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Trick question. smile


There is no "best deer cartridge".




The 280 Remington is overbore.

The 7 Rem Mag is over bore.
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Originally Posted by GuyM
How many times have we seen that, or some version of it, plastered all over the cover of a hunting/shooting magazine?

We have a handful of different deer species/types here in North America. Whitetail, blacktail, mule deer and variations of those. Yes, I'm leaving out elk, moose, caribou, zebra and unicorns.

Arguments rage. Tempers flare. Thousands are spent on new rifles. New cartridges. New bullets! Handloaders tinker with loads, refining them from .55" groups to .50" groups and rejoicing! Water jugs are blown up, punctured, defiled. Ballistic gel is smashed. Engineers and marketing types debate over the best color of plastic tip to adorn the latest bullet... Rifles are made in stainless, blued, and even camo-dipped finishes....

It's all kind of silly. But an awful lot of fun. Deer fall, as they always have, to a well placed hit. From pretty much anything. Personally, I have used, or seen used:

.223 Rem
.243 Win
6mm Rem
.25-06
.257 Wby
.270 Win
7mm Rem mag
.30-30
.308
.30-06
.300 magnums of various designations
.350 Rem mag (kind of a short, belted Whelen?)
.44 mag revolver
.45 ACP 1911
.45/70
.50 muzzle loader
12 ga slug

The remarkable thing about that list? The deer all made it to the freezer, just fine. No cartridge failures. No bullet failures. Just meat on the table, and antlers on the wall if so equipped.

Pick the rifle, handgun, shotgun that makes you smile when you pick it up, when you just think about taking it afield, and in which you have confidence.

There ya go - Guy being realistic this morning. Meanwhile, back to coffee!

Guy

Oh, Guy! You just had to get them going didn't you? grin

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Originally Posted by hillbillybear
The best one is the one you have in hand when there is a deer encountered that needs shooting.


That's pretty succinct and accurate.

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Howdy Guy -

I had to travel today to a family funeral, but I almost had time to post this shortly after you initiated this thread.

THE best deer cartridge is the one IN MY HANDS when I hunt. whistle


I refuse to 'own' or 'hunt' an inferior cartridge. grin

That's as far as I'm going. laugh


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What ever is in your hands when hunting deer.


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Take your responsibilities seriously, never yourself-Ken Howell

Proper bullet placement + sufficient penetration = quick, clean kill. Finn Aagard

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Originally Posted by NTG
You forgot the 280RSM (7-08)! I've taken them with 270, 7-08, 30-06, and hope to soon take one with a newly acquired 308.

Pick one right now, 270...but I'm glad that I don't have to confine myself to just one.


I didn't forget a doggone thing - my list is only of those I've either personally used, or have personally witnessed being used.

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Originally Posted by bangeye
Obviously you and your friends have just been lucky to shoot old deer just as they toppled over from old age or some other malady as you did not list a single 6.5 caliber round or the 7x57 or my favorite the .257 Roberts . What are you some sort of dandy that gets his picante sauce from New York City ???


Laughin' here. That's awesome!

You're right, I've NEVER seen a 6.5 of any kind, or a 7x57 or a .257 Roberts kill a deer! I am sure that they're all fine deer killers too.

Obviously, I need to get out more... grin

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A 7mm-08 has to be close to ideal.

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Originally Posted by moosemike
A 7mm-08 has to be close to ideal.


Yeah - IF it wasn't in a midget case! whistle
grin grin


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Originally Posted by GuyM
[quote=bangeye] Obviously you and your friends have just been lucky to shoot old deer just as they toppled over from old age or some other malady as you did not list a single 6.5 caliber round or the 7x57 or my favorite the .257 Roberts . What are you some sort of dandy that gets his picante sauce from New York City ???


Laughin' here. That's awesome!

You're right, I've NEVER seen a 6.5 of any kind, or a 7x57 or a .257 Roberts kill a deer! I am sure that they're all fine deer killers too.

Obviously, I need to get out more... grin

Regards, Guy

Seriously I havne to agree with you 100%. My response on the subject of suitable deer rifles is you can kill them with about any centerfire cartridge the hard part is finding one to shoot at.

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Originally Posted by hillbillybear
The best one is the one you have in hand when there is a deer encountered that needs shooting.


Ah yep.
Shot a bunch with 8x57, .260, 7x57, 6.5x55,.20ga, and .54 ML too.

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My current favorites are 220Swift, 220 Wilson Arrow, 240Wby, and 257Wby. Of course, these are the 4 cartridges I own in Pre-64 Model 70s.

Coincidence?


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Little or big, fast or slow, it doesn't matter. Close your eyes and pick one. The only acquaintances who toted rifles more "magnum-fied" than '06's were also coincidentally the guys who had the most trouble knocking them down for keeps- because they were afraid of their rifles and couldn't shoot them worth squat. One fella I knew swore by his shiny Weatherby .300Mag. I witnessed him swoop down on a deer he had wounded that was trying to get back up, and since he didn't want to waste another of those expensive cartridges, whipped out his Bowie knife (of course a guy like that carries a Bowie knife) with the intention of cutting its throat. I bet that dumbass still carries the scars from that encounter. That 4-point wrestled him all over the hill side!


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My pals and I have killed a bunch of deer with various magnum rifles.. And a bunch with non magnum rifles.. The mag.s, do have advantages, but you have to be able to shoot them also.. That takes some work.. The greatest crippler of game and all around poor shot I ever knew, shot a .243 or 6mm..
The two most outstanding deer hunters I knew at times used magnums, not always but at times.. They knew the advantages and could use them.. But these guys were also deer hunters.. They could track, still hunt or use a stand on the ground.. Both killed a number of deer in their beds while still hunting.. That takes some skill in the heavily hunted eastern mountains..


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Wyo...thats a case of the Indian and not the arrow. Collectively the worst missers/wounders Ive seen were all shooting a 7 Mag.
Wonderful cartridge...just in the wrong hands.

A .243 for deer would honestly be my pick...but again, it depends on whose hands its in.


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Originally Posted by diamondjim
[Linked Image]


Yep!


BE STRONG IN THE LORD, AND IN HIS MIGHTY POWER. ~ Ephesians 6:10

Socialism is a philosophy of failure,
the creed of ignorance,
and the gospel of envy,
its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
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257 Roberts
7x57
264 Winnie
30-06
300wsm
300 Weatherby
338-06AI
338 win mag
350 Rem Mag
358 Norma mag
375 Ruger

I think that is all on my list. I think the 350 magnum is probably my favorite, although it won't go the distance of some of the others. It usually knocks them flat and doesn't wreck hardly any meat.

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There is no such thing as the best deer cartridge. My favorite is the .30-30 Winchester. It'll do all that ever needs doing to any deer in the woods and the woods is the only place I hunt them.

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For myself, they one I got deer with last year.. They all can work for the most part. The one I have taken the most deer with? A 8x57 WWII Mauser with a peep site.. Second would be a CZ550 in 9.3X62.. My favorite? A 6.5X55 Swede. Depends on the year and the hunting area. They are all good when one gets meat in the freezer..

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I guess that would be relative to the era, climate, ranges, and size of the deer.

These scrawny hill country deer, well maybe a 223 or 22-250 would be all you need. Shooting under a feeder at know distances makes them shine.

Now go to the subzero, wind swept prairies with knee deep snow, then you might want a 300 mag. It's hard to get close to them in that crunchy snow.

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