivered 5-shot groups measuring less than .6 inches with factory Hornady ammo.

The fact that they were five-shot groups is key. To reduce weight most mountain guns have pencil-thin barrels that heat quickly and cause shots to walk and the groups to open up as the round count increases. For that reason, the accuracy guarantees for most rifles, especially mountain rifles, are based on three-shot groups. That the Finnlight was able to keep shooting tight groups even with a hot barrel is a testament to its quality.

The rifle comes with a smartly designed flush-mounted staggered magazine that’s easy to load and won’t accidentally get bumped and fall free of the action. The three-position safety next to the bolt shroud has a middle position that keeps the gun on safe but lets the shooter open the action to unload the rifle.

The Finnlight is available in numerous chamberings in addition to .308. You can have it in a number of great deer cartridges including .243 Win., .25/06 Rem., .270 Win., .260 Rem., .30/06, .300 Win. Mag., .300 WSM, .270 WSM, 6.5×55 Swede, 7mm-08 Rem., and 7mm Rem. Mag.

Great Value In a Deer Hunting Rifle: Savage 110 Hunter

Savage

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Nothing warms the collective heart of the Outdoor Life gun test team than a great gun value. We’re lucky to live in an era with plenty of rifles that are budget friendly and accurate. While the Ruger American and Mossberg Patriot certainly deserve a spot on anyone’s list of smart buys, Savage Arms, more than any other modern company, has made accuracy and performance available to the masses.

I don’t know how many different iterations of the Model 110 have been built over the years—there’s been quite a pile of them—but the basic 110 Hunter is still the standard by which to measure a budget-conscious investment.

There are some cheaper guns on the market, but what makes the Model 110 Hunter so appealing are the upgrades that it comes with. That includes the AccuFit stock system which incorporates a bedding-block to create a solid connection between the stock and action, which helps with accuracy.

The stock also has modular sections to alter the length of pull and comb height. It’s a rifle that a young shooter grow with as their body fills out. The length of pull can adjust from 12.75 to 13.75 inches. It also lets a shooter fine-tune the stock dimensions for a better fit, which will translate to better performance in the field.

The rifle comes with Savage’s AccuTrigger, which is one of the original user adjustable designs to debut on a mass-market hunting rifle. In fairness, the quality of the AccuTriggers can vary, so it makes sense to spend time dry firing a sample in your local gun store before committing to a specific rifle.

The detachable box magazine holds four rounds in all cartridges except .300 Win. Mag., where it holds three. Chamberings include .243 Win., .25/06 Rem., 6.5 Creed, .30/06, .308 Win., 7mm Rem. Mag., 7mm-08, and, my favorite, .280 Ackley Improved.

The 110 Hunter isn’t as hardened against the elements as some other rifles, so some diligence and care is called for with the carbon steel barrel, especially if it is going to be exposed to the elements. Other than that, the rifle is ready to take a beating and keep placing accurate shots on game.

Southern Piney Woods: Bergara B14 Ridge

Bergara

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Some of the most pleasant deer hunts I’ve experienced have been down in the Piney Woods of the Southeast. Alabama’s Black Belt, in particular, with its fertile soils, cranks out impressive bucks and is great habitat for turkeys and upland birds as well.

The hunting tends to be civilized as long as the mosquitos aren’t out in force, but when a cold front rolls though you might find yourself dealing with some rougher conditions that run contrary to our notions of Southern hospitality.

The Bergara B14 Ridge fits this type of hunting to a tee. It is a well-mannered and capable bolt action that delivers solid performance at a good price and while it has plenty of nice touches it isn’t a flashy rifle by any means.

Depending on action length and chambering, the rifles weigh about 7.5 pounds unscoped, give or take a few ounces. Barrel lengths run from 18 to 24 inches, with most short-action cartridges using 22-inch barrels while standard-length chamberings have 24-inch tubes.

This middle-of-the-road configuration is perfect for 90 percent of deer hunting. The B-14’s heft and balance allow it to run easily from the shoulder and brought into play in a smooth, efficient manner.

Though the rifle is built in Spain—Bergara makes extremely nice barrels over there—it is configured with the American hunter in mind. The synthetic stock has “American classic” dimensions, with its flat comb, the metalwork is treated with black Cerakote finish for durability, and the muzzle is threaded 5/8-24.

Caliber choices include .243 Win., 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, .308 Win., 7mm-08 Rem., .270 Win., 7mm Rem. Mag, .30/06, .300 Win. Mag., and .300 PRC. The internal box magazine has a hinged floorplate and holds 4 rounds of the standard cartridges and 3 of the magnums. Because the 6.5 PRC and .300 PRC are chubby, the B-14’s magazine only holds two of them.

