By the time you are reading this article, we’ll already be a few days into the general deer season and just coming out of the general archery season. I didn’t kill a buck with my bow, so I’ll be rifle hunting during the month of October.
I think my favorite season of the year is archery elk hunting. How can you not love it? The elk are bugling, the weather is generally OK and you’ll be in the coolest country that God ever made.
But there’s something special and exciting about deer hunting, too. It’s the No. 1 big game species in America. I had a buddy from Pennsylvania tell me that they shut down the plant for opening day. From coast to coast, us hunters love deer hunting.
So if you’re new to Idaho, or maybe just new to hunting, one question comes up — what kind of rifle should you buy?
First, let’s decide what caliber. There are a million calibers to choose from, but I’d recommend anything from a .25-06 on up. I know, there’s a group of you .243ers out there that are crying foul.
But in the case of most hard-working dads, moms and kids, you might only be able to afford one big-game rifle so you ought to choose one that you can also use to hunt elk and bear.
I’m old school and still like the old .30-06. It has to be the most versatile caliber on the market. You can buy 55-grain accelerators on up to 220 grains and buy .30-06 ammo in every outdoor store, so I don’t think that you can go wrong with the trusty old .30-06. I’ve always heard that the 165-grain is the best size, but as a kid I always shot 180-grain because that’s what dad did. Now, if I had a kid shooting one, I’d have him shoot a 150-grain.
To contradict myself, I think if you’re buying a new rifle, I’d recommend a .300 Winchester Magnum. I have a .338 Winchester Magnum that I’ve shot deer, elk, black bear and brown bear with it, and it has worked fine for me. I got a good deal on the .338 — otherwise I would have bought a .300.
What brand should you buy? There are a lot of choices out there. If you get good ammo and optics, I think you’ll be surprised by some of the groups you can obtain out of some of the more economical rifles. Don’t think that you have to buy a custom-made rifle to be able to punch a tag. I get good groups with my Mossberg Patriot and my Savage 112.
Optics: Why buy a rifle that can reach out there and not get a decent scope so you can see your game? I put a 4.5-14 Leupold on mine. If you buy a cheap scope, you’ll be cussing it every time it fogs up and you miss.
Ammo: There are a few good ammo companies out there. Unfortunately, you’ll have to experiment with a few to see which one shoots best in your rifle. But don’t buy the cheapest ammo on the shelf or it just probably won’t perform. You want to buy high-performance ammo so it will shoot accurately.
Binoculars: With optics, you get what you pay for. Don’t leave any pennies in your pocket on this purchase and I don’t think that you’ll ever regret it. I got some Leupold BX-3 Mojave Pro Guide HD 10x42s.
I’m not saying that it is exciting, but the more time you spend glassing and the more you learn about how to properly glass, the more tags you’ll be punching. I’ve tested optics for numerous companies and teach glassing seminars at a lot of the big shows like the Safari Club Convention in Vegas, Dallas Safari Club Convention and Expo in Dallas. And yet I am amazed every year at how much game I see when I slow down and glass. It really works. Oh yeah, just like I say in my seminars, huh?
Like all game, deer are more active at daylight and dusk, so roll out of bed early. The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the deer.
Well, we are out of space and I feel like I barely got started. Get out there and have fun.
Tom Claycomb lives in Idaho and has outdoors columns in newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He also writes for various outdoors magazines and teaches outdoors seminars at stores like Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Bass Pro Shop.
