Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .284 Win or .358 Win or the Bob??

Ok, everyone seems to be set on the 358. I have had a 284 Win for over 20 years. It is different, will fit a short action, and works. I can back off on powder and kill without a lot of lost meat. It can be loaded up to give a bit of extra. I have used mine to take white tail and black bear. It has also been on a Colorado elk hunt.

You cannot go wrong with a 284 Win.

I can't see the point in going 284 if the OP already has a 280 and a 280AI....

Do the 358, you won't regret it

With a 280 and 280AI on hand we have already reached the rarified status of not needing much of anything else.They will both oblitertae whitetails and mule deer anywhere,brush or open.

257 Roberts.

Well that's a buzz (thread) kill.

Obviously not a need.....leaning towards the 358......

25's put the skids on deer better than 35's in my experience. Not that either don't kill but I expect a deer to go further with a 35 than a 25.

the pendulum swings....

223/284 20" brl

Bob. Since you have the brass you'll be able to justify the .358 later on.

I've 100 rounds of .358 ammo, no gun....appreciate your situation. Bob first, then the .358...trust me.

have 150 300H&H brass waiting....

all horseshit aside, if "many of the shots are at fleeing whitetail" the Roberts would not be on my short list...unless they all flee sideways

particularly if they are in the 200# dressed class....YMMV

308...

That's the rub....a hunter would be lucky to see one good buck a season still hunting. For that matter, even party hunting where drives are employed one shooter a season is not a given.

You'll typically have one good shot at a deer, the second will be at a deer moving at warp speed, the third, if you can still see the buck, will be a hail Mary.

Last good buck I killed came off a mountain where I was on watch.......moving along steadily, hit him first shot, shot twice more at a buck who was moving.

No reaction from that first shot, I actually thought I had missed. (.280 Rem with 160 Partitions BTW)

Only the first shot connected. Buck was an 11pt 136".

My primary rifle is the Kimber 280AI, with a VX6 2-12.

The .358 would be sort of a "Change my luck" rifle. Hopefully for the better!!

That has also been my experience with Partitions--quite dead but not as much reaction to the hit--they are tough bullets for larger game. Prefer a solid reaction so I know if case he vanishes...cut hair can be found provided you know right where he was...:) Lots of expansion with enough weight to travel from really bad angles as they head south at warp speed...

I'd suggest rereading 260's a & Steelhead's posts again on the 358...but they do kill stuff--no argument there.

Shot a bunch of deer with the 338 mag at a lot higher velocity and with cup-n-cores. I quit after after shooting a three-legged badly wounded arrow hit buck and he walked another 35 yards to fall into the water...I also received a fair taking of the "knock-down" power.

FWIW, IMHO...

I guess I must just get all the pansy deer in NY because I've never needed anything more powerful than a .30-30 or .243 to get the job done with one shot. Course I do refuse to shoot a deer in the azz no matter what. Did it once with a .30-06 when I was a kid and vowed never again. Hit the deer a couple inches left of the bung. Deer went down in the rear but continued on dragging it's hind quarters and bawling at the top of it's lungs. Another shot to the neck finished it. Ruined alot of prime eating in the hind quarter, tenderloins were tainted with gut and the dressing job was extremely unpleasant to say the least. A deer deserves a better end and I figure if the only thing I've got to shoot at is rump I have no shot at all and I pass.

Monashee
Good to see you back punching the keys. Have faith brother. Cheer NC

+1 Good post.

So sorry it's like that in your turf. 'Cause I'm not going to pass judgement on turf or style I might question why bother? Competent still hunters throughout the SE would probably argue the quote above. Someone tell me that who hunts down here I'd tell 'em to head back to class and get remedial training.

I don't know anything less productive that sitting on a tree stand.

New York is divided into northern and southern zones.

The reality is that there is no agriculture in the northern zone, which is where the Adirondacks lay. Deer density is low as a result.

Southern zone is rich with agriculture, high deer density, but also multitudes of hunters. Southern zone tends to be overhunted, shotgun only in places. deer don't get a chance to grow large racks.

In the Adirondacks the deer that survive the winters tend to be bruisers, so if you see one, it will be worth the effort.

200# + on the hoof is easily the average.

Dressed our camp has averaged around 170 or so.

And a bad day in the woods is still better than a good day at work.

I know of three camps around ours. Most guys hunt bolt actions in .30-06 or .308.

Still hunting lessens your odds further. I have killed using stealth, but my largest (the 130") was driven to my watch.

Blackheart, whereabouts do you hunt?

Okay, that's definitely not bad. This is what I envision when I hear 358. Classic featherweight lever action weighing 6.5 pounds with 22" barrel that would be a great woods gun (not my rifle, btw, it's another campfire member's). Don't know that I'd hunt with the Sako, but I could definitely get used to the looks.

I typically hunt two areas in NY, WMU 5H averages .7 killed per sp mile, nearly all are bucks as the gun season is buck only. Its pretty typical to see only a hand full of deer hunting here in a week and if one is a buck your doing good. Deer densities are low enough that stand sitting is generally considered unproductive and most folks still hunt, do large scale drives or track in the snow and hence many of the deer you see are already alerted and often on the move. Because most of the forest here is protected forever wild and hasn't been cut since Teddy Roosevelts day the forests are generally very mature and hold only perhaps a fraction what good deer woods do in VT/NH/Maine. (its also pretty dam likely there is similar terrian in VT/NH/ME, but I was lucky enough not to have found it.)

The other area I hunt is 9H is pretty typical southern zone for NY the deer kill is around 11.8 deer per square mile. Most days your going to see multiple deer per day and you can generally pick your deer and your shots.


There is a good reason most folks don't travel to the core of the Dacks to hunt. 50 years ago the forests were younger, more productive and success rates( at least among the families I hunt with) were higher. Even today if you look at the towns in the adirondacks with the highest whitetail kills its in places where there is some "edge" not in the areas where its largely old forest.

You might ask why do you hunt there? Well hunting big woods in the snow is a peaceful and challenging way to hunt. Its nice to know that you can walk all day and not cut another track ( at least until you get back near the road. Its also where I started hunting, its home to me. Its also true that the northern zone season starts earlier than the south, so you have two choices in the early part of the year, watch football or hunt(or travel somewhere else)

9H ain't "typical" southern zone hunting with 11+ deer killed per square mile it's HIGH as in among the highest, if not the highest in the state ! All of the southern zone is NOT high deer density. Where I do most of my hunting these days {Catskills state forest land} ain't much different than Where I used to hunt in the Adiriondack's. There was just a deer kill per square mile map in NY outdoor news a couple weeks ago giving the figures for all DMU'S for last season and the area I hunt is listed as .5-3 deer psm.. I guarantee I could blinfold you and drop you off in the state forest land around here and you wouldn't know you weren't somewhere in Hamilton county.

See my post above.