Picking the right deer rifle is probably one of the most difficult decisions that most hunters make when they decide to open their wallets and make the purchase.

Every hunter has their own reason for choosing one caliber over another and one action over another as well. Sometimes we inherit a family hand-me-down that has been in the family for generations, while other times its all about the Benjamins, what can we afford and will we settle for something other than our dream outfit?

My first deer rifle was a .30-06 slide action Remington 760 that belonged to my father. If I remember correctly, it was truly a hunk of steel with iron sights and a 5-shot clip. When you are a young hunter, the idea of making the first shot count might be overlooked by the ability to get off five quick shots. Ammunition was cheap and plentiful and scopes were an option that many passed on in the 60’s.

As I left home and the rifle to my younger brothers, I started to search around for my own choice in the perfect deer rifle. A bolt action 700 BDL Remington in the .270 caliber was my first purchase after college.

I had been reading up on the .270 and it was the perfect all-around rifle according to Jack O’Connor and Outdoor Life Magazine. Bullet choices were limited to 130 or 150 grain cartridges and I tried them both as well as the 100 grains for groundhogs.

I topped it off with a Redfield Scope and I ended up being pretty darn accurate with this outfit. Then one deer season, I made a shot at a deer facing me and we spent the afternoon trying to finish the job. My hunting partner actually finished the job with his .308 and plenty of doubt filled my judgment.

Local men from the Sportsmen’s Club were now touting a new caliber in the Remington 7mm magnum which they claimed had not only the speed, but also the long range knock down power to handle any deer. Unfortunately, the heavier magnums also had the heavier recoil, which was to be a deal-breaker before today’s recoil pads came into use.

The rifle also did not fit me correctly, which made this long action rifle a cinch to throw off my shots. Some of the fellows really crowed about the lever action rifles made by Winchester, Browning, Marlin and Savage.They definitely fit hunters more snugly and the lever action was a popular action for many hunters. Calibers ranged from .308 Winchester, .300 Savage, .30-30’s and .243’s in many brands of cartridges.

For whatever reason I was never lured into the lever actions and stuck to my bolt actions. In fact, I took my .270 Remington on my first elk hunt in Colorado and had to trust Jack that the 150-grain bullet would do the job on a bull elk. I practiced all summer on groundhogs and could pick them off in every shooting position. When my chance came to drop an elk, I found that they are tougher than a groundhog, albeit bigger and took four rounds in the heart lung region to drop the bull.

This experience made me start to think about bullet types, hunting distances and game types with my rifle choices. As my ability to afford more rifle choices for my hunts, I was able to match up equipment with the game. My last elk hunt had me using a .300 Winchester Magnum and a Variable Powered Scope with 175 grain Barnes bullets.

At 351 yards, the bull elk dropped with one well-placed shot. The key to this shot was in being well-placed with the perfect ballistics.

Over the year,s I came to realize that there are many wonderful rifle calibers for hunting whitetails. Each rifle has a cartridge that really does perform best depending on the bullet weights.

Working on my handloading bench allows me to experiment and find out what bullets are best for me and then match them with the perfect components. I have even rotated rifles to match conditions according to where I am going to hunt, but I have found that no matter what the components are or which rifle you choose, the key to a successful hunt is still a well-placed shot.

Until we meet again, get out to the practice range and get to know your rifle, practice…practice…practice and then you will know that you’ll have chosen the right rifle for you.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle