While most top all around Western big game rifles are well suited for anything from

prong horn antelope to Alaska Yukon Moose as a, sometimes we don't want versatility, we want specialty. Sometimes you just

want the very best instrument available for a specific task. Now today we're going to talk

about mule deer rifles. Of course such a rifle will also serve superbly for

white tails, coupsd, prong horns, and so forth.

But what we're really after is the ultimate mule deer rifle, prime for anything from big alpine country bucks to desert deer.

And of course, the fact that this rifle is great for all that vast spectrum of other similar size Western big game

including Mount sheep, mountain gold and so forth. Well that's just a nice side

benefit.

Okay, first, let's define some characteristics of this rifle,

and I just gotta throw out a little disclaimer here.

This is Von Benedict's idea of the ultimate dear rifle, right?

There's a whole lot of room for personal interpretation in this concept, so you know take my ideas and if you like some of them plug them into your

own projects if not have fun formulating and conceptualizing and creating your own ideal Western Deer rifle.

Okay, my characteristics first, I want that rifle to be packable. If you can't get to the game you'll never get a shot right so don't carry

don't conceive of and build and then carry a rifle that's so heavy and bulky that it becomes unwieldy.

Next, it's got to be ergonomic.

And this is so that when I get into a shooting position and I'm probably heaving for air because

I'm at high elevation or I'm trembling with exertion from pushing hard to get to that point

before I lose light or say the deer goes off to bed in the morning or whatever,

good ergonomics in that rifle helped me pull off a shot at the moment of truth. It's important.

Next, accuracy. This is so you can make any reasonable shot opportunity that gets presented to you, right?

...