What rifle caliber do you all recommend for hunting whitetails in Saskatchewan?

nothing wrong with a 270 win, 280 rem, 7mm rem mag or 30/06

You northerly neighbors haven't started armor plating them for fun have you?

Ruger270man;
As a former resident of Saskatchewan sir, I can assure you that the whitetails there aren't any tougher than whitetails or mulies that we've encountered here in BC.

Since that's the case, if I was going back to Saskatchewan to hunt I'd just take the two favorite rifles in the safe, the ones that I shoot the best under pressure and that I know work all the time - especially in cold weather.

In the last good number of years I've begun more and more to not care nearly as much about the size of the hole in the barrel or the piece of brass that holds the bullet.

I do care about the bullet and even more so about how well I'm able to place said bullet in a timely fashion in field conditions.

Hopefully that made some sense to you sir, all the best to you on your upcoming hunts and especially good luck if you're chasing those big Saskatchewan whitetail.

Regards,
Dwayne

I REALLY like the 280 Rem. for big deer!

.243, .25-06, etc. Something that goes boom and puts a hole in stuff will work fine

270.

Gay deer up there...but some of them are big.

And "no" a 300 magnum is not required.

For this years Saskatchewan trip I'll be using a 180 Hornady SP from a 30-06.

There will probably be several 300 WSM, 300 WM and Weatherby mags in camp, but your .270 Win. elk rifle will work just as good on these big deer.

From a few trips up north I've noticed the outfitter's kids were using 25-06, 7/08, and .270 Win

The same caliber that you would shoot Deer with anywhere else in the world

Yup, think bullet and where that bullet goes, rather than chambering.

I have killed deer with .22lr, 30/30, 7.62x39, 20 ga., 257 rob, 6.5x55, 7x57, 303 br, 30-06, 338 winmag. All work but shot placement is critical in all cases.

BC30cal offers sound advice. Pay attention to sound advice.

Randy

Damn, I did'nt think the gay spread all the way to Saskatchewan....

Started in NH. Quite insidious, but none spotted here in NB.

IMO, 243 is a little light to be dependable on the northend of a southbound 300lber. Yet if the buck is unalarmed and broadside, a 243 will drop them as good as anything. A 25-06 with a quality 115-120gr bullet is a big step up. Anything above that and you are golden. Like others have said, shot placement and a dependable bullet are key. Flat shooting calibers are nice in many areas.

If your handle also describes your arsenal, 270guy, use a 130 grain TSX.

the shootist;
I trust that this finds you and yours well this cool final morning of August Brother Keith.

I'd add that our initial tests of the 130gr GMX from Hornady have been very positive as well, so if one is into monometal bullets then there is that option too.

We've been lucky here since a few members of our family hunt, we process our own game and help friends do theirs as well that we get to do semi formal autopsies on carcasses that other hunters couldn't manage in several lifetimes.

Sometimes the results can be surprising, which is why my statement that I don't pay much attention to the hole in the barrel or the cartridge much anymore came to be.

For instance we've seen more penetration on deer sized animals - after breaking major bones too mind you - on the marvelous little 80gr TTSX fired from a .250AI than we got out of two samples of 220gr. RN Hornady fired from a .308 Norma (one moose, one first rack whitetail)

I will say that the monometals don't seem to drop an animal as quickly on average with a picture perfect broadside lung shot where only ribs are hit.

If however as AB2506 said one is forced to shoot at the south end of a north running deer - which if it's been hit already I could see happening - then the monometal choice or a partition will give one an edge over a cup and core.

Anyway, there'll always be a lot of debate on this subject and our opinions are only that - just opinions and worth only what they cost one to read.

All the best to you and yours Brother Keith and good luck on your hunts this fall.

Dwayne

Yep. The only possible reason to "load up" for Canadian whitetails is if one needs to justify/rationalize a new rifle purchase.

I may take the .243 to SK this year.

Any thing shooting a .23 or larger bullet works and is legal. Pick what you got in the safe and make sure you can make a 60-125yard shot. Dress warm and stay awake on stand.

If I was going there, I'd just just take one of the 270s.

I guess you could kill a deer with just about anything out there with perfect shot placement. You're going to be in SK for a few days time and weather/wind, shot angle, and distance will all play a part in your shot. Shoot something that will allow you to make the shot when it counts (something you're familiar with and good at shooting), and something that has the juice to get the job done from a multitude of angles and at a distance if need be. For me, the 300 RUM with 180 BT will do it at any distance I care to shoot and allow for a small margin of error if I should make a poor shot, etc. So bring a 22LR if you can find some ammo and you are willing to accept the limitations, otherwise, if it were my money going into the hunt, I would pack a rifle that will get it done in every situation I might run into.

Use whatever you use at home it will work the same up there. Just make sure its free from any oil it will freeze. Be prepared for 0 degrees F, and stay in the stand all day.

I have been invited to hunt private property in Saskabush several times in recent years, but, so far, other issues have interfered. I hope/expect to go next year and will just use one of the same rifles I do here; I might well take my mint P-64-70 .264WM "Westerner" with it's Zeiss 4.5x14 scope, running 140NPs at 3250.

But, my advice after almost a half century of BC hunting and 60+ years of varied outdoor activities, much of that "pro" bush work in resource management, is to ASK your outfitter.

If, for some reason, that is not possible or you prefer to not seem a "novice" when you hit a camp full of middle-aged largely foreign "dude hunters" as they are called here in BC, my next suggestion is to use the rifle YOU shoot best and with a good bullet, the NP is never a mistake.

For general Whitetail hunting and we have them in BC as big as ANY Alberta or Sask. specimen, I prefer one of my 7x57, 7/08 or ,308Win. rifles and I DO load NPs. However, I am a retired resident with lots of time to hunt and I usually don't care if I shoot anything or not, so, perhaps a bit more zip might be better for you.

I would avoid .243, 6mm and so on and start at the .25-06-115NP at 3000+ and go from there. If, there IS a "better" tool for this task than the old .270 Win, well, I ain't never seen it.

I have yet to meet a deer where my .243 and 85TSX/80TTSX can't penetrate vitals from any angle. I've seen a few whoppers take a dirt nap, and I'm not picky with my shot angles. The big boys don't give you an extra second to wait for the perfect presentation. Most of the time with the biggest bucks you take what you've given within 3-15 seconds, or you go home with a consolation deer. I've recovered 2 85gr X/TSX bullets. The second of the two entered the onside rear quarter, broke femur, penetrated paunch and vitals, and ended up in the opposite shoulder. The first bullet made the same trip in reverse.

Give me any chambering from .243 on up, but make SURE to give me a TSX/TTSX/NP/etc. to stoke it with.