Technical Deer Hunting Rifle: Proof Research MTR

Proof Research

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For the technically inclined deer hunter, Proof Research’s MTR (Mountain Tactical Rifle) is an intriguing option. It is a great example of a modern deer rifle that borrows heavily from the tactical and competition shooting world to create a high-performance rig that is accurate, portable, and able to handle the most demanding hunting conditions.

Proof uses a Zermatt Arms Origin action on the MTR, which is known for its remarkably tight tolerances, reliability, and accuracy. Proof, of course, puts one of its carbon-fiber barrels on the MTR and the mating of the Zermatt and barrel delivers exceptional accuracy. In fact, I’ve used this rifle in competition and know that it is able to place precise shots on distant targets under demanding time constraints and from practical field positions.

The stock is also of Proof’s design and is made of carbon-fiber as well. Depending on the cartridge, the naked rifle weighs about 6.5 pounds to a touch over 7 pounds. The stock has a raised comb and vertical pistol grip, both of which are common on tactical rifles. The comb helps align the shooter’s eye with larger optics that tend to sit higher on the rifle (the action has a full-length Picatinny rail) and the vertical grip enhances the shooter’s control over the rifle and the trigger pull.

The MTR uses detachable box magazines and will feed from AICS pattern mags. It ships with a single polymer magazine. The rifle feeds with dead-nuts reliability and can handle dust, moisture, and other debris without any issues.

The barrel is threaded 5/8-24 for a brake or suppressor and the rifle comes with a sub-MOA accuracy guarantee. Among the available cartridges are three short-barrel options. One is the 6 ARC with a 16.5-inch barrel, and the others are .308 Win. and .223 Rem. with 20-inch barrels. You can also get it in 6 Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 7mm Rem. Mag., .300 Win. Mag., and .300 PRC, all of which come with 24-inch barrels.

Great Plains Stalker: Tikka T3x Lite Stainless

Tikka

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It still amazes me to come across deer hunters who haven’t checked out a Tikka. When the company started making a serious push into the American market about 15 years ago, their virtues were still not widely known. But at this point Tikka’s praises have been sung loudly from the hilltops, yet there are still some poor souls who haven’t gotten the message.

For an all-around, do-anything deer rifle, the Tikka T3x Lite Stainless is as versatile a big-game rifle as you can find, especially considering its price. The Tikka’s bones are similar to those in its sibling brand Sako. Many parts of the Tikka are borrowed directly from the more expensive Sako, in fact.

The three-lug action runs smoothly, the magazine system is among the best you’ll find in terms of how easy it is to load and its reliability, and the general handling of the Tikka T3x is superb, which isn’t a surprise given that European hunters place great emphasis on how a rifle manages quick shots on running game.

In the Lite Stainless trim, the Tikka tips the scales at roughly 6.4 pounds, meaning that with a good light scope it will be easy to carry across any terrain.

This isn’t a fancy rifle with a lot of adornment. The barrel isn’t fluted, though the muzzle threaded 1×14. The black stock has textured panels molded into the grip and fore-end for a secure handhold, but otherwise is fairly plain.

But don’t let that fool you. This is a very capable gun and one of the best deer hunting rifles. I used one in Mongolia last year to make a very long and challenging shot on a sheep and never felt compromised by its basic design.

Cartridge options include .243 Win., 6.5×55 Swede, .270 Win., .30/06, 7mm Rem. Mag., .308 Win., 300 Win. Mag., 6.5 Creedmoor, and one of the best all-around big-game cartridges on earth, the 9.3×62.

Family Heirloom: Winchester Model 70 Super Grade

Winchester

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In a world of black rifles and synthetic stocks it is nice to see that some companies still make guns that harken back to deer hunting’s roots. Pretty much any kid who grew up in a deer-hunting family cast an envious eye toward their dad’s, or granddad’s, or uncle’s well-worn rifle hoping to inherit it someday.

Well, if you’re going to dream, dream big I say. The Winchester Model 70 Super Grade combines the iconic M70 action with drool-worthy wood and is the kind of gun that will get passed from one generation to the next.

The stock is made of AAAA Maple, and has a soft honey-colored hue with tiger-stripe figuring through the wood and a raised cheekpiece with a shadow line. The stock also has an ebony-tip and diamond-pattern checkering on the fore-end and grip that is both attractive and functional. A solid-black Pachmayr is a visual bookend to the ebony tip and imparts a harmonious look to the rifle.

Outdoor Life editor-in-chief Alex Robinson acquired one of these beauties last fall and had good things to say about it. Being a thoroughly traditional rifle, it delivered traditional accuracy, which is to say five shots in about 1.5 inches at 100 yards with select ammunition. Forget the social media boasting about half-inch groups (“all day long,” of course), that level of accuracy is more than sufficient for all but the most demanding deer hunts.

The Model 70 Super Grade comes with a hammer-forged barrel with a polished blue finish that’s even and well executed. The action is what Winchester calls a pre-’64 action, though in truth it is better made than the vintage M70s.

