OK. What caliber deer rifle do I need?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - OK. What caliber deer rifle do I need?

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:34:02 PM EDT

Yeah, me again with another deer rifle thread - here's the other one.

Here's the situation. I'm looking for a rifle to hunt Northeastern whitetail for now, but I'll be moving to either New Hampshire or Vermont in a few years where there are bigger animals that need killing. Therefore this rifle should be able to handle a cartridge that can potentially take out larger animals, although I'm definitely not looking for an elephant gun that will knock me on my ass.

I was set on staying on a military caliber I'm familar with like .308 or 30.06, but I see lots of hunting calibers I'm not familiar with like .243, 7MM-08 REM, .270 WSM, .300 WSM, etc. Are these calibers firmly established and not going anywhere, or are some a passing thing? Can somebody explain the benefits of these hunting calibers?

Or should I just stay with the .308?

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:35:30 PM EDT

[#1]

.30-06. Good enough for Huns, good enough for Whitetail.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:35:55 PM EDT

[#2]

.243, .308, .30-06

All will serve you well.

Not much point in choosing anything else.

If you already have a .308, hunt with it.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:36:22 PM EDT

[#3]

.22

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:37:32 PM EDT

[#4]

308 is great here are others

30-06
270
270wsm (very popular)
7mm mauser
7mm mag

I have the 270wsm and love it, I have had it for 2 years now and have killed 3 mule deer
and a shit load of whitetails.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:37:37 PM EDT

[#5]

30.06 or .308 will do just fine. i prefer .270, but you'll have the advantage of being able to take slightly larger game up there with 30.06.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:37:46 PM EDT

[#6]

My scoped deer rifle is .308, but is also intended for potential alien invasion or zombie uprisings.

I also have a Winchester 30-30 that could be a great KISS deer rifle - if I ever take it out of the box.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:38:17 PM EDT

[#7]

I have a Remmy 700BDL in 7mm mag, w/leupy VX optics. I love it.

It'll take anything in N America. Kinda overkill for whitetail, though.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:38:47 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
My scoped deer rifle is .308, but is also intended for potential alien invasion or zombie uprisings.

I also have a Winchester 30-30 that could be a great KISS deer rifle - if I ever take it out of the box.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:39:14 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
.22

and a .38

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:39:29 PM EDT

[#10]

308 is all you need.

.243 has low recoil, though.

if you have any plans to shoot black bear, stay with the 30 cal.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:39:43 PM EDT

[#11]

Keep your 308.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:40:13 PM EDT

[#12]

Stick with the .308. It will serve you well.
Never make the mistake that so many do in thinking Magnum substitutes for marksmanship.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:44:35 PM EDT

[#13]

Anything between .243 and .300 Winchester Magnum will work. But my four favorite cartridges for whitetail are 30-06, .308, .270 and .243.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:47:11 PM EDT

[#14]

.243 win and .25-06 are my two favorites.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:47:32 PM EDT

[#15]

if you already have a .308 keep it.

i never had to shoot a deer more than once with my rifle, its chambered in 7mm. remington magnum, i shoot 175 grain soft point federal ammunition. 4 deer taken with it, all 4 pretty well fell right in their spot.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:49:19 PM EDT

[#16]

I had used a 7mm but opted for the Savage's new AccuTrigger and in 308.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:49:37 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Yeah, me again with another deer rifle thread - here's the other one.

Here's the situation. I'm looking for a rifle to hunt Northeastern whitetail for now, but I'll be moving to either New Hampshire or Vermont in a few years where there are bigger animals that need killing. Therefore this rifle should be able to handle a cartridge that can potentially take out larger animals, although I'm definitely not looking for an elephant gun that will knock me on my ass.

I was set on staying on a military caliber I'm familar with like .308 or 30.06, but I see lots of hunting calibers I'm not familiar with like .243, 7MM-08 REM, .270 WSM, .300 WSM, etc. Are these calibers firmly established and not going anywhere, or are some a passing thing? Can somebody explain the benefits of these hunting calibers?

Or should I just stay with the .308?

.243 (6mm)-- Been around since 1955. Flat shooting to WAAAAYYYY out. Based on necking the .308 brass down to 6mm. Takes bullets from 60 grain out to 105 grain. Good bullet selection, every ammo maker stocks it. Easy to reload. Little recoil (if that is a factor). Suitable for any varmint and all game up to whitetail deer size. My personal score is 9 deer so far. But I sold it to help finance my AR-15.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:50:32 PM EDT

[#18]

458 SOCOM
Nuff said

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:50:35 PM EDT

[#19]

5.56mm

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:52:37 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Anything between .243 and .300 Winchester Magnum will work. But my four favorite cartridges for whitetail are 30-06, .308, .270 and .243.

You have FOUR favorite cartridges for a particular species of deer?

Holy crap! You ARE a serious shooter.

Posted: 4/18/2006 5:57:26 PM EDT

[#21]

.243 is firmly estabilshed, but a little on the light side (Not saying it can't be done.) 7mm-08 REM also has a foothold, but ammo and rifle selection isn't as wide as a .308, 30-06, or the .243. The WSMs may be a passing thing, however it's been a few years since I was into the hunting rifle scene, they may be more popular now. Don't confuse the .270 Winchester Short Magnum with the .270 Winchester.

My recommendation is: if you have a .308 or 7.62 NATO chambered rifle already, stick with that cartridge. If you have a .30-06, stick with that.