I can like a TTSX or TSX, but only in something FAST. I killed a 6 point bull down in WY a few years ago with 140 TSX out of my .280. The results of 3 to the lungs at 100 yds weren't that great. One through the guts and into the offside shoulder as I rounded the slash pile he walked behind at 5 feet dropped him like a lightning strike. I shot several deer and antelope with 100 TSX from my .257 Roy and it's alway impressive. I'm a fan of BT in slower stuff (and my RUM). I wouldn't take a 400 yd shot on a hard quartering buck with a .243 stoked with any bullet, with my 300 RUM and a 180 BT it will be dead on the spot. I'm no ballistician, all I can do is go by what I've seen, big bullets going really fast seem to really impress things whether they are up close or far away.

Gotta use what you have confidence in, but the long story short is that anything that kills whitetails a few miles south of Canada, will also kill them a few miles to the north...

Guided non-residents are typically hunting baited stands. Ranges are short and deer aren't hard to kill. Chances are there will be snow on the ground.

Locals tend to use the .270, 30-06, 7mm Rem and .300 Win with a few .308s thrown in. That would likely cover 80% of what gets used. The last 20% could be just about anything. In my circle of enthusiast friends the STW is very popular as is the .257 Weatherby but we live on the prairie not the bush.

The .243 will be met with plenty of sneers. I'm not going to start in on that debate, but plenty of people hate it.

I posed this question to a guide in Saskatchewan and he said to use a .30/06 with 180-grain bullets.

When I asked him why, he said that it was the one load he could be sure of obtaining in the north country.

Apparently he's had some bad experiences with hunters bringing SAUMs, WSMs, and RUMs and either getting separated from their ammo or running short. He then has a loooong drive to Saskatoon to try to find some ammo.

That's the thing about the TSX/TTSX is that it levels the playing field for smaller cartridges.

I wouldn't hesitate to bring the 257Roberts on a hunt out west, so it's pretty hard to imagine a 243 with a TSX being a bad idea.

Well, no offence intended to anyone, but, if you know many highly experienced "western" Canadian hunters, you will find that many of them TRIED the 6mms and a few the "Bob" and you do not see many of these still using these rounds.

That is, of course, due in some measure to the usual purchase of a few rifles to be used on ALL legal big game species and very few will choose a .243Win. in this role over a .270Win. where the same rifle will be used on both deer and elk.

I frequently read comments on the very few "gun" sites that I ever visit by various posters about killing "hundreds" of game animals or, a real favourite, "truckloads" of elk, moose and so forth. I tend to view such comments in much the same light that I do the assurances of politicians about pretty much any aspect of life...........

YES, with a GOOD bullet, a 6mm WILL do the business on deer and even elk/moose and the 25s are, IMHO, a bit better, especially the excellent .26-06 and/or the .257 Bee, one of the three "Roy" cartridges which I have never fires.

BUT, and this is merely a query as I realize that the TSX type of bullet in a .243Win. WILL whack a baited deer from a close-range stand, I do not "get" WHY anyone would choose a cartridge/bullet for an expensive and perhaps "once in a lifetime" hunt that is marginal in all-around uses in the area being hunted.

A .270Win. or .280Rem. will do anything that the .243Win. can do in this situation and a lot more "all-around" and I have found these to be ideal for deer killing here in BC. Based on my field experience with the Alberta Dept. of Environment, 1990-1993, I think that this would hold true there or in the other "Prairie Provinces" as well.

JMHO, I no longer own a 6mm of any type or a .257" cal. but, were I younger, I would definitely have one of each, a 6mm Rem. and a .25-06, built on those HVA actions sold cheaply by "Tradex" and with STS bbls. by Ted Gaillard. With my Ruger MKII lam. stock, sporter weight .220Swift, these would give me the battery for winter predator culling that I hope to do.

I guess I would take my 284 Win, 308, or 300WSM, in about that order. Keep those coyotes & wolves honest too.


OBTW, I carry enough ammo so I don't have to buy any from the local mini-mart.

If I was going to Saskatchewan for deer, I'd probably take my Ed Brown Damara, .300 Win Mag. It's light, powerful and very accurate. It may me more gun than I need for that task, but it won't get caught short.

My one trip up there was to kill an elk and I used the outfitters .300 Wby, Vanguard, shooting 180 gr. NPT, factory ammo. It did the trick.

DF

There's no use shooting the messenger.

I agree.

[quote=kutenay]
BUT, and this is merely a query as I realize that the TSX type of bullet in a .243Win. WILL whack a baited deer from a close-range stand, I do not "get" WHY anyone would choose a cartridge/bullet for an expensive and perhaps "once in a lifetime" hunt that is marginal in all-around uses in the area being hunted.

quote]

I don't understand the obsession with seeing how small a cartridge can be gotten away with. Apparently, neither do most of guided hunters. Talking to several Saskatchewan outfitters the overwhelming choice of those that show up is the .300 Win, with a surprising number of Weatherbys thrown in for good measure. I've found that when its time for travelling hunters to put their money where their mouth is they bring plenty of gun and leave the debates at home. The pattern seems hold reasonably true throughout the world, lots of .300s.

Good points I think in both these posts. I have not traveled the world to hunt, but here in NA,as a class I see more 300 magnums of some stripe or another than any other category of cartridge in camps frequented by traveling hunters....and have heard the same sentiments abut 30 caliber magnums from many outfitters. Use a 300 magnum on enough animals, with good bullets and good placement, and the distinctions between them and smaller stuff will eventually become apparent.(I won't get into the ability of some hunters to shoot them well, which can be the fly in the ointment)

They are wicked killers of about any BG animal. But I still don't think they are required on a Saskatchewan deer hunt, even though I have used them myself up there.

I would not fetch along a 243 for the chore if there was a choice of anything larger, since, good though they might be, there is other stuff that is simply better IMHO. My choices for central Canada start with a 270 and end in the 30 caliber class.

As to the small gun stuff, I think folks sometimes confuse "lethal" with "fully sufficient"....as a ridiculous example of this, a 22 rim fire and a 280 are both "lethal"....but only the 280 would be considered "fully sufficient" in the BG hunting context. If folks don't know the difference, I can't explain it.

Like you said here, it is a bit different when you are a resident and moose, elk, deer etc can all be on the menu. When I lived in Manitoba I often took a .250 Savage because the only thing I was hunting was deer. I will be leaving shortly on my annual "big" hunt. I won't be carrying a .250 Savage.

Well, I've only taken about 70 or so Saskatchewan deer, but I would feel fully confident with a .243, or .250 Savage or .257 Roberts with good bullets. I usually have used something bigger because a lot of our hunting overlaps with moose, elk and bear seasons. I do not know one single local hunter who chooses a 300 magnum for whitetails, although a few do shoot 7mm Remington mags. Far more common are .270's, .308's, 30-06, 7mm-08, etc. etc.
A 25-06 is about ideal for open country whitetails in my opinion. Choosing a 300 magnum for any deer-only hunt seems kinda silly to me, besides being a little disrespectful to all that good venison. But if a visiting hunter wants to use a 300 mag and can shoot it well, they kill deer very effectively, that's for sure.

You should!!!!

You'll be the talk, or should I say squawk of camp. Do it! I dare ya.