One upgrade is Winchester’s MOA trigger, which has a minimal amount of take-up for a clean crisp break. (Though there’s something to be said for a properly tuned old-school M70 trigger.) The action comes with a three-position safety and a jeweled bolt body as well.

If you want to go all-in on the vintage appeal of this rifle, get it chambered in .264 Win. Mag. with a 26-inch barrel. That will channel all your deer-hunting forefathers and make them smile from their place in the Happy Hunting Grounds beyond.

It’s also available in the very modern 6.8 Western as well as the usual suspects: .243 Win., 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win., .270 Win., .30/06, 7mm Rem. Mag., and .300 Win Mag.

Straight Wall Shooter: Mossberg Patriot

Mossberg

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As more states that previously had not allowed use of centerfire rifle rounds for deer hunting relax their regulations so that straight wall cartridges can be taken afield, gun makers have responded with new offerings.

For a hunter who wants to take advantage of the recently introduced .350 Legend (basically a lengthened .357 Magnum that is geared for these straight-wall states) but doesn’t want to spend a lot of money to do so, the Mossberg Patriot is the best deal going.

The Patriot has made several of our best rifle lists over the years and it continues to impress us with its solid design and good accuracy at a price that can’t easily be beat.

Mossberg is chambering two rifles in .350 Legend, one a plain synthetic stock rifle that can be had for less than $400, and an upgraded version in walnut that costs a bit more. Other than the stock material and the price, they are the same.

Both have 22-inch barrels and take four-round detachable box magazines. The magazines are light and easy to load and clip in and out of the action without a fuss. The rifles have Mossberg’s user-adjustable LBA trigger that can be set to break between 2 and 7 pounds.

The bolts have spiral flutes on them which help the guns run a more smoothly and add a bit of visual flair to the rifle’s otherwise basic aesthetics.

The rifles come with cross-slot bases affixed to the receiver so one only needs to buy a pair of rings to mount a scope.

In my experience the accuracy of these rifles has been pretty good, though the .350 Legend isn’t a round designed to shoot small groups. You can expect five-shot groups to measure about 2-inches at 100 yards based on what I’ve seen .350 Legend factory ammo do so far. While that isn’t going to win you internet bragging points, it is a heck of an upgrade from the slug guns that the .350 Legend is displacing. Plus, with its softer recoil it is much more pleasant to shoot.

Pennsylvania Stalwart: Remington 760 and 7600

Remington Arms

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You can’t talk about the best deer rifles without including one of the all-time greats, the Remington 760 and 7600. It might not be in production today, but for hunters in Pennsylvania and other parts of the Northeast, these slide-action repeaters will forever have a place in deer camp.

The calling card of these rifles is their fast-handling and ability to deliver quick follow-up shots. Picture still-hunting through a stand of hardwoods and jumping a heavy buck from his bed and you have the scenario that the 760 and 7600 was designed for.

Most 7600s came with 22-inch barrels and a four-round magazine. The rotary bolt system is actuated by the two action bars connected to the fore-end and is as slick as a bobsled run.

Most are stocked in walnut, though Remington made synthetic stocked 7600s—but to me those all-black guns miss the point.

The 760 and 7600 have shotgun-like stock dimensions so they are optimized to be shot with the fixed sights on the barrel. The receivers on the 7600 are drilled and tapped to take a scope, however. If you go that route, consider adding a raised cheek piece to the stock to get correct alignment with the optic.

By modern standards, the triggers are pretty rough, but shotgun shooters will feel right at home with a 7600 in their shoulder.

Remington started building the 760s in 1952 up through 1981, after which the 7600 was rolled out. The Model 7600 was made from 1981 until the company went bankrupt for the second time a couple years back. The current management of Remington Arms (as the company is now called) still has the 7600 list on their web site, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for new versions to be made any time soon given all the challenges that Big Green is facing.

You can still find them online and in used gun stores, however. The prices vary, but usually aren’t crazy. Even though the 7600 is beloved, it doesn’t carry around an inflated sense of its self-worth.

When production was halted, Remington was chambering the 7600 in .270 Win., .30/06, and .308 Win. But you can find some that were made in .243 Win., 6mm Rem., .35 Whelen and, my pick, .35 Remington.

FAQs About the Best Deer Hunting Rifles

Final Thoughts On The Best Deer Hunting Rifles

Selecting your best deer hunting rifle involves weighing a lot of factors. First and foremost is your budget. Start with a price tag you can live with that gets you a good rifle and quality scope and work from there.

Ideally, you want a rifle that you will enjoy shooting and will be able to shoot a lot without getting beat up. Excessive recoil can lead to flinching, which can be tougher to eradicate than rats from the NYC subway system. Better to avoid this potential problem and shoot a rifle and cartridge that is comfortable. With today’s selection of excellent hunting bullets, mild cartridges like the .243 Win., 7mm-08, and 6.5 Creedmoor are deadly on big game.

