The kind of deer rifles I love.

[coltdude]

1. Savage Model 99 lever jobs with checkered pistol grip stocks in very nice shape; quite expensive these days for a pretty one if you can find one
2. traditional European-made bolt-actions like the Swedish Husqvarnas and Carl Gustafs; very expensive for nice surviving guns of such sort;
on a bolt-action for deer, I like rubbed-oil, not gloss, checkered wood stocks, Monte Carlo combs, maybe, pistol grips, grip and forend caps, white spacers, jeweled bolts and most of all, pretty bolt handles (especially non-blued/bare-metal ones) with a curved tapered stem, round stem cross-section (not flat or hex-shaped) and a spherical highly-polished smooth bolt handle knob; I have yet to see the Czech-made CZ 555/557 series in person for fit and finish quality; as for Sako and Tikka, I don't like the shape of their bolt handles
3. genuine Belgian Browning BAR's

A beautiful rich-blued/wood-stocked rifle or shotgun for hunting is like the shape of a nice young woman's body. Curvaceous and delicious.

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[bbbass]

2. traditional European-made bolt-actions like the Swedish Husqvarnas and Carl Gustafs; very expensive for nice surviving guns of such sort;

'
You mean like this Gustav???

 

[Andy54Hawken]

'
You mean like this Gustav???


View attachment 761039

That one is for getting all the deer at once...and field dressing them too....

As for the OP...
Yep some nice choices there for sure.
I miss the days when bluing and wood stocked hunting rifles where the norm and not the exception.
I do understand the appeal and use of other rifle styles...and have no issue with them , per se...just not for me.
Andy

 

[bbbass]

I like em all!!!

But I sure do miss my Remington 700 ADL and BDL in .243 and 6mm Rem respectively.

 

[coltdude]

There's a certain romance about hunting with blued steel and old-fashioned wood. I have a new Ruger American Ranch Rifle carbine in 5.56 NATO for shooting squeaks for fun. Bushnell Banner 3x9 40mm , Leupold med. 1" rings and a cheap non-Harris bipod. Plastic stock, matte black finish, el cheapo bolt rifle but a fun little gun to blast varmints. For more prestigious game I'd eat, it's got to be elegance for me.

 

[coltdude]

I don't fancy any non-European-made bolt-action rifle as an elegant wooden-stock gun for big game.The only American hunting rifle I fancy for deer is the venerable old Savage 99 which sadly is no longer made. For a wood-stocked bolt-action I need a bolt handle shaped and finished like this: (note the front scope base how it sloppily hangs over the edge of the receiver top as shown and note the rear scope base with big ugly slotted screw on the side, I like elegant scope-mounting solutions as well, note how the bolt handle curves rearward from its base and its tapered narrow neck is cylindrical near the polished, untextured, ball-shaped knob, I hate the look of straight bolt handles)

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Speaking only for myself here , the choice of hunting rifle should be one that best fits the individual hunter.
You are after all , using it to take the life of another living being.

A hunting rifle should fit you , your style of shooting and hunting , as well as being suited for the game hunted.
The skill of hunting style shooting , should also be practiced .
By this I mean that one should practice with the rifle , off the bench , under "field" conditions , in all weather as well as with the load that one will use when hunting.

One should respect the game hunted and the land in which one hunts .
Respect to one's hunting and shooting skills and limitations should also be shown.

A hunting rifle , that fits you , is a fine thing , be it a classic design from a bygone era...or the latest in technology and features.
Learn your rifle , learn and practice your skill with it.
Andy

 

[coltdude]

Now this bolt handle style with the straight stem is not elegant to my eye:
(it's a romance thing, some motorcycle folks can ride a cheap Honda 250 while others get no joy unless it's a custom Harley-Davidson laden with chrome, they will sweat details like battery covers, derby covers, jiffy stands, conchos, forward control kits, Fat Bob custom tank fuel gauge in deluxe chrome, custom paint, do I paint the tank flames in puce, taupe, chartreuse, or mauve??, sissy bars and primary covers; on guns, I sweat details like jeweling for the bolt, white spacers, grip caps, checkering patterns and the contour of the bolt handle, the sporting gun is not merely a death instrument, it's sculpture in steel and in wood )

 

[DirectDrive]

Everyone has their favorites.
Personally I find the Savage 99 to be a homely rifle.
To me it looks like an attempt to modernize the Winchester lever action (it was).
I do understand that the Savage 99 in .300 Savage and .250-3000 were important developments in firearms history.