That's it, should be the holy grail of expensive hunts.

Northern bucks as opposed to tiny frail southern bucks do carry a lot of weight, I can't imagine anyone wanting to use less than a 130 grain .270 class round on a $5000 trip.

If hunting over bait at 100 yards or under I would think a good ole 45-70 would do the trick. I've killed more bears than I care to count over bait with my 450 Marlin and never had to shoot twice. But use your 270 win. with Barnes tsx or NPs and you'll be fine. Good luck on your hunt. Kevin

I'm with you on this one. It always puzzles me how the guy who has hunted here once or twice, or even once every 5 or 10 years, seems to know what it takes to kill our deer (AB, SK, etc) better than the guy who lives here and kills 2-3+ deer here every year, some of them real whoppers.

A .30 Mag will certainly do the job on SK or AB deer, about like a .416 Mag will do the job on elk. But, having been on the guiding end of things, I always chuckle when a camp full of non-residents is absolutely convinced that anything less than a .300 Magnum, or even a .270, is asking for trouble, when I've seen so many of our deer pile up like a sack of hammers, often with full penetration and exits, to decent bullets from the .243, .25-06, etc. If you just want to bring your .300 Magnum because you like it, by all means it will do a bang up job, but don't try to tell me that it will kill deer any better than a .243 with 80gr TTSX or 100gr PT, assuming decent shot placement for both. I've seen good and bad situations arise from both classes of cartridge, mainly depending on bullet selection and placement, rather than chambering. Guys who have shot a decent number of deer with both a .300. Mag and .243 will tell you to pick a reliable bullet and put it where it needs to be, and for the most part, ignore the headstamp. Deer are just not that hard to kill.

Confidence in a familiar rifle will do you far more favours than buying a shiny new .300 Mag because you think your old .257 Bob is too small.

Jordan I agree with you and castn'blast.....but I don't think any one is trying to tell you guys what works, or feels that 243's and 25's don't kill them fine....but you have to consider the mindset of a lot of traveling hunters.

Mostly, they are generally not hand loaders, not rifle "nuts", use factory ammo, don't tinker with rifles much,and if they shoot 300-500 rounds a year, that's a lot. They are disinclined to use smaller cartridges with premium bullets, and "understand" cartridge power but the nuances of good bullets are sometimes a bit vague for a lot of them.

They have one or two "traveling" rifles because in addition to deer in your country in November, they were likely in Montana, Wyoming, or Colorado in October for mule deer and elk or somewhere else.

When it come to rifles, they are grand generalists, and right or wrong, believe that 7mm and 300 mags of some sort provide them with an "edge" for longer shots and bigger deer. Besides, they don't want to register or fly with a whole bunch of different rifles and tend to rely on a one or two proven combo's whenever they get on a plane to hunt. Generally, they don't want to deal with lot of different rifles and tend to bring something they can use on "everything"....whatever that is..

This gets reinforced in many camps up there, and by many outfitters....I have shot more Canadian deer with a 270 than anything else, and about every camp I show up in with one, it's the smallest caliber in use among all the paying hunters....one Manitoba bush rat(a good guy, and our outfitter)said he uses a 300 magnum as his only rifle because..."Hey it works on everything up here, eh?"

He and another from Saskatchewan both felt the 270 I used was on the small side. After I killed two Sask 10 point bucks with mine, I reminded him about his 270 crack......he just smiled and acknowledged it worked.....So much for ballistic discussions. They just don't occur very much.

Seems you bring a 270 to a Canadian deer camp, you get the same treatment you get on here when you admit you use one....

North of you, in Peace River, at the camp I go to, you NEVER see a hunter show up with a 270 or 30/06 (except me ) The majority of rifles among paying hunters are chambered for a 7mm or 300 magnum of some sort.

You guys lucky enough to live up there, who do not travel far to hunt, are used to seeing the game, know the country and what to expect,can have access to moose, bear, elk, whitetail and mule deer all within a days drive, and get to hunt multiple species every year without the income of a heroin dealer look at things differently than the poor slob who has to fight through the airports every year to go somewhere "good" to hunt and part with the mid 4 figures($) for the privilege of (hopefully)killing a Canadian giant.....he might shoot more deer at home than you guys do up there, but likely not as big, unless he lives in areas down here known for big bodied deer.(like in Maine...I have yet to kill a Central Canadian whitetail deer as big through the body as my biggest from Maine).

More often than not, our traveling guy is not going to kill what he came for.....but right or wrong he feels that some extra horse power is going to do him "good", and we may not agree but that's a conclusion we all come to only after a few years of killing those animals.

Personally I am not going to carry a 6mm or a 25 caliber to Canada simply because I have already killed enough animals with a Roberts and 25/06 to get a handle on their capabilities. I am not curious about them any more, and already know what they will do.

That wasn't directed at you, Bob. I understand what you're saying, and if a guy wants to use a .300 because that's what he already has and likes, more power to him. But the last thing he needs is to start feeling insecure about his .243 or .260 that he knows inside and out, and go and pull out a .300. Mag that he doesn't shoot as well because it kicks harder, simply because some guys on the internet that have hunted Canadian deer once or twice told him he needed it.

Jordan;
I trust that this finds you and yours doing well on this wet and cool fall morning sir.

As usual Jordan, you've made a lot of sense and conveyed your thoughts in an efficient manner - well done.

In my initial response here I noted something along the same lines as what I've quoted above, that is to use something you are familiar with - that always, always, ALWAYS works in all weather conditions and that you shoot well under pressure with.

While I've never guided, I know a bunch of locals who do and overwhelmingly the most consistent complaint about visiting hunters is that they take too long to shoot from field positions.

This situation can't help but be exacerbated by bringing a "new to the hunter" rifle that has more recoil than they are used to.

While I've admittedly not hunted prairie whitetails for decades now, so they may have slowed down some since then, out here I tell new hunters that a "typical whitetail encounter" will last until they can count to five.

Our eldest and I skipped out on church yesterday morning and ran across not one but two first rack whitetails and neither one stayed around for more time than it took me to count the fingers on one hand - which as it turned out was a smart move on their part as a determined young lady was doing her level best to insert a 130gr TSX from her 6.5 Swede at the same time.

Anyway Jordan as usual I appreciated what you had to add to the discussion and even more so how you did it.

All the best to you and yours this fall and good luck on your hunts too.

Dwayne

Dwayne, this may, or may not pertain, but the old football coach quote, about "Dancing with who broung us."

Agreed

Not just field positions, also off the bench as well. I've noticed on the first afternoon all the hunters usually shoot their targets off the outfitters bench to ensure their rifles are still on. Some of these guys create anxiety in me just watching. I start thinking is their safety on, do they not realize the waiting line behind them is getting longer, why the hell don't they shoot,etc.? Some of these guys take as long to fire at a target as the hunters on television waiting for an animal to stop browsing!

I don't know if there is one answer, but I suspect they came into hunting later in life as an adult who didn't shoot rabbits with a .22 when they were in their early teens, and who never shotgunned doves or ducks on the wing.