Lastly, you want a reliable rifle that will perform under the most adverse circumstances. All the rifles listed here check that box, meaning you could take any one of these afield with a high degree of confidence.

The post The Best Deer Hunting Rifles of 2023 appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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Best Overall		Federal 165-gr Fusion	SEE IT	LEARN MORE	Summary Number-one big-game round.
Best Lever Action		Federal 150-gr Fusion	SEE IT	LEARN MORE	Summary Classic, reliable deer caliber.
Best 243		Barnes 80-grain TTSX	SEE IT	LEARN MORE	Summary Benchrest wildcat.

Let’s get something clear, I’m writing about deer hunting calibers under duress. It isn’t that I have an issue with the subject. I just have a problem with the headline. Anyone with a scrap of ballistic sense knows that it should say the “best deer hunting cartridge.” But, alas, in a world where Google dictates our fate, we must follow the digital mob. And more people, by far, search for “best deer hunting calibers” than the technically correct “cartridge.” With that out of the way, let’s proceed.

How I Picked the Best Deer Hunting Calibers

This was no simple task. Being a top deer hunting caliber requires more than just knock-down power. These are the superstars of the whitetail world, with the numbers and longevity to support their claim to fame. Picking the best deer hunting cartridge also comes down to taste. And who has better taste in such matters than me, the Shooting Editor of Outdoor Life? I’m glad you agree.

The Immortal: .30/06 Springfield

The .30/06 Springfield is the Captain America of big-game cartridges. It’s been around forever, packs a punch, and helped us defeat the Nazis in World War II. Without question, it is the number-one big-game round of the 20th Century. And it’s still going strong.

Like many other hunters, my first real deer rifle was chambered in the ought-six. Shooting 165-grain ballistic tips I put hundreds of pounds of corn-fed Michigan venison in the freezer over the years. I’ve also hunted with it across North America and in Africa, using 150-grain soft points, 180-grain Triple Shocks, 200-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, 180-grain Accubonds, and a bunch of other bullets I can’t think of at the moment. You won’t find another round with a more versatile array of offerings. It really is the best all-around hunting rifle caliber.

Physics plays a big part in the .30/06’s success. It strikes a good balance between power and shootability. The recoil generated by the ought-six is at the upper end of what most shooters can manage without developing a debilitating flinch. And its terminal ballistics can handle all but thick-skinned dangerous game.

It’s certainly more gun than most whitetails require, but it gets the job done and carries with it a nostalgia that few cartridges can match. If it was good enough for Teddy Roosevelt, this deer hunting caliber is good enough for the likes of you and me.

Best Deer Ammo in .30/06 Springfield

Federal 165-grain Fusion

Federal

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Nosler 180-grain Accubond

Hornady American Whitetail 150-grain SP

Winchester 180-grain Ballistic Silvertip

Barnes 180-grain TTSX

OG Lever-Action Caliber: .30/30 Winchester

Crowning one cartridge as the best whitetail caliber is a difficult task, but it is hard to imagine which would surpass the .30/30 Winchester. It was introduced in 1895 in conjunction with the Winchester Model 94 lever gun, and in a century and a quarter since then we’ve never witnessed a more successful rifle and cartridge combo.

How did it come to dominate? Few people realize it these days, but both the rifle and round were technical marvels. The ’94 was a fast-handling and reasonably accurate rifle with great balance and ergonomics and an impressive magazine capacity. The .30/30 was the first small-bore smokeless cartridge introduced in the United States and kicked off the era of high-power cartridges in America.

Lest you think it is some relic of your grandfather’s era, the .30/30 is still the top selling lever-action cartridge, beating out the .45/70 even though that round has seen many more new offerings in terms of rifles and ammunition.

Why does the .30/30 endure? Well, more than 7.5 million Model 94s have rolled off Winchester’s production lines, to say nothing of all the Marlin 336’s and (more recently) Henry Repeating Arms lever guns that have been chambered in .30/30. So there’s no shortage of rifles chambered in this round.

But these numbers don’t tell the entire story. The .30/30 has plenty of power to take on whitetail within 200 yards, making it suitable for 95 percent of shots on deer. It also produces about half the recoil of a .30/06, so it is a pussycat to shoot. Hunters who favor the .30/30 see no reason to go to anything else and consider it the best deer hunting caliber for 200 yards and in.

Great loads for the .30/30 include Winchester’s 150-grain PowerPoint, Hornady’s 160-grain FTX LeverEvolution, and the Federal Premium 150-grain Barnes TSX hollow point.

Best Deer Ammo In .30/30 Win.

