White Tail Deer Caliber

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Navy87Guy

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About 2 months until white tail deer season here in NH. This will be my first season hunting, and I was interested in opinions on what caliber I should use. I have three choices:
308 Win
7.62x39
30-30

All the guns are set up with a 2-7 scope. I’m probably looking at shots of 50 yds or less (unless I’m feeling very confident). I’m conscious of overkill - and I don’t want to cause unnecessary damage. I probably shoot the 308 the best, but the others are a close second (or third).

I'm not trying to start a caliber war...just looking for input on any concerns I should have when choosing between the three rifles.

Thanks!!
 
I vote for the 30-30. At 50 yards, it should give good penetration and proper expansion, without too much meat damage. I'm thinking (perhaps wrongly) that the 308 would be moving a touch fast at 50, and not expand properly, or over expand and cause more damage than needed. Again, I may be wrong as I'm not as familiar with it as I am the 30-30. I personally cannot speak for the 7,62x39 but would assume it would give similar performance to the 30-30. Honestly though, any of the three would probably be just fine.

Mac
 
Assuming you're limited to factory ammo, I'd be happy with the 30-30 with 150 grains or the X39 with a good 123 soft point. I think Winchester makes a power point and Hornady an interlock, both would be fine. I have taken a lot of deer with. 308 and similar, but I am using a rather stout bullet hand loaded to lower than standard velocity to keep the overkill under control. At full power, a shot in muscle tissue will cause significant meat loss above that caused with reduced velocity ammunition.
 
All three are good guns for deer.
Personally for under seventy-five yards or so the 7.62 x 39 would be my choice.
. For a hundred yards up to a hundred fifty yards i
The 30/30 should work.
The 308 would work for any of the distances you should encounter.
308 is a nice deer caliber, if should work well with a pointed soft point bullet
 
I really like a round nose bullet with plenty of lead exposed. I have used the 220 round nose in the .30-06 with absolutely delightful results, so I expect the .30-30 is the best caliber for the purpose you have mentioned.

Having said that, I agree that any of the calibers listed are fine, assuming an appropriate bullet. I am persuaded that, as you shoot the .308 better than the others, that is the best caliber for you.
 
I would use the 30-30 for the following reason. The bullets are heavy and are shot at slower velocities than the other rifles mentioned. The slower velocity of the round will insure that there is minimal destruction of surrounding meat, whereas the faster velocities with a lighter rounds will destroy to much meat upon impact especially at those distances. Oh and at 50 yards I would lower the scope mag to the lowest setting.
 
All of the cartridges are more than capable with proper bullet choice. The 308 and 30-30 will get the job done with just about any bullet you randomly pick up. The 7.62X39 will require a little more thought.

The decision should be based on the rifle you like best.
 
They will all work just fine for your application. My negative experience is that even at shorter ranges, I have shot deer with the x 39 and not got an exit wound, which means a poor blood trail. As far as meat damage, shoot them just behind the shoulder (preferred shot anyway), and there won't be any damage to the front or rear quarters, backstaps/tenderloins, or neck. The bullet with go through the heart/lungs area- the only other things that will be damaged is a few ribs, which most people don't care about. At the end of the day, use which ever one you can shoot the best.
 
If you are only going for a 50 yd shot I would say to shoot the gun you are most accurate with. All the calibers will cleanly harvest the animal.
So it will come down to the one that can take the animal & do the least amount of damage to the meat, that will mean you have to hit the heart/lung area of the deer. So the most accurate rifle is what you need to use. You will have to be able to hit a five round group at 100 yds & keep the group size to the size of a baseball. That's about the size of a deer's heart. Learn to give a" bleat" to get the deer to stop before you aim & shoot to be sure you hit the vitals, there is almost no tracking when you properly hit the vitals. Yes you can shoot them on the move but when a deer is moving the internals are moving too.
 