I also agree with what you said about a whitetail encounter being very brief, maybe until the count of 5, good stuff! Does and small bucks may stand around but the big trophy bucks we all want are almost always on the move in and out of brush or darting from doe to doe, or just disappearing.

I figure I'm gambling with the 308 and 130ttsx

Smart man I wouldn't use a 243 without a Barnes bullet! Grandson shot a nice 8pt running down hill 130 yds. (range finder) with a 243 dropped it with one shot. Quartering away took it in the hind quarters and the bullet was recovered just inside the heart, mushroomed perfectly!!! Love those Barnes bullets !!

Metal vs meat ; metal wins . I would just bring what you have , go kill deer and have fun.

BCJR...well said!!!!

I personally IMO would recommend 270 win,280 rem,308 win,30-06 etc with a good bullet and you'll be in great shape,a cannon isn't needed and on the other hand don't go too light if shot placement is off a bit you don't want a animal to suffer or be lost

Deer are not hard to kill, location does not matter, shot placement does.

Agree 100%

Its just a whitetail deer not hard to kill with a good shot...I have used a 270WSM and 30-06 in the past, soon it will be a 25-06 and I wont be under gunned...

I do not have and have never owned a .25-06, have shot only ONE rifle so chambered and have wanted one for about 50 years, since reading a "GUNS" magazine article in the early '60s about a superb little piece built in his prime on a G33/40 by the legendary Al Beisen.

I would LOVE to have that rifle, under a Zeiss, Leupy or Swaro in about 2-10ish power range, have all of these on fine,custom, working rifles and like them about the same. The lovely stock would not get mangled in stand hunting in easy country as they ALWAYS do here in BC and I deem the cartridge "ideal" for ANY deer that walks.

So, Rob's choice, IMHO, is perhaps the ideal one and I spent last evening researching buying a Montana Rifles sts rig in .25-06, almost certainly WILL, even with 30 fine rifles still on hand after a couple years "culling"my collection.

I have a good friend who lives in Grande Cache and uses his 25-06 pretty much exclusively now and he has a number of options to choose from in his cabinet. He has taken bighorn, black bear, moose, elk, mule deer and whitetail with it. He swears by that rifle...

I can't imagine paying $4000 to hunt a big mature deer and not taking at least a 7mm up shooting a 150gr bullet 2900-3100fps. Too many horror stories from s.Texas about deer not recovered w/small caliber and no dog available.powdr

As I sit here at the computer I can see 2 Saskatchewan deer along with 5 other whitetails from various locations. None of them were hard to kill. 1 was killed with a 7 STW, the others were killed with either a 270 or a 308.

By the way the 7 STW made one hunt and never went back! Take what you have and what you shoot well. As our most infamous poster here is found of saying "its all about boolits"

When only deer is on the menu, I would choose a Sako Finlight in either 260Rem or 6.5x55SM, Vortex 2.5x10x44 PST and a good range finder, best way of launching a 130 class bullet.

Pwdr, I have spent most of my life chasing Whitetails and the majority of those years were spent in the Golden Triangle of South Texas. I haver never seen a deer lost that was shot with a good bullet placed correctly.

Bad bullet, bad location, anything can happen.

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.

ny: Those will both work.

I hunted in Alberta with a guy who brought a Savage 99 in 300 Savage.He killed a deer.

I am no expert on canadian deer but I shot my first one on the 14th of this month just outside of Viking, AB with a 7mm-08 and a 140 gr TSX at 175 yds. He dropped like a brick, kicked a couple of times and it was over.

Bullet placement always trumps head stamp.

DLALL: Congrats!

That's the way it usually works...no surprises.

Thanks Guys, Now if I can just get a bigger one next year!!!!

i walloped a big bodied with a 130 TTSX out of 308 that being said, the 243 with 85 TSX or 80 TTSX seems to be popular with the locals where I was

they snicker at americans that think big cannons are needed

Two years ago I switched my .280 from 160 grain NP to 140 grain TTSX, couldn't be happier with the results. The 4 deer I have taken in that time have all died very quickly, 2 mule deer dropped on the spot, 1 whitetail taken on the run managed about 3 steps and one other mule deer managed about 5 steps. Meat loss was very minimal. These deer are not the large-bodied deer that you can get in Saskatchewan but I can't imagine the results would be much different given the same shot placement. I am thinking that 120 grain TTSX might work just as well.

One thing that I feel gives me quicker results with TTSX is hitting bone. TTSX loves shoulders and animals die quicker than double lung with that bullet for me

I'm sure it will....I have killed more or less average sized bucks to super large variety with 130-140 gr 270 and 7mm bullets in Canada. They all died pretty much the same way.

I think something like a 280 with a 120 TTSX or similar will work just fine.In truth I can't see any much difference between standard cased 30 calibers with lighter bullets,and 270's 280's 7x57's,etc etc. They seem to be mostly peas in a pod.

The biggest whitetail in all of Canada is a pushover for a 270 Winchester.

Bob;
I trust this finds you and yours well sir - Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Although we've hashed this out previously and endlessly, I'll only note that the same locals would kill a bull moose or bull elk with that same '06/.270.

My late father started shooting moose with a .303, then went to a .250 Savage and finally ended up using a Model 100 in .308. Although he'd quit moose hunting by then, when I gave him the 6.5x55 Swede I'd modified for him, after shooting it a few times and using it on local bucks he opined it would have been about perfect for Saskatchewan moose.

Anyway Bob, again one has to ask what the locals really know, correct?

They do choose to live there year 'round after all.

All the best to you and yours Bob.

Dwayne

Montana deer are pretty close, at least geographically to Saskatchewan deer, and if anything, somewhat smaller.
Over the 22 years I have lived in Montana, I have seen an average of 4 non residents come to Montana to hunt deer and elk, plus have hunted with usually 2 or 3 , at least other hunters. That adds up to at least a significant amount of field experience.
When someone shows up to go deer hunting, I prefer them to have at least a 7 magnum, and a 300 winchester magnum is better or even a 338.
I cringe when someone shows up with a 308, 7/08 or 270.
The reason being, year after year, you can take the guys with the magnums to your favorite hunting spot and they will usually do very very little damage to the deer and elk population. The hunt often begins with several warning shots that come close enough to scare the deer and elk into hiding on the nearby private land. A couple of weeks later, those deer and elk wander back where I can hunt them.
Now, those bastids that bring the 308s, 7/08s, 308s, for over 20 years I have had to watch them as they head back home with their tags filled with what I consider MY game.
One sum mitch had the gall to show up this year with a TIKKA, a stinkin' Tikka, in 308, and, even worse, a stinking fixed power Leupold in 6 power. Three shots later, and three deer later (couple doe tags), he's done huntin'. He claimed the mule deer buck was 377 yards away when he shot, but I lazered it, and it was only 374. Any fool knows a 308 wouldn't kill a mule deer buck at 377 yards.
Another thing I like to see is for people that don't practice much, is to have lots of dials on their scopes, and to bring a new rifle in the latest caliber each year.
You'd probably be hard pressed to find a more inept hunter on the 'Fire than me, but these are just my somewhat tongue in cheek observations over several years, nothing more.
Royce

Ahhaahahhaha

So, even a M65 cannon is not too big, what is too small?

