If all you do is reload. What would be your cartridge choice for deer size game only.

Where are you hunting and under what conditions?

When I get serious about whitetails, I get my Sako .270 out of the safe. With its classic load of 130 grain bullets at 3100+ fps it is deadly on deer-sized game, provides extended range capabilities, and does so with modest recoil in a reasonably light rifle. But I mostly hunt where shots can be long, so the .270's longer range capabilities are useful.

If you hunt where ranges are shorter, then something like a .250 Savage in short action/light barrel rifle would be fully adequate.

In reality, there is negligible difference between the capability of anything from a .243 Win to a .340 WBY in taking a deer. So using something on the lighter end of the spectrum makes sense in terms of weight of gun, muzzle blast, recoil, and cost of ammunition.

I light rifle in 7mm. I'd pick 7mm Mauser or 7x64.

7x57 Mauser or 257 Roberts.

270

Winchester or WSM, I love them both.

Stonecreek
one of us
Posted 23 October 2012 17:47 Hide Post
Where are you hunting and under what conditions?

300 yrds. max. food plots , power lines
i ues the .260 rem & 7MM-08
i was just courase about what othere were shooting. just asking..

For "normal" deer hunting it would be a 308WCF.

If I needed to shoot at longer than 300 yards very often, it would be a 300 Win Mag, and then I would just load it down to 308 velocities for "normal" deer hunting.

30-06 for any deer hunting conditions...

7-08

6.8 SPC

7X57 or 7mm-08 for 'small' deer
(more choices for an off the shelf 7mm-08 than 7x57)

.280 for 'big' deer or longer shots

It may be boring but a 308 works fine.

7mm08

257 Weatherby with 110gr Accubonds.

7x57 and 7x57 ackley.
139-154 gr bullets.
no deer no where is going too far after a decent hit from it.

284 WINCHESTER!!!!

270!

Yeah the .308, .30-06 and 270 are boring.

How about a 257 Roberts, a 7x57 or a 6.5X55??
A .35 Rem in a early 50s Marlin 336 is also interesting and very effective.

260rem--7mm-08--308win or 25-06

Probably the 308win with 150gr Nosler partition Would use same for pronghorn/bear/elk and hogs

280 Rem

Another 7x57 although some of the 6.5's might get a bit more consideration.

whatda you mean if??

7mm-08 would probably be my first choice.

7x57, .257 Roberts, 6mm Rem, 6.5x55, .260 Rem, .30-06, .250-3000, .30-40 Krag.

Jerry Liles

Love the 7mag and 7-08. The '08 will handle any deer hunting chore, anywhere in North America.

When I get serious about deer:

270 WSM. Great trajectory with no recoil. My load shoots the 140 Hornady BTSP @ 3175 fps into nickel sized groups at 100 yds. A virtual no-brainer out to 300.

358 winchester -- last deer sized rifles i bought, 308, 30-06, 270... boringly good shooters

Well if we are talking jersey sized deer..
22-250 rem 700

larger deer my next favorite calibre 308 ruger 77

.257 Roberts. Don,t think I could help myself. Bolt action, light. Tomorrow, though, it,d be a lever action of some sort...

I agree with whelenite, the .270 WSM is the perfect deer sized game chambering. Between me, my grandson's and son, we shoot four, all Model 70's. 130 grain North Fork at 3450 fps, 140 grain anything between 3150 and 3260 fps, depending on the bullet. 160 grain Nosler Partition 3000 to 3200 fps, depending on the rifle. I will be using the later load for Elk this year in Colorado. An awesome round indeed. Good shooting.

280 Remington w/ 140 gr somethings

quote:

Originally posted by CoyoteKiller82:
284 WINCHESTER!!!!

DITTO! In a long action remy 700.

Have all the deer-sized animal only chamberings I ever wanted:

6mm Rem, 6.8 SPC II, 270 WCF, 300 BLK, 30-30, and 308 WCF.

Would not acquire another.

I think 30-06 begins to bridge into the next class of rifles which include .264 Win Mag, the 300 Mags, 338-06, and 338 Win Mag.

After that one is into the .35 Wheelen, 9,3x74R, 9,3x62, .376 Steyr, and .375 H&H range of chamberings.

Id argue that there is NO perfect deer rifle....or maybe that there are an awfully lot of perfect deer rifles. Both assertions are probably true 80% or more of the time.

Anyway, so far this year (last 12 months), now that I've "quit" buying guns, I've only bought a .260 Remington 700, 8x57-chambered Remington 700, .338 Marlin Express, .32 Winchester Special, another .450/.400 and another 9.3x74R, a .30-06 pump carbine, a 41. Magnum S&W M57, and a .25-20 lever gun.

You'll note there is 1 month this year I didn't buy even one gun....but this month isn't over, yet!!!

Depending on the breed & size of deer (and the area I was hunting in and the style of hunting I was doing), I might use any one of them.

Edited to add:..."Guess I fibbed in the above part...forgot I also bought a M88 Winchester .308 from Biebs within the last 12 months. So have bought one per month for the last year. Well, anyay I've cut way down by previous standards, so I AM TRYING to quit. Cold turkey is pretty tough, though.

I already answered that question for myself... Specifically for the hunting I do...

I bought a CZ527 Carbine in 7.62x39.... It's super effective inside of 200 yards... which is a long shot on the brushy East Coast....

and for those who question if it's enough gun... I shot a deer last weekend with it... A 150g Sierra Pro Hunter running 2,200 fps muzzle velocity went end for end through a White tail....

The biggest thing I find with this particular rifle is that it weighs about 6.5 lbs including the scope and mag full of ammo.. so carrying it around and up/down into stands is easy... It's short and handy - so it doesn't snag the entire woods... Kick is nearly non-existant...

All in all - exactly the right choice for me...

BUT... The whole rest of the group I was hunting with... EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM to a man had a 30-06 Automatic... Remington, Browning, or Benelli... so there you go... That's what everybody else uses in real life...

Thanks

30-06

I have all I need but if I was to pick one up today and somebody else
pick up the bill it would be a Kimber Montana in .280 AI with a VX III

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
Yeah the .308, .30-06 and 270 are boring.

yea, boring but perfect (especially the 270)!

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:
I have all I need but if I was to pick one up today and somebody else pick up the bill it would be a Kimber Montana in .280 AI with a VX III

whoaaa, someone else picking up the bill? Why settle for a VX III? There's a LOT better glass out there: Leica, Zeiss, Nightforce, US Optics.