What is you deer rifle chambered in?

[marksman13]

Very true. This is my 6.5x55 M77. Group was five rounds fired at 200 yards with Hornady Superformance 140 grain. Hard to argue with that.

 

[WisBorn]

I have one in 308 a friend loaned me for this coming season. I took my whitetail with my 375 H&H last year. Nice clean hole right through the heart with a almost no meat damage.

What type of load did you use?

 

[Sneakshot92]

I don't really have a favorite deer rifle anymore since I started carrying a 357 revolver in the deer woods...
If I had to choose it would either be my Mossberg 100 ATR "Deer Thugs" 30-06 or possibly my 1916 BSA Enfield. My weatherby in 300wsm is nice too, but I've yet to find a load it really likes. Need to look at some accubonds for it I think.

 

[Sneakshot92]

What type of load did you use?

I'd almost guess a Hornady DGS for a clean hole, but I could be wrong.
Dad loaded some 235gr Herters bullets in his 375 Ruger and let me tell you what. They may as well have been varmint bullets the way they came apart and caused damage. .375" hole going in, almost fist sized hole coming out. All this across what, 14" of whitetail deer midsection? Doesn't get more opposite than that.... Btw I think those old Herters bullets were designed for something closer to 375 Win velocities..

 

[Boattale]

1985 model M77 RL. .270 Win. It has taken down a lot of deer.

 

[mshootnit]

The thread about the 7mm Rem Mag being obsolete got my wheels turning. I bet many of us will be surprised to see how popular certain cartridges are among segments of the hunting public, so I decided to create a poll. I intentionally set the poll, so we can only select one cartridge. I realize that many people, myself included, own MANY rifles we can and do hunt deer with. Select the chambering of the rifle you would grab if your best friend showed up and said, “hop in the truck, we’re going hunting.”

This is not a poll about what cartridge you think is the most utilitarian or a poll about the next rifle you are dreaming about. If you have to grab your favorite deer rifle and take off to go hunt, what rifle are you taking with you?

For me, it’s a Ruger M77 in 6.5x55 topped with a 2-7X Leupold scope. I think that is going to change as I shoot this Ruger No. 1 in 300 Win Mag, but right now the Ruger gets the nod.

So, what cartridge is your favorite deer rifle chambered in. Should be fun to see. And yes, I know I left off a ton of great cartridges, but I couldn’t have possibly listed all of them. Feel free to comment if you were left out.

None of those, man!

 

[Duster340]

303 British, 30-06 and 7.5x55 Swiss get it done for me every season.

 

[Newtosavage]

7mm-08. Best deer caliber ever developed.

 

[Riomouse911]

I only get to pick one caliber in the poll?

Stay safe.

 

[horsey300]

This year, the .223, .22-250, .243, 6-284, .270wsm, and 7stw will likely ALL see some use as well as the .41 mag blackhawk. Clicked .243 cuz it'll probably kill 2-4 more critters than the others.

 

[jdh]

Depends. Am I hunting over a bean field with shots out to the horizon or in heavy cover where 50 yards is a long shot? A hundred pound central Texas whitetail or a three hundred pound mule deer?

For the CenTex whitetails I started with an 30-06. Too much gun. Went to a 308. Still too much gun. Now I have a Ruger 77 Carbine in 7.62X39. Through and through with less wasted meat.

 

[Trey Veston]

Ruger M77 All-Weather-Rifle in .30-06...



It's heavy and has a horrible trigger, so hopefully replacing it with a Ruger American Predator in .308 soon.

 

[CptnAwesome]

I have a few on the list and a few not

257 Weatherby Mag
264 Win Mag
270 Win
280 Rem
7mm-08 Rem
30-06 Spr
300 Weatherby Mag

264 Win Mag would be my favorite

 

[3Crows]

I voted .270 Win but I could have and maybe should have voted .30-30. I also have used .45-70, .308 Win and will soon use either of my two 6.5 CM.

 

[horsemen61]

My deer rifle is a .308 I have others but it gets the knob before all else

 

[Peakbagger46]

I voted 30-06, BUT my deer rifle is also my elk gun. For a deer only rifle, I’d vote 7mm-08 or 6.5 Creedmoor.

 

[Kevin Keith]

.30-06

 

[Hookeye]

.35 Remington and .30-06.
Boring.

 

[marksman13]

I assumed that 308, 30-06 and 270 would reign supreme here, but I honestly did not foresee the 6.5x55 surpassing the 6.5 CM.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

I'm the lone participant thus far responded with .25-06 Remington; the rifle is an Interarms Mark X Cavalier Mauser 98 style sporting action blued 23.6" barrel with "deluxe" walnut half stock furniture. I picked it up several years go from a Gunbroker.com seller in Hawaii, it probably had some activity with Axis deer there.

I plan to try out a 7mm-08 half stock with 22" barrel or 7X64mm Brenneke full stock with 20" barrel next season for Texas deer & hog hunting as the shorter barrel will be handier in brush country. The .25-06 will hopefully get a chance at some pronghorn some day. The .30-06 Springfield cartridge and I are on an extended break due to eye issues.

 

[marksman13]

I'm the lone participant thus far responded with .25-06 Remington; the rifle is an Interarms Mark X Cavalier Mauser 98 style sporting action blued 23.6" barrel with "deluxe" walnut half stock furniture. I picked it up several years go from a Gunbroker.com seller in Hawaii, it probably had some activity with Axis deer there.

I plan to try out a 7mm-08 half stock with 22" barrel or 7X64mm Brenneke full stock with 20" barrel next season for Texas deer & hog hunting as the shorter barrel will be handier in brush country. The .25-06 will hopefully get a chance at some pronghorn some day. The .30-06 Springfield cartridge and I are on an extended break due to eye issues.

As soon as I can find a Ruger No. 1 in 25-06, I’ll own one. That will round out my No. 1 .25 cal collection.

 

[earlthegoat2]

44 Magnum Marlin 1894SS for up in MI with a 450 Bushmaster AR in reserve.

And the open sight Marlin 336 Texan in 35 Remington for down here in the swamps with the 44 and 450 in reserve.

The truth is, I grab the 44 almost always and the 35 and 450 very rarely.

 

[sarduy]

What is you deer rifle chambered in?

Not listed. Right now my hunting round is 300 BLK
I have used the 308 in the past and I'm going to use the 6.5 Creedmoor next but as of now its the 300blk out of a 10.5 AR

 

[FL-NC]

My 2 "traditional deer rifles" are a 243 and a 6.5 CM. But I also have killed them with 223 (AR15 and Mossberg MVP), and a a RAR in 300 BLK. I may use my 30-40 Krag carbine this year. I also have several milsurps in 30-06 that I COULD (but won't) use, along with a couple of AR10's in 308. I even have an old SKS I paid $75 for that I killed several deer with when I was a financially broke junior enlisted soldier that could barely afford a hunting license.

 

[792mauser]

My main is a '51 30-06 mod 70.

But I have taken a 243, 308, 45-70, 7&8 mm mauser, 303, 30-40 and 30-30 out on occasions