This is a long and hotly debated subject, the perfect deer rifle and caliber. These are my choices, not necessarily in this order.
1. The Winchester model 94 or the Marlin model 336 in 30/30, 32 special, .308 Marlin, or .358 Winchester. The .450 Marlin is WAY too much gun for deer as is the .444, but if a big hole at the end of the barrel is your thing have at it. The .358 is an old timer with ammo hard to find(as is the gun) but packs plenty of wallop in the bush.
2. The Savage model 99 in .300 Savage. It was really stupid Savage dropped this line of lever action. If you can get your hands on one in this caliber grab it while you can.
3. Remington model 722 in .257 Roberts. This caliber falls in between the .243 and the .270 Winchester.
4. Remington model 700 in .243 or .308. Although a bolt action is not my idea of a woods rifle, these two calibers are remarkable in accuracy and distance.
5. The Winchester model 94 Big Bore in .307 Winchester because it is very close to the statistics
of the .300 Savage it was designed after, and because I have one. The ammunition, although sometimes hard to find is out there
6. The New England Firearms single shot rifle in any of the above calibers. A quality firearm for short money.
7. Any good sabot slug gun in 20 gauge.
Why anybody thinks they need a 30/06 or .270 for deer in New England is a mystery to me. Matter of opinion I guess.
I am going to amend my list here. I just got done sighting in a friends 2 rifles he will be using for the upcoming NH deer season. Both are beautiful weapons, both are Remingtons, one a 740 Woodsmaster semi-auto in 30/06, and the other a 760 Gamemaster in .300 Savage. While the ’06 is a good choice for a deer round, especially in that model Remy with a peep sight, the “>Gamemaster .300 is a dream and joy to behold, second only to the Savage model 99. At 50 yards it’s groups are inside a quarter, and an inch high, and @ 100 yards the same group 1/4 inch high. This by far is the quintessential new england deer slayer. It will even humble my .307 as much as I hate to admit. Soooo, I will proclaim the Savage .300 as the bestest New England caliber you can shoot. There, I said it, let the shouting match start. If you want ballistics and stats, there one for each on other posts here somewhere.
D.
https://aloft52.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/120-pound-doe-today-300-savage/
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Hunting and Fishing New England 
—— HUNTED W/336 MARLIN IN .35 REM AND KILLED MANY WHITETAILS IMMEDIATLY. HAD ALMOST SAME EXPERIENCE W/99SAVAGE IN .300 SAVAGE BUT NOT AS MANY IMMEDIATE KILLS. SAVAGE IS A BETTER GUN – .35 REM A BETTER SHORTRANGE KILLER. AT AGE 71 DOEN’T GET AROUND WOODS SO SPRIGHTLY ANYMORE, SO TOOK UP TARGET SHOOTING@ GUN CLUB IN NEWTON,NH. BOUGHT NEW WINCHESTER FEATHERWEIGHT DELUXE IN .308 WIN. GUN IS FUN TO SHOOT, VERY ACCURATE AND AS FINELY CRAFTED AS MY OLD 99 SAVAGE ( WELL, MAYBE NOT QUITE ).
I’ve never had the pleasure of harvesting a deer with a .35 Remington, however I have taken a good number with my .307, and a few with other mentioned calibers. The trusty old winchester pictured above seems to be the one that can be relied upon to anchor the critter on the spot provided shot placement is good. I once shot a massive 8 point buck at a range of 20 yards with a .270 and almost got gored to death before he died. Not sure what it is about the .307 but maybe it’s the energy of a round nosed bullet traveling at a fairly high rate of speed.
I also have an old Winchester ’71 in .348. Gun is way to big for anything heah. Blew the entire head off a 135 lb doe some years back. My father bought it for moose and caribou.
Looks like you’re in a medium sized lobster boat with a tuna or two down in the hold. I know a little about these boats,’specially Jonesporter’s..
very nice!!! i have a .307 win as well and ive been trying to find scope mounts for it. i cant find them anywhere… where did you get yours? please email me. deer season is coming soon!!!!
they are weaver mounts and I am not happy with them. the front mount leaves alot to be desired and I am told this is a problem with this model firearm. there is not enough room on the foward part of the receiver for a 3 screw mount. poor design. gun seems to shoot well though, and has tremendous killing power, so I should quit my bitchen. take it to a good smith and let him sort it out.
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I have what was named a ‘New England Deer Rifle”, made by the late Wally McCloud of Buckland, Mass He was one of the finest gunsmiths around in the 1950-1970 era.
Wally started with military actions, preferably the Spfld 03 but also the Mauser 88. The goal was the lightest weight possible with a 3 shot group of 1″ at 80 yards. He made a beavertail stock before the commercial people started using them, a thumb grip, and a “Gunners Guide” built into the heel of the stock. The barrel was turned down on a lathe and cut off to 1/4″ over the legal minimum. A free floating barrel and glass bedded action, bolt bent for a scope, and the followed modified so the bolt would close on an empty chamber.
Wally did the best blueing job east of the Mississippi,something that got him the contract with Winchester to do the blueing on their Centennial model 94
I don’t know how many of these he made but the people who have them are lucky. Mine weighed 5 1/2 pounds and would hold the 1″ group.I still have mine and enjoy showing it to people.
I have my Fathers first New England deer rifle
Bill McCloud