I have been hunting in sask since 1994 my 3 sons and myself all shoot 300 weatherby s 180 noslers and do very well never lost a deer yet. Now we had many other guys in camp with there 130-150 grain non magnum walk around camp with there chin dragging the ground because they wounded a buck. Not saying it can't happen with any caliber but hit them hard with a lot if energy and take them off there feet. And some magnum shooters do no how to shoot.

An M65 canon would be considered too big, because in an 8 pound rifle, you'd end up with a lot of guys getting scope cuts.
Too small? That would call for a judgement call on my part, and I was pretty careful in my post not to inflict any of my own judgement, and to just post what I had seen and my reaction to that.

Royce now that's a different perspective on the whole thing....you had me sorta curious about where that was going.....for awhile.

Well said, but, why bother?

Kutenay I hear you bud, just had to

trap4fur I have used the 300 Win Mag in Sask and Alberta....it certainly does slap those bucks around alright.

There is nothing better then that bobin.

Milo Hansen killed the world record whitetail in Saskatchewan with a lowley .308.......wonder how he pulled that off?

The buck died from laffin too hard when he saw that puny little .308.

He was literally tickled to death.

If somebody can shoot the 300 magnums well, I think they are incredibly effective with their high BC bullets, tremendous killing ability. I don't think there is any question about that.

For me....I would tote my 300win, shooting a 165 Scirocco.

Nothing shrugs that combo off....

Tony

Royce;
I hope this finds you and yours well this first Sunday in December.

At the risk of beginning to both sound like a broken record and beat a dead horse, I'll again offer my example of one mulie buck that broke the rules with a .300 Magnum.

I've been lucky enough to do a fair bit of hunting over the years and for a long stretch much of it was with a .300 Win Mag or .308 Norma which is it's twin. Between family and friends I've been present for somewhere north of 100 whitetail, mulie or blacktail bucks getting hit and we can throw in a bull moose, a few black bears and a California ram in there too if we'd like to.

Based upon that experience I'd agree that the .300 Magnums are no doubt effective cartridges - as you aptly noted "if somebody can shoot them well", but that being said reaction to being hit with them or any other cartridge/bullet combination seems to vary considerably from animal to animal.

I've written about this many times here on the 'Fire, but the longest run from a buck after being hit for me was a first rack mulie that went about 90lb carcass.

I estimated that he made it close to 200yds down the mountain - after being hit with a 165gr BT Hornady Spire out of my saddle gun which was a No. 1 in .300 Win. Mag. The bullet exited on that buck and the lungs were for all intents and purposes damaged beyond use, but so help me he made it that far somehow.

My sole purpose in continuing to post my experience is simply to remind folks that if a buck runs off after you shoot at it with a .300 Magnum or any other "Hammer of Thor" - please go take a look for a hit - because in our experience they do not ALWAYS knock down even "average to small" size bucks.

Here's hoping all our bucks fall straight down for the rest of our hunts Royce and all the best to you and yours in the upcoming week.

Dwayne

in sask most shots for non-resident aliens are 150 yards or less so a magnum is for ego IMO

Anyone convinced they should throw away their 303, or 308, or 30/30, please throw them my way.

Funny, an experienced Canadian hunter(s), use and post their use of .300 mag. rifles on the game where they live and hunt and yet "dudes" who may have been led to a few animals by guides and come from foreign lands tell them/us that their choice is ...ego....

As to Milo Hansen's buck, the FACTS of his kill are rather revealing and they show that he got that deer largely by LUCK and CHANCE. He and quite a number of other locals hunted it for some time, it was present in his region due to changes in the economic/environmental status there and he just happened to be THE guy that got that shot.

The issue of his .308Win., among my personal, all-time favourite cartridges, is also rather interesting, in view of the fact that to DROP and KILL that buck, he had to shoot it THREE times. In the dense brush and heavily-tracked snow at the time he shot it, this COULD have resulted in losing it.

So, enough of this bullsh!t about those who prefer to use, for example, a .300 Bee. for all of their hunting and/or carry a .270Win. or .280Rem. rather than the .243Win. After 50 years in western/northern Canadian hunting next season and considerable experience with a wide variety of rifles, cartridges and bullets in that time, I consider a .300 Mag. to be an excellent all-around choice for hunting here and nobody should feel that it is not due to some carping and kvetching from others.

Simply put, to me, our deer cartridges start with the ,25-06, 6.5x55/.260 Rem., various "sevens" and if YOU like and can shoot a .375H&H, why not, it is YOUR f**king hunt!

Kuteney now you took the words rite out of my mouth. Shoot what ever you can handle and don't worry about the other guys rifle it like dealing with a bunch if kids here. They can never be to dead it's not an ego thing just what your use to my second go to gun is a 375hh 230 tsx flatter shooting then 270 etc. well said can tell you are a true hunter

The venerable old 30-06 is a very versatile round....in reality a magnum isn't really necessary for deer hunting, but if you can only afford one firearm by all means buy what tickles your fancy.

30-06 is a great all around round. I like a caliber that you can hunt everything with this way you are use to the rifle just my opinion

where did milo hit the buck with a 308 the first two shots? What bullet?
I'm betting I could kill that deer with a 130 tipped triple shock, partition, or accubind out of a 308 with one kill. 308's have reliably killed much larger game than his buck with one shot.

In my time guiding other hunters, I've seen more critters run away from .300 Magnums than .243's. Bullet construction and where the bullet lands seems to make a lot more difference than caliber or cartridge...

Exactly. Spent a few years in Sask. (40), killed a few deer, seen a few killed.

I think that the issue with the .300s, has far more to do with the fact that relatively few hunters now are GOOD shots. This, is not so much due, IMHO, to any specific lack of personal qualities on their part, it is far more the result of the huge increase in "urbanization" in contemporary North America, even here in relatively "un-populated" Canada.

Then, the hunting "industry" is now SO costly, with all the gizmos, camos, gear and HUGE prices for hunting a Moose, not to mention, shudder, SHEEP, that most hunters have to work their bags off to begin to afford a trip every few years. So, very few CAN and DO learn to shoot and practice with ANY of their rifles and are not "used" to the recoil effect on their often elderly bods.

We had a rifle club here at Vancouver, just below Simon Fraser University and in an area where NO other development could exist due to landform-fluvial issues. So, for a VERY low cost, we had a reasonably decent 250 yd. range, covered benches and so on.

