Best deer caliber

Didn’t you get the memo Sunday’s are best beat defence caliber days lol.

I mainly use my crossbow just cause a much longer season, otherwise I’m a fan of 6.5creedmore do to versatility.
 
270 is a great caliber for deer, as is the very popular 308, if your buying factory Ammo i would suggest looking at anything like: 243, 6.5cm, 7mm-08, 308, 338, 358, 30-06 aswell, not to mention a pile of others, really it comes down to the type of deer hunting your doing? If your in a cut line watch and are going to be regularly making 300 yards shots the 6.5cm, 7mm-08, 308, 270 etc all will do extremely well with the right hunting bullet, (Accubonds/partitions) if your shots are always generally inside 50 yards, nothing wrong with anything from 30-30 to 35 rem,

There's endless options for calibers, not to mention ammunition types onto of that for each, to narrow it down youd be best to ask yourself, what type of shots are you anticipating, and what model of rifle you prefer? From there you can narrow the search down to the right caliber for your specific application.

My humble 2 cents,
 
260SnowBird said:
270 is a great caliber for deer, as is the very popular 308, if your buying factory Ammo i would suggest looking at anything like: 243, 6.5cm, 7mm-08, 308, 338, 358, 30-06 aswell, not to mention a pile of others, really it comes down to the type of deer hunting your doing? If your in a cut line watch and are going to be regularly making 300 yards shots the 6.5cm, 7mm-08, 308, 270 etc all will do extremely well with the right hunting bullet, (Accubonds/partitions) if your shots are always generally inside 50 yards, nothing wrong with anything from 30-30 to 35 rem,

There's endless options for calibers, not to mention ammunition types onto of that for each, to narrow it down you'd be best to ask yourself, what type of shots are you anticipating, and what model of rifle you prefer? From there you can narrow the search down to the right caliber for your specific application.

My humble 2 cents,
Click to expand...

This is a great answer right here.
 
Ive shot mine with 30/30 but in all honesty it depends on where you're hunting. Id say in general for most people 308 will be the calibre of choice. Its got loads of power, is accurate is fast and is generally available everywhere. That being said, the guns that you will use for 308 are generally pretty hefty. So it all depends on your hunting style. Do you sit in a tree stand all day or do you stalk/walk the bush? Are you in thick ontario/quebec forests or open plains of SK and Alberta? These are questions you should ask your self. 308 is gender accepted for other large game as well. So if you're on a budget or are only gonna own one gun. Id go 308
 
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Here is my reasoning for Mule and Whitetail deer

0 - 200m : 5.56, 7.62x39 or .308 Winchester

Why?: Availability and affordability of ammunition. You can have the best whizzbang rifle in the world in obscure calibre X but you most likely won't put the time and more importantly money into practicing enough to really know your rifle, it's holdovers and to practice shooting said rifle from a variety of positions. Those calibres are plenty to kill a deer. It's not a battle armoured warrior it's a thin set of meat and ribs covering some lungs which when shot make it die.

200-300m : .308 Winchester

Why?: The same reasons as above but recognising that 5.56 and 7.62x39 will have suffered quite a lot of energy loss and/or drop once you go past 200m. They'll still work but less effectively, and from an ethical perspective it would be better to upgrade to the 308 Winchester to make sure the energy remains high, especially when for obvious reasons it becomes harder to hit exactly where you want as range increases. Wind obviously impacts 5.56 and 7.62x39 far more.

300-400m : 308 winchester

Why?: You might expect me to suggest 6.5 Creedmoor for these longer range shots, however if you check out the drop charts you can see here that there isn't all that much difference between the two. So what makes more sense? Avoiding between 2.5 and 10cm drop at 400yds and paying significantly more for the ammo to get good at these ranges or spending the cost difference on being able to practice more or buying a rangefinder and not missing that buck? Do't forget that 30

400 - 500m: 308 Winchester

Same as above only the drop isn't so significant

Beyond 500m I honestly can't comment. The only thing I would add is that if you want a lower recoiling but equally effective calibre to 308 winchester for going out to 500m I would suggest 6.5 creedmoor

if you want something that is equally good for Elk and Moose I would suggest 308 or 6.5 creedmoor at all ranges.

If you want one for all species and ranges go 308 winchester
 
For me, this question is too vague. Whitetails can be in thick brush, like here in Eastern Ontario... Or out West where you could shoot much further in vast farm fields...

So... Here in ON, 35Rem for me where I hunt... But if I was out West, I would likely go with 7mm Rem Mag for reaching out. YMMV

Cheers
Jay
 
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