Wow! Russ you are my hero!! finally, a writer who appreciates the quality of a firearm for its performance not its price tag.I have hunted with a savage 110e 30-06 for many years and I will back you up on their accuracy and reliability. My 110e has never failed to fire-ever- and I've used it in terrible weather. I wouldn't trade my savage for a Vangard sub-moa for anything!!

For walking upper Michigan woods and clearings I'd add the Remington Model 7. Sako's are so smooth and well made that I just love to hold them and run the bolt back and forth - as sexy as a rifle gets. I had a Tikka .270Win that was so accurate with factory Fail Safes that I never bothered reloading for it. Hollow stock made too much noise when still hunting, though. I've heard others complain but the trigger on my Ruger 77 was just fine.

They aren't the prettiest guns but I have 2 savage 110E that I love.

This was my first year hunting with my Rem. 700 and I love it. It is a little odd going from iron sights to a scope but I am sure that I will make the adjustment.

Ruger 243 is my choice

The best bolt action deer rifles have a lever that wraps around the trigger...

Browning x-bolt i just got one and makes the perfect rifle for stil hunting deer

Tikka T3 Hunter in .270 Win. My first deer rifle and it is a shooter. Does anyone have any expierience with Remington 798? Bass Pro has one in .30-06 and another in .243 with a decent scope for $500. Thinking about the .243 as a deer/varming gun.

Savage 110. It isn't pretty but it's one of the most accurate rifles you can buy. I prefer the flat shooting 270.

I too can vouch for the Savage 110. I have one in .243 that I've owned for about ten years now...dropped a lot of deer with that rig. Most of the bluing is worn from the barrel and the bold handle is slivery but it's still a tack driver. I'm also a big fan of the Ruger M77 Hawkeye series...I own two of these...a .308 Winchester and a .338 Winchester Magnum. Excellent rifles.

Happy Hunting!

I just test fired a T/C Icon that a friend bought- best rifle that I have ever had in my hands.

I like my ol' Savage .243. Reliable and very effective.
A good .270 or 30-06 always works well too.

I have bolt guns from Winchester, Remmington,Ruger, and Tikka.-- they are all good guns. Now that I'm retired I have a chance to do lots of shooting at the range. Reloading is a great hobby. Try it---you'll like it.

My Savage 111 made the list!

Gotta go remington model 7 in 7mm-08
remington 722 in 257 roberts

I get plenty of deer like this, or pronghorns, or sheep.
Hell the 7mm-08 is super light too and what can you say bad about the model 7

Since no one has commented on the Browning A-Bolt, I'll throw my hat in the ring. Short bolt-throw (60 degrees), top o' tang safety, and a box magazine. - What's not to love? (unless perhaps it could be the smoothness of the bolt travel is not as polished as a M-700)

The Savage 110 gets my vote@ Mine is a 1980's manufactured .270win caliber that I had changed the factory stock to a laminate(Boyd)stock a few years ago. It has, and will, take game I bet longer then I will be drinking beer while watching baseball...I know the Rem 700 has a loyal following that is very well deserved, but I don't have the experience with it give it the BIG VOTE of confidence
Savage rifles will do it all at a very resonable price.Period.

Big O

I have never had a problem with a Remington factory safety, but I had mine converted to a 3 -position wing safety on the bolt like a Win Mod 70 and Ruger 77 Mk II , and others. David Gentry Custom guns over in Belgrade, Montana does that conversion or will sell the parts for your gunsmith to install.

The Weatherby Mark V has the best safety in my book. On the bolt, takes a rotating thumb movement to disengage, positive and quiet. It would be very hard to accidentally bump it off safe.

I'm not that wild about the tang safety on A-Bolt's or the old Ruger M-77 I haveeither, but to each his own.

I like the idea of everyone just having a .30-30. My '94 is in .32 Win Special, though. My Marlin 336 is in .35 Rem.. I would like one in .30-30, if only for the cheap ammo.

A Remington 600 is hard to beat as bolt guns for deer go. Mine is in .308. Short barrel, laminated stock, very accurate, super handy. It's perfect for VT mountains, has the range to shoot across the valley, but is nice and short for the thick stuff.

For hunting rifles I have always liked the Pre64 Winchester and the 98 Mauser actions. I like the positive controlled feed system. For shooting tight groups I prefer the Rem. 700 short action.

savage 111 in 30-06 is a great rifle

The Winchester model 70 (Before they moved from New Haven) tops 'em all

Gentlemen: I live in NH and have been hunting whitetails & black bear for almost forty years now. I have taken 47 whitetails & seven black bear between NH, VT, & Maine, all with my 32 winchester spl and I have "never" lost a deer or bear with this little gem. And, I have "never" had a deer go more then twenty five yards after the shot. Almost all of the deer I have taken dropped right in there tracks and shots have been anywhere from fifteen to one hundred yards. I also own a Rem.30-06 Win.270 and a .300 Savage 99 that where my dads. All three are great deer guns but not for me. I can not tell you how many times I have helped someone over the years track a deer they wounded after being shot with a .06 .243 7mm some of those deer went a mile after the shot. Gentlemen please remember these two words if you will, "SHOT PLACEMENT".

I use a Springfield .30/06 that dates back to WWI

my32spl-Nice hunting record, my friend!
You bring up a very important issue in shot placement being one of the most important factors in vital tissue damage done to a animal, and I have also hunted over the years with a number of .32Win special shooters(as a kid growing up on Michigan whitetail deer and Black bear hunting).
A number of current hunting party have the old reliable bolt action, two levers, and one "Black gun" in .308. I would say the deer shot, and hit, are taken with little fess with most of us.
The smallest caliber our party is the .243, and the largest is my .35 Whelen.
I guess my point is, a confident hunter with shoot his rifle well, know his/her limitations, and know when to pass on a questionable shot on a game animal.

i have a remington 700 BDL, i bought it new when i was 18. i have taken many deer and wild hogs with it. It is in .243 caliber, my longest measured shot was 370 yards on a nice whitetail buck, a perfect hit. However, i am sad to say he needed a second shot as the bullet performance was marginal at that distance. I will be 52 this December, this rifle will be with me when i hunt in November, as I take my annual leave from my job in Kuwait.

for a 13 year old linebacker at heart im kinda displeased that the remington model 770 isnt on there it worked beautifully 4 me this season

NEF Handi Rifle in 30-06, best rifle ever.

+1 for Edward J. Palumbo, Big O, & Little woodchuck95! The Winchester model 70 is the best gun for sure. I love mine

700 rem

Savage is great right out of the box! Can't say anything about the 700 I've never had one, other then the military and law enforcement have used them for years as sniper rifles. I know they were having problems with them, when trigger jobs had been done on the factory triggers, my instructors said they would just go off setting on the firing line at Sniper school, although it never happened around me. I had the older Police Tactical Savage 110, and it did everything I ever asked of it!
The older triggers on savages were crap, but I love the new Accu-triggers. I now own two savages one in 300WSM, and the Preditor rifle in 22-250. I love them both. When I was a kid every male in my family owened and hunted with the Rem. 742, or 7400,in 30-06, my mom used a Win. 94 in 30-30, Hunting in Northern Mich. and I think I love them all!

The savage 110 series. They work flawlessly, enough said.