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:03:12 PM EDT

[#22]

I'd imagine that anything above .300Win or .300WSM is a little big for anything back east.

But what the hell do I know,
~Dg84

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:04:27 PM EDT

[#23]

.30-06 or .270 is a great choice. I started with the .30 then went to the .270 when I got my own rifle as a kid. It lays them down quite well.

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:06:17 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Yeah, me again with another deer rifle thread - here's the other one.

Here's the situation. I'm looking for a rifle to hunt Northeastern whitetail for now, but I'll be moving to either New Hampshire or Vermont in a few years where there are bigger animals that need killing. Therefore this rifle should be able to handle a cartridge that can potentially take out larger animals, although I'm definitely not looking for an elephant gun that will knock me on my ass.

I was set on staying on a military caliber I'm familar with like .308 or 30.06, but I see lots of hunting calibers I'm not familiar with like .243, 7MM-08 REM, .270 WSM, .300 WSM, etc. Are these calibers firmly established and not going anywhere, or are some a passing thing? Can somebody explain the benefits of these hunting calibers?

Or should I just stay with the .308?

.243 (6mm)-- Been around since 1955. Flat shooting to WAAAAYYYY out. Based on necking the .308 brass down to 6mm. Takes bullets from 60 grain out to 105 grain. Good bullet selection, every ammo maker stocks it. Easy to reload. Little recoil (if that is a factor). Suitable for any varmint and all game up to whitetail deer size. My personal score is 9 deer so far. But I sold it to help finance my AR-15.

It will even take big mule deer with ease. Every one of my deer so far has been taken with a .243, along with my bighorn sheep.

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:06:57 PM EDT

[#25]

.308 is fine.

But I'd really love to have a .257 Roberts.

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:08:55 PM EDT

[#26]

Beware,,alot of New England can be shotgun only

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:08:56 PM EDT

[#27]

.308

Invisiblesoul

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:15:35 PM EDT

[#28]

Its got to be a 50 BMG!

Diane Feinswine says they can shoot down helicopters, airplanes and the space shttle in orbit. What else would you use to bag Rudolph, Prancer, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Etc on Christmas eve?

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:27:23 PM EDT

[#29]

6.5X87

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:52:18 PM EDT

[#30]

.35 Remington or 45-70.

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:54:01 PM EDT

[#31]

.308 and never look back

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:56:43 PM EDT

[#32]

If I were to buy another deer rifle right now or have one made it would be a 30-06, It will suffice for anything you will ever hunt in NA and the most backwoods store in the world will have a box of ammo for it.

Posted: 4/18/2006 6:59:04 PM EDT

[#33]

I really like the 25-06 for deer.

Posted: 4/18/2006 7:18:57 PM EDT

[#34]

Can't go wrong with a 30-06.

Posted: 4/18/2006 7:23:12 PM EDT

[#35]

.300WM!

If you live in an area where the deer are smaller than your dog, though, you might want something lighter.

Posted: 4/18/2006 7:32:45 PM EDT

[#36]

Get anything you want based on the .308 winchester.
308, 7mm-08, .243. All are great performers and are firmly planted as popular calibers that aren't going anywhere soon.

Posted: 4/18/2006 7:43:29 PM EDT

[#37]

just stick with the 308

Hmm not being a very good salesman ok *cough* *cough*

[gunshop commando]you need a 7mm STW as you never know how far you are going to have to shoot and that works good for medium range 600-700 yards 300 RUM works ok too however both are marginal in power for whitetail therefore as ranges get extended to 1000yds plus you need a 338 lapua which you only have to get close as the massive amount of air it displaces will suck the air out of a animals lungs killing it instantly [/gunshop commando]

Posted: 4/18/2006 8:02:19 PM EDT

[#38]

Oh for cryin' out loud! If you're hunting for those rabbit-sized creatures they call deer back on the wrong side of the Mississippi River, then you'd be good to go with a Ruger 10-22.

LOL - your .308 will be plenty and then some. I'm a fan of the .243 for deer hunting. I've also bagged a 6x6 Bull Elk with .243. 30-06 is a great all-around shell. For the past seven or eight years I've been using a 7mm Rem Magnum - big enough for the elk, and not quite big enough to ruin a good Muley buck. All the calibers that you mentioned are good to go, though.

Posted: 4/18/2006 8:03:41 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:
But I'd really love to have a .257 Roberts.

Got a Ruger 77 UltraLight .257 Roberts that is an absolute dream.

wganz
¶

Posted: 4/18/2006 8:04:12 PM EDT

[#40]

.460 Wby mag.. Shooting 500gr round nose solids..

Posted: 4/18/2006 8:05:39 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:
.460 Wby mag.. Shooting 500gr round nose solids..

+1

Because even if you shoot the bastard in the tail, you dont want him running off anywhere.

Posted: 4/18/2006 8:11:34 PM EDT

[#42]

I use a 7mm remington magnum, but my brother uses a ruger mini14 iron sighted in .223 rem and it does fine as well. (maybe takes 2 or 3 shots sometimes, but good shot placement you only need 1)

I say either go 30-06 or .308 since they seem to be the most popular, but I feel a .223 is adequate as I have seen many go down easy from a good hit, and think of how much fun it would be to hunt deer with an eotech equipped bushmaster m4 style haha, fun fun fun

Also, I have always wondered what a .50 bmg would do to a deer...pics anyone? I bet a good 50 hit would cause some awesome damage.