[Rooster59]

I'm a lever-action-or-nothing hunter and rifle shooter. A good friend who is exactly the same but with bolt actions has engaged in a friendly verbal tet-a-tet with me for several years over our choice of firearms for deer hunting. My wife and I spent the weekend with he and his wife at their hunting cabin. Annie and I took our pistols along for his wife to shoot in anticipation of her getting her concealed carry firearm.

Of course I took few of our rifles as well. The Rossi 92 45Colt, 1894C (friend's wife loves this one), and Annie's 1895G. Said friend enjoys shooting all of them but would never buy one, and his father would dis-own him for thinking about it. Over dinner on the way home from the cabin yesterday evening friend's wife told him how she would really prefer to deer hunt with the Rossi 92. It was even easier for her 5'0" frame to handle and it packs enough punch to do the job since they can't get more than an 85 yard shot anywhere on their 76 acres of heavy woods.

Now comes the tough part. Said friend decided we should trade rifles for the upcoming deer season. I would have to use his Browning A-Bolt .30-06 with Burris 3-9 scope and he would use my 1895CB with Williams FP peep sight. I hastily agreed to the "bet" before giving it thorough consideration. We agreed to do some practicing together this summer at our rifle club to insure each is suitably comfortable with the other's rifle to insure their deer season isn't upset by a hastily agreed upon challenge. I know the capabilities of my rifle and his is a fine example of the breed as well. Since he only has short shots he uses Remington 220RN factory rounds and he will be using my 405RNFP handloads in the range of 1350FPS with either 2400 or IMR4198.

My only fear is I will get a deer with that nasty bolt gun and feel like I'll need a shower right afterward! I think he is looking forward to bringing a lever gun to deer camp with his father and brothers there and stirring the pot. All the men in their family enjoy harrassing each other at every opportunity. This should be interesting..................

 

[SHOOTER13]

Let us know how that goes...!!

 

[axxe55]

rooster, worse case, you really like the bolt action 30-06, and end up taking a deer with it, then go buy a Marlin XL7 30-06! problem solved!

 

[Rooster59]

rooster, worse case, you really like the bolt action 30-06, and end up taking a deer with it, then go buy a Marlin XL7 30-06! problem solved!

I hear you axxe55. He has a nice scope on it and I have been contemplating a bolt gun for longer distances in the neighborhood of 200-300yds but I'd probably lean more to a 270 or 7mm-08 for lower recoil. The .30-06 wouldn't be as much recoil as my 1895CB with 325LE ammo though.

Not using a scope has always provided a good excuse to sleep a few more minutes in the morning and quit hunting before dusk due to available light. Plus I prefer not to drag out a deer in the dark.

Maybe I'll use my 336TS and just "tell" him I shot it with his .30-06! But I probably won't.

 

[JohnnyLoco]

Rooster, I suspect most of us are drawn to the lever guns for nostalgic purposes.

They don't run smoothly for many folks, a pain to unload, limited capability and such.

A Stainless laminate 30.06 Bolt gun really is a go any where, kill anything gun.

 

[Hyphenated]

220gr bullets?? Has your friend spotted 'Big Foot' on his property?? It sounds like a 30-30 or 35rem is perfect for his hunting situation.

 

[Rooster59]

220gr bullets?? Has your friend spotted 'Big Foot' on his property?? It sounds like a 30-30 or 35rem is perfect for his hunting situation.

(Let me start this reply by saying I mean no disrespect to any of our current or ex armed services members. The two ex-servicemen friends of mine who are the subject of this thread are my eternal gun topic verbal sparring partners.)

He's a Marine and so is his father. For these two what would seem overkill to us is inadequate to them. Since their farm is 99% wooded they have little need for a bullet with little trajectory deviation. Then it is just a matter of what whacks 'em the hardest under 100 yards. Hence the 220RN.

That being the case, and of course the US Marines being the fittest fighting group in the world, my argument that he could use a 405gr lead slug and peep sight to shoot deer was more than adequate. I believe I made some comment like, "the need for a 30-06 and 3-9 scope to shoot deer under a 100 yards sounds more like a WAC than a US Marine........."

That may have been more than he could justify, even in his mind. Play to their weaknesses. Hehehehehe!

 

[Hyphenated]

Well if you really want to get his goat...tell him as a former Marine he shouldn't even need a rifle to kill a deer.

 

[Rooster59]

Well if you really want to get his goat...tell him as a former Marine he shouldn't even need a rifle to kill a deer.

I'll do that to stir the pot when I see him next week.

By the way, it is my experience you can be ex-Army, ex-Navy, and ex-Air Force, but it is impossible to be ex-Marine. Once you are a Marine you are always a Marine. In or out. These guys are two chips off the old Chesty Puller block.

 

[outfitter]

or you could do the sensible thing and give him a hundred dollar bill to rescind the bet so you don't have to use that bolt 06

 

[LT67]

A deer isn't going to notice the difference between a lever gun and a bolt gun.... the venison won't taste any different either. I currently use 3 different rifles for deer hunting; 336CS in .35Rem w/Williams peep sights, Savage 99 in .300Sav w/factory sights and Savage 110C bolt gun in .243 w/Redfield 2x7 scope. I prefer the lever guns, but the bolt gun gets taken out quite often during the season.

 

[Rooster59]

Annie and I had a couple brews with the patriarch of the bolt luvin family last Thursday evening. He appears to be cooking up a scheme to convince the junior family member into calling it quits on the deal. I thought the elder was going to turn green when Annie mentioned the deal we made. LOL.

If nothing else it will be fun trading barbs for the next several months over the sensitive subject.