I lived on a ranch in Northern California in the 1960's. (That state was a great place then).
Typically, I saw 700 series Remingtons, Savage 99's and Marlin .30-30's. But that was long ago and far away!

Hard to agree with a top 8 or 10 list that doesn't have the Rem 788 on it somewhere.

Only produced from 1967 to 1983, 565,000 units. But I certainly love my two.

Are there stats somewhere with what the most popular deer caliber is now-a-days?

I bet the 6.5 CM would top the list.

For new rifle sales, I bet it's up there. But I bet it's not even top 10 in rifle ammo sales Sept-Dec.

It might be hard to uncover the actual numbers. It's my understanding scopes for deer rifles didn't appear until after WWII, which would have accelerated sales of bolt actions since the early 94's did not work with them (top eject). Still, there's a roughly a 50-year window when the lever action probably ruled the woods and deer were abundant in other parts of the country. There's probably little denying the repeating rifle played a key role in reducing the deer population so greatly the first harvest restrictions were put in place.

Interesting list...and one that I've seen vary tremendously by locale. For instance: when the She-Wolf and I were living/working in Louisiana I often saw what I came to think of as "the State Deer Rifle of Louisiana": a Remington 742 with a Bushnell 3-9 in see-through mounts. Just shoot me!

Mark

if you go back to the early 1900's, in the North East & into Canada, I think the Savage 1899 was very popular deer, black bear gun

If nothing else, this thread has made many of us aware of the models that had taken a lot of deer before any of us were even a sparkle in our daddy's eyes.

Nothing has I still add numbers to the 30-30 (Marlin 336) tally every year and know quite a few other hunters that do as well. Don't get me wrong, I love my .308 (and others as well) but I love my 30-30 more.

Since this list comes out about once a month, every month, you’d think we’d have it memorized by now.

This looks like a list of "most used", not a list of "the best one to use". In order to make this list, there would have to have been a ton produced and bought. In comparison to all the rifles on this list, I would venture to say that the 788 does not even come close in numbers produced.

the .30-06 has for sure, as well as the .270, probably the 7mm mag, etc.


we are killing more deer now than almost any time in history, due to increased numbers of deer as well as increased distribution.


Case in point, right now there are ranches that are in the middle of large scale culling. Most of these jobs are done with hot .22 caliber centerfires. A few ranches will beat the harvest numbers that would take a few counties to match several decades ago.


I've been hearing that " the 30-30 has taken more game than any other cartridge" for the last 30 years....its just not the truth anymore.

I’m not so sure the .30-30 has been passed yet. Still high up in ammo sales as of 2015 - and you can bet almost none of those rounds were used punching paper/ringing steel. (Approximation but still pretty well compiled list. You can bet lots of the .223 and .308 rounds were shot at targets also. By now the 6.5 CM will not only make the list, but probably be pretty high on it.)

I think Chuck Hawks is a loon

I don’t know on the 30-30, 124 years is a damn lot of game. I still hunt with mine on occasion.

Grant it it did come out when there wasn’t a lot of game. But still 10 years on the 30-06 is a lot, especially at 1/2 the recoil

Speaking of regional opinions, I fear making mention of it but the guy working the gun counter at Gene Taylor's Outfitters in Gunnison, CO didn't appear too excited about the 6.5 Creedmoor when I brought it up in friendly conversation. He mentioned it being a great target round but nothing more. Could be wrong but I suspect the locals in that part of the world remain hung on the .270 and other longstanding calibers for taking the critters that roam their woods.

A couple years ago I hunted in Wisconsin. There are a lot of lever guns used there, Winchester and Marlin. 30/30 and 35 Remington still popular.
Since most on this or any forum are gun guys we tend to use newer guns and cartridges. I have friends I hunt with who are using a rifle the family has hunted with for generations. They are just as successful as the Creedmoor guys.
When I think of what a “Real Deer Rifle” is I think Winchester Model 70 in 30-06 or 270 Winchester.

OK. I figure he can gather and read ammunition sales figures as well as the next guy.

Also a Mauser clone, and surprisingly not on the list. It pretty much kicked off the bolt action/scoped deer rifle. (It's such a clone the US had to pay Mauser royalties after WW III)

Worked the land where I hunt on Sunday.... my go to rifle is on the bottom with the ammo that stays in the case.

It’s a 788LH in 6mm, the reason for the pic was my friends go to is a 700 in 6mm.

There are 740,000 deer hunters in PA, which is about the same as there are in TX. And, since their season is much shorter and they cannot use autoloaders, quite a few of them use 760s. Same in NY. That is why it is on the list.

Gotta' admit my very first deer rifle was a 7400 Woodsmaster. It was plenty accurate and a soft recoiling .308 for a 90 pound kid. I kinda' want to take it to the range now to see if it's as accurate as I remember it being.

Edited to add: TXLEFTY that Southpaw-6 is a thing of beauty!

And the Savage 110 is the oldest continuously manufactured bolt action rifle in North America and I am sure they have probably sold 10 times as many 110's as Remington has 760's. On top of that the 110 is a favorite all across the U.S. not just one little corner of our great country. The price point, accuracy, and reliability of it are legendary (but still ugly). How it was overlooked I have no idea!