Best caliber for deer hunting?

[Camu Mahubah]

Don't buy a gun unless you can handle the recoil...if it kicks to hard...you won't shoot it enough to become a good shot...The link takes one to a very interesting article on recoil...with a good chart at the bottom...Read it before you buy your next gun...

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

 

[Fatboymoe]

Camu Mahubah is right. High recoiling guns are not for everyone. During the year, I practice alot in all positions with a Remington 700 .223. Fundamentals are actually more important than caliber.

 

[pp_rp]

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I'll second a bolt action .270 Win.

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Right on.. I have shot many deer with many diff. calibers. .270 is the best all around.. Ruger M77 bolt.

 

[Dad2leia]

Call me bizzare (as most do), but I have a custom .300 H & H Magnum that I use. Yes, an oddball, way too much for deer, but the cartridge fascinated me, so I had one made, strictly for hunting anything on this side of the globe.

 

[Hirev]

For dear hunting the 270 Win and 270 Weatherby are outstanding deer hunting rounds from my experience.

Back in the mid 90s a coworker wanted a recommendation on a good deer caliber. I took him to a range and let him try a few different calibers. He like one of my 270 Win a lot (had it dialed in real well with good hand loads). The coworker got a new Winchester Model 70 in 22" stainless with a synthetic stock in 270 Win and a good 4- 12X scope for it. We worked on dialing in some good hand loads for it during the Spring and Summer. To the point where he was shooting 2.80 - 2.90 3 shot groups at 300 yards off a bench when we went out to the range. Long story short, that Fall he dropped a Mule Deer at 421 yards with a single shot using a 140 grain Hornady bullet as checked by his buddy with a range finder. Who could not believe what he just saw with his own eyes. Coworker thanked me a few times when he got back.

As far as those package deals with scope they are OK and I know people I hunt with that have had success with them. But you may want to consider up grading on scopes depending if you are going to take a shot at longer range under harsh condition or both.

 

[moribundman]

I find a FAMAS G2 with the 620 mm barrel perfectly suited for taking out deer and other varmint.

Oh, you were talking about legal hunting?

 

[Dad2leia]

Mori, you crack me up!!!

, however I

 

[Shannow]

I thought most Europeans were in to "cat's sneeze" loadings

 

[moribundman]

I got rid of my blunderbuss a while ago.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

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Mori, you crack me up!!!

, however I

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Ya can't be to careful. One of them deers might shoot back!.

 

[pp_rp]

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My brother really likes his 35 Whelan....

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Best all around deer rifle and caliber is a bolt action in a .270 win.

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That statement is the official deer hunting campfire discussion can of worms opener.

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Yes it is.

 

[pp_rp]

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I'll second a bolt action .270 Win.

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Right on.. I have shot many deer with many diff. calibers. .270 is the best all around.. Ruger M77 bolt.

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Or a .460 Weatherby Magnum at close range will get the job done everytime. lol jk. And then off to the ER to put your shoulder back in place..

 

[mazduh30]

.30-06 is great since of the wide variety and avaiablity of ammo selection. Practice, practice, practice and knowing the kill zone is the main factor. You gotta feel confident with the weapon. A few years back, my hunting partner (Chuck) brought his friend (Don) who had a .30-06. He hit an elk 5 times, which was still standing. Chuck (.300 Win mag) shot it once...he took out the heart/lung. The following year, Don had a brand new .300 win mag and told us he practiced. Only took him 3 shots to down the elk. Don never was invited back. Sorry for the soap box.

 

[punisher]

You are more than welcome to your soapbox. I hate hunting with people who make an animal suffer. My uncle would take his rifle, 5 cartridges, and head out to the blind. We would pick him up with 3 cartridges, 2 deer and his rifle. If you heard a shot from his direction, you knew meat was on the table. The absolute most lethal shooter I knew was a small framed lady with a Remington 600 carbine with a 4X scope, chambered in .222. She never took bad shots and every kill of hers I saw was drilled perfectly.

The "Rodney Dangerfield" of cartridges, the lowly .243 has become one of my favorite light cartridges. Great for whitetail, superb varmint rifle as well. I would be hesitant to use it on anything over mule deer sized game. If you take the time to reload .243 it really extends it's capbilities.

 

[RKBA]

Punisher,

Elk are much, much, much harder to kill than your average TX Whitetail. It is not uncommon to hear of big bulls needing multiple well placed shots to bring down. For some reason, Elk seem to be the most tenacious ungulate in North America. It is often easier to drop a Caribou or Moose than a big Elk.

 

[Locomotive]

The best caliber for deer hunting is the one you can hit with. More deer are killed with a 30/30 than any other caliber. The fit of the rifle is more important than the caliber. I prefer a good recoil reducing pad and a little stock work on most rifles i buy for serious hunting. Optics are important also as you get what you pay for. If im shooting say 80 yards or less at a deer then im not going to need a scope, it becomes an issue of practice and shot placement for me. If im shooting at a longer distance then a scope is needed at least for me.

 

[Cycle Freak]

Anything from .270 to 30-06 in a rifle and 20, 12 or 10 gauge in a shotgun with slugs only, no buckhsot, which only wounds deer to die days or weeks later.

 

[lobo11]

I just do not think you can beat a .30-06 because once you get the hunting bug you will want to step up to larger North American game, and the .30-06 can be handle anything in the right load for the particular animal. Personally not a big fan of my brother-in-laws Vanguard. The best advice so far is spend the money on a good scope with a nice bit of eye relief--and practice. I would also recommend you shoot the first nice doe you see to "blood" yourself. You will be as nervous shooting that first deer as any time in your hunting experience. The best thing about hunting is the heart pounding even a small deer provides. If time and situation allows I like to settle in, find a blemish, a darker hair, whatever, in the kill zone--and totally concentrate on hitting that lone blemish.

 

[Rob Taggs]

I have hunted deer before, just got away from it when kids started coming along. Did my hunting then with a .30-06. Dad always preached to me that, that was the best overall caliber around here in the midwest for hunting. One friend uses a .25-06 with no problems, another uses .243 and never lost a deer.

Got a 10 year old son who is begging to go hunting with me.

 

[Forest]

.277 (.270) for deer. My 1955 model 70 270 never failed me.