Island Deer, what gun & caliber?

Mr. Friendly

Mr. Friendly

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I'm thinking the CZ 527 Carbine in 7.62 x 39 or .223 (legal in BC) with a heavier bullet.

I'd want a short barrel rifle with an intermediate cartridge....308 is such overkill for an island deer.

options in .243?
 
I don't know island deer so I can't speak knowledgeably about caliber for such. I don't know average body weight and size so I can only speak of Ontario whitetail, and from my own experience, for 100 yd. and under, I love the 7.62X39! I handload my own so I can wring the utmost accuracy out of my rifle, but I found that the 123 gr. Hornady Interlock on top of 25.5 gr. of RL7 did a marvelous job of dropping deer cold.
 
I started hunting island deer with a 30-30. Pretty much perfect. Have since gone on to use Winchester M70's in 7-08, 308 and 7rem mag. Remington 700's in 280 and 30-06.
I'd have to say that the one rifle I like best is the M70 in 7-08 for island deer, with the M700 in 280 and marlin 30-30 a close second.
 
Either will work.I shoot a CZ 527 7.62x39 here in AB for bush ranges and bush pushing.Never had to shoot any deer twice to drop it so far.In a .223 use the Win 55gr or Hornady with the cannalure on deer and stay away from the shoulders.Dad shot a dozen Ontario WT's with that bullet in a .222.One per customer and 3 bears.The 7.62x39 likes IMR 4198 with either the .310 123 gr SP or the .311 Sierra SP in 150gr for bigger stuff.
 
7mm-08 or 6.5x55mm

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NAA.
 
.223 or .222 in my opinion.

X39 poor bullets will just punch a hole in something that small -- plenty of oomph but crappy expansion. I shot a muley doe in Alberta once with an S&B soft and it punched an inch-sized hole but that was it. I cut up an island buck shot with a .222 in the neck and it basically severed the head. If you were carrying a bear tag then a heavier gun would be wanted. But my opinion, .223 if shooting deer and a regular .30 caliber type if carrying a tag for both. I'd shoot a bear with an x39 over a .223, but only up close.
 
The Island Deer are my main Hunting quarry.

I have harvested them using a 243, 270, 30-30, 308 and 357 mag. They all have worked very well with the 243 seeming to have performed the quickest kills.

The 308 is nice if you carry a bear tag with you as well.
 
GMC403 said:
The Island Deer are my main Hunting quarry.

I have harvested them using a 243, 270, 30-30, 308 and 357 mag. They all have worked very well with the 243 seeming to have performed the quickest kills.

The 308 is nice if you carry a bear tag with you as well.
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With similar thoughts in mind, one of my favorite calibres is the 7x57mm. With that decided on, I fairly recently acquired a Lipsey Ruger RSI, in 7x57. Stainless barrel and action with full length Mannlicher style stock. That choice was because of the ;) frequent 'wet coast' conditions experienced here on the 'Island'.
 
well, if'n I do go for something heavier, so I can take a bear, like a .308 or 7mm-08, guess I could look at the Savage Lightweight Hunter 11. :)

as for x39 bullet performance, you gotta load your own, unless you use that Hornady hunting round. all the other stuff is crap, with a capital C! :yingyang:

guess it's also a good reason to have two guns as well, LOL!
 
Mr. Friendly said:
well, if'n I do go for something heavier, so I can take a bear, like a .308 or 7mm-08, guess I could look at the Savage Lightweight Hunter 11. :)

as for x39 bullet performance, you gotta load your own, unless you use that Hornady hunting round. all the other stuff is crap, with a capital C! :yingyang:

guess it's also a good reason to have two guns as well, LOL!
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I've heard good things about Federal's Fusion loading for the caliber, and PPU's RNSP. Hornady also makes a black box loading for the caliber which is rare, and "tactical" but for deer it'd probably be excellent. I actually knew a guy who (stupidly) shot a moose with the old Ukrainian HP stuff Canada ammo was bringing in and it flopped dead with one round, and I heard similar things when that round's used on deer. It's a pretty versatile caliber, and it shouldn't be overlooked.
 
I lived on and hunted Vancouver island for 3 years, and have hunted island deer on numerous other occasions.

The only rifle I ever hunted the Blacktails with was a 6mm Remington. I had a Ruger M77 Tang safety
with a 22" barrel, and a Leupold M8 6x36 on top. Using the 85 0r 95 grain Partitions, it was like
pulling the rug out from under them. Very quick kills. The 243 would be essentially identical.

My recommendation is the 243/6mm's, the 250 Savage, the 257 Roberts or possibly the 6.5x55 Swede with
100 grain bullets. All these are adequate black bear medicine when a decent bullet is used. EE.
 
I say don't worry about overkill, smack em hard! 308 win is a great cartridge for island deer. Of course 223 or 7.62 x39 will do the job but why bother with so many other choices. Ever had to look for a blacktail in the dark in thigh high ferns and salal in the pissing rain which is washing away the blood trail with each passing second, I have and it sucks. Problem you're faced with is the habitat we have here, it's a rain forest, so it's lush and thick, along with these deer being not exactly huge you sometimes need to be standing on them to find them when they're down. All it takes is one bush sometimes, forest floor seems to swallow them up. That's why I say smack em hard and try to drop them asap. It's not so bad if you're hunting younger more open slashes as they're easier to find but I seldom hunt places like that. And the whole shot placement thing, ya well it works in theory, doesn't mean they throw themselves down at your feet. I once shot one at 50 yds with my 270 using 130 gr ttsx handloads, my chronograph clocked those at 3150 fps! Freaking thing ran off like I missed. I found him 75 yds away with a nice hole through the lungs and some busted up shoulder, how much more shot placement do you want. Shot another one through the heart at 50 yds with my 7 mag and he went for quite a hike too, at least a hundred yds. Good thing it was dry with a full moon that evening. I say use whatever cartridge you want......just something that is normally used for big game that's all. Good luck!
 
nowarningshot said:
Blacktail are typically the size of domestic goats. Horns are nothing to get mounted. On the meathooks about 65lbs.
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Admitted, while the Columbia Blacktail isn't the size of an Alberta Mulie, there are a few decent sized ones around. I took one locally in Copper Canyon at the old water tower a number of years back, that is still the biggest I've ever shot on the Island. On the hoof, 175 lb two point.
 
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