My buddies and I would shoot there 1-3 times every week, we were about 21-50 in age and most were/are avid handloaders and extreme rifle nuts. The tendency, given that most were/are VERY active and experienced hunters, Africa, the Territories, all over BC, even one with a "Marco Polo" ram, was to higher end and magnum rifles. Most of us could, on demand, anytime, put a rifle full of .300 Bee, .338WM or .375 H&H bullets, "freehand" into about 3.5" at 100M.....and, one guy, the "Marco" hunter, preferred his .340 Bee, for sheep because, as he told me, it knocks them down so well.

At that time, in my late 30s and 40s, into my early 50s, I worked in the bush, Alberta FS and carried a gun everyday, for months on end. One, gets so familiar with it that hitting becomes much easier than not and the range I shot at just helped that process to happen.

Now, being an old guy, 1.5 hrs. from my club, hate traffic, very ill wife for almost four years, I sometimes STILL can shoot my light, .375H&H CRF carbine into sub-moa and run 20-25 300 gr. loads per session, no problem. But, my field position shooting sucks compared with what I could do and I really suspect that a majority of the hunters who come to SK, MB, AB or BC, from elsewhere, are in much the same situation.

Oddly, the smallest deer I have ever shot was with my most treasured rifle, my first P-64-.338 Alaskan and that 250 NP did LESS meat damage than it's companion P-64 Fwt-.270-150 NP did on the buck I got to finish that trip a cay later.....

So, I don't care for .243s, etc, TSXs into shoulders, simply because I only kill for meat and that is what works for me, each to his own.

This comment intrigues me, I have known a LOT of guides and some "G-Os" here in BC and a couple in AB, over more than 50 years and I have NEVER heard any of them make a commment like this.

I have no idea of your age, actual field guiding experience and am not into trying to harass or in any respect deride you, but, do you mean to tell us that you have seen MORE Moose, Elk and "trophy" bucks ...run away... from hunters shooting .300 Mags. than from those with .243Win. rifles? In short, are you stating that a .300, given equal placement is inferior to a .243?

I must disagree, I see considerably greater effect from a shot with a .300 Mag. or .338WM than from smaller bored rifles, although the bullets DO have considerable effect in any bore size/velocity range.

I have shot good bull Elk, right through the lungs at 200ish yds. and they barely moved for some moments., this with my favoured .338WM-250NP-2800-mv. Are, you going to tell me that the two .243s I used to have before I began to sell my far too numerous guns would have actually knocked them over?

Again, this is NOT to start some crap, it just really interests me to read what others think.

Well.....maybe. But I have killed a couple at 300-350 yards up there. Others at shorter distances.I have used a 300 magnum on them and ego had not a thing to do with it.It just completely overwhelmed them.

Mostly I have used a 270 up there but don't kid myself that it's as potent a cartridge as a 300 magnum. It simply isn't. Neither is a 308.

Yes.



No.

The difference in results that I've witnessed between .243 bullets and those from .300's, was due to the fact that placement wasn't always equal. As you said, very few of today's average riflemen are conditioned enough to shoot .300's well despite the high level of recoil, as where most anybody with some marksmanship skill can shoot the .243 without subconsciously allowing the pending recoil to distract them from proper shooting technique.

More accurate shooting from .243 rifles has accounted for fewer critters running away than less accurate shooting from .300's, in my observation and experience. This goes for all big game animals, whether trophy or not.

A .300 Magnum isn't as potent a cartridge as a 20mm mounted gun, either. But there comes a point when enough gun is enough gun. More gun doesn't necessarily yield "more" results, and I think that's what we're discussing here- how much is "enough".

A more appropriate conversation would be how much bullet is enough. I would have zero hesitation shooting the biggest buck alive from the worst angle with a .243 80gr TTSX, but I wouldn't feel overly confident doing same with a round of 80gr Fed blue box. A 180gr Fed blue box in .300 Mag wouldn't concern me nearly as much, and I think that's where the .300 really starts to show its value on deer over smaller chamberings. The smaller and faster the cartridge, the more I feel that I need a premium bullet to increase my probability of success.

Bob no offense but please tell me what outfitter in Saskatchewan sets up his bait at 300 yards so I can avoid them

Maybe you meant Alberta truck hunting where the typical spray and pray over the hood of the truck takes place or your placed on the gas line with no bait and no time for binoculars. I clearly stated non resident alien in "sask", as you know they cannot hunt farmland. Bait is typically 100-160 yards. If one can't get complete penetration through a deer with a 308 at those ranges then maybe they need something else

My guide and his dad use 243 with 85 tsx. They've killed plenty b&c deer and even elk and moose with the lowly 243 and they are lifelong residents of "sask"

Jordan makes a good point.....sometimes enough is enough. I hunted with a Calgary outfitter that frowned on magnum cartridges due to the misses & loss of game.

Whatever mistakes you make upon firing/trigger pull on a magnum, it will amplify itself. Sorta like archery.... the more radical/recoil/faster the bow, the accuracy will worsen vs a more slower forgiven bow.

3 yrs ago in Africa we had 4 hunters at camp. Two PA hunters shot and wounded Kudu's with 300win mags. Our Kudu's were shot using a 308win with perfect kill results. I'll stick with the less recoil calibers to hunt with. .243win for deer and .308win for...... Well I'm not visiting Africa anytime soon so it'll sit in my safe.

This is about as profound a statement as one can make.
If a fella can accurately shoot a 300 , 338, or even a 375 ( know two guys that hunt deer with them) get right at it!
I used to be able to but through the years and damage shoulders
Those big boomers are a no-go so lighter cartridges are the way for me, I simply shoot them better!
Cat

Sako: First off, no I do not mean Alberta (where I have hunted several times and never killed a buck from the truck).We do use trucks to get from place to place because it beats walking 20-30 miles.

Second, I understand that people use 243's and 25's for a lot of hunting and I understand they kill stuff.Even some stuff out of their intended class.

What I meant is, there is not a thing in the world "wrong" with using a 300 magnum up there (if you want)because they are among the best category of cartridge for killing BG animals here and worldwide,including Canadian whitetails, if you want.

I have used mostly a 270 in Central Canada, but have also used 300's and 7 mags up there.Pointed correctly 300's are superb killers...Their only drawback (for some, not all folks)is that they recoil substantially. This does not mean they are not great cartridges and among the very best for killing BG animals, especially so at long range....use one enough and you will see this.

Pointed right, they dump big whitetails on their noses.

I don't know where the attitude comes from but there appears to be this "little cartridge" snob attitude among folks on here that they occupy some higher moral ground because they use cartridges burning no more than 50 grains of powder;and anyone using a 300 magnum or some such is automatically labeled a "spray and pray" type driven by some egotistical megalomania...which is utter nonsense. It just gets tiring reading this stuff from people who should know better

I don't know why you would want to avoid an outfitter who has farm fields in the northern zone...the line( at least where I hunted in the eastern part of the province), has lots of farm fields to the north of the line. I know this because I have hunted them and killed bucks on them.One , in particular was right on the boundary and the field I hunted was "legal" while the one behind me and across a dirt road, was not.

And not all hunting is done over bait...at least not the fields I hunted were baited...they were grain fields but not "baited".I hunted lots of them. If I were not allowed to do so, the wardens who saw me doing it would have locked me up!

