Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting The best deer cartridge

The older I get the less blast I want.
The less rifle weight I want.

Think something mild mannered more my thing.
Maybe a .250 Savage

What's the cure? So far just buying more rifles is not really helping ...

I was just speaking with another member about this very topic and was reminded of my yute.

My dad hosted several friends and relatives to deer hunt every year. As I was finally grew old enough to join the ranks and being quite impressionable (and beyond doubt they knew their stuff) I allowed them to fill my head with "bests" in equipment and hunting tactics.

So after each season I'd pester the szhcit out of my father; "dad, I wanna get a 300mag - Frank said it's the best"...."dad, Lee said the 300 Savage kills faster than anything - I need a 300 Savage"......etc., etc.

Finally, after pops finally grew weary of my act, this man-of-few-words asked "son, when is the last time Frank or Lee filled their buck tags?"..................."Hone the craft of understanding deer, son - the killing is just a formality for the prepared mind".

Anything but the 6.5 Freakmoor.......


Just kidding I have one of them too.

I like the 270 Winchester. That said whatever feels good in your hands.

in the last 10 years i would bet more deer are shot with a 223 Remington with a suppressor on the barrel ,reason i believe this is because most cities and towns hire professional deer exterminators that shoot and kill a bunch a deer in every city and town and probably some other animals too all at night while we are sleeping. don`t fool yourself i know it is happening all over America some are some very big bucks too.

Thanks Pete.

The cure is .308

The .308 Winchester is the greatest rifle cartridge in the universe and therefore must be the greatest deer cartridge.

I feel the same way. I've only been shooting 22 caliber stuff since Winter. Last week I pulled the 375 H&H out, fired it once, and put it away. I didn't remember it being so abusive. So I got my 30-06 out and fired a five shot group. That wasn't as fun as I remember it being either.

Your Pap is a wise, wise man.

your so very welcome

Easy answer:

What ever cartridge is chambers in the firearm I am carrying when I shoot the deer.

Every deer was just as dead as every other when I was done. Poor bullet don't make a cartridge "bad"---- but some men use one and then blame the shell.

I have used some cartridges that were disappointing to me because of bad bullets, but going to a better bullet made the cartridge a real gem.
Using good bullets that don't break up and do "weird things' makes most center-fires and muzzle-loaders kill deer just fine.

I don't overthink the cartridges all that much but I do pay attention to the bullets and how well they hold together after they expand. But for my handgun hunting I now use ONLY hard cast bullet that don't expand at all, and all the deer I have killed with them died very quickly and NONE went far after the shots. for 357s 44s and 45s I use LBT or Keith styles, cast hard, and I have never had a single bad experience with any of them.

I shot one mid sized buck with a light bullet from my 7MM Weatherby and had it run about 150 yards and I has a had time finding it. Took me about 1 hour. No exit wound. But with bullets of 150 grain and 175 grains it was electric death on deer.

On the other hand I have killed 7 deer with cast 357 magnum bullets from 6" barreled revolvers now and all of them dropped inside of about 20 yards and the blood trails were very good. All one shot kills too. I killed another 7 with 45 ACPs from both autos and revolvers and again all were clean kills with none of them going over about 309 yards after the shot and with 4 dropping inside about 8 feet. All but one of them was a 1 shot kill and that one exception was a 2 shot kill.

No one is going to say a 357 Revolver or 45 auto is more powerful then a 7MM Weatherby. But the power is not the most important thing.

Bullets are what I pay attention to --far more then cartridges. Bullets are simply tools to make bullet holes. It's the hole that does the killing. I want them to expand and still go clear through and go through fairly straight. If I can have those 2 qualities in a bullet I don't think the brass shell makes a lot of difference.

Your dad sure knew the deal.

I have killed whitetails with a number of different cartridges, and without a doubt, have seen more DRT kills with a 270 than anything else. I have not used a 270 in a good many years, and today use a 6.5 Creedmoor and a 243. But, if for some reason I had to get serious about killing a deer, I'd prefer to use the 270.

Anybody fancy .308Win?

Great advice! My pard's rifle would be very much scoffed at here, but his tally and quality of cirtters would not.

I have a few friends like that as well.

Heck, I'd bet on scenarshooter with a cue ball in a sock over a lot of guys with their "best" cartridge.

.250 Savage

The one in my hands

I’ll stick with my 250 Savage.