Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Which caliber do I need?

Few things are greater.


Travis

Trim the stock and add a thicker Pachmayr.
My wife and son shoot 270's with 130's
and no one complains. And we are all small people.
It is about fit and position while shooting.
Sit up on the bench and wear a pad. I found earplugs and phones help me from flinching.
In the field, no one notices recoil.
BTW We shot .243's also, but have all elected to carry a .270.

stumpy


stumpy

Exactly.

I suppose that would be an awesome option if you didn't shoot much.


Travis

I have owned a few Tikka rifles and the one I still have is the 243. The reason I still have it is because it is very very accurate, fun to shoot and works on deer and antelope.
One of the first deer was a big old mule deer buck. Factory ammo is cheap if you don't reload, another important factor for many people these days.

Your mileage may vary
Fred

So at this point I guess the calibers I am looking at are .223, .243, 7mm-08, and 22-250 (Strictly for ammo availability, I may reload some day, but not today). Although I am and have been all my life subject to the ".223 and 22-250 are not big enough for deer" and while I try to keep an open mind enough of the same starts to weigh in. Does anyone use a .223 as their go to deer rifle?

Either way the beer and booze stay

just get a 243 and go shoot

I'd second or third, whatever it is, the 257 Roberts with 100g bullets... the Roberts has a good rep for putting deer down. Keep the rifle weight at least as much as the 270 for a sweetie on the recoil side.

Sure as hell wouldn't entrust the 223 as my goto deer rifle...too much as stake!

not to say I haven't killed big game type critters with a .22 caliber...:)

moosemike .... the pic in your signature area ... looks like it came from the PA Game News. Born in Lancaster and raised in Ephrata.

You came from my neck of the woods then. It is a painting done by PA native Dan Christ (same with my avatar but you can hardly see it). His work has periodically been featured in PA Game News. And he is always at the Middle Creek Art show in August.

.243 or 25-06. There is a whole thread on which is better.

Ditto on that....anything else is conversation.

Never a fan of the smaller calibers and of those would go 7mm-08 with .243 a acceptable second.

If you handloaded I'd suggest considering a .257 Roberts, which is what my favorite rifle is cambered in. One of the best dual-purpose (varmints to deer) cartridges available. Factory ammo is adequate but more limited in variety than more common cartridges.

These days I'd suggest a .260 Rem as one of the best balanced cartridges available - plenty of power, good ballistics and low recoil.

The 7mm-08 is very close to the .260 Rem in all respects and ammo is probably more available with greater variety.

7mm-08