Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Recommended caliber for Saskatchewan deer.

300WM &300RUM must be some tuff deer up there.

Some Canadian mature bucks, both species, will go OVER 300 lbs.live weight. Given, the often very dense brush and brutally cold conditions to track a wounded animal in, the use of bigger "hammers" by capable dude hunters from the USA, who have spent a LOT of $$$$ on each hunt seems a damned good option to me.....but, WTF, would I know as we have no game or hunting to learn from here in BC.

You have deer in BC?

Dunno, the "drumpounders" have slaughtered so many game animals, often leaving the entire carcass to rot while the RCMP just stand by and do NOT enforce the laws, that, MAYBE, they are all gone?

Oops!

So what must one do to not be considered a dude hunter?

The term is a very common one in use by the staff of most of the BC "Guide-Outfitters" I have met in BC, it simply means someone who is not a "local" or a "professional" as in making their living in that industry here.

The occasional person, usually someone who really ought to find different employment, but is "challenged" in that respect, will try to use this as a pejorative and thus demonstrate his/her ignorance.

I was just out of the bush, after 5.5 MONTHS working alone without a break, except to take a 3 hr. trip to town every few weeks for supplies when I went on a "guided" horsepack hunt more than 20 years ago.

The "GO" was, supposedly, THE man in that region of BC and, from reading "J'0C" and others in "OL", etc. from 1958 onward, I was VERY excited. I had not been in base camp for two full hours, when a female staffer with an azz bigger than the average cow moose and a personality that ONLY a mother could love and that only when [bleep], called me a "dude".

My very young and REALLY polite guide was obviously just mortified by this and I just laughed and we went hunting. When, I was leaving, I made a point of giving HIM an extra tip in Canadian reddish-pink $50.00 bills and then walked on by the dou**b ag, without even a "see ya"....what goes around.....

So, not to worry, I was just trying to say that some hunters who are not "locals" might very well KNOW a lot about rifles, game and what works and how to best use it. Locals CAN be "experts", but, IME, most of the younger ones today are more "video" than "hands-on", if you get my drift?

I must agree with Kutenai, for the world I can not see why one would want to take a marginal caliber after spending all that money on a once a life time hunt.
Yes, yes, the .243 will get it done if placement is done as it should, if good bullets are used etc.
On this once a lifetime expensive hunt use the biggest hammer you can shoot well.
I am thinking of 30-06 with 180 grain NP, 270 with 150NP, .300 Win and similar class cartridges. Bullets that are heavy and expand well, yet will punch through and make big holes in and out, leaving pronounced blood trails. Animals with big holes through the vitals die faster as those with small holes through the vitals.
You want your buck to drop there and then or failing that, after a short death run. If there is a lack of snow, tracking in hip or waist high grass, alders, willows etc is hellishly difficult.
Remember dogs are not allowed for tracking. Even finding the precise spot where you hit your animal can be sometimes very difficult. The more blood, Bone splinters and hair, the merrier.
There is a big difference between collecting trophies and collecting meat.
As a local meat hunter one gets often multiple chances in a season.
Using a .243 class rifle waiting for the right shot is just fine.
Tourist hunters may only get just one chance on a big buck. He will not care whether he looses meat. He wants to collect those antlers, when an opportunity arises. Biggest hammer that he shoots well, is what he needs.

I guess part of the problem is agreeing on what is a "marginal caliber".

Hunting over bait as seen on TV shows in Saskatchewan,the broadside shot should be OK with a smaller gun with a good bullet but how about the buck facing you and ready to takeoff?
Neck shots are less than ideal and center of the chest through brisket may or may not work with a 243/25-06.

270 with a good bullet is where my comfort zone would begin for that angle or else you wait for the ideal shot or pass IMO.

Center of chest shots, rear quartering shots, front quartering shots, they all work flawlessly for me using a .243 or .25-06 using any decent bullet from the Sierra GK to the Barnes TTSX. Although I'd rather have a Barnes up the snout if I know I might take any shot presented on a large buck. I don't pass just because the deer isn't perfectly perpendicular to me when it's time to shoot. BTDT several times.

