Deer Round?

[dougwx12]

'06 versus something smaller, to me, comes down to how many guns you like to own. If you want one big-game rifle, 30-06 (or 308, same diff.) If you want many, and who doesn't, then starting with a .270 or .25-06 for deer means that adding a .300 for elk means keeping similar trajectory but launching a bigger/heavier bullet.

Whereas going from 30-06 to .300 just leaves you scratching you head saying, "Why did I pay that much for 200fps?"

 

[XJBaylor]

All good choices. I prefer .270, 25-06 and .308. I shoot a .270 WSM, but only because I am a lefty and my choices were limited in the gun i preferred.

 

[chains1240]

If I would have had the time to reload I would have chosen a 7mm08 for a dedicated deer rifle. Maybe the 25-06. But since I don't have time right now I chose the .308.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, if you handload like I do, you can err on the big side and load it down to lower levels if you have issues with the recoil or something. I'd rather have more'n one rifle, though, myself. I inherited my .257 Roberts and when I'd matured in my life financially enough to start thinking about elk out of state, I got the 7 mag. Now, I like .280 Remington, but asked myself why go .280? I can load the 7 down to .280 rather easily if I want to, so I got the extra 200 fps. I really never found a reason to attenuate it's performance, though. I like my .308 for deer/hogs, but I keep the big 7. I just like owning and shooting it if nothing else. It's got a fantastic scope on it, very bright, so I'm thinkin' I'll use it for night hunting hogs, give me something to use it for. I mean, I may get out west again, but until then, it's been collecting dust.

 

[HOWARD J]

I started with a Kennedy special--only in 7.35 cal.---everyone said it was a piece of junk
but accurate enuf to kill a president---good on deer also.
Next a Win 30/30---great on deer under a 150 yds.
Went to a .222---it did knock them down---all at about 50 yards.
next a 6MM Rem.--it did fine with a 90 gr bullet--but the .243 put it out of business
Last was a Ruger mini 30 in 7.62 x 39---about the same as a 30/30
I'ts been a fun ride..............

 

[Hangingrock]

My uncle the farmer now long departed from this place used .22-shorts on deer. His objective was simply to rid the farm of deer. Was it humane? No but it was effective. I had a young man tell me that he had taken a deer with .22Mag while squirrel hunting. Apparently the seasons over lapped.

I let people hunt on our property. What ever caliber they use matters not to me. My one come hell or high water rule is shots fired must equate to deer taken. No deer no more welcome to hunt. With in reason rifle caliber matters less than shot placement. If you can’t place the shot caliber is a mute point.

I no longer hunt but when I did starting in 1962 until the final hunt a Winchester M-94 30-30 mostly sufficed.

 

[bowman1962]

You would do well to look at the 30-06 due to the vast number of bullet weights. 150gr. soft-points did great on deer thru my Rem. 700 when I lived in a state where i could use it.
And for larger game like Elk and Blk bear you can move up to 220 gr. Silvertips.
If recoil is an issue you can buy Managed recoil loads, I can't attest to their accuracy but I know that they are available.

 

[kmrcstintn]

any caliber that you can shoot accurately, doesn't cause you to flinch from heavy recoil, and delivers enough kinetic energy throughout the entire anticipated distances in the areas you hunt; a solid ethical hit with something like a .243, .25-06, 7mm-08, etc is better than pulling a shot with something like a heavy .30-06, 7mm mag, .300 mag, etc

 

[Water-Man]

I usually hunt with a 6.5x55 Swede. You should check it out.

 

[WTBguns10kOK]

Ya go with anything you want, don't listen to the people who say .243 is too small or stuff like that. They don't know you and your situation. It's easier to fall into something that kicks too much for you, than it is to get something too small when it comes to deer. Most anything, even down to .223 I guess, (though I wouldn't wanna use it), is usable for deer. Just think long term and go bigger if you ever wanna hunt bigger game.

 

[interlock]

our favourite

This must be our very favourite subject!



i use
.30-06 (165gr gamekings)
7mm08 (130 gr speers)

both are great as are a very wide range of other rounds

the best way to look at it is to decide what the toughest thing you want to hunt is. decide on a bullet wieght that will kill it, then decide on a round where that sits in about the middle of the available range, that ammunition is readily available and off you go

 

[Sav .250]

Not like this hasn`t been asked ten times over but it still gets plenty of suggestions. Good luck on what ever you end up with.

 

[Radium]

i use a 170Gr Lapua Naturalis 308win for moose hunting and they are abit bigger then the average deer its probably the most used biggame round next to the 7.62x53R here in Finland. the swedes are even more bolder and use the 6.5x55!

 

[bison]

I had the same question a couple of years ago. Started with a .270 Win and loved it (and the effect it had on a couple of bucks and a hog in the first year I had it). Then got itchy for another toy and got the "Rifleman's Rifle" - M70 in 30-06 - mostly for hogs and 'cause it's so cool. Can find ammo for them anywhere and can take anything down that I'll ever hunt. Only reason I'd rethink is for brush hunting, would then look at a 30-30 lever (on my wish list!). Certainly there's plenty of calibers that can shoot a deer, why not start with the basics?

 

[stinger 327]

You would do well to look at the 30-06 due to the vast number of bullet weights. 150gr. soft-points did great on deer thru my Rem. 700 when I lived in a state where i could use it.
And for larger game like Elk and Blk bear you can move up to 220 gr. Silvertips.
If recoil is an issue you can buy Managed recoil loads, I can't attest to their accuracy but I know that they are available.

