Deer Jihad!!!

[Pk14]

Grrrr....$7200 / 2 weeks and counting, probably another $1500 once the exterior stuff is pulled away.





Wife gave green light to joining the Deer Management Society and I am looking for advice on recommended gear. 5.56 hunting in Virginia is a no-go for these pests, so I need a bigger caliber. I have a Leopold MR/T 1.5 x 5 SPR on the way for my Noveske N4 FSR (thanks for the tire-kicking, GotM4!) which would be useful for expected ranges (max 300 yds), although a dedicated deer scope isn't out of the question.

I saw the 6.8 vs 308 thread (https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=22312)

My initial thought was a 6.5 Grendel upper, however, skimming these threads, its pretty clear that there are a lot of choices. Would a Remington 700 SPS Tactical in .308 (~$600) be a better choice for annual outings?

Thanks for the advice and Happy Thanksgiving to all,
Pk

[NoBody]

Deleted.

[Dan Goodwin]

I'm in danger of becoming known as the "Pawn Shop Guy", but you can find Rem 700 Youth/or Model Seven in .243/.308/7-08/'06 pretty cheap around here. In the 700 youth gun you get matte finish, 20-in bbl, 13-in LOP syn. stock. You can dicker them under $300 usually.

Put that 1.5-5x Leupold on one and inside 300 yards any deer you shoot will die thinking it was shot with a AI/AW.

If you want CRF, look for a Ruger 77 Mark II

IMHO a Remington 700/Seven/Ruger 77 in any .308-based round with a 4X or low-powered variable is a "McRifle" that can handle just about any chore (thru elk, & including human defense) except thick skinned dangerous game.

We've got a Ruger 77 Compact (16-in. LW bbl) stainless/laminate in .260 Remington that is death on a cracker for deer and coyotes with 120 gr. BTs.

[Pk14]

I'm glad to see no body was hurt in the accident (well, not counting the deer). You were very fortunate!

Have to agree - had just dropped off daughter to a birthday party and was heading home (after a 2 week out of town det) - country road, open field on right with a 4' fence - didn't see it leap into the road until the last second, 45 mph vs a 200 lb doe - died instantly - another 2' left and it would have been in the driver's compartment.

I did get lucky, however, percentage chance of it happening are going up. Population is out of control. Insurance adjuster had 7 in last two days and interestingly, half of them had deer whistles.

Time to get pro-active.

Pk

[Pk14]

I'm in danger of becoming known as the "Pawn Shop Guy", but you can find Rem 700 Youth/or Model Seven in .243/.308/7-08/'06 pretty cheap around here. In the 700 youth gun you get matte finish, 20-in bbl, 13-in LOP syn. stock. You can dicker them under $300 usually.

Put that 1.5-5x Leupold on one and inside 300 yards any deer you shoot will die thinking it was shot with a AI/AW.

If you want CRF, look for a Ruger 77 Mark II

IMHO a Remington 700/Seven/Ruger 77 in any .308-based round with a 4X or low-powered variable is a "McRifle" that can handle just about any chore (thru elk, & including human defense) except thick skinned dangerous game.

We've got a Ruger 77 Compact (16-in. LW bbl) stainless/laminate in .260 Remington that is death on a cracker for deer and coyotes with 120 gr. BTs.

Thanks, Dan - my Black Friday will probably start at VA Arms to see what they've got -

Cheers,
Pk

[Buck]

They dont call these the Model 37 Deer Slayers for nothing...

Attachment 1603

B

[TOrrock]

Again, glad no one was hurt.

What part of VA are you in?

Pretty much anything east of I 95 is shotgun only, west is usually open to rifles.

[sholling]

I'm just glad you guys are ok!

If rifles are legal to take deer with then realistically about your best choice is a bolt action rifle. By the time you get though the waiting lists for a 6.8 SPC upper it could be mid summer. If you have $500 for a rifle and $200 for a scope it's hard to beat a Tikka T3 Lite in 30-06 sporting a Nikon Team Primos scope. The Tikka is extremely accurate (sub MOA), very light weight (6.3lbs), handles like a dream, and has a great trigger. The Team Primos is a rebadged Nikon Monarch UCC - an excellent scope.

If money is too tight for the Tikka/Nikon setup then look at a Howa/Hogue/Nikko-Stirling bundle for about $520ish. Howas are heavy but rock solid and accurate, and the Nikko-Stirling they come with is about equal to a Bushnell Banner. Good enough to get you a few deer before you upgrade the optics. If you have kids they make a youth model with both youth and adult size stocks and a shortened barrel for about $50 more.

[Pk14]

Again, glad no one was hurt.

What part of VA are you in?

Pretty much anything east of I 95 is shotgun only, west is usually open to rifles.

West of Manassas - I have a Mossy 590 Mariner 9 shot with a SF forearm, GRS, and a Knoxx stock - I'd have no issues using it out to 100 yds the way it is currently set up with Ranger 1 oz. slugs (have to get a dowel in the mag tube to get to 4 round capacity).

Since I don't have a hunting rifle yet, a free chit from the wife had me looking towards a rifle. I like the idea of a larger round in an AR-15 compatible upper, however, even after adding a pic rail length to a 700 SPS Tactical in order to bolt on the MR/T 1.5 x 5 would set me back around $650 instead of ~ $1000 for a good AA upper in 6.5 Grendel or a similar 6.8 SPC.

Thanks for the suggestion, Sholling - I'll look into the Tikka T3 as well.

Cheers,
Pk

[Robb Jensen]

West of Manassas - I have a Mossy 590 Mariner 9 shot with a SF forearm, GRS, and a Knoxx stock - I'd have no issues using it out to 100 yds the way it is currently set up with Ranger 1 oz. slugs (have to get a dowel in the mag tube to get to 4 round capacity).

Since I don't have a hunting rifle yet, a free chit from the wife had me looking towards a rifle. I like the idea of a larger round in an AR-15 compatible upper, however, even after adding a pic rail length to a 700 SPS Tactical in order to bolt on the MR/T 1.5 x 5 would set me back around $650 instead of ~ $1000 for a good AA upper in 6.5 Grendel or a similar 6.8 SPC.

Thanks for the suggestion, Sholling - I'll look into the Tikka T3 as well.

Cheers,
Pk

Pk,
VA now only requires a plug in a shotgun if you're hunting migratory game birds...