Invariably though,stands set back in the bush are baited.

Unless the laws have changed dramatically since I was there,if you are under the misconception that a non resident alien cannot hunt a farm field, someone has given you the wrong information.(Usually the outfitters) You can hunt anything north of the line,farm field or bush.

As I posted earlier I did not get pass through on a 1/4 away buck at 40 yards this year with my 7mm RM + 168gr LRAB. My friend just called me today and he got his buck too - ~100 yards sharp 1/4-to shot and his 200gr Accubond out of his .300 WM stayed in the buck.

Sometimes it's just funny the way it works.

"Nonresident aliens (outside Canada) may hunt deer only in the northern forest zones
Southern Saskatchewan has limits on hunting whitetail by non-residents. Non-residents are restricted to more densely wooded areas further north."


what part of "forest zones" and "densely wooded areas" am i missing? does that include non-baited grain fields that were planted with grain seed by humans? Maybe there are some fields in these zones but I would guess it's a minuscule percentage.


Read more: http://www.ehow.com/facts_6771319_trophy-whitetail-hunting-saskatchewan_-canada.html#ixzz2mK0TQ6dj


i agree is distance is a factor shoot a magnum if you want but dont say a magnum kills a deer better at 150 yards than a 308

Non-Residents can hunt the southern farmland if you can wake the drunk Native/Indian outta bed early enough to take you.

No snobbery here, Bob

The same can be said for proponents of big magnums who often have equally tiresome self-righteous attitudes when proclaiming that they use the "right" tool for the job, not some pipsqueak marginal cartridge.

For me and my hunting, I just know what the smaller cartridges can do to critters, so I choose not to use a 7 lbs sledge hammer to drive a finishing nail, when a 16 oz finishing hammer will do the job nicely I honestly just prefer not to deal with the recoil, powder consumption, and muzzle blast associated with the larger chamberings when I can accomplish the same end result without all the unpleasantry. Different strokes for different folks, and as long as you can reliably kill cleanly, there are no wrong answers!

Sako, what you are missing is that there is a boundary line.

North of the boundary line a NRA can hunt;south of the boundary line he cannot.

Not all the country north of the line is solid bush...at least in the eastern portion of the province, where I hunted not far from the Manitoba border.

So, our hunting area consisted of mixture of bush,crown pasture land of mixed cover,and some farming areas containing big grain fields and agricultural crops,all of which was harvested by hunting season.

We hunted it all and sometimes stands were in the bush, or the pasture lands, and farm fields at the edge of bush as well.

Trust me if the outfitter were doing something illegal the whole camp would have ended up in Court in Regina.Wardens know where outfitters operate and where stands are located, etc...

I have killed bucks in the bush,and in the farming country as well.

In other words, not all of the Northern Forest Zone, is "forest".

I am not saying a 300 magnum kills a deer better than a 308 at 150 yards....I am saying that there is not a thing wrong with using a magnum if you want to.

IIRC this was your first hunt in Saskatchewan? Did you kill a good buck?

This comment is uncalled for and ignorant.

Learn to shoot....

Learn when to shoot...

Practice....as much as possible.

Know your equipment and your own abilities.

Eveything else is academic....

I used a 6.5x55 Swede to kill mine this year. The deer hated the 140g Partition. The shot was approx 115y. It was a large bodied 10pt buck (or as they referred to it a 5x5) and I got complete pentratration with it, a large exit wound, lots of blood, and a dead deer within 40-45y. I couldn't ask for anything more than what I got.

Our guides both used .243 Winchesters. The've killed a pile of huge bodied Canadian bruisers and cut racks off 160" deer and throw them in a pile in the garage. He's got multiple 200" + non-typicals and a 180" typical in the house that was killed with a .243 win. I think it's actually the biggest rifle that either of them own and they're both born and raised in Sask. He also killed a 360" bull elk at over 200y with that little .243 Win and a 85g TSX. Apparently it was a bam flop from another hunter who called it in for him. I can't see a reason to bring my .243 Win instead of my 6.5x55 or .308 Win, but those guys were fully confident with it and who am I to argue with their success.

I just wish the guys around home would learn to shoot. It's amazing to me to watch guys blow the front leg off a deer with a .308 Win or .30-06 and somehow or another convince themselves that it would have turned out differently had they been using a bigger gun.

Yes first trip
Yes nice big bodied mature buck (5x5 with an additional little kicker off left G2)
130 yards
130 grain TTSX through the lungs from a 308
Ran 40 yards and dropped

I have not encountered any outfitters advertising or boasting of "grain land within their allotted provincial forest land"
Would you say your hunting situation was closer to the exception or the rule for all aliens hunting in all parts of the province?

I took your post as outfitters lie to us and make aliens hunt the woods when we don't have to

Jordan I understand all that. I have always hunted with a blend of cartridges myself,and still do although I have not used a 300 magnum in quite a few years now.

None of this means that they are not excellent cartridges and cut a pretty big swath for a lot for BG hunting,and I see no reason a guy should not use one if he wants to.

Lots of people do not want to own and use lots of different cartridges and rifles for a lot of hunting,and for them a 300 covers a lot of ground.

Percentages don't lie. I've been hunting SK 8 straight years and heard the horror story's from hunters...and my personal experience with them. Maybe a few good Native outfitters, but not many.

Butch and Barry Carriere in Cumberland House are a piece of dog [bleep]. Repeat for google searches...BEWARE of Barry Carriere outfitters in Cumberland house SK.

Red Creek outfitters in Red Earth Sucks also.

It's common knowledge to never book a hunting trip with Native outfitters.

THAT, sums all of this up perfectly and the issue of "practice" is THE most crucial one, IMHO.

I would never hesitate to carry and use of of my two remaining .308Win. rifles for ANY hunting or even solo wilderness working/living here in Canada. I have worked in various aspects of harvesting and managing our natural resources in Canada's northern territories, Ontario, Alberta and, all over BC.

I have one particular, custom, light, sub-7 lb. all up, STS, CRF .308 that is as close to "perfect" for daily use as I can imagine, after 50 years and owning about 150 rifles. I have a Browning Mod. 7500 combo, O/U in .308/12 and have used it for 24 years in the above regions. With my favoured load of 180 NP, 42.5-RE-15, these are both accurate and I never feel the recoil and they DO kill, no question.

I could, should I ever be so inclined, kill ANY deer that walks in Canada, with my .220 Swift and a NP, with LUNG shots and I have known old timers who shot a LOT of game with the Swift, back when the "Fabulous Flathead" and upper Columbia Valleys teemed with hooved game. These things CAN be done and so the choice really IS about a decent bullet and what a given hunter feels most comfortable shooting.

That said, I just feel better hunting deer with my .270s, 7x57s, 7/08, and, especially, my favourite, .280 Rem. But, the one deer I lost, back in 2006, was with a 7x57 and this CAN happen with even a .378 Bee, so, there is NO "perfect" solution here, IMHO.

