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

LOL!!

If they're all just as good on deer why saddle yourself with 30-06 recoil?

This question is not easy! But if I had to narrow it down to one whitetail round, it would probably be 270 out of my T3. Hand loaded Nosler ballistic tips.

My go anywhere Savage in .308 Win complete with a Bushnell 3-9x40 scope. It's been a tack driver for years!

Amen brother but 7-08……

30-06 recoil!!! 😂 memtb

223, 22-250 or 243 definitely nothing bigger for deer.

Unless longer ranges are involved, these offer velocities high enough to make a lot of bloodshot meat. Any waste of meat on a Whitetail …..is too much meat loss! JMO

Larger, slower will kill effectively without the bloodshot meat! memtb

well as far as recoil goes and saddling myself with it, when i shoot a deer, it is most always one time, and i can sure handle one shot, as most hunters can, so there is no issue with that at all,,,,,,,,,,,

Although I agree in principle, that hasn't been my experience. Maybe bullets used matter more than anything.

There’s so many sub 30 cal cartridges that will easily take a deer and handle shoulder bone if necessary .

I think the all around sweet spot is the 6.5to 7mm range

Perhaps a bit of both! Equally placed the bloodshot will generally be greater with the higher velocities. Obviously, a highly frangible bullet while create more shallow tissue damage, whereas a heavy slow mover will make a longer wound channel. Though, the longer wound channel through tissue doesn’t necessarily mean more blood shot meat! JMO. memtb

If they're all just as good as each other I'm going 223

I'm glad you find it so amusing. It amounts to around 20 ft lbs. A 243 is 9

Yep! No argument there! Most hunters shoot less than a half dozen cartridges during a season of big game hunting. A duck hunter may shoot a box of shells in one outing! Chances are the shotgun has greater “felt” recoil than does the typical 30-06!

Never considered most any big game cartridge to have offensive recoil!

Obviously, if the rifleman has a shoulder issue or perhaps an eye issue whereby recoil may injure or be very painful to shoot…..a different story! memtb

308 Remington 700 LTR

My dogs will look at you with the saddest faces if they find out you're trying to school me on bloodshot meat reduction. One may attempt to bribe you.

Now that’s funny right there! 👍 memtb

Oh Wow ....at now 78 years old I cannot count all the rifles I've ever owned...much less liked... starting with the Sako 243 my grandfather "gave me half of" as a wedding present, and made me pay him for the other half of the money he was due, from the guy who'd borrowed $500 and never paid a dime of it, ...it was a very good thing that GF took the SAKO as collateral. 10-15 years later I got hired a couple times in the Sporting Goods Industry after we moved back to Texas from my gypsy life schlepping consumer goods in Florida, Illinois, Arkansa & the western half of Tennessee, and my wife and family living in Dallas. 1st with a territory of the eastern half of Texas with
a major sized SG warehouse 1 of 3 regional operations - Berns in Denver & the EllettBro's in Chapin SC. Then a 5 state territory of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas for Stoeger.

My very first rifle was a Springfield 03-A3 30'06 that had been "sporterized" by a bored fireman in his down time...cost me a little less than a $100 as I recall for the rifle that still had it's steel butt plate, but would shoot mil-surp ammo - a dozen rounds for a dollar kind of ammo, in the palm of your hand sized group's at 100 yards, and kick the snot out of me when I crawled the stock to see a 100 yard target thru the peep sight.

I'll have to think about this ...so look back here again if interested.
Ron

My kids and I have used them out to about 450 yards for the 243 and probably 350 yards for the 223 and 22-250 that takes in most deer hunting. As far as bloodshot meat if you shoot them behind the shoulder there isn’t any. On the shoulder a little I guess but the shoulders are just ground meat for us anyway.