Whats The Favored Caliber/Cartridge For Deer?

[GReb]

This question has led people down the biggest rabbit hole known to mankind. The answer is there isn’t one. You can dive deep into ballistics all you want but I’d bet 95% of whitetail kills are within 100 yards and just about any caliber rifle will make a clean kill with proper shot placement. That’s my .02

[Way2slow]

I think it was what was your favorite, not the "Best" which as you say, there is not such thing, other than to the individual using it.

[Catt]

I've killed deer with everything from a .22lr to a Weatherby. 300 mag.

 

Don't really have a favorite cartridge but rather a favorite rifle.

 

Remington 7600 25-06 was fun shooting, my father-in-law's M1 Carbine was fun but not very effective, Weatherby's .300 Magnum was great out in West Texas.

 

I've killed more deer with my Ithaca model 37 ?

[Jrob78]

I bet more deer have been killed with a lever action 30-30 than just about anything else. At least here in TX, killed my first deer with one. Shot placement is key.

[MN Fisher]

28 minutes ago, Jrob78 said:

I bet more deer have been killed with a lever action 30-30 than just about anything else. At least here in TX, killed my first deer with one. Shot placement is key.

People after my own heart. When I deer hunted (haven't gone in 30 years (Wife: "You can go after rabbit, you can go after grouse but you're not going out and shooting Bambi!"), it was with a Marlin 336 chambered for 30-30 Win.

[Tatsu Dave]

4 hours ago, GReb said:

This question has led people down the biggest rabbit hole known to mankind. The answer is there isn’t one. You can dive deep into ballistics all you want but I’d bet 95% of whitetail kills are within 100 yards and just about any caliber rifle will make a clean kill with proper shot placement. That’s my .02

Asking the different members that chose to respond what their favorite caliber/cartridge for deer was meant to show the diversity among different hunters and make the thread an interesting read, there was no right or wrong answer  Some may site ballistics for their choice but it wasn't necessary, up here the 30/30 was number1 into the eighties when the 308 passed it. They ask all hunters what cartridge they used at deer check/tag station's and the state actually keep's track of it. I have found the answers to be quite varied and interesting myself. I thought it was along the lines of asking fisherman what their favorite bass lure is. The answer is it's what you like and or use, so there is no wrong answer  I shot the biggest buck I've seen in a lifetime of hunting with an open sighted 30/30 94 Winchester, Keep the replies coming........Dave

[Way north bass guy]

My favourite deer rifle by far is this one, model 94 in 30-30 with Williams peep sight. For the thick, central Ontario mixed hardwoods that I stillhunt in, this little guy is a fantastic, super light, fast and very accurate gun. Most of my shots are quick, at deer that pop up out of nowhere, and usually under 50yds. It’s a great gun to carry all day in the bush. The 30-30 has been an extremely popular deer rifle around here for about as long as rifles have been around. My uncle used to say” a guy would be a long, long time crawling out from under the pile of meat that those guns have produced over the years” ?

[Goldstar225]

I've used 30-30, 308 and 30-06 over the past 50 years.  All have put them down when I did my part.  Now using a 243 and a Marlin 357 (for under 100 yards).  Most of my deer have been taken within 100 yards, only a couple past 200.  I'm not caliber devoted.  Put something 243 or above in my hands and I can collect meat within its effective range.  Bet most of you could as well.

[Tatsu Dave]

Well said, Pretty much any caliber in good hands can bring home the vension  I used to walk a long deadwater across two flowages when it was frozen deer hunting. Ranged 100yds to 350yds across the flowage to woods line. Carried a heavy bbl long range varmint rifle because it was like walking a paved road down thru the woods with the deer watching back towards the woods where they were used to spotting danger. Did finally shoot a nice 10point one season on there. How does the 357 work?   Dave

[Smells like fish]

I guess when it comes to rifles on deer I have come from the Elmer Keith school of thought. I have always like heavy bullets and heavy arrows. As I said earlier, shot placement is key but for me it hasn't always been placed perfectly and overall I have been impressed the most with a .30-06 shooting 180 gr Winchester Power Points. 

[gim]

On 10/2/2020 at 7:40 AM, DaubsNU1 said:

A few years later I won two fantasy football leagues, and had $700 burning a hole in my pocket

? That’s funny. Dandy buck too.

On 10/2/2020 at 8:57 PM, Way north bass guy said:

For the thick, central Ontario mixed hardwoods that I stillhunt in, this little guy is a fantastic, super light, fast and very accurate gun.

