Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Favorite deer rifle caliber?

T-Hawk...just was wondering what platform your 25-284 was on??

FLEM

I've successfully and quite handily taken whitetails with .222 to 45-70 Govt. And I've seen some rather heavy swamp bucks (200+lbs. dressed) taken with .222 Rems and .223's. So, I guess somewhere between the .222 and 45-70 would be fine in my opinion. Or, in other words, whatever you shoot the best.

Hey Brinky...you are right lots of good stuff out there for a guy to use these days...one thing I've witnessed over my many years of deer hunting is some guys just can't handle recoil and make bad shot placement because of it...I think this is a prime factor in choosing a particular deer caliber.Many of these guys would do well to downsize from say a 7 mag to anything 243/6mm/257/7x57/6.5x55...all [and I know I've missed some] are plenty potent for average deer hunting...I have always felt that shot placement and good marksmenship took presidence over caliber and components!! TNX....FLEM

For a dedicated deer rifle, I will go with .257 Rbts.

Favorites include 6.5x55 and 7x57. Mine are Rugers. They shoot any bullet well, including the heavies I prefer.

Guess I gotta git me a Bob. So many guys here dote on them. I actually had a couple in the past but never found a jacketed bullet that worked like I wanted it to. I guess the TTSX is the way to go in the Bob, eh?

FLY BOY, its a Remington 600 action with a Lothar Walther Mountain contour at 22in... Its not screwed together yet, however..

100gr hornady is the [bleep] for MV's under 3200... Anything above that, I run the TSX... I might try the Berger Hunting boolits and the Scirroco II in the Roy...

I think you will find your 6.5 to be every bit as effective on game as the 7mm, and a tad less recoil depending on bullet wt. A 130 Accubond is a very accurate deadly bullet if you want a recommendation as to where to start for a great deer load. A 129 Hornday SP is also a good standard. As I am sure you know, any bullet from 100 SP to 160gr is deer deadly, most use 120-140s. The 130 offers a higher bc than 120s, great accuracy, and the ABs reputation is growing.

You may find as I did that it kicks a tad less than the 140/7mm loads.

Powder, H4350 and IMR4350 are very good, the H giving a tad more speed. H4831 is also a great powder to start with, others may like other things.

I built a 6.5-08 around 95-96, and over time, sold my 7/08s. Those rounds are VERY close.

OCC, the 250 AI and plain 250-3000 is on my 'want to try' list, and the venerable 308.........well, have I been saving the best for last??? Not tried one to date. After convincing a good buddy to try the 6BR for local paper matches, he never misses the 308's recoil. Hunters won't shoot extended rounds on a hunt, or should not be, but if one likes to practice, the 25cal thru 7mm with bullets 100-140 at 2700-3000 will sever most all deer hunters VERY well, with shot placement. 6mm bores using good bullets + shot placement will also kill fine.

If I did not load my own the 308 and 7/08 would be top contenders, though there are a good many 260 loads out now, and more coming (Silver State Armory for one).

Tnx....sounds like a great light weight setup....hope it works out for you!!!........FLEM

All-around big-game: 30-06 rules, balance of power, manageble recoil and moderately priced, widely available ammo. & 308 for the same reasons. SPECIFICALLY deer: I would opt for 7mm-08 or similar. Plenty powerful enough for any deer and highly efficient and accurate. I reload, so I also like the 6.5 x 55 and the .243 Win AI.

Anything bigger than .25 is masochistic.

I think I would choose the 7mm/08 just because of mass quantities of bullet styles and weights to ponder over!!!!FLEM

Sounds like a post w/ADD Just kidding, never a bad choice. I bet if one did a survey or TEST rather of shootability, as one goes DOWN in cartridge size, ones HITTING goes UP overall, esp. amongst average shooters who get little practice. Just as many found the 270 did as well in the field as the '06 and 7mag, w/less recoil and perhaps better shot placement, so have others found in using 243, 250/257, 260/6.5 Swede, and 7x57/708. They will all work just great, and shot placement percentage may well go UP measurably as owners have more 'Flinch Free' practice under their belt.

Odds are, if you can HIT vitals well, you have the right weapon for you, or an adequate one none-the-less.

BR..you were talking about shot placement which I think most of us agree on regardless of what caliber we shoot...reminds me when I purchased my Ruger 77 in 220 swift back in the 70's ..I mainly got it as a match to my 77 in 6mm REM and used both praire dog hunting.We had a super dog town to shoot on and barrels would heat up quickly... so I had both zeroed at 200 and alternated back and forth to save steel and then mostly used the 6 if it got breezy.One morning a coyote came smelling around the dog village and we knew our fun was over if one of us didn't get him...so we flipped a coin ....I won and totally dispatched him at almost 300...we had no ranging equipment back then but would set out color coded range stakes....Anyway I killed that big dog so quickly dead without a flinch and it impressed me so much that I worked up several loads to try on praire goats the following year.Found out that good shot placement and good bullets would kill deer and goats just as cleanly and most with less mess than than my 264...of course I always limited my shots to usually 200 yds or less...that old 63 gr Speer accounted for many a deer and goat back then!!!.......FLEM

Now tell me this. What in the hell, is fun about posting practical good sense crap like that?

25!

Good to go from 25-20 (WITH VERY WELL PLACED SHOTS!) to 257 Weatherby.

My Grandmother killed LOTS of blacktail with a 25-20 and I've used a lot of 25's including the 257 Weatherby.

Virgil B.

Flem, Why did you let the deer free past 200 yds? Guarantee that Swift with 55 SPs or heavier will kill at 300 and more with lung hits, everytime. I think PO Ackley bragged on the Swift and even the 17. I am no speed freak, but not ignorant to it's virtues with properly placed slugs. Jello'd lungs kill no matter what does it.

Pat, LOL.

On the 25/20, read an article like Field and Stream or Sports Afield around the 70s or 80s about a record deer, seems around 400 if not more lbs. Yes, a COW. It was hit, and recovered w/a 25/20 if not mistaken. Far from ideal, but it did him in.

I would reckon the new 327 Magnum in a nice Marlin Lever would be a woods killer on whitetail. My 357 did great with 158s at 2,050 mv, near 30/30 performance w/factory loads.

I don't do 17s or 20s on deer, not used a 22 either, but with an accurate rifle, they all can be lethal, again when properly aimed. My minimum that I have used with great results is a 6mm BR. You'd never know the difference from it and a 243 in the field. At least my deer killed up to 400 yds never argued!

I do not do it any more, but have taken deer with a 22 lr when a lad. furthest shot 30 yds, closest 7 yds. I was a sneaky little begger back then.

Randy

Anyone who could pull that off KNOWS how to place their shot! Have some 'Injun' in ya? Lol.

BR...I have smacked a few alittle farther but mostly its the wind.....took a shot at a fork muley late in one season to fill my tag....had a real good rest..think it was about 275 or a bit more...put the scope on the sweet spot and hit him high and to the left right on the shoulder...busted him up pretty good but did lots of extra hiking..I'm guessing we had about a 20-25 mi/hr blowing that day...I think I know what you are going to say...with that speed it shouldn't make that much difference...another problem in those days was bullet construction...most 22cal pills were not made to withstand Swift velocities with penetration on big game... this experience was one I didn't care to revisit !!!.......FLEM