Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles My best woods rifle for big game.

.22-250AI 1:8 flinging 62gr TTSX
at warp speed is a deer smasher for sure

We ain't talking Sasquatch here gentleman, big deer do exist in PA. I saw a 223 pound dressed whitetail get weighed in this year, and a 217 pounder last year. Game Warden says he sees lots of big deer each year. Mind you, these were Chester County farm fed fatties in my area.

I still try to hunt Potter County each year, as often as I can. I can clearly see other hunters from my stand on opening day. No doubt that if your deer runs 50 yards, it might likely get shot by someone else.

I am not subscribing to the big caliber dropping deer fast theory; I often use a 257 Ackley and a 260 myself. I am just saying lots of guys really do believe it 100% percent, like it or not. I still see plenty of old Remington 760 30-06's loaded with 180 grainer round nose. These guys will flat out machine gun these deer until they drop. I have literally seen it happen a bunch of times. Guess what, it does work. There might be better ways to kill deer fast, but that method does in fact work--lol.

I shot my first buck with a Remington 760 in 1990. I placed a 180 grain Core -Lokt right behind the shoulder (standard PA load) and it ran 150 yards and I still had to put a finisher in it. I tend to learn quick so I switched to 150 Core Lokts after that and started watching deer drop at the shot. PA guys had it all wrong when it comes to deer bullets for the .30-06.

Shot my third buck with the Enfield P-17 sporter in 1954.

My handloaded 180 gr Sierra BT hit the buck in the chest and it fell but got up and ran all over the field. I got it.

My current favorite 06 bullet for game that size is the 155 gr Berger VLD.

Funny, back when I hunted with a .30-06 those 180 gr. RN core-lokts smacked hell out of deer for me. The infamous Benoit clan apparently thought they worked fine too, as that's all they used in their '06's for many years. Guess they musta had it all wrong just like all those Pa. guys.

22cf at warp speed good meat wrecker

How many in the last decade? Details?

The 22 Savage High Power had quite a reputation as a killer in its day. This is an interesting piece:


"Long before Roy Weatherby developed his high velocity ethos, the Savage Company released their .22 Savage Hi Power. The Hi Power was not only designed for use on varmints but also, Savage hoped the cartridge would be ideal for larger medium game. Designed by Charles Newton and released in 1912 for the Model 99 rifle, the .22 Hi power fired a 70 grain .228 caliber bullet at a then fast, 2790fps. The .22 Hi Power was given the same mystical kudos as Remington's .222 that came 38 years later. Not only was it used on North American game but also Asiatic and African game. In fact, Karamojo Bell wrote of using it for shooting Buffalo, his point of aim being just behind the ear.

Eventually, evidence built up pointing to the fact that the .22 Hi Power was wounding far more game than it was killing. In the USA and UK, the Hi Power remained popular for some time for use on varmints and occasionally smaller medium game species but was finally surpassed and made semi obsolete by the .222 Remington. The Hi Power has however retained limited popularity in Europe for use in combination, break open rifles where it is considered adequate for hunting Roe Deer over farmland."

"warp speed" is a good meat wrecker, and that increases with bore size.

Hit a deer at close range with a .300WM and a 165 spitzer boattail. Nasty. Same deer, same bullet at 400 yards and the damage is much, much less. The same goes for using a .220 Swift and a 55 grain SP; up close the damage is nasty, as range increases the damage decreases.

dvd: That's a Hoss!

My dad was a Benoit acolyte and a 180 grain Core -Lokt "lifer" because they were needed for "bucking brush". Once my dad saw the lightning quick kills I was getting with 150 Core Lokts he switched too.

I won't get into the argument, but I did see one thing....How many here have quoted anything about one of the long-time, standard "woods" rifles.....the venerable .30-30 Win, which one
hell of a lot of deer have fallen to over many years? Just sayin...and I also know a lot of people here have used the great .270 for many years for everything in the lower 48...woods gun or not.

I tried 150 core-lokts and power points too. Quit using the '06 after a few seasons cuz I just couldn't see that it was killing them any quicker or deader than my .243 or .30-30 and they were cheaper and more pleasant to shoot.

Agreed. My sons .243 drops deer just as quick as my .30-06.