M98 Mauser 8x57JS 150 grn Sierra Game King and WIN 748

Dang reloader, we think alike...

My 7mmRM with 150BT's going 3180fps has accounted for too many whitetails. The only 2 to travel any distance after the shot were a doe at 420 yards (went 40 yards and fell) and a 120" 9 ptr at 410 yards (went 30 yards and fell). I switched to 140gr Accubonds last year just because they gave me a little more in velocity and groups tightened up from 2/3 inch to less than 1/2 inch (5 shot groups). Only got to kill one with the new load last year, 8 ptr at 325 yards and he went 30 or 40 yards before dropping. Hoping to test it a little more in another 5 weeks or so.

I have used my Ruger model 77 in 338 win mag to take 85 deer with 85 shots.I used Winchester 200 gr power points in the factory load.I have shot deer with that load from 3 yards to 425 yards.It usually flips them in their tracks or stops them on the run.

Probably killed more deer with my 7 mag and 150 grain cor lokts than anything

I don't have one favorite and haven't shot a lot of Whitetails (about 11 in 3 states) but have had great results with .223, 22/250, 6x45, .243, 257 Roberts and a 7.62x39.
All of them produced similar results = Dead Deer. Most dropped at the shot a few made it a few steps one to 35 yards the furthest.
For most deer I've found that good shooting is really what kills deer, the caliber, cartridge and bullet are not that important if you make good shots.
Just my experience, yours may vary.

Pre 64 mod 70 FWT, TC encore 20" barrel, 308 w/ 165 grain speer RN until I run out of them. Sometimes a 30-30 AI TC Carbine w/150 Gr. RN (If anyone has any 165 RN I will buy them). 2400 to 2600 FPS. and you can eat up to the bullet hole.

243 105g Speer spitzers at 3000 fps
270 150g Partitions at 3000 fps

More deer with the 243, more elk with the 270

I’ve only shot one whitetail and that was with a shotgun slug in Iowa.

Where I hunt in Colorado & Wyoming, it’s all mule deer. Not that those two states don’t have whitetail, but I don’t hunt those areas.

I’ve taken all of my deer with either a 25-06, 115gr. Win. Ballistic Silvertip, or a 280 Rem. with the same bullet in 140 gr. The results are exactly the same with either.

All of the above work great except the .243 on occasion, I hate that caliber!! The 250-3000 and 25-35 have served me well over the years, along with many others..Just give me a rifle and point which way to go and I'll kill a buck if the populations are there..Very easy animal to kill..

12 years ago I responded. My answer remains the same today.

Since about 1978 I've killed almost all of my whitetail, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn and Dall sheep with my .257 Ackley shooting 120 Hornady HP, or 115 grain Nosler BT, or 117 grain Sierra GameKing bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by LBGuy:
12 years ago I responded. My answer remains the same today.

Mine does too except I now use 180 SSTs in my .308 Win.

As much as i would like it to be one of my centerfield rifles or one of my German guns, my old beat up Ruger 77 50 has accounted for more game than any two of the others. Most were with 110 grains of 2x and 240 grain XTP's. This year she was converted by Badger Rige to use Blackhorn209 and shotshells primers. More reliable and easier to clean.
Blkfly

260Rem with the 125 grain partition pushed by Superperformance or the 130 grain Sierra HPBT Gameking lit with IMR 4350. Light recoil appeals to my feminine side and the bone-smashing thump appeals to my deer flakes cereal killer side. If I had to go thru life with one, the ring would go on the 260s finger.

Holy smokes you guys shoot some big calibers at little critters!!
223 works well and a 243 is better. 270 max.
I shoot dozens per year (MLD Texas) and big calibers can waste a lot of meat and money.
JMO

Not just a whitetail killer, but a 7x57 with a 2-7x Leupold and 140TTSX at 2900 fps has killed more game than anything I have owned.

264WM, 125gr Nosler Partition
270W, 130gr Nosler Partition
7mmRM, 140gr Nosler Partition

.300s or '06 w/180s. Mostly Rem CLs. Avg distance traveled after heart/lung hit = 14 yds.

Corresponding figure for distance traveled was 60 yds with .22-250 or .243 WCF. Using 12 ga slugs avg distance was 50 yds.

ME is mostly thick cover, not open country. It's very easy to walk past an animal lying just a few feet away.

Note: the above has nothing to do with killing power. An animal that dies after a 14 yd run is not more dead than one that runs 100 yds.

But a "successful whitetail combo" ought reliably result in animals being retrieved. Or so I imagine.....

Encore ML, 300gr xtp over 3 pyrodex pellets. 103 whitetails since 1996 with this rig. No centerfire in this state shotgun and muzzle loader only. no limit on does in my zone.

6.5 x 55 in a strong rifle 120 bt or sierra

Scoped M70 in .308 for deer, elk, hogs, feral cats, exotics, turkey, etc.

Just Wt's out to 200 yards - Rem 870 12 ga. with Leupold 4X scope on a Hastings barrel.

The other hundred animals - Rem 700 7RM with Leupold 6X scope, 160 gr Barnes bullets.