My daughter shot her first deer with an old borrowed Husky in 243. She was shooting Federal Vital-Shok Nosler Partitions with a 100 grain bullet. Her shot was from about 25 yards, a text book double lung shot that was enabled by a very patient and accommodating doe. I recovered the bullet on the far side of the hide.

I have not hunted in Saskatchewan but have taken several deer in Alberta. From my visits to the prairies I'm thinking there is not much difference between the two provinces deer or terrain for that matter. My hunting is with friends who live there and is generally what I call spot and stalk. On one stalk I had to crawl along 800 yards of ditch to get my shot. On another I used the pickup hood as a rest because the deer was standing there and I was not going to shoo him into the bush so I could hunt him more. My deer were taken at 150, 265, and a touch past 500 yards.

Based on the penetration I saw this year I do not think I would take a shot with a 243 past 150 yards.

Maybe it's the people I hunt with but over the last 38 years I have not seen a relationship between size of cartridge and lost game. In our elk camp I see 6 to 9 animals hanging every year, they are shot with: 257 Roberts, 270, 270wsm, 280, 7mmrm, 308, 3006, 300wm and 338wm's. 3006 is probably the most common cartridge.

We have had to track 3 animals over the last few years, we lost one (because a grizzly found it first). The elk we had to track were shot with the 257, the 308, and the 300wm.

The worst bloodshot seems to come from the 7mmrm and the 300wm.

A marginal shot is a marginal shot regardless of what you are shooting.

My point here is shoot what you like but shoot it well.

14 pages on what caliber to use on deer, and your name is 270man?

That's sig line worthy.

[quote=SAKO75]in sask most shots for non-resident aliens are 150 yards or less so a magnum is for ego IMO [/quote

So is a .308 at that distance.. Why not use a 30-30 or better yet a 25-35?

Good question, although, for much western Canadian deer hunting, all BS aside, it is hard to imagine a "better" cartridge than the lowly .308Win.

I much prefer it to the .30-06 and I have owned/used at least a dozen fine .06s, but, my carefully customized P-64-70-fwt.-.30-06, must weigh almost a full pound more than the custom .308 I mention above.

The .308 gives good accuracy with 180s at, usually, 2675, the .30-06 drives them to 100 fps. more and for the 100 fps. difference, the .308 is nicer to carry all day, especially in BC's mountains at my age.

I also have a light, CRF .308Norma, about 8.25 lbs. all up and this is my choice as THE .308" bored cartridge of all. It weighs about a half pound more than my .30-06 and drives the 180s to just at 3000.....so, WHERE does one "draw the line"????

I can, when in practice, shoot all of these well, ( for an old guy ) and for general BC uses, where Moose, especially bull Elk and the frequent Grizzly encounters we experience, I feel that the Norma round IS more capable than the smaller cased ones....but, in five years, in my then early 70s, well, who knows?

I hope to hunt Sask. and would LOVE to hunt a Pronghorn in AB. this year or next and this kind of discussion is both informative and really enjoyable, for me, anyway!

[quote=BWalker][quote=SAKO75]

because i happen t oown a 308 and only a 308 but im not professing you have to have a 308 or a 300mag like some would believe

btw, youre the 1st person ive ever heard mention using a 308 can be used for ego

Preface Statement: I've never been nor will I most likely ever be able to "comfortably" afford the honors of hunting in Canada.

That said, let me say this towards this post;

As someone who is not a Canadian resident, who would have to travel 2,000 miles and who would have to put a very sizable amount of funds together in order to go, I have a very skewed view on this subject.

I have hunted deer for 30 years. Have killed them with everything from 22 cal to 50 cal, bows to buckshot. I own a variety of deer hunting rifles that range from flat, fast rounds to bulky, lumps of lead.

Should one day I be blessed enough to go, you all can rest assured I'm taking a rifle in which I'm extremely familiar with and "ONE THAT CAN PENETRATE FAR ENOUGH TO GET THE JOB DONE EVEN WHEN THE MOST IMPERFECT SHOT ANGLE IS ALL I'M ABLE TO TAKE."

That's not to say I will take a "Texas Heart Shot" (I'm not taking any none lethal attempt) but an extremely harsh qtr'ing shot on what might be the most expensive trip I'll ever take in my life, on what would most likely be the largest deer I'd ever have the chance of killing - I want to know I'm putting enough lead on target with enough energy to get the job done with as minimal of a failure rate as possible.

Does that mean that if I were there, handed a 243 with basic rounds that I thought I couldn't make it work with getting a good shot off? No. I have no issues with my shooting ability or the ability to poke a vent hole through a game animal to bring it down.

But this is a $5 to $8k trip for me, 2000 miles from home, once in a lifetime sorta thing; that said - give me a very familiar rifle, one I'm able to shoot accurately in the field, with a proven load ample enough to penetrate despite what conditions I'm afforded. Sometimes, good enough isn't good enough when 16% of your annual income is on the line for a deer.

If that particular rifle is a 308 Win, then that's exactly what you should load up. If it happens to be a 338 Win Mag, then congrats on having more medicine capable of doing the job when everything isn't seeming to add up. It's all about putting your bullet on target in the right place, but sometimes that means it has to travel through a whole lot of meat and bone to get to said "vitals."

Just saying "USE ENOUGH GUN" isn't really my take... If I can't shoot it accurately then it's useless. But to think that I'd take one of my smaller calibers even though I'm 100% familiar with it and trust it is absurd when I have larger, better penetrating rounds that I shoot every bit as proficient.

So I cant be accused of having ego issues I am going to hang up the 300 ultra and take up chucking spears....
All kidding aside, I own a Win model 100 and a model 88 that I almost never use. Mostly because they are family heirloons and frankly I have a nice 280, 26-06, and 300 win and ultra mags that will do anything a 308 will do and in most cases much better, even at 50 yard MI woods ranges.

Bob, I am going to play the anti-hero here and snub anyone not touching off 100 grains of powder, which my ultra bests by a grain...
In all seriousness most any rifle cartridge works on deer, including the .223 which I have used. I happen to use mostly 300 mags for deer hunting because my favorite guns are chambered in them. I also find that all things being equal as it pertains to placement and bullet quality a 300 mag anchors them with more authority and this can be important, especially given the property situation here in MI. I hunt one property that only 7 acres and another thats a real narrow and long 80.

That's good to hear, seen as I live in BC and don't want to travel to Saskabush, I'll just shoot from here.

furprick that's a far piece.

Hey I am in favor of guys shooting what they want and like,even if it ain't my own first choice. After all it's their hunt!

I took my 30-06 to Saskatchewan this year because it is stainless steel, not because it kicks less than my 300 WSM, because it doesn't kick a lot less, and with all of the layers of clothing recoil is not a very large part of the decision.

Just read this post end to end ,some came close to a good reply, some , well, enough said . however ,Royce hit the nail on the head. well said guy .i'ts nice to see some (uncommon ) common sense.