Riflescopes and Scope Accessories

One of the most important decisions for you to make in your hunting career is what deer hunting rifle you should purchase. Picking a firearm that has the ballistics, style, action, sighting and size to match your hunting terrain and personal abilities is the key to completing your mission once a suitable prey in hunted and found. Whether or not you make the kill is largely reliant on whether or not your deer hunting rifle matches up best with the criteria above.

The Significance of the Location You will Hunt

There are two predominant types of deer hunting environments ; deep wood/ dense brush country and open range country. You may be hunting in an area that has a mixture of both these environment types. Each environment commands its own unique shooting style and rifle traits.

Deep Woods/Dense Brush Deer Hunting Rifles

Good woods and brush deer hunting rifles should excel in short to medium range shooting. The average shooting distance in this type of environment is from twenty-five to two hundred yards. You should avoid a deer hunting rifle that’s too heavy; it shouldn’t be more than nine pounds, and don’t get a barrel that’s longer than twenty-two inches - it’s gotta be short and light to get you to move quickly. When in dense brush, you have to be able to move around. Get a deer hunting rifle that offers fast reload -  automatics or lever action would be best; you might have to do a quick follow shot when you’re deer hunting in rough terrain. Heavy bulleted cartridges to penetrate brush are required, I recommend .270 or larger caliber and at least a 120 grain bullet. Calibers or cartridges which exceed 2200 feet per second velocity are not suggested as bullet deflection by the brush must be at a minimum. Scopes of four power or variable scopes which go down to 3X are recommended, and if your hunting terrain only permits shots of fifty yards or less then you might prefer open sights. Practice at the rifle range to determine if you can become comfortable with open site shooting.

Open Range Hunting Deer Hunting Rifles

If you’re planning on hunting in a more open area, get a deer hunting rifle that can shoot accurately at least three hundred yards. In this situation, mobility is less important than being able to shoot accurately, and the ability to make long distance shots.  That said, most open range deer hunting rifles are heavier than their deep woods counterparts, and have a longer barrel. Flat shooting high velocity rifle calibers and cartridges are required here. 6MM (.243) calibers or higher will work well, and bullets from 100 grains or heavier will be best. Typically the larger the caliber the heavier the bullet you need to use for optimum ballistic accuracy. Typically, you’ll need at least a 6×9 variable power scope in order to shoot accurately.

Personal Choices

When choosing a deer hunting rifle take the recommendations above as they apply best to your hunting environment and then Consider your ability to maintain a comfortable shooting manner when shooting high caliber or magnum caliber rifles. How willing are you to lug around ten to twelve pounds long rifle across your hunting terrain.

You can feel out varying models and sizes of deer hunting rifles to see which one will feel best for you at your local gun shop. Get advice from hunters who have a lot of experience in your chosen hunting area when finding the best rifle. If you’re really interested in learning about their firearms, you could ask your friends to let you hold and handle their rifles, and ask if there are any things that they don’t like about them

If you want to know about what deer hunting rifle to use, and what deer hunting tips can help you, check out www.Deer-HuntingTips.com/DeerHuntingRifle
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Filed under: Rifles and Shotguns on December 16th, 2009