Whats The Favored Caliber/Cartridge For Deer?

[gim]

19 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

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

Its a solid caliber for deer, very long flat shooting accuracy and minimal recoil.  The issue is finding the ammo though.  Not nearly as popular or stocked as the bigger 30-06 cousin ammo.

[TnRiver46]

29 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Its a solid caliber for deer, very long flat shooting accuracy and minimal recoil.  The issue is finding the ammo though.  Not nearly as popular or stocked as the bigger 30-06 cousin ammo.

Knowing my cousin he probably has enough for a lifetime and reloads 

[Bird]

My long time buddy who I hunt and fish with has always been about speed " hot loads " as he refers.

This past hunting season he shot a very large mature Buck with a .243 120gr VMAX.

Luckily it was shot in the middle of a cornfield as the deer never left a single drop of blood.

 

Shot placement was perfectly placed behind front shoulder and if it wasn't for the deers large size and stumbling, it would have been difficult to find.

I happen to locate the deer 20 yards inside of a dense thicket simply by churned up soil.

[gim]

2 hours ago, Bird said:

This past hunting season he shot a very large mature Buck with a .243 120gr VMAX

I’m not familiar with that ammo. You also didn’t mention how far away the shot was. Sometimes there is no exit wound on the opposite side of the deer if it’s rangy. Then there is often no blood. This has happened to me a number of times over the years.

[Drawdown]

2 hours ago, Bird said:

.243 120gr VMAX.

I’m honestly shocked they make a V-Max that heavy. I would think they’d make a 90 or 95 grain, tops.

[Bird]

36 minutes ago, Drawdown said:

I’m honestly shocked they make a V-Max that heavy. I would think they’d make a 90 or 95 grain, tops.

I stand corrected..... it's 87 grain.

46 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I’m not familiar with that ammo. You also didn’t mention how far away the shot was. Sometimes there is no exit wound on the opposite side of the deer if it’s rangy. Then there is often no blood. This has happened to me a number of times over the years.

My apologies, it was an 87 grain.

His shot was an estimated 60-70 yards.

Apon field dressing the deer, the bullet took out the heart and disintegrated leaving no exit and not a single drop of blood.

Not sure of his powder load but it's compressed.

I prefer a.308 150 grain and always see blood, lots of it.

[VolFan]

I could be wrong but I think VMax is a thin walled big expansion round for varmints like prairie dogs. They’re not for deer. He may have been catfishing with 4 lb test.

[gim]

4 hours ago, Bird said:

87 grain

That's a little undersized for deer IMO.  Probably not a great idea to continue using it, lucky he found the buck he shot, as you stated.

[Jrob78]

3 hours ago, VolFan said:

I could be wrong but I think VMax is a thin walled big expansion round for varmints like prairie dogs. They’re not for deer. He may have been catfishing with 4 lb test.

That's exactly what I thought as I was reading that. .243 VMax defnitely wouldn't be my first choice for deer.

[JackstrawIII]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

That's a little undersized for deer IMO.  Probably not a great idea to continue using it, lucky he found the buck he shot, as you stated.

It’s not necessarily the bullet weight, it’s the bullet construction. VMax is meant to do exactly what it did, explode. Some people want that sort of performance, I prefer an entrance and an exit hole. If i was hunting deer with a 243, I’d use an all-copper or bonded bullet to make sure I got penetration. In a copper or bonded bullet, anything over 80 grains would be sufficient.  
 

My fav deer loads are a 125 grain all copper bullet from a 308 Win for normal range hunting (0-250 yards) and a 118 grain all copper bullet out of a 6.5 PRC for the really long shots. 
 

Truth is, though, basically any cartridge that delivers an appropriately constructed bullet of 24 caliber or higher with at least 1000 ft/lb of energy at impact is more than adequate. 
 

That basically means 6mm ARC and up, with the sweet spot (for me) being the 308 based cartridges (243 Win, 260 Rem , 7mm08, 308, 338 Fed, 358 Win). 
 

If you need a bit more powder behind the bullet then the 270, 6.5 PRC, 280AI and such are great options. 

[Bird]

I've always said, a 243 is a little light for Whitetail......257 minimal. Imo

[Darth-Baiter]

all calibers are wonderful.  you can literally pick anything and get it done.

 

 

[gim]

2 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

you can literally pick anything and get it done.

No you can't.  Certain calibers are better for longer range than others.

 

I found this out the hard way when I was trying to shoot at deer that were 300+ yards away with my 30-30.  The bullets were literally hitting the dirt in front of the deer because they were dropping off in velocity/distance.  That was the end of that.  Quit using it after that season and upgraded to a flatter, longer range caliber.

[Bird]

On 2/22/2023 at 4:04 PM, gimruis said:

No you can't.  Certain calibers are better for longer range than others.

 

I found this out the hard way when I was trying to shoot at deer that were 300+ yards away with my 30-30.  The bullets were literally hitting the dirt in front of the deer because they were dropping off in velocity/distance.  That was the end of that.  Quit using it after that season and upgraded to a flatter, longer range caliber.

What caliber are you using at longer range ?

My brother who hunts all over the country likes a 6.5 Creedmore and a 7mm08.

I've not hunted deer at long range here in the mountains.

