Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Opinions on 400-600 yard Calibers for Deer.

In your opinion what caliber is best suited for hunting deer at 400-600 yards?

I thought we just went through that, and decided it was a 7 Wby Mag with 160 AB`s!

I like the 264wm. Flat shooting, good bullet choices for reloading, 85gr to 160gr, recoil is not bad, use at least 26" barrel with 1 in 8" twist or 1 in 8.5", I like the lighter bullets (100gr for deer around 3700fps.

I've always figured a .270 Win is about as good as it gets for a dedicated deer rifle.

400-600 shouldn't be any problem.

My picks as ranges lengthen is the 7mm mags.. or the .300's...

Actually surprised CH didn't say 7mm rem mag in his post, but opted for the 270 instead....?????

Good picks +1

Lots of cals will do you fine to those ranges, build a rifle you'll like, shoot it a ton and rock on. Cal within reason here isn't no bigga casa grande.

Short action or long, magnum or not lots of good ones to with.

Dober

So many choices I doubt you could go wrong. More important imo is a rifle that fits you well and that you can shoot comfortably. A good stock design and scope are key.

25-06 or 25-06 AI! Would be sweeeet.

264 Win with a 130 gr TSX or 140 Partition = game over !!

300 WM, 270 win, 7WSM,7mm Mag, 7mm-08...all good choices!

Pick the rifle/caliber you like, check the foot pounds of energy with your load at 600 yards (per any ballistic table), and if it's enough to kill a deer, practice a TON in field conditions.

Most any deer rifle will kill a deer at 400-600 if the shooter can do his part.

As others have stated, there is no magic, or cartridge that will make you competent to shoot at 400-600 yds. It would follow, that if you have to ask, you're not there.
Practice with what you like, and then shoot some more.
Having said that, my favorite is the .264 WM.

I've killed deer at 400-500 yards with the 270,7 Rem Mag, 300H&H,and 300 Win Mag.....they all worked.

Yep. A 260/308 with proper bullets is solid out to 600yd. A 7mm Mag is a 1000yd rifle with proper bullets, IF the rifle is accurate enough, and an even bigger IF the shooter is accurate enough. I don't get to practice enough to be deadly at 1000 myself.

since nobody else seems to be smart enough to say it....

30-06.... nuff said!

We all knew that was the answer. Just looking for some other options....

I have killed 10 deer between 400 and 500 yards.

That is easy.

I am still trying to get good enough on paper targets at 600 yards. In 2011 I switched from 270 to 7mmRemMag.

That little 12" kill zone is not easy at 600 yards. The best I can do it hit it half the time, with the first shot of the day.

The target looks big, even in a 2X scope, but there is a lot of wind and trajectory error possible.

I build new rifles every year, but I think the problem is me, and to the rifle.

It's that last part that's the rub, isn't it? Lots of calibers will do the job...assuming you have ballistic or adjustable reticles and don't have to hold off the body. And assuming your scope has enough vertical adjustment to accomodate (or you have canted base). And assuming you can make a hit at that range. Lots of "ifs."