30.06 seems to come up alot. Is Remington brand the only brand that makes the 220 grain bullet?

 

[ranger335v]

".308?
7mm Rem Mag?
30-06?"

Yes. Deer aren't hard to kill but they deserve to be put down humanely, that leaves out the .22 calibers, IMHO. Anything bigger than my favorite, the .30-06, is massive overkill. Actually, anything in the .260 to .308 range is great and that includes perhaps a dozen common cartridges.

 

[stinger 327]

This must be our very favourite subject!



i use
.30-06 (165gr gamekings)
7mm08 (130 gr speers)

both are great as are a very wide range of other rounds

the best way to look at it is to decide what the toughest thing you want to hunt is. decide on a bullet wieght that will kill it, then decide on a round where that sits in about the middle of the available range, that ammunition is readily available and off you go

220 grains should do the job on just about anything.

 

[interlock]

stinger,
you are right! i don't subscribe to overkill being a problem - dead is dead. but i like comfortable to shoot and reasonabley wieghted rifles for carrying about. my 7mm08 is a remmy model 7 and my 3006 is a sporterised fn mauser with a 24 inch barrel.

steve

 

[stinger 327]

stinger,
you are right! i don't subscribe to overkill being a problem - dead is dead. but i like comfortable to shoot and reasonabley wieghted rifles for carrying about. my 7mm08 is a remmy model 7 and my 3006 is a sporterised fn mauser with a 24 inch barrel.

steve

The Beretta Tikki 3 Light is light but the recoil is a bit more since it is light. But if I drop down from 220 to 150 to 180 grains there should be a difference in the recoil.

 

[Vlad357]

I am sitting at my desk looking at my rifle case right now and it is full of rifles that have killed deer. Living in WI's CWD zone, we shoot a lot of deer, with landowner permits and all. I have taken deer several different .30-06s, a nice 7x57 bolt, 30-30 lever, and my old Remington 788 bolt in .243 (at least 15 between my boys and me), and a .50 smoke pole.

Two years ago I even took a nice buck with a Rossi .223 single shot using 55 grain SP, DRT at 125 yards, about the max distance for deer with a .223.

It comes down to using what you have access to, like to shoot, and can hit with at your expected range. If you don't reload stick with a common readily available caliber such as .243, .308, or .30-06 and you won't go wrong.

 

[wxl]

Short action bolt gun in 243, 7-08 or 308, light recoil and enough gun for deer, feral hogs, coyotes.

No problem with higher power guns as I also have used my 300 WinMag, 300 WSM to take whitetail, coyotes and hogs in last few years. My all time fav is my 270s but used my 308s the most in past 5 years. Also have 375HH and 416 Rigby but that is certainly overkill. I stay with 130gr and 150 gr Barnes TSX loads in my 308s, 300WinMag and 300WSM for deer.

 

[stinger 327]

You would do well to look at the 30-06 due to the vast number of bullet weights. 150gr. soft-points did great on deer thru my Rem. 700 when I lived in a state where i could use it.
And for larger game like Elk and Blk bear you can move up to 220 gr. Silvertips.
If recoil is an issue you can buy Managed recoil loads, I can't attest to their accuracy but I know that they are available.

Aren't the 125 Remington Core Lok bullets managed recoil?

 

[bpl]

Big Boy,

A couple of suggestions for you. I don't know how much experience you have with rifles. If you know some hunters with rifles of different calibers, it might be worth your while to ask them to shoot them to see what you like. Also, do you plan for one rifle purchase to cover most all hunting needs, or do you plan to purchase other rifles for hunting and form a rifle "battery" of sorts?

What terrain will you likely be hunting in? For instance, a 25-06 or .270 or even a 7mm mag would be good choices for wide open spaces where long shots are the norm. A short action cartridge such as .243, .260, 7mm-08, 308 would be nice to have in a lighter rifle if you hike alot in the mountains. A 30-30 works great for woods hunting and is probably the least expensive option for both rifle and ammo.

What other animals do you envision hunting in the future? For deer and varmints/predators, a .243 or maybe 25-06, or possibly a .270 might be a god choice. On the high end, such as for deer and maybe elk in the future, I'd get a 30-06 or 7mm mag, or maybe a 308. For deer and black bear, I'd probably advise something like a .270, 308 or 7mm-08.

How important is ammo cost and availability. The least expensive medium/big game cartridges are 30-30 (cheapest), then 30-06, .270, 308, .243 (which are all about the same cost). The cheapest varmint/predator cartridge is .223. These cartridges are also the easiest to find generally. Do you plan to reload? If so, you might consider excellent deer cartridges such as the .257 Roberts, 6.5x55 Swede, .260, 7x57, etc.

IMO, the sweat spot for deer hunting is cartridges between .25 and .28/7mm caliber (non-magnum) and the 30-30.

The bottom line is that good choices for an all around medium/big game rifle include the 30-06, .270 and 308. One of those is probably the best choice.

 

[Rokman]

The .25-06, .270, .308, and .30-06 would all do you well for deer.

 

[TwiCor]

Gonna throw my dust in the wind opinion in the pot here as my first post.

I use a .308 with a scope for 80-150 yrd shots and my trusty old marlin 336 30-30 for the midwest brush shots of 40-75 yrds. Both have no real recoil compared to some of the more punchy rounds so you can get a couple boxes of 'cheaper' stuff and play with them without a sore spot the next day.

My old man used a .300 savage for years and my little brother swears by his 30-06. Whatever you use, just try to enjoy shooting it.