[gim]

10 hours ago, Bird said:

7mm08

That is what I switched to when I could afford to upgrade to a longer range rifle.  When I first started hunting at age 12, the 30-30 was fine.  It had minimal recoil, it was easy to operate, and I hunted mostly in thick timber so range was not an issue.  Years later, I began to hunt more open/broken country, plus I had a real full time job, so I could afford to upgrade, and this is the caliber I chose based on advice from other hunters in my party.  I've had it for about 20 years now, with a Nikon Buckmaster scope, and the range is phenomenal.  We recently stopped hunting heavy timber further north and now I only hunt the more open area where agriculture and timber meet.

 

I will say that ammo for it can be tough to find though.  And its ungodly expensive.  I use the Winchester ballistic Silvertip rounds in 140 grain and they are almost $50/box of 20.  Luckily I only go through about 2 rounds per season, or less.

[Jrob78]

On 2/24/2023 at 7:20 AM, gimruis said:

That is what I switched to when I could afford to upgrade to a longer range rifle.  When I first started hunting at age 12, the 30-30 was fine.  It had minimal recoil, it was easy to operate, and I hunted mostly in thick timber so range was not an issue.  Years later, I began to hunt more open/broken country, plus I had a real full time job, so I could afford to upgrade, and this is the caliber I chose based on advice from other hunters in my party.  I've had it for about 20 years now, with a Nikon Buckmaster scope, and the range is phenomenal.  We recently stopped hunting heavy timber further north and now I only hunt the more open area where agriculture and timber meet.

 

I will say that ammo for it can be tough to find though.  And its ungodly expensive.  I use the Winchester ballistic Silvertip rounds in 140 grain and they are almost $50/box of 20.  Luckily I only go through about 2 rounds per season, or less.

That's funny, I killed all my deer from childhood to early adulthood with a

Winchester 30-30 and then bought a Tikka 7mm-08 and have been using it for the last 15 years or so. I don't shoot much past about 300 yds and that gun and round has done everything I've asked of it. I've recommended the caliber to so many people, it gets the job done and is light shooting. Great round for kids starting out too. 

[Bird]

12 hours ago, Jrob78 said:

That's funny, I killed all my deer from childhood to early adulthood with a

Winchester 30-30 and then bought a Tikka 7mm-08 and have been using it for the last 15 years or so. I don't shoot much past about 300 yds and that gun and round has done everything I've asked of it. I've recommend the caliber to so many people, it gets the job done and is light shooting. Great round for kids starting out too. 

The bolts on those Tikka's are smooth as butter...... very nice rifles.

[Jrob78]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

The bolts on those Tikka's are smooth as butter...... very nice rifles.

The adjustable trigger has a glass rod break and the gun is super accurate. Mine is a T3 stainless bought around 2010 or so, I haven't shot any of the newer models but I love mine.

[Deleted account]

On 2/22/2023 at 4:04 PM, gimruis said:

No you can't.  Certain calibers are better for longer range than others.

 

I found this out the hard way when I was trying to shoot at deer that were 300+ yards away with my 30-30.  The bullets were literally hitting the dirt in front of the deer because they were dropping off in velocity/distance.  That was the end of that.  Quit using it after that season and upgraded to a flatter, longer range caliber.

 

This^.  I haven't hunted deer in quite some time, but a 30-30 in tight, and a 30-06 at range was  the ticket. 

[Dye99]

Ive been running a Sako a7 in 308 for elk, deer and bear for years.

308 knocks em down every time. But its all about shot placement

[txchaser]

On 2/23/2023 at 8:51 PM, Bird said:

6.5 Creedmore and a 7mm08.

6.5 Creedmoor versus 7mm08, go

 

 

[JackstrawIII]

In my opinion, the list of appropriate deer cartridges (depending on the hunting situation) begins at 223 Rem and ends at 300 Win Mag. 
 

Anything in between those will work for a certain hunting scenario. 
 

If I had to pick one… 308 Win. 

[Techk]

I hunt in N.Y. I mostly hunt in dense woods. I started out using Ruger American that I won at an NRA banquet in .308. I have in the past few years started to use 7.62x39 Soviet round. I run it through a Ruger and a CZ, both bolt action. For the ranges I am hunting it works perfect. I use Winchester Deer Season XP in the Ruger and Wolf 154 gr. Soft point in the CZ. I still love the  .308 ,but it seems unnecessary because I am maxing out as maybe 150 yards. So that's my two cents.

[clayton86]

I don’t deer hunt as much as I used to. When I used to a lot we were limited to shotgun only in my area. Recent years rifles were opened up in my area and I hunted more this season than I have the last 8. I carry my marlin 1895GBL in 45-70 and my sig 320 full size in 45acp.

 

I got one last weekend with the 45-70 none were close enough to try the pistol. The one last weekend I thought would it was running right at me then cut and started running quartering towards the trail so I whacked it with the 45-70. Was on one of the few drives we put on towards end of season. 

[Woody B]

Obviously the range your hunting/shooting is going to be a big factor.   I'm not a fan of lightweight, super fast loads.   I think you need around 1000 pounds of energy and a bullet grain equal to the Deer's weight.   I've got an old Ruger Model 44.   (Semi auto Carbine in .44 magnum)  Myself as well as my Grandkids have killed several deer and bear with it.   It's pretty thick brush where we hunt.   If I were hunting where I'd take a shot over 75 yards I'd use a 30-06 or .308.