Couldn’t agree more. The use it has in the environment you described fits it perfectly. It’s what I used in the thick hardwoods for years too

 

Once I started hunting more open country, it had to go though. The range and trajectory was just so poor at long distance.

[GreenPig]

10mm in my Glock 20 and 300 BLK in my 10.5" AR with a long shot being 125 yards in my wooded clubs. If they clear cut I just set up my shooting table in the bed of my truck and break out the 300 Win Mag.

[frenchy]

Right now it is my T/C 270 as soon as i get a load worked up it will be my T/C  260 REM.

 

[Woody B]

I've killed a bunch of deer, (as well as a couple bear) with my Ruger 44 carbine.   IMHO there's no better caliber for heavy brush, less than 100 yards.  I've also killed some at longer ranges with a 30-06.   

[desmobob]

I've been killing deer for forty years now.  Where I hunt, the Winchester 30/30 I started with is all I would ever need but, as a shooting enthusiast, I eventually used a whole bunch of rifle and a few pistol calibers, as well as compound and recurve bows.

 

As I get older, I want it to be easy.  I have grabbed the Browning BAR in .270 for the last several years.  When that gets too heavy, I might go back to the old 30/30!    

 

I do think the .270 is one of the ideal deer calibers (and there are many!).  It's capable of some very long range work but yet won't blow them to pieces when shooting close in.  The BAR gives me rapid follow-up capability when I'm swinging on that buck that goes roaring by, chasing a hot doe, and I shoot the first two trees that jump into the scope picture before I settle down.  ?  

[gim]

Another item that may not have been brought up on this subject is the availability of ammo for the selected caliber.

 

I have a 7mm-08 and prior to the pandemic, ammo was pretty easy to find.  The last 3 years have been a major struggle.  I've scraped by, but its become very difficult to find.

 

A 30-06 and .270 are very common calibers, so ammo should really never be that hard to find.  Might be something to consider.  The days of walking into a sporting goods or outdoors store and seeing a wide variety of ammo on the shelves are over.

[T-Billy]

 

[Rockytop]

My favorite is a.30-06 with a 150 grain Nosler Partition in front of 59 grains of IMR 4350.

[Skunkmaster-k]

My 243 has killed more deer than the plague. I hunt open country with rolling hills. No trees, just grass. 

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, Rockytop said:

My favorite is a.30-06 with a 150 grain Nosler Partition in front of 59 grains of IMR 4350.

 

That's pretty close to what we shot forever.  59 grains of IMR4350 and a 165 nosler ballistic tip.  Its an above max load but it shot about 2900-2950 fps and you can MPBR at 350 yards with +/-4" if I recall correctly.  Almost any hit towards the front end was devastating and DRT.

[Spankey]

My favorite of my deer rifles is a Savage model 99 in .243, maybe not the best choice but it was I bond I made with that gun years ago. Shot placement is very important with these lighter calibers. 
 

I have a Model 70 in .270 and Remington GameMaster in 30-06 both tack drivers. But hunting with that straight English style stock 99 just happens to be my favorite.  

[Bird]

19 hours ago, Spankey said:

My favorite of my deer rifles is a Savage model 99 in .243, maybe not the best choice but it was I bond I made with that gun years ago. Shot placement is very important with these lighter calibers. 
 

I have a Model 70 in .270 and Remington GameMaster in 30-06 both tack drivers. But hunting with that straight English style stock 99 just happens to be my favorite.  

Hammerless lever action is sweet, and very nice looking rifles.

I've had several Savage rifles and shotguns and have been impressed.

[LonnieP]

I shot my first deer with my dads Remington 788 .243. When I was around 13. Killed a lot more with that rifle since then.

[Drawdown]

For whitetails, I like shooting a plain soft point bullet, 150 or 180 grain, out of a .308 or .30-06.

Nice to get a .60 caliber exit wound to drain the boiler room. Plenty of shock power for when shoulder shots are necessary to anchor them where they stand, too.

7mm REM Mag at Eastern woods ranges is almost too much damage, though the suddenness of their demise and lack of need to track is quite convenient.

 

I hate hunting deer with a .223. Too easy to get no blood trail (with copper hollow points, at least—and I’ve heard the same from people using regular soft points). For some reason, deer I’ve seen hit with a .22-250 are a different story. Pretty devastating wound channels. I think just regular soft points.

[TnRiver46]

My cousin who is a true predator swears by a 25-06 as far as ballistics