Federal 150-grain Fusion

Federal

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Winchester 150-grain Powerpoint

Remington 170-grain Core-Lokt SP

Hornady 160-grain FTX Leverevolution

Winchester 170-grain Powermax Bonded

Old-School Metric: 7mm Remington Magnum

In the murky and distant past—meaning before the internet—gun and ammo companies would print catalogs, which you could grab for free at the local sporting goods store. For a broke kid, this was a godsend, since I was able to read about and obsess over all the rifles and cartridges I couldn’t afford while trying to pick the best deer hunting caliber.

Those catalogs had ballistic tables in the back, comparing the cartridges and listing their muzzle energy, velocity, and drop at various yardages. I didn’t need to be told that the “best” cartridge would be the one that moved the fastest and dropped less than the others. More often than not, that cartridge would be the 7mm Rem. Mag. I know a lot of other young, aspiring hunters felt the same way.

As it turned out, I used my ballistic crush on the first deer I shot—a spike whitetail buck at about 35 yards that had wandered out of a cedar swamp to feed on the grassy hill where I had posted up. Though that shot didn’t take advantage of the 7mm Mag’s flat trajectory, it convinced me of the cartridge’s superior qualities.

Since 1962, when the round was introduced in conjunction with the Remington 700, countless others have arrived at the same conclusion. You can see the numbers crunched here, but the main takeaway is that when shooting at a 10-inch target the 7mm Rem. Mag has a point-blank zero of 365 yards when sighted 3.9 inches high at 100 yards. That’s with a 175-grain spire-point hunting bullet at 2900 fps.

Performance like that in a rifle that has tolerable recoil and isn’t too heavy to lug around the hills was sure to catch the fancy of savvy hunters. For that reason, the 7mm Rem. Mag. managed to overcome the American shooter’s aversion to metric labeled cartridges and turn into a massive success for the last 60 years. It’s a solid contender for the best deer caliber out to 500 yards.

Best Deer Ammo In 7mm Rem. Mag.

Black Hills Ammunition 175-grain ELD-X

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Remington 150-grain Core-Lokt Tipped

Nosler 168-grain Accubond LR

Hornady American Whitetail 139-grain SP Interlock

Winchester 150-grain Ballistic Silvertip

Jack O’Connor’s Legacy: .270 Winchester

There’s no way as shooting editor for this esteemed publication that I could fail to include the .270 Winchester on the list of contenders vying for the best deer hunting caliber. Winchester debuted the cartridge in 1925 along with the Model 54 rifle, which was the predecessor to the famed Model 70.

It might come as a surprise to some, but despite the gargantuan success of the .270 over the decades it was not an immediate hit with the shooting public. The .30/06 dominated with bolt-action rifles and the availability of cheap surplus ought-six ammo dissuaded shooters from trying this new-comer. In addition, some gun writers of the time questioned whether the .270 was as accurate as the .30/06 or delivered the velocities Winchester advertised, casting more doubt on the round. It did, however, catch the fancy of Jack O’Connor, who sang its praises in Outdoor Life, and as hunters tried the .270 they found they liked it very much indeed.

What drew O’Connor to the cartridge was the impressive ballistics of the round when shooting a 130-grain spire-pointed bullet. With a muzzle velocity of about 3140 fps, the .270 is forgiving on deer at unknown ranges. As O’Connor put it in his 1949 work, The Rifle Book: “Sighted to hit the point of aim at 200 yards with a scope sight, the 130-grain bullet drops only 5 inches at 300 yards, not enough to miss even a small deer with a hold in the center of the chest.”

For hunters looking for the best long range caliber of that time, O’Connor suggested sighting in at 300 yards. This puts the bullet about 3 inches high at 100, 4 inches low at 350, and just 10 inches low at 400.

Long before shooters were talking about ballistic coefficients, O’Connor hammered home the value of retained velocity down range. He illustrated many examples of how the .270 hit harder and had better killing power at longer distances thanks to aerodynamic efficiency of the 130-grain “sharp points.”

His outstanding prose, and experience in the field, tipped the scales in favor of the .270 to the point where it has run neck-in-neck with the .30/06 in terms of popularity for three quarters of a century. Even though the cartridge no longer enjoys the prominence it once did, it’s hard to imagine it slipping out of the top 10 deer calibers anytime soon.

Best Deer Ammo In .270 Win.

Remington 130-grain Core-Lokt Tipped

Remington

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Winchester 130-grain Deer Season Copper Impact

Hornady 145-grain ELD-X

Federal 130-grain Fusion

Nosler 130-grain Accubond

Benchrest Wildcat: .243 Winchester

In a sad twist of fate, the .243 Winchester has become known as a child’s deer cartridge. Talk about damned by faint praise. When state game departments established rules for allowable big-game rounds, a number put the minimum at 6mm caliber (.243 inch) cartridges, which is why I suspect it got that rap. Being the “minimum” it must be not as good as bigger, manlier cartridges, and therefore has been equated with youth rifles and first-time hunters.

