These are the three best deer rifles, according to Maine hunters

By V. Paul Reynolds

Any Maine hunter who’s spent time at deer camp will be familiar with the frequently debated question that always pops up around the camp stove or fireplace: What is the best rifle and caliber for hunting deer in the Maine woods?

Yes, it is a subjective question that has no conclusive, scientific answer — but that’s partly why it sparks such fun, spirited debates among hardcore deer hunters, especially those with strong opinions.

Against this backdrop, the Northwoods Sporting Journal launched a three-month-long contest, offering prizes and inviting readers to submit a short essay on their pick for Maine’s best deer-hunting rifle. 

A couple dozen entries were submitted. Three winners have been selected, and their entries appear in the August issue of the Sporting Journal.

The top three picks from the contest were a Browning BLR lever-action rifle chambered in .358 Winchester, a Savage bolt-action rifle chambered in .30-06 Springfield and a Ruger M77 bolt-action chambered in .308 Winchester.

One clear trend emerged from the entries: the .30-06 Springfield proved very popular, with more than half a dozen mentions. Nearly three-quarters of the selected calibers were .30 caliber or larger. The oldest caliber mentioned was the Winchester Center Fire 44-40, while the smallest was the Savage .243 Winchester.

My personal favorites, the .270 and .35 Remington, each received one mention. The old standby, the .308, often cited as the most popular deer cartridge in the country, garnered just two mentions.

Reading these entries — the stories, nostalgia and passionate arguments — underscores how deeply deer hunters connect with both their rifles and their legacy. 

Here’s a particularly thoughtful entry from Holden sportsman Sandy Hatt on the best deer rifles: “I don’t know when it happened. I don’t know who did it. Sometime in our history, a hunter showed up with the very first rifle to enter the Maine deer woods. Everything was fine. There was no doubt that this hunter, having the only one, had the best rifle for the Maine deer woods. It wasn’t until the second hunter showed up, carrying a different rifle, that the debate began. Since the arrival of the second hunter, the question of what constitutes the best rifle for the Maine deer woods has wandered around hardwood ridges, cedar swamps, open fields, campfires, hunting camps and gun shops.”

Amen to that, fellow deer hunters. And so the debate continues — around campfires, in gun shops and beyond.