Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Speed or Weight

My 30-06 weighs a pound less than my 22-250. It's no contest on which one I carry deer hunting.

ttsx may kill good but nothing i shoot likes them.

the 270 with 130,140 or 150 gr bullets i consider mid weight
and the best weights for deer.some like 50-75 grn,to light for me. i never seen the need for 180-220gn on anything in north america.

just give me a regular old hornady sp bullet.

It has been my experience that one can never predict how a critter will react to a lung or shoulder shot, regardless of speed, bullet construction or the like. Sometimes they drop instantly, sometimes they run up to about 50 yards...and in rare cases they run 100+ yards, sometimes even with broken shoulders.

A CNS hit is the only 100% reliable way to instantly drop a critter, regardless of any variable put into the bullet/impact speed equation. Speed does tend to drop them quicker in general, whether straight lung or shoulder shot. The flip side of that coin is that light bullets start shedding velocity faster, but at 200 or less in this thread's example this point is moot.

Way before we could have this kind of debate on the Internet...I wondered the same...so I informally did some real testing...and always insisted on killing a deer with every center fire rifle I own...
The best most consistent is the 30/06 loaded with 150 gr Speer....always bang flop...blood shot meat tho..
Worst was 243. Never could get one to drop in his tracks...always killed fine just some tracking involved..blood shot too.
220 swift kills like lightning..blood shot meat
257 Roberts love it....less meat damage lots of DRT
7 mag 280 rem. always pass through and deer runs off and dies 100 yds or so..
223 with tsx ....will work in a pinch but not fast enough for me...
300 why. With 200 ab....works fine but too much gun for deer..
6-284----same result as 243
Never fired a 270 at a deer....

I am of the school of thought that because the attitude and position of game can not be predicted and because any bullet must penetrate to the vitals to kill quickly speed can become less important than accuracy and sectional density. I tend to want a minimum SD of .240 and prefer something above .250 if possible. Deer hunting I am most likely to go with rifles from .257 to .308 with "heavier for caliber" bullets and then adequate speed for consistent PBR accuracy at nominal hunting ranges. Few "average" hunters are competent beyond 300 yards at "minute of deer" and over 300 I am not as comfortable as I would like to be. Many in here seem to be much more skillful than most people afield and more power to them. I am not restricted by law to lead-free ammo but I have tried many and found no measurable benefit.

Well said...
I have settled on 180 gr 30/06 load as my favorite
257 Roberts with a RN 117 a close second..
My son uses a 708. And has great success..
Heavy and slower trumps speed for most hunting situations as you may have to pass a quartering forward shot with a 22 cf...where a heavy bullet will have no problem busting through a shoulder..

Interesting. I think you need more testing.

The 257 is a reliable killer.

Have only shot varmints with the 243. Never thought much of it and still don't.


Not surprised at the 30/06. Although I have bang/flopped as many or more more with the 7 mag/280 category as the 30/06 and see no difference.They are both as good as the 30/06.

The various 300 mags are very effective killers which isn't hard to figure. I wouldn't call them too big to the point you shouldn't use them but they aren't needed either. On a a combo hunt where deer are mixed with bigger animals they are great.

The 270 is a wicked killer on the largest whitetails and mule deer.....FYI

I don't dislike either 7 mag or 280... These 2 and the 30/06 have taken the most deer....wonder if our 2 experience diff are more a product of range shot and size of deer? Most of the deer I shot were actually inside 100 longest being 325 with the 06...more a product of my hunting area...
I had to think but I was wrong on the 7 mag I did have a bang flop with the 7 mag...very large body buck at close to 200..
What I learned over the years is there is not much out there that won't get it done....6mm was my least favorable result in my hunting situation....if I were hunting bean fields with expected shots at 300 plus I would be ok with the 6-284.. But I would still reach for the 300 wby....then shoot a buck at 40 yds like I did last season....there is really no ideal calibure to cover every situation...that why we need one of each.....

rainier: Different bullets maybe, different days and deer, ranges vary etc. Lots of variables show different results.

Most all my deer have been mature bucks because most of the hunts have been for those,and the northern variety from New England to Central Canada,so are fairly large in body weight. But not all!

Generally I have liked cartridges like the 270/280 which i would use on any deer anywhere.....elk, too!

Agreed... I bet I could get by with a good ol 7x57

I think a bullet that opens well offers quickest results but not if penetrations was a trade off.

By slow- what do you mean? I tried slow with 44mag 225g Lever Revolutions that put some good size holes in things but did not see much expansion. I am switching bullets for this rilfe.

I used a downright sluggish, by this crowds standard, 140 gameking in my 260 and I have never gotten that typical 80- yd run mentioned in a prior post.

Using Hornady Interloks in my 270 in 130-150 I had deer run. Using 140 Gameking - did not (but a limited sample).

People swear by 95nbt for 243. I have yet to try them but always have deer run when hit with anything else 85-105 I have tried in my 6mm even with great penetration. Sampling of a few dozen over years.

Within certain parameters it isn't cartridges or even bullets. It's placement. Anything 270 to 30 caliber gives similar results.

Lung shots....you will get runners sometimes no matter what you use. Shoulder or taking running gear angled through vitals you will get a lot more bang flops than with straight lung shots.

Within 200 yards I have not seen anything to beat a Nosler Partition from 270 to 30 caliber. Penetration is usually complete and DRT's common.I haven't had a buck move out of sight after being hit by one in a very long time.....unless they went straight down.

I often wonder whats the best powder for them things. Is she using Reloader 87 or Superformance 94? It sure left a mark either way.

I was deer hunting with a 22-250 over 20 years ago. And it wasn't especially rare then. The .222 had long enjoyed a great reputation as a deer getter with those 50 grain Remingtons.