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OP
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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
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Joined: Feb 2008
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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____________________________________________________________ Dying gets closer every day
Lloyd McCarter and the Honky Tonk Revival
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Joined: Aug 2005
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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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 I would pick .308... because its smack dab in the middle of the list! It has some velocity, has some mass, most people shoot it well, it comes in many rifles and different actions, affordable to shoot, lots of accurate components from target shooting industry... Plenty of power for a deer, but no one questions if its enough. Plus it one of my favorites! In a bolt action or one of my sexy curvy savage 99's ;-) PS. .300 savage is acceptable in a sexy curvy savage 99 too. Little less recoil, just as effective. I shouldn't have sold my savage 99 .300 ;-(
Last edited by humdinger; 02/26/16.
Other than that, How was the show Mrs. Lincoln?
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Campfire Regular
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For deer and smaller, I would go 257 Roy
“Lighten up Francis”
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Even though I use a 308 or 30-06 for just about everything up here, I've often thought that for a dedicated deer cartridge you couldn't do much better than a 260/7-08 in a short action or a 270/280 in a long action.
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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.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Maybe not the best deer cartridge, but I've used a 270 when hunting whitetails for the last 40 or so years....
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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The best one is the one you have in hand when there is a deer encountered that needs shooting.
Member: Clan of the Turdlike People.
Courage is Fear that has said its Prayers
�If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.� Ronald Reagan.
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I have shot deer with bullets from .243" to .458" in diameter, and really didn't notice a lot of difference in the effect.
I generally lung-shoot, the deer bucks and runs 20 to 50 yards, and dies.
The smaller bullets leave lesser blood trails.
Speedy bullets screw with them in a big way. These are the ones that seem to get the most reaction to the shot, and the shorter runs. They also destroy more meat, but that's a trade-off that's part of the deal.
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It's the gun itself more than the cartridge for me. I have several that have not been christened but I like to shoot, so not sure if they will be a new favorite. It's plain Jane but I would not want to be without an 06 for deer hunting. If I was advising a new hunter though for a deer cartridge for most hunting ranges, it would be a 7-08. The one I owned is gone now and only got one deer with it but I think it's a nice balance of power, bullet weight, and low recoil.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Even though I am a .257 Roberts fan I agree that the .257 Weatherby is a fine quarter bore and an excellent deer cartridge especially for longer shots and mule deer. The cartridge I have used most in the deer woods is the .35 Whelen loaded with 225 gr. Sierra or Noslers.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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For me, it is something of .25cal to .30cal shooting a spitzer of moderate BC and SD between 110 and 160 grains at a speed between 2,700 and 3,100fps. In a bolt action, the middle of the road would be a .260 or 7mm-08 (short action) or .270 (long action). All three of those, or their ballistic equivalents with alternate headstamps, say "deer rifle" to me.
Now with even more aplomb
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Most of my deer have been taken with a 7 mag or 25-06 but that being said my Daughter Sandi has taken 3 Bucks in the last 3 years on public land in CA (which is not an easy task) wiht a Tikka compact 7mm-08. All one shot kills. Finally had to break down and get one and love it.
Last edited by coyote268; 02/26/16.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Have shot deer with everything from the .22LR though my .45-70.. Plan to shot one with my .375 H & H this fall just because.. My favorite deer cartridges are the the .30's.. .30-30, .300 Sav., .30-06, and the various .300's.. I also have a soft spot for my current .270 and my late wife's old 7mm Rem. mag.. Have a 7mm-08 and have used it on several deer and some antelope.. But I would have to say I like the old .300 Savage better..
Molon Labe
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My favorite is the 250-3000 Savage loaded with 100 grain Win. Silvertips. Has always worked good for me. Thin skin deer can't swim out of it if heart or lung shot. Especially a quarting away shot.
Steve
“Alive in JESUS!” NRA LIFE MEMBER
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For me it is a 300 Win because it is rare (never) that there is not at least the possibility of seeing something besides a deer that needs shot at, might be a coyote or wolf at extended range, could be a grizzly or black bear that has a bad attitude and lord knows with all those sasquatch out there running around a potent weapon is certainly in order any time one takes to the field. The biggest reason is that most times I am hunting deer I have an elk tag in my pocket too. If I ever start hunting in a place with no bears, lions, wolves, elk or sasquatch I may consider something else, but I doubt it... I know OP said elk was not part of the conversation but out here it is hard to talk deer hunting without mentioning elk and sasquatch, anyway the 300 gets the nod for me based on versatility...
Better to do it when you're young so you can talk about it when you're too old than talk about it when you're young and do it when you're too old. www.clarkforkoutfitters.com
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Campfire Tracker
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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 ???
Last edited by bangeye; 02/26/16.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Taking meat wastage into consideration, yet still wanting a good blood trail, for me the .358 is the best I've used for my close-range blacktail killing.
In more open terrain I'm enamoured with the 7 WSM. Very capable cartridge to say the least, and in a short action as a tangible bonus.
But as the OP says......... pick one, lace up the boots, and go hunting. I could've killed every animal I've killed with the first hunting rifle I ever bought, a 30-06. And my wallet would be bursting with all the money I didn't spend since then, screwing around with rifles <g>.
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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Campfire 'Bwana
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A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
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This. Its available in GI surplus form for as low as fifty cents/round. Affordable practice.
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