Let us all praise the whitetail deer: eater of shrubs, wrecker of cars, biological miracle, inhabitant of dreams. I know men who can kill a charging Cape buffalo without a change of pulse rate but who become undone at the sight of a big whitetail buck. He is our national big-game animal, and as such he has had a lot of guns dedicated to his untimely demise. Some of them, over time, have become standouts.

The best ones, traditionally, are light and handy and chambered for cartridges that do not cause seismometer needles to jump when you pull the trigger. The other kind, used for keeping vigil in tree stands, are long, heavy, and superaccurate. Here are the 10 deer rifles that I favor above all others. The Savage is my favorite; after that, it all depends on my mood. - D.E.P