The quintessential American Deer Rifle in my mind is a Winchester or Marlin lever action in 30-30 or .35 Remington.

 

[Medic!]

I love beautiful blue guns embellished with burl walnut, gold inlay and engraving.

But I use a more simple Blue and wood rifle when hunting.
I'm a man that wears blue jeans and a t shirt every day. To take out one of my beauties would be disingenuous to myself and the animal.



To each their own.
Some may hunt from an elephants back. And were a three piece suit with tails?

 

[Quirt Evans]

For me it would depend upon the terrain.
Western Oregon/Coastal Range, and the smaller deer, something handy and light for quick shots at mostly closer ranges; Winchester 92 in .44Mag, going East for mule deer, then a model 70 with a scope.

 

[Pops1911]

Hunted for years with my reliable Winchester 94 in 30-30. Andy will understand this one ... years ago I tacked the wood to match a similar one I saw at the museum in Cody, WY. Also love a field-worn Savage lever gun in 300 Savage. Lastly there is the Marlin lever in .357. Guess I'm a lever hunter.

 

[CountryGent]

Agreed with those listed in the OP. We received a well worn Savage 99 in .300 Savage from the wife's grandfather. It really is a nice, classic hunting rifle.

 

[coltdude]

Everyone has their favorites.
Personally I find the Savage 99 to be a homely rifle.
To me it looks like an attempt to modernize the Winchester lever action (it was).
I do understand that the Savage 99 in .300 Savage and .250-3000 were important developments in firearms history.

The quintessential American Deer Rifle in my mind is a Winchester or Marlin lever action in 30-30 or .35 Remington.

The classic "cowboy style" lever jobs, Henry and Browning BLR included, have a mag tube that is not conducive to loading ballistically-superior bullets. Sharp points will set primers off under recoil. This is where that Savage 99 shines. The cowboy levers lack the sleek and rounded lines of the 99. Yes, the 99 was to give the style of Winchester/Marlin lever jobs a modern streamlined look and be conducive to firing superior centerfire cartridges that were once only the domain of bolt actions with exclusive Savage rotary magazine. To me, the Savage Model 1899/99 series is the only lever job with bolt-action elegance and accuracy to boot. The only elegant semi rifle to me is the famous Belgian-made Browning BAR.

 

[RedRover]

The classic "cowboy style" lever jobs, Henry and Browning BLR included, have a mag tube that is not conducive to loading ballistically-superior bullets. Sharp points will set primers off under recoil.

Got it covered...

 

[coltdude]

Mr. GunBlue490 is the greatest Gun Man on YouTube:

Oh, those beautiful Swedish rifles of yesteryear too:

 

[osprey]

The classic "cowboy style" lever jobs, Henry and Browning BLR included, have a mag tube that is not conducive to loading ballistically-superior bullets. Sharp points will set primers off under recoil. This is where that Savage 99 shines. The cowboy levers lack the sleek and rounded lines of the 99. Yes, the 99 was to give the style of Winchester/Marlin lever jobs a modern streamlined look and be conducive to firing superior centerfire cartridges that were once only the domain of bolt actions with exclusive Savage rotary magazine. To me, the Savage Model 1899/99 series is the only lever job with bolt-action elegance and accuracy to boot. The only elegant semi rifle to me is the famous Belgian-made Browning BAR.

The Browning blr as well as some of the Henry offerings are magazine fed rather than tube fed. Pointy tipped ammo can be shot in them at will. The Henry rifles that are mag fed are the long ranger series.

 

[Mark W.]

Winchester model 1895 has an internal box magazine pointy bullets work just fine in

 

[CountryGent]

Since we're talking about classics, one I took not long ago:

Top is the Savage 99 my wife's grandfather gave us. In center is my Winchester 94. And finally the airgun is my daughter's Red Ryder.

 

[orygun]

Hunting rifles at our house.

Ruger 77MKII 30-06 Ackley Improved, Ruger 77MKII Compact 7mm-08, Savage 99E 243.
Plus these.

Winchester Model 70 Pre-64 (1952) 30-06

Winchester Model 1894 Saddle Ring Carbine 30WCF (1917)