I've seen too many X/TSX/TTSX bullets plow though 3' of game from .243 and .25-06 rifles, creating plenty or damage along the way, to support the notion that only the most ideal shots can be taken when using those cartridges.

I've watched my girls shoot deer with their 243 and 85gr TSX. Works quite well. However, we could not find the one deer before dark (I thought it was going to tip over, but it made it to the big timber and we could not get another shot in it). We found it the next day dead, but the coyotes had been at it. The shot was a little low, but still in the vitals.

I have used a 25-06 extensively for 30 years. It is MY minimum. I always used 115-120 gr bullets like the Speer GS or Barnes TSX. IMO, it is a significant step up from the 243 and little separates it from a 270 130gr bullet. Just my opinion.

Now if I was spending big money on a possibly once in a lifetime trip to AB or SASK for BIG deer, I'd bring my 280, 7mag, 30-06, 300 whatever. I'd use a premium bullet so that I'd be able to ensure good penetration even from an extreme quartering shot. You'll be good to show if you can shoot. Shots can be from 20-450yds quite easily in Western Canada.

Be prepared for shooting in extreme cold also. If you have your glove off for a lengthy period of time, it can be hard to squeeze the trigger. BTDT.

Your talkin' 35 Whelen here

Bite your tongue, man. This one cares.

Geezzzz already these are friggin deer ! Just because they live north of the border doesn't mean they wear armor plating. I've killed em DRT with a 260 and a 7-08 and I'm talking deer that dressed over 330 lbs. This is not rocket science fellas. The monolithic's have brought the on game performance in the smaller cartridges to a new level. Use what ever you would use at home an go kill chit and enjoy yourself.

Agreeing on what is a marginal caliber.
A marginal caliber for a certain species is a caliber that can get the job done when all conditions are just right.
Meaning not too far, very light wind, animals body positioned just right.
Unfortunately many, if not most hunters when faced with a marginal shot at the end of a long fruitless day will give it a try even when armed with a marginal caliber. That is a problem.
Unless a person is very young or an older person with a handicap such as bursitis in the shoulder, not being able to handle any recoil, I see little excuse in using marginal calibers under field conditions.
The I want to prove that it can be done phrase is a poor excuse to allow an animal crawl away and face an agonizing death, just to enhance the misplaced self esteem of someone.
Bullet placement is everything. Yes it is with a caliber/bullet combo that will expand and penetrate the bullet style sufficiently for the species hunted. The saying to match the caliber and bullet to the game is correct.

The ideal caliber for a certain species is a caliber/ bullet combo that gets the job done even under unfavourable conditions.
Meaning at extended distance, unfavourable body positions of the animal, under mild windy conditions.

to me extended range is under field conditions in Alberta in November when it is sometimes darned cold, is 400 yards max with no or little wind and a very good rest.
I practise on the range a lot at that distance. I know that still at 400 yards my bullets will open up sufficiently for a reliable kill. I like to stress that I rarely take that 300+yard shot under field conditions due to the ever lasting wind on the prairies and often biting cold and frequent lack of a good rest.
I will if possible try to close the distance as much as possible. At that range I will not shoot unless the animal is broadside or almost broadside just to take another variable out of the equation.
Someone else may have an entire different comfort range.
Most of my shots at deer have been well under 200 yards. I prefer to keep I that way.

I regard the .270 Win and 06 class cartridges with quality bullets a safe standard for Alberta white tails and mulies.

Someone pass the 270 please?!

My "best" racked Alberta whitetail sorta woulda "bounced" but the snow cushioned his fall.

I'm planning on an Alberta trip in 2014.

I'll be taking two rifles, a synthetic M-70 in 7mm Rem Mag, and my .270 Ottmar.

160 gr Accubonds in the 7mm, and 130 gr Partitions in the .270.

I would take a .300 savage stoked with c&c 165's or 168's. failing that, I would take a .308 winchester stoked with c&c 165's or 168's. caveat: I've never shot a canadian deer. caveat 2: I've never been to canada. caveat 3: I drank a lot of beer this weekend

I think this man demonstrates good judgement even after a lot of beer.