Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting The BEST deer cartridge!

Pstores--- Bingo - hit the nail on the head for me--- depends on the woods or AO you hunt --- I'll take his .308 ,7-08 , .260 and other short actions in 18" -22" tube

Pstores

You do realize that S A rifles w/22" blls are a whole 1/2" shorter than a LA ??

IfN you're looking for a shorter handier rifle it has to be a SA Carbine.

Not only is the OA length JUST 1/2" shorter the nominal weight difference is only ~4oz.

For woods hunting I had a Ruger tanger UL-- 308 w/ 20" bll. That was truly a HANDY rifle for woods terrain.

I guess it's what you get used to. I am very comfortable w/ L A, 270, 06, 7 Mags. No muss No fuss

Jerry

Absolutely I know that. But they are heavier, and most come with 24" barrels in those calibers. So 22.5 - 24 = 1.5" plus another 1/2" for the action. Is 2". Might not seem a lot. But every 1/2" matters in the thick stuff. And they point faster. I use a small light scopes 1-6 or 2-8 is nice. EO Tech hollosight works very well on small fast shots. Every inch and ounce matters when your doing hard walking. I like a nice 6.25 pound gun when hunting the thick timber and swamps. JMHO

I own and have shot deer with .270, .270wsm, 06, 7mm, .300.... I prefer the small short actions.

not to mention the cartridges are longer, so there is more weight there in brass alone! then you have the powder. it all adds up...

Everyone has their preferences.30/06-length actions and cartridges work fine everywhere deer are found.

Having used both short and "long" actions over the years I have found the short action "thing" to be mostly myth when it comes to shooting quickly and accurately ,and a well designed, properly balanced rifle is more important than action length when it comes to shooting fast in thick cover.

These were killed by a bunch of pretty good riflemen in Maine with 270's on Remington, Mauser 98,and Winchester M70 actions. 22-23" barrels. JMHO.

If it fits - YOU - and you like it, use it. Handle many rifles. Some fit individuals better than others. SHOOT many calibers, and find what YOU shoot best. Recoil can be a detriment to shooters. Sometimes less Recoil is a nice bonus and enhances shooters confidence and skill, not to mention range time

Pick a good load/ammo, practice, put thru vitals.

Not more complicated than that

Like ice cream, many flavors to please a variety.

Short action rounds kill just as well as long action rounds, proven time and again. Good bullet - threaded thru vitals...

BS. I was hunting in some thick cover one time with a 24" barrel and had to turn around and go home because the barrel was too long.

Stuff happens.

Yes 1/2" + 4 oz, wow, how could anyone hunt woods with those handicaps??




I would NOT know when that became the norm.
MOST S A I'm familiar with have 22". 243, 260, 7-08, 308, et.al.

Maybe the manufacturers have adopted 24" as standard in recent years. Not that I know of.


OTOH -- I really like the magnums, L A, 24-26" blls, however I want them in Lite configurations.
Not many guys like/prefer that OR at all.

Jerry

My first deer rifle was a Remington M742 in 308. It worked fine. I sold it, and bought a Remington 700 in 25-06, as I was then shooting woodchucks and deer. It worked fine on both. I liked it especially when I sniped deer across a field, but didn't like it as much when sitting in a tree stand or still hunting. Next came my Remington Model 7 in 7mm-08, the original style with 18-1/2" barrel and walnut stock. I still think it's about the perfect woods rifle, but would reach for a 270 if I had to hunt open fields again. Of course, now I have a selection of rifles to choose from....

I'm amazed that some mutherphuqqers can even tie their shoelaces.

THEN I speculate ( not assume) that your first post was sarcasm ?

Jerry

You guys are way behind the times. Cartridges don't matter. You just need a bullet with a BC above 0.5 or you might as well stay home.

Satire.

Now that's funny right there......

I've never used any bullet with a BC at .5 or above...so..

I guess ALL those deer I brought home since 1972 were NOT dead.

Best laugh I've had in a while.

Jerry

PS: If cartridges 'don't' matter...did you THROW those bullets by hand?

Sometimes it hard to tell the difference in print. <grin>

Jerry

.425 to .485 BC at 2,950 to 3,000 fps is the sweet spot.

You know about 'steel traps' don't ya ?

Jerry

Figured when I checked back that this thread would have gotten interesting.

I'd bet good money I've piled more deer up in the woods with an old ADL 22" 270 than most have with everything else. Never seemed to be a problem. Stacked quite a few with a 24" 30-06 too. Guess I never knew I was not supposed to be able to hunt the woods, thickets, and mountains with such rifles.

1NUT: I am not surprised.