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What's your favorite saddle hunting firearm for whitetails?

BudgetBuck1 said:
Off topic but is that wool clothing and if so what brand is that? My brother is looking for some.
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No worries, yes it is. It's some older Columbia I believe it is the gallatin hooded jacket and cargo pants. It's super warm and comfy. They make(made?) bibs too too at one point. They show up on ebay pretty often and are reasonably priced.
 
brydan said:
As a conscientious hunter, intentionally shooting through brush is an irresponsible practice on so many levels.
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Right, we get it. I can't speak for anyone else directly but I can't believe that anyone on this forum, definitely not me and I hunt almost entirely in brushy areas, shoots at targets that are unidentified. That is not what anyone here means when looking for a brush caliber. Example: my brother recently shot a buck in a brushy area with his 150 grain bullet out of a 30.06 and it hit a green briar he didn't see before it hit the deer. It separated into 4 pieces before hitting the deer and ruined a lot of good meat. That 30.06 round is moving pretty fast. A slower, larger round would probably not behave in that manner if it hits a green briar or something similar. While there isn't a round on earth that has no reaction to hitting a limb or briar I believe that some rounds are more suited for that environment than others. Sometimes you just don't see something like a small limb or green briar before you take the shot. Sometimes, during the rut, things happen pretty fast.
 
Totally agree, the youtube video was illustrating an extreme environment to test different calibers. I don't think anyone here would shoot at a target that is 50 yards away and that you can barely see due to 15 yards of thick brush (which the video illustrates). I have a 30-06 but only use it when I hunt out of a blind at a distance. But in the video, the guy shoots a 30-06 with a 220 grain round and I think all three rounds hit the target which I was shocked to see.
 
blatallic said:
Totally agree, the youtube video was illustrating an extreme environment to test different calibers. I don't think anyone here would shoot at a target that is 50 yards away and that you can barely see due to 15 yards of thick brush (which the video illustrates). I have a 30-06 but only use it when I hunt out of a blind at a distance. But in the video, the guy shoots a 30-06 with a 220 grain round and I think all three rounds hit the target which I was shocked to see.
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220 is a BIG 30-06 pill. I shoot 165s currently. 220 would be a hog-breaker-downer for sure.
 
Ya, this weekend I'm going to shoot 405g round through my 45-70 at the range. Definitely buying a limbsaver :grin:
 
Savage 99 308 and Ruger m77 Hawkeye, 35 whelen. The 99 is my favorite to carry, just balanced great, the Hawkeye is my go to for tracking.

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BudgetBuck1 said:
Right, we get it. I can't speak for anyone else directly but I can't believe that anyone on this forum, definitely not me and I hunt almost entirely in brushy areas, shoots at targets that are unidentified. That is not what anyone here means when looking for a brush caliber. Example: my brother recently shot a buck in a brushy area with his 150 grain bullet out of a 30.06 and it hit a green briar he didn't see before it hit the deer. It separated into 4 pieces before hitting the deer and ruined a lot of good meat. That 30.06 round is moving pretty fast. A slower, larger round would probably not behave in that manner if it hits a green briar or something similar. While there isn't a round on earth that has no reaction to hitting a limb or briar I believe that some rounds are more suited for that environment than others. Sometimes you just don't see something like a small limb or green briar before you take the shot.
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I hunt in the Atchafalaya Basin and until recently, with a 375 JDJ, so I'm familiar with brush hunting and using larger calibers. You may not know anybody that'll shoot at an animal in the brush but I've known them. When LA switched over to allowing large caliber breach loading rifles for "primitive weapons" season, everybody switched over to 444's and 45-70's. I'd hear guys at the range all the time talking about what they could shoot through and still hit a deer.

All of our experiences are different. If my comment offended you, I apologize
 
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Anyone here use a Savage 220? Just picked one up for next season. Never gun hunted for whitetail so I’m excited! (I hunt in slug-only areas)
 
I have my triax and a Remington 700 STS with a shortened bull barrel
 
I have historically carried a Model 700 .270.

There is a good chance I switch to the 450 bushmaster. It shoots tight groups out to 200 yds and packs a punch. Most of my shots in the saddle are far less than 200 yards. I also do a fair amount of tracking on the ground and there is no doubt its a great brush gun, especially with a red dot. I still fine tuning the setup. I have a sprinco red buffer spring on the way as the standard m4 carbine spring is on the light side for the caliber. The 450 is a winner though. It has a bit more versatility than the 458 socom.

I plan to carry it at saddlepalooza.


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I still have my Marlin 1895 45/70. I used to make my own .500 gn bullet which truly hurt! This used to blacken my shoulder. Finally I realized the .320 gn is just as good without the hurt.
 
Olegrad said:
Anyone here use a Savage 220? Just picked one up for next season. Never gun hunted for whitetail so I’m excited! (I hunt in slug-only areas)
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I have had a 220 for several years. Ours is a shotgun only county. I really like the 220 and it shoots very accurately for me using Rem Accu-tip sabot slugs.
 
As a couple of others have already stated, I like the 30.06 or .308 because of the broad range of bullet grains available for them and the power and range they provide. It makes the rifle versatile for various game and distances. The platform I like best is short and light, especially when hunting from a tree, slipping through thickets or when covering a lot of ground.
 
Olegrad said:
Anyone here use a Savage 220? Just picked one up for next season. Never gun hunted for whitetail so I’m excited! (I hunt in slug-only areas)
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Yup. Like the gun and could do 2.5 inch groups at 200 yards. It's a tack driver. Mine liked the Accutip slugs. Pretty unimpressed with the terminal ballistics though.
 
TC Encore, 16" barrel when I want really small but I have; 18", 20", 24", 26" and 28" length barrels to choose from. Just depends on what I feel like that day. The sky is the limit on caliber of choice. With a 24" barrrel it's still shorter than a stnd bolt gun.
 
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