Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Your favorite deer caliber and rifle?

My favorite rifle and cartridge for deer, a savage model 10 in 243.
Because my dad gave it to me.

7 Rem magnum, always boom flop never one walked away, low recoil and excellent trajectory and ballistics with the 120 gr Barnes TTSX.

Win. M70 in 30-06

Pre 64 fwt 280 rem.

Tikka T3 and T/C Encore both in .260 Remington.

25-06 Remington 700 CDL, 6x Leupold, 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip at about 3150 fps via Retumbo. Not much recoil, kills quickly, shoots flat and accurately.





Regards, Guy

Right now, it’s my semi-custom Remington M700 in 7mm-08. Although, due to some health issues, this past season I used my Kimber Montana in .243 and had good success and liked it pretty well. I’ve used a 7mm-08 for a lot of years and it’s never failed me. But that .243 is pretty sweet…………..Hell, I don’t know!

270 Winchester. 150 grain Nosler Partition.

Not only my favorite Deer cartridge but it’s earned a #1 spot for other game as well. I tried not to like it - I’ve got many rifles and hunted many places but the damn .270 Win kept coming back. It’s really good. Can’t say what rifle in particular but I have an OG Rem 700 Titanium & a M70 Classic that seem to come along every trip.

I carried 4 this year, which is usually what I do.....

'47 m70 in 06 that was my late father's

Pre-64 model 88 in 308, that was my late uncles

Those are the nostalgic carries.....

CA Ridgeline in 6.5 prc

Custom 280, built on a Rem TI action

Got a doe with the PRC

Passed up a small buck in PA with the 06

Passed up a pretty nice, 130s, buck with the PRC

And as is usual, shot a big buck with my 700ml during ml season. I don't know why I have any rifles, I've been shooting big bucks with my, MLs.

I play with/carry a lot of different rifles for deer. The Fieldcraft in 6.5 CM with the 22" sporter contour barrel is my favorite.

Most any short action, light stocked, 20-22" barreled rifle will be a good fit for how I hunt in any of the basic short action rounds. I use everything from .223's to .375's but I think the .264 caliber may be the "perfect" caliber for deer.....any of them will work but .264 is kinda Goldilocks for deer.

My favorite is a Remington 700 Classic in 8x57 with a FX-3 6x42 with a #1 reticle. I have a lot to choose from, but since I got that one it has had the most use.

22 mag


Just kidding, ya'all don't get your panties in a wad
I grab my Remington 700 mountain rifle in 25-06 the 99% of the time.

Favorite? Well it would be one of these six, 257 Roberts,308, 7-08,7x57, 270 and 30-06. Lately I have been liking light rifles the most.

Up til now, a 6.5 Swede or a 30 06.
This coming year I'm taking a 7x64 Brenneke I bought 30 years ago and never hunted with.
Don't know much about the caliber but should do the job.

I’ve been hunting whitetails since the mid 1980’s with my savage model 99 in 300 savage. It’s always been my go to.

Remington 700 270 Winchester shooting 150 grain partitions. I've updated it some, but I've had it 45 years.

CZ 527 in either 6.5 Grendel or 6mm ARC for the last 6 years. ARC was just this last fall.

Browning BAR 30/06 with a Skinner Peep when hunting with hounds.
Browning A Bolt 270 when hunting from a stand.

At 18 years old in 1979 I bought my first really nice deer rifle. It was a Remington 700 Classic in .270 win. I've used it since, with the exception of 5 seasons, and the older I get the less I want to shoot anything else. Leaving it at home would be like leaving my lab at home on a pheasant hunt.

Up until now my favorite was my 700 in 270 win with a edge stock and 24 inch barrel but Im warming up real quick to my MCR x2 in 7mm08 with a 22 inch barrel. I hunted this year out of a climbing stand and the 22 inch barrel and that heavier rifle worked great. I always belly ached about the weight on the MCR but it proved nice to have. It didnt move much laying down on the shooting rail of my stand. Probably still favor the 700 for a all around fav rifle.