Dedicated Deer Rifle For Night Time Use

[MG5150]

Hi All

I've been having a lot of trouble keeping a thermal clip on zeroed as I pass it between my .223 and 30-06 rifles.

I took a punt on a Oneleaf Mars 1000 thermal scope and am very happy with it. As a result I've decided to sell the clip on and put the money towards a dedicated night time deer rifle.

I'm looking for something that's light with minimal recoil, I'm thinking a .308 or 270 (270 minimum in vic). Ideally I'd spend $500 to $1200 and not fussed if it's new or second hand. It needs to be accurate enough to headshot at closer rangers, I don't think I'd be shooting much further than 100m-150m with it.

I've been looking at both Howa 1500 and Ruger American 1 or 2 as the cheap rifles, and possibly Browning, Tikka or Lithgow if a 2nd hand model pops up.

For those of you a little more experienced, what are your thoughts?

[No1Mk3]

I used a Ruger 77 MkII AWM (the ubiquitas "paddle stock") in 308 for many years to replace my Win 94 30/30 and hunted everything from Thar to Wapiti with it. Light to carry, easy to maintain, accurate in the ranges I hunted from 50 to 200 yards, They can still be found around the $1000 mark and can be had in 270, 280, 7mm/08, 7mmRem Mag, 308, 30/06, 300 Win Mag and 338 Win Mag, to suit Vic Deer Regs.

[Finniss]

I have a heavy barrel howa and ruger american in .308. both shoot under moa for 3 shot groups. Some of the American magazines are terrible, I have 2 x 4 shots that I haven't managed to get to feed.

A lighter rifle is a good idea IMO as adding thermal gets heavy quick.

Id prob go a .308 as your not shooting too far and it will probably be cheaper to run.

I feel like my .308 recoils a bit less than my .270 in the same weight rifle. Paper calculations don't show much difference though.

Howa has floorplate and box mag options, ruger you'd only have detachable mags.

If you don't reload, 308 has more factory ammo options including subsonic.

[Billo]

6mm or 6.5mm gets the job done, the large cals just aren't needed

[JohnV]

Your loss of zero is likely the type of scope mounts you are using and maybe the specs of any dovetail or rail . Something is just not lining up the same on both guns . However two different cartridges like you are using will have different trajectories and POI anyway so it could be just that . Day or night a .308 in any rifle will do the job a deer is a pretty big target . I thought it was illegal to hunt deer at night in Victoria , correct me if I'm wrong .

[womble]

Not on private property John. In state forests you can’t hunt deer at night.

[womble]

I think you want a threaded barrel so you can fit something to reduce the flash , using a thermal.

[MG5150]

6mm or 6.5mm gets the job done, the large cals just aren't needed

I've no doubt they get the job done but need a minimum of 270 to meet Vic's laws for Sambar.

[JohnV]

Not on private property John. In state forests you can’t hunt deer at night.

OK.

[Flyonline]

If you're thinking of mounting a bipod or a tripod mount on the stock, I'd steer clear of the standard Howa 1500 hogue stock as they are a little bendy in the front. Plenty of aftermarket options though if you get a steal (there seems to be many more options on the short action though I think?).

Why go light? I'd think you'll either be in a vehicle and/or in a stationary position in ambush of animals moving through hence no need to carry big distances.

[MG5150]

Your loss of zero is likely the type of scope mounts you are using and maybe the specs of any dovetail or rail . Something is just not lining up the same on both guns . However two different cartridges like you are using will have different trajectories and POI anyway so it could be just that . Day or night a .308 in any rifle will do the job a deer is a pretty big target . I thought it was illegal to hunt deer at night in Victoria , correct me if I'm wrong .

The clip on lets you save multiple zero profiles for different rifles. I've got Rusan adapters as recommended by the team at Hunt The Night.

[MG5150]

If you're thinking of mounting a bipod or a tripod mount on the stock, I'd steer clear of the standard Howa 1500 hogue stock as they are a little bendy in the front. Plenty of aftermarket options though if you get a steal (there seems to be many more options on the short action though I think?).

Why go light? I'd think you'll either be in a vehicle and/or in a stationary position in ambush of animals moving through hence no need to carry big distances.

Would probably be walking around on foot most of the time.

I have a bog deathgrip so it just grabs the side of the stock rather than a specific attatchment

[Wapiti]

Why does the clip-on need to be zeroed for different rifles?

The one I bought gets swapped between rifles and didn't even need zeroing whatsoever. Each one has a different scope objective diameter, so has different adaptors too. What a pain in the @rse that would be.

I didn't have any faith in the literature that came with it saying it didn't ever need zeroing, because I kept reading about other people with different brands struggling with zeros. But it was true.

Maybe it's something new buyers can look for when buying an upgraded unit next time. certainly makes things easier, which is appreciated.

[MG5150]

Why does the clip-on need to be zeroed for different rifles?

The one I bought gets swapped between rifles and didn't even need zeroing whatsoever. Each one has a different scope objective diameter, so has different adaptors too. What a pain in the @rse that would be.

I didn't have any faith in the literature that came with it saying it didn't ever need zeroing, because I kept reading about other people with different brands struggling with zeros. But it was true.

Maybe it's something new buyers can look for when buying an upgraded unit next time. certainly makes things easier, which is appreciated.

I thought it was pretty standard to have different zero profiles saved for different rifles?

Both of my scopes are 50mm and use the same adapter, but still have a different POI each.

[Wapiti]

mate, the European-made brands I bought doesn't need any zeroing whatsoever.

That's why I bought the one I did... I'm not averse to having to adjust stuff or scared to have to do it, but if there's more precise stuff out there that doesn't need any stuffing around well I think that's the way I'll go.
I think you are the same as most people, not aware that there is stuff out there (clip-ons I mean) where all you have to do is to pop them on, turn on the power button and away you go.

Makes perfect sense, your optic is already zeroed and the rifle on target where the crosshairs are, and you are just putting an electronic image in front of it instead of a natural light image.
In fact, if it's different it just shows something isn't thought out well enough.