a lot of people ask if a certain caliber is adequate for whitetail; I've yet to hear anyone suggest a caliber that wasn't sufficient when used correctly. But for the sake of hearing different opions, what would be your "One Worst Choice" for your style of whitetail hunting?

Curiously,
Dave

.17 HMR

my Benjamin pellet gun, .177 caliber

Perry

80mm

.270 Winchester

Any of the 224's. The way I prefer to hunt, is still hunt thru an area, and I never know what range a deer will be at when I see it, or whjat piece of deer anatomy I will have to shoot at. The smallest gun I carry is a 257 Roberts.

.270 Winchester


LOL!!!!!!

243 Winchester by far. It seems that anyone who shoots one eventually wants to see how light they can go in bullet weight and still take a deer, which is beyond my comprehension.

But there is always a silver lining in every cloud: My friends that shot 243's in my formative years certainly caused me to learn to blood trail more effectively!

For the type of whitetail hunting I do???

I would have to say the caliber or chambering has far less to do with it than the rifle itself...

We hunt open fields surrounded by thick, thick forested areas. On any given morning we could jump a buck at 30 yards or spot a small band of deer 500 yards away with no natural barriers for a stalk. In these cases, a .243 properly placed at long range will work fine, but when he jumps up at 30 yards and is headed straight away and all you have is a "Texas heart shot" something with a little better penetration may be in order. Here, a ______ Ultramag with a 6-24 and a 30" barrell may work in one situation but not the other, likewise, rolling through the bush with a _______ carbine and iron sights may not be the best choice for 400 yard shots (I am repeating what is pretty well known-- I realize)

So, for the type of whitetal hunting I do, I like a scoped (2-7) .270; .280; .30-06; .308; 7-08 with a 22"-24" barrel with a premium (TSX, A-frame; Partition; TBBC; Accubond or Interbond) bullet in the mean of the typical bullet weights for the specific caliber.

Anything else would answer your question.........

IV

270.

12 bore rubber buckshot. A dull knife (caliber irrelevant). A 120mm howitzer...

I guess of all the cartridges Ive used,the one I have been least impressed with for deer is the 7.62x39.

quote:

Originally posted by Argali:
......... what would be your "One Worst Choice" for your style of whitetail hunting?

Curiously,
Dave

The Ford Escort I used to drive. The deer walked away, the escort was a mess.....

My truck is doing a fine job, though.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Hank H.:
243 Winchester by far. It seems that anyone who shoots one eventually wants to see how light they can go in bullet weight and still take a deer, which is beyond my comprehension.

But there is always a silver lining in every cloud: My friends that shot 243's in my formative years certainly caused me to learn to blood trail more effectively!

Same here. I hate to see someone show up with a 243, it's usually going to be a long day. I'm sure it would work okay if they were ever in the hands of someone who knew how to shoot, and used the proper bullets, but it's always some idiot who complains about how much a 3006 kicks.

Combining a marginal deer caliber, varmit bullets, and someone who can't hit a barn from the inside makes for a clusterf**k.

quote:

The Ford Escort I used to drive. The deer walked away, the escort was a mess.....

My truck is doing a fine job, though.

Jim

I'm DYIN!

I never shoot at the wrong end of a deer, so anything from a 223 on up has worked everytime.
I've had to follow ( short) bloodtrails from big guns and small ones, when enough deer are shot you find that nothing you use is absolute.

quote:

The Ford Escort I used to drive. The deer walked away, the escort was a mess.....

My truck is doing a fine job, though.

That a good one !

I will not say the worst cause I've used and still use but, I've seen more deer lost to 270s and 6mms than anything else. Took part on many blood trails from the two, some of which weren't found.

Does that mean they don't work, Nope. The trigger yanker's fault for the most part I'd say.