It didn’t start life that way, however. It was the brainchild of a group of accuracy-obsessed riflemen, including former Field & Stream rifles editor Warren Page, who went on to establish benchrest shooting. Page had been fooling around with a number of 6mm wildcats in the late 1940s, but when Winchester introduced the .308 Winchester in 1952, he discovered the platform he’d been looking for. Page and his cohorts necked the .308 down to 6mm and gave birth to the .243 Winchester.

The .243 gained popularity so quickly that Winchester offered it as a factory round in 1955, an astonishingly quick rise from wildcat status to commercial production. From the get-go, deer hunters took a shine to the .243 Winchester. For the time, it represented the pinnacle of high-performance long-range accuracy. And the fact that its recoil didn’t threaten to detach your retinas with each trigger pull was a big bonus. Reloaders also appreciated that it didn’t require a cup full of powder to assemble a cartridge.

Fans of the .243 have helped it maintain its status as one of the best deer cartridges, though it never could dislodge the .30/06, .270 and .308 from the top slots. But as .243 shooters know, it is an ideal one-rifle solution for hunters who chase deer and predators and is arguably the best pronghorn antelope round ever.

The best bullets for deer are those weighing 90 grains or more. Those heavy-for-caliber projectiles penetrate well and shoot flat and do a decent job of bucking the wind thanks to their high ballistic coefficients. Nosler’s 90-grain AccuBond, Federal’s 95-grain Fusion, Hornady’s 103-grain ELD-X, and Berger’s 105-grain Target Hybrid are all excellent bullets. For non-lead bullets, the 85-grain Barnes TSX and Federal 85-grain Trophy Copper deliver outstanding terminal performance.

Best Deer Ammo In .243 Win.

Barnes 80-grain TTSX

Barnes

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Hornady 90-grain ELD-X

Winchester 95-grain Deer Season

Black Hills Ammunition 80-grain Hornady GMX

Remington 100-grain Core-Lokt Tipped

Battlefield Proven: .308 Winchester

The fastest way for a new cartridge to gain widespread acceptance with the shooting public is for the military to adopt it. That’s what happened with the .308 Winchester. Frankfort Arsenal designed a prototype cartridge called the T65 in an effort to approximate .30/06 (the U.S. service round at the time) performance in a shorter cartridge. Winchester thought the project held promise for civilian shooters and hunters and in 1952 trotted out the .308 Winchester. Since the wheels of government bureaucracy churn slowly, it wasn’t until 1954 that the military version—the 7.62x51mm NATO—was unveiled.

The .308 Winchester is certainly the most successful short-action big-game hunting round in history. It’s been used worldwide on everything short of dangerous game and is a perennial favorite among whitetail hunters.

In a well-constructed action, it is one of the most accurate rounds out there and is capable to 500 yards on deer and other big game. As I’m sure you know, the military has relied on it for many years in a variety of sniper rifles and in that role, it is effective to 1,000 yards.

For hunters the most common bullet choices are those from 150 to 180 grains. On the lighter end, you’ll find bullets like the 150-grain Barnes TSX and 150-grain Trophy Copper. The 165-grain Nosler AccuBond and 165-grain Trophy Bonded Tip both occupy a sweet spot in the middle. And the heavyweight offerings include the 180-grain Nosler Partition and Federal’s new 175-grain Terminal Ascent, which is designed for long-range hunting. All these projectiles work great on deer and larger game.

A good friend of mine who is a shooting nerd and avid Western hunter, uses a .308 on the coastal blacktails he hunts in his home state of Oregon. The timber covered mountains have patches of clearcuts where the deer hang out and long cross-canyon shots are the norm. To anchor the deer quickly, he needs a bullet that will put them down, but the bullet must also be accurate enough to make those shots. For him, the .308 is the answer, combining the desired knock-down power with pin-point precision. Most deer hunters don’t encounter such technical shooting scenarios, but the .308 is one round that can handle most any task you’d ask of it.

Read Next: Best .308 Hunting Rifles

Best Deer Ammo In .308 Win.

Winchester 165-grain Accubond

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Barnes 168-grain TTSX

Federal Premium 165-grain Sierra Gameking

Federal 175-grain Terminal Ascent

Sig Sauer 150-grain HT

The Underdog: .223 Remington

“The only hunters who don’t think a .223 will kill a deer are those that haven’t shot a deer with a .223.” Those words of wisdom were uttered by a friend of mine on a phone call some years back while discussing our favorite whitetail rounds—and I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment.

I think a lot of hunters feel squeamish about shooting a whitetail with a .223, and in several states a .223 doesn’t meet the minimum caliber requirements. But the fact is that with the right bullet a .223 is ample medicine for any whitetail buck out there.

