Looking for a deer rifle

Some people look down on Savage but they make some very accurate rifles that are easy on the wallet. My coyote gun is a savage axis II and it's crazy accurate. Same with my 111 in 06. That's a really nice deer rifle for the money. You can find one with glass for well under $1000. It would leave you some money for more truck parts

 

My 7mag is an older Savage model 110, my .338WM is a 116 Weather Warrior with accurrigger, and my favourite rifle to shoot is a model 12BTCSS in .223Rem.

IMHO, Savage makes the most accurate rifles for the $$, though some of the copies from other manufacturers (think barrel nut) are closing in. I personally wouldn't reccomend an Axis based on my experiences with a friend's, namely the stock forend was horribly flexy, and the trigger was awefull. By the time those were upgraded to meet our standards, the total cost was more than one of the better 11/16 models. Damn thing is accurate though.

 

Get a decent rifle but get the best scope you can afford. Almost any modern rifle will have enough accuracy to take deer at 200 yards once you get it sighted in. A good scope will make all the difference in acquiring your target (especially in low light) vs a cheap scope. Ideally the objective (front) lens size in millimeters should be approx 7 times the max magnification power (e.g. - 3x9 power scope = ideally +/- 60 mm objective lens). I've had 3x9 x50 mm scopes that were cheap and practically worthless and more expensive, good quality scopes with the same specs that were fantastic.

 

I would go with the 30-06 caliber. I would choose a Weatherby Vanguard Synthetic(550 - 700). For optics, I would go with a Leupold or Oculus(Bass-Pro Brand). It is important to mention that Bass-Pro's Oculus brand is manufactured by Leupold. However the Oculus is almost half the price for the same Performance.

 

I have owned a bunch of savage rifles and all have been tack drivers. I too wouldn't recommend the axis over the 11/12/16 models even though mine has the accutrigger which is awesome. I got my axis as a gift or else I would have got another 11/16 model. All are great guns and totally worth the small price tag.

 

If only shooting at 200 yards for nothing larger than deer, I wouldn't go big. I use a 270 that was handed down to me for black tail deer and has killed close to 400 yards multiple times. As to RockJockey said, put the money toward the scope. My Scope is probably worth more than my deer rifle and with a cheap scope, I guarantee my shots wouldn't be as accurate as they are.

When buying, I wouldn't go with a cheap model. I'd want to hold and run the action before deciding to buy and to see if your comfortable with the rifle.

 

My wife has taken some nice game withe a savage edge, which if I'm not mistaken is now the axis, the woman is a dead eye! It's a beautiful gun but I still love my howa!

 

That's awesome! I wouldn't call my axis a beautiful gun haha but it is a damn fine shooter. My 111 is my go to deer rifle.

 

I like the Savage a lot they are for the money the most accurate you can prob buy. As far as caliber .243 smallest up to .30-.06, .308 is great if you reload. Personally I use a Browning A bolt chambered in .270 but a Savage 10 or 11, Winchester 70 or Ruger M77 should serve you well.