About 2 months until white tail deer season here in NH. This will be my first season hunting, and I was interested in opinions on what caliber I should use. I have three choices:
308 Win
7.62x39
30-30

All the guns are set up with a 2-7 scope. I’m probably looking at shots of 50 yds or less (unless I’m feeling very confident). I’m conscious of overkill - and I don’t want to cause unnecessary damage. I probably shoot the 308 the best, but the others are a close second (or third).

I'm not trying to start a caliber war...just looking for input on any concerns I should have when choosing between the three rifles.

Thanks!!
Run the .308 you already answered your own question, if you don't handload, find some Hornady custom lite or federal fusion or Barnes vortex type ammo and just go shoot the deer, do you have a mentor to help with what to do after you pull the trigger?
 
Match the gun to the terrain. Since scopes are similar that’s not as big of an issue as it could be. I have rifles that are worthless in the woods because scopes can make target acquisition more difficult. I also have rifles that are worthless in open fields because they don’t have the range to make use of. Since 50 yards indicates thick woods I’m going to vote 30-30 based upon the speed of the typical lever action and how well they are suited to hunting in the woods. 7.62x39 would likely either be a semiauto or a bolt rifle, both typically longer than optimal for hunting in the woods. Semiauto is fast, but bolts are slower than levers.
 
Match the gun to the terrain. Since scopes are similar that’s not as big of an issue as it could be. I have rifles that are worthless in the woods because scopes can make target acquisition more difficult. I also have rifles that are worthless in open fields because they don’t have the range to make use of. Since 50 yards indicates thick woods I’m going to vote 30-30 based upon the speed of the typical lever action and how well they are suited to hunting in the woods. 7.62x39 would likely either be a semiauto or a bolt rifle, both typically longer than optimal for hunting in the woods. Semiauto is fast, but bolts are slower than levers.
The Ruger American Ranch rifle in 7.62 x 39 is extremely accurate at up to 100 yds (as far as I have had time to shoot it so far) and is quite compact, the barrel is only 16-1/8" long. Mine at 50 yds just punches nice little cloverleafs...
 
The Ruger American Ranch rifle in 7.62 x 39 is extremely accurate at up to 100 yds (as far as I have had time to shoot it so far) and is quite compact, the barrel is only 16-1/8" long. Mine at 50 yds just punches nice little cloverleafs...
Just out of curiosity- what ammo are you using? Have you used any of the "bargain basement" import stuff, and if so, how did it act?
 
Just out of curiosity- what ammo are you using? Have you used any of the "bargain basement" import stuff, and if so, how did it act?

The RAR is actually the 7.62x39 that I have (along with an AK). I’ve used surplus steel-cased ammo and it had no problems. I just got it sighted in using steel case...and it looked pretty acceptable to me. ;)
15189C95-72A9-47C5-B99A-2C21A9D47800.jpeg
 
I am planning on taking my ruger american in 762x39 this year, I am in Maine and the longest shot will be less then 100 yards. I got the PPU SP RN rounds. I should have good luck with them. I used alot less and still gotten deer.
 
The RAR is actually the 7.62x39 that I have (along with an AK). I’ve used surplus steel-cased ammo and it had no problems. I just got it sighted in using steel case...and it looked pretty acceptable to me. ;)
View attachment 941762
Is that a 100 yard group? I have 2 RAR's (300 BLK and 6.5 CM). I am thinking about getting one in X 39 but I have been hesitant because of concerns with how it will perform with the milsurp steel case stuff.
 
@FL-NC— That’s a 35-yd group (I made an additional adjustment after the first rounds to bring it from the upper right down to the center). Unfortunately that’s the best range I can manage the way my property is laid out!

I’ve never had issues with either the RAR or my AK. I think the concerns about MILSUP ammo is overrated...I use it all the time and have no problems finding the target. This target is Tula .308 Win from my Ruger GuNsite Rifle...I’m satisfied!

F0029A2F-F34D-42E9-92CB-69D2A0BAAD32.jpeg
 
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