I’ll admit, I used to be in the no-way camp. But then I took my 10-year-old son on his first deer hunts. I equipped him with one of my 3-gun AR-15 carbines with an adjustable stock and he smoked the hell out of every deer that crossed his path, including some very large-bodied bucks in Nebraska.

I was impressed by how decisive those kills were and decided to give it a try myself and for a couple seasons notched a handful of deer tags with a .223. I used a number of bullets and among my favorites are Barnes’ 62-grain TSX, Sig Sauer’s 60-grain HT and 77-grain OTMs. Is the .223 the best AR-15 deer hunting caliber? I think that when you consider how simple it is to build a tack-driver of a .223 (just go with a 1:7 twist for these heavy bullets) and how well an AR balances with the round that the answer is yes. The ample availability of inexpensive ammo (at least during normal times) is another factor in favor of the .223. It’s certainly what I’d consider the best deer hunting caliber with least recoil generated.

Read Next: Best 5.56 Ammo

Best Deer Ammo In .223 Rem.

Winchester 64-grain Deer Season

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Black Hills Ammunition 62-grain Triple Shock

Federal Premium 60-grain Nosler Partition

Sig Sauer 60-grain HT

Nosler 77-grain HPBT

The Boomer: .300 Winchester Magnum

If the .223 Remington is at one end of the ballistic spectrum for deer hunters, then the .300 Winchester Magnum bookends the other. This potent round brings deer-killing capability at every reasonable (and even unreasonable) distance a hunter might shoot. But with the significant caveat that the hunter must be able to handle the .300’s sharp recoil. Sad to say, many hunters cannot.

We’ll leave that aside for the moment. Let’s first look at the virtues of this belted .30-caliber magnum. Introduced in 1963, the .300 Win. Mag. was based off the .338 Win. Mag., which was, in turn, developed from the granddaddy of all belted magnums, the .375 H&H. At this time, the .300 Win. Mag. faced some stiff competition among .30-caliber magnums. One advantage it had over the most popular .30, the .300 H&H Magnum, is that it could be chambered in a standard long-action rifle, whereas the .300 H&H required a magnum-length action to run. The other .30s of the time—the .308 Norma Magnum and the .30-338 Winchester (arguably a better design) didn’t have the same support from gun makers as the .300 Win. Mag., so they fell behind with the shooting public.

The original loads for the .300 Winchester were with 150- and 180-grain bullets. Published velocities put them at 3400 fps and 3070 fps respectively giving the round a 350 to 400 fps advantage over the .30/06 with the same bullet weights. At 500 yards, the .300 Win. Mag. shoots about 15 inches flatter than the ’06 with a 180-grainer, so you can see the appeal. Where the .300 Win. Mag. especially shines is with some of the excellent heavy-for-caliber bullets in the 190- to 212-grain range.

For instance, Hornady’s 200-grain ELD-X load at 2850 fps from a 24-inch barrel and a 200-yard zero hits just 20 inches low at 400 and 40 inches at 500. Even out past 500 yards, this round is carrying more than 2000 foot-pounds of energy.

Where you pay the price is with recoil. The felt recoil from a .300 Win. Mag. is about 30-percent greater than from a .30/06. Unless that rifle carries some extra weight or a good muzzle brake, it will be difficult to shoot well. And no one practices as much as they should with a rifle that beats them up, compounding the problem. The result is lousy shot placement on game.

Fans of the big magnums insist that a benefit to these boomers is that they are more forgiving with bullet placement than lesser cartridges. Personally, I think that advantage is negated by the poorer shooting one sees with these thumpers, but to each his own.

For a shooter who has actually mastered one of these rifles, it is perhaps the best deer and elk rifle caliber available.

Best Deer Ammo In .300 Win. Mag.

Winchester 190-grain Accubond LR

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Hornady 200-grain ELD-X

Federal 150-grain Fusion

Barnes 180-grain Tipped TSX BT

Remington 180-grain Swift Scirocco

The Newcomer: 6.5 Creedmoor

You didn’t think we could make it through a list of the best deer calibers and not talk about the 6.5 Creedmoor, did you? I’ll confess, I find the red-faced rage that some folks harbor against the 6.5 Creed amusing. Most detractors say that the 6.5 Creedmoor can’t do anything that their grandpa’s deer rifle can’t do and leave it at that. Other, more technically oriented, critics argue the Creed doesn’t perform as well as other .264-caliber rounds like the 6.5×55 Swede, the .260 Remington, 6.5-284 Norma Mag., and the .264 Winchester Mag. Neither line of argument is convincing.

How often do you hear the term match-grade thrown around? Match-grade rifles. Match-grade barrels. Match-grade ammunition. What does it mean? Well, for something to be match grade it must—wait for it—win shooting matches. Otherwise, it is meaningless marketing blather.

One only need look at the NRL Hunter series, where shooters must use hunting-style rifles to shoot real-world scenarios, to understand that not every deer hunting caliber is created equal.

