With little to do as few come to Foremost Hunting during the summer I needed to keep from going brain dead, so I decided to go to another Hunting Website to see how they were doing. I found the same activity, as even the famous Outdoor Life guys don't get too many readers in the summer. I think they were about as bored as I was, so I read a few gun reviews finding a wonderful article on the best 25 deer rifles of all time. The gun reviews were concise as their experts disarticulated ever hunting firearm that came their way, giving what they believe to be an expert opinion. I thought these guys know what the best is, lets see if they can tell me what the worst is.
To start the conversation and to ask the question I picked two of the most unlikely deer rifles I could think of at the moment; the Enfield 303 British and the ever popular preferred weapon of your enemy, the AK-47. To me personally, the AK is inaccurate, made highly reliable for the conscript armys that use them to spray bullets in your direction until something hits. The Enfield in its various forms, has got to be the ugliest bolt action rifle I ever saw. For that reason only I mentioned it as well. Well at least I took a stab at the question, What is the worst deer rifle?
Oh my what have I done, as a Canadian gun expert informed me of the sacred cow of Canada, The British 303. It would seem this is the 30-30 Winchester of Canada and later I found most of Africa as well. Well of course the British Empire wasn't exactly establishing Remington, Winchester, Marlin, and Browning factories all over the place so the Enfield was about it. Still, not my choice as a deer rifle in this day and time. Of course neither the Enfield or the AK has any real problems for what it was designed for as millions have been sent to the hereafter with them, I think more than anything else in modern times.
I through in the fact I was not to crazy about the 243 cartridge as a deer cartridge but the question remained rifle not cartridge. One fellow with 5 stars after his title, took a stab at the question and his opinion was the AR-15 in 223, as it was non traditional and the cartridge was inadequate. Jim Zumbo took the AR-15 critique route once with a little different twist and we all know what happened to him. Being careful I just picked on the Canadians and Russians. Never the less instead of taking a shot at the question, I became the target of ridicule, I love it when that happens. Faithfully I stuck to my guns, repeating the question,"What is the worst deer rifle?"
The experts, and I must give them credit they are experts commenced to beat around the bush on different tangents usually indicating some sort of displeasure with me including the fact I didn't have any stars after my name, "Oh ye of little faith." Once again in dismay I asked can anybody tell me what the worst deer rifle is and be done with it.
Considering all the critique they had done in the past on the demerits of all those guns they tested you would think someone could go to the archives and come up with the gun that really sucked. No that would be too much like work, and the fact that they just might find such a critter. But even if they did, do you actually think they would publicize it and tell the truth?
I gave up the quest as I thought I would never know what was the worst deer rifle. Then this morning it came to me in a dream, as I remembered a real story that tells it all and answers the question that the staff at Outdoor Life could not or would not answer.
The rifle itself is made in Rogers Arkansas, It is a traditional lever action, well made and highly traditional, almost every outdoorsman has owned one. So the old man, had problems with deer getting into garden. He even staked out a hound dog to watch but the big buck paid him no mind and still came in every afternoon to munch on his tomato plants. It was a week before the archery deer season in Louisiana, so I couldn't help him. So finally the old man had enough and took the law into his own hands. There was a wood shed that adjoined his garden spot, and there the old man waited until the buck arrived. It was hot inside as the afternoon sun of late summer bore down on him but he was patient, he had a mission, save the tomatoes. He had been a hero in WWII, Korea and the start of Viet Nam, he didn't care if it was deer season or not, as he levered a round and waited.
The buck showed up right on time, oblivious of the shed or the man inside, he went right to work on the tomatoes giving the old man a perfect broadside shot.
His age was telling on him as he shook a bit but experience settled him down as the range was only a few steps away. He shot the buck unceremoniously right in the ass. There was almost no report the buck snorted once looked around and went back to the tomatoes. That did it, the door burst open and the old man reenacted the bayonet charge at Pork Chop Hill, and this, and this only ran the deer off. He looked at the Daisy Red Rider BB gun and stated for the record, "This has got to be the worst deer rifle in the world." ....Pass it on.