Successful deer hunters know one thing - what rifle and caliber perform best for them. Although we mere mortals may never the chance to shoot the variety of weapons the pros have access to, here are some combinations that the best of the best have found successful. Maybe there is one that is right for you.
Kevin Van Dam from Michigan uses a Remington Alaskan Wilderness Rifle in 7mm Ultra Mag. He chooses the Remington 150gr "Swift Scirrocco" cartridge and mounts a Swarovski 2.5X10X50mm up top. With a little tweak from his gunsmith to bring the trigger pull down to a smooth 2.75 pounds he is ready to go.
Larry Weishuhn, TV Host of World of Whitetail uses A Thompson/Center Encore Pistol with a 15-inch barrel! This in .308 using Winchester 168-grain Ballistic SilverTip. Add a Nikon Encore 2.5X8X28 Scope and he is good to take down a buck with that pistol at 175 yards.
Bill Johnson, co-host of RealTree television, also likes a Thompson/Center Encore. His rifle employs 140-grain Nosler Partician in Federal .280 caliber. A three pound trigger and Nikon scope means he is ready for any size deer in North America.
Jackie Bushman of Buckmasters TV sports the old standby Remington 700 BDL platform in .300 WinMag. He prefers the Federal Premiom Trophy Tip at 180gr and of course a Nikon/Buckmasters 4X12 scope. 3-lb trigger and muzzle proting to reduce recoil add to his accuracy.
Notice a pattern? Not really... different rifles, different calibers and loads, and different scopes. But one thing is certain. These guys find what works for them and stick with it. The results show.