The 6.5 Creedmoor dominates in NRL Hunter because it combines outstanding accuracy and shootability with bullets that are excellent on big game.

One key facet of “shootability” is the shooter’s ability to manage the rifle’s recoil and spot where their bullet went and make an accurate follow-up shot if needed. Larger cartridges, even something as relatively mild as the .308 Winchester, can’t compete with the 6.5 Creedmoor on this point.

As for the arguments concerning the other 6.5 cartridges—and I have experience with them all—they, too, don’t hold up. Since these are technical arguments—mostly concerning the ability of those cartridges to drive a given bullet faster—it requires a technical rebuttal.

The genius of the 6.5 Creedmoor is that it is such a well-balanced cartridge that is designed to maximize its accuracy potential. The fast twist rate (1:8 inches) works better with the aeroballistically efficient 130-grain (and larger) 6.5mm bullets than the 1:9 twist on the other 6.5s. The neck and chamber dimensions are tighter and the leade in the throat is at an optimized (1.5 degree) angle, so the case is more inherently accurate than those other rounds. Compared to the Swede, the Norma and the Win. Mag., it is a short-action cartridge, which is another accuracy-enhancing element in its favor.

The sum of all these details is why the 6.5 Creedmoor winning matches, and why the other 6.5s don’t.

Do these advantages translate into better performance on game? In most cases, no. When the shots aren’t challenging, then there’s not meaningful difference. But in those cases where the shots are longer and you need every bit of accuracy your rifle and cartridge can muster, then, yes, the 6.5 Creed excels and in my mind is the best deer hunting caliber of the modern era.

You can read more about the evolution of the 6.5 Creedmoor and how it came to dominate here.

Best Deer Ammo In 6.5 Creedmoor

Hornady 143-grain ELD-X

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Federal 130-grain Terminal Ascent

Nosler 140-grain Ballistic Tip

Remington 129-grain Core-Lokt Tipped

Black Hills Ammunition 120-grain GMX

More of the Best Deer Hunting Calibers—That Didn’t Make the List

There are a number of great deer cartridges that didn’t make the final cut for this story. Many of them are personal favorites, which vexes me to no end—but I couldn’t see them dislodging any of the rounds we’ve talked about as the best deer hunting caliber.

The one 6.5 I didn’t mention in the writeup on the 6.5 Creedmoor is the even-newer 6.5 PRC. Whether this round achieves long-lasting success is an open question. But it is an outstanding cartridge that delivers great accuracy and has a little more gas in the tank than the 6.5 Creed. It pushes bullets about 250 fps faster and has been winning ELR (extreme long-range matches) even when going head-to-head against big .30s and .33s like the .300 Norma, .300 PRC and .338 Lapua. It definitely hits above its weight class and is my number one choice for open-country hunting.

The .280 Remington is impossible not to love. It’s the scrappy underdog that elbowed its way in between the .270 and .30/06 and has managed to hang in there despite the dominance of those rounds. Don’t bother with the Ackley “improved” AI version. It doesn’t give you anything other than excess pressure.

There are several quarter-bores that are great deer rounds. The .257 Roberts, which is continuing its slide into obsolescence, is near and dear to my heart. And the .25/06 and .257 Weatherby are also wonderful on deer. But fewer and fewer hunters look to the .25s these days.

In a lever gun, I’ve always been partial to the .35 Remington. The .30/30 is king, but the .35 Rem. packs a bit more punch and watching a big buck flop over after taking a 200-grain round nose from one is a sight to behold.

Read Next: 10 Best Deer Hunting Guns Today

The .338 Federal is another good round that’s been lost in the mix. It was introduced in 2006 amid a flurry of cartridge introductions and never quite caught on. For about 3 years I used it extensively, on everything from deer, bear, moose and elk and was impressed by its performance. I agree with my friend Ron Spomer that it is probably the best deer cartridge you’ve never tried.

Best Deer Ammo In 6.5 PRC

Hornady 143-grain ELD-X

Federal 130-grain Terminal Ascent

Nosler 140-grain Ballistic Tip

Best Deer Ammo In .257 Roberts

Nosler 110-grain Accubond

Norma American PH 100-grain SP

Remington 117-grain SP

Best Deer Ammo In .280 Rem.

Nosler 140-grain Accubond

Hornady 150-grain ELD-X

Federal Premium 140-grain Trophy Bonded Tip

Best Deer Ammo In .35 Remington

Hornady 200-grain FTX Leverevolution

Remington 200-grain Core-Lokt

Federal 200-grain SP

Best Deer Ammo in .338 Federal

Federal 200-grain Trophy Bonded Tip

Federal 200-grain Trophy Copper

Federal 200-grain Fusion

The post Best Deer Hunting Calibers of 2023 appeared first on Outdoor Life.

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