Reloader

I would think that any 17 or 20 caliber would not make a good whitetail caliber. I don't know from pratical experience but I think that there are better bullets available for this purpose in 22 & up.

don't know if its the worst for the deer or not, but many moons ago i had a 460 weatherby that was one of the wowrst put together guns i've ever had. i finally restocked it and made it somewhat livable, but the end result was to get rid of it. I sold it to a guy in alabama who was hunting those little deer with a 340 weatherby & thought it was to small because every so often a deer would run away. He thought the 460 would be just the ticket

.375/600OK-----------It's just a little much for whitetails.

The ones that you can't shoot. I have proven to my satisfaction that 22 lr works fine if you pick your shot. Gianni.

quote:

I sold it to a guy in alabama who was hunting those little deer with a 340 weatherby & thought it was to small because every so often a deer would run away. He thought the 460 would be just the ticket

Any bow and arrow!!!

The only one I've lost was with a .223 (60gr. Nosler Partition), although we've killed a bunch with it that weren't lost.

BEST deer caliber I've found for putting them down right now, right there, every single time is the 9.3x74R with 286 gr Noslers.

quote:

Originally posted by Argali:
........... I've yet to hear anyone suggest a caliber that wasn't sufficient when used correctly.

Curiously,
Dave

My first thought was to stir the pot but this one line kind-of kills the thread if taken literally.

If the shooter keeps his wits about him he will only take a shot that the gun he's using is capable of! Whether it is a .22 Hornet or a .375 H&H, if it is properly used, dang near any caliber works fine.

I believe I've seen the poorest shooting/wounding from novices regaurdless of age or caliber. Deer are not hard to kill, and about any well placed shot works.

I usually question the loose nut behind the trigger. Nate

243

never did like the gopher gun for deer

I think I shall stir my own pot.

In my opinion I think the 30-06 is the worst caliber for whitetails, especially when used in an autoloader. The reason being is I've seen so many deer shot up with these things because the shooter was so convinced that with a caliber as good as the ol' thurty-oght-six, shot placement didn't really matter. As In " Don't matta whur ya hitem' if ya hitem' enuff"

Easy answer. Anything less than .25.

+1 for mmaggi's suggestion for the masses. personally -- I do not own anything under 30 caliber, so 30+ for me.

.22 rimfire and 45/70

quote:

Originally posted by M16:
.270 Winchester

The poorest results I've ever seen from the handiest rifle ... 30 Carbine. Unfortunate that such a cutie does such a poor job. Was glad it wasn't me who paid for that lesson.

My vote also goes to the 30 Carbine. I've killed them with everything from 22 Rimfire pistols to 45-70s and the carbine had to be the worst performer. One of the few deer I had to follow for any real distance.

I am surprised to see the 243 listed so much. I've hunted with it for 45 years and have never lost nor had to trail a deer more than 50 yds with it. Mine has taken well over 100 deer. I suspect the reason is that when I started with it, you had 2 bullet choices. 85 gr for varmint and 100 for deer (or 105 round nose if you reloaded). I actually found the 85 gr to be a poor round for South Texas coyotes, loosing several before I switched to a 223 for them.

Caliber does not matter as much as bullet selection - I am thinking Sierra Matchking. (Sorry - I just had a flashback to the infamous Matchking thread of 2 or 3 or 4 years ago. - Boy do I miss that thread)

quote:

Originally posted by mmaggi:
Easy answer. Anything less than .25.

The best way to put it. If you're picky deer can be dropped with a lot of stuff, but if you are in a situation where you want to kill an animal no matter how it is moving in any direction, this is reliable info.

anyone who really thinks the 270win is not a good deer caliber is a freaking idiot........its in my opinion the best .
if you can't killa whitetail with the 270 ,you just need to learn to shoot.i've killed around 150 with 2 different remingtons i've owned.

the big bore slow shooters ,like the 45-70,444 marlin are 2 i would call the worst,i've seen deer hit perfect and go a half a mile with both of these calibers.

25ACP

45-70 has performed well for me, worst cartridge I would say is .357 with off the shelf ammo, people around here think anything with magnum is deadly stuff with any bullet.

As long as were talking about cartridges and calibers that are at or above the legal minimum requirements, then the worst one is the one that you cannot kill a whitetail cleanly with. Duuhh!