Short barrel deer rifle - .300 blackout?

Or just put a short barrel on a Savage 10 action if you don't mind the extra weight. I have a 14" 308 with mild reloads that run 2400 fps with a 150 gr. Reload with a powder on the faster side and muzzle blast isn't that bad. If you really wanted to get classy, a 358 Winchester :). Or 338 Federal, for that matter.

Sounds like he wants to stick with a platform that takes AR magazines/make use of his current action and stock
 
Salal a shrub that typically can grow to 12 ft .....leaves are waxy and used for flower arrangement. Tiny deer, a.big buck is 60lbs on the meat hooks.

I find myself asking why I'm crawling through Salal blacktail tunnels like a boot camp. Alice. Incredibly easy to hit the ramen.

Long intro, bit of a derail. What caliber? Standard calibers are like shooting gophers with rums.....way to much destruction. Bayonet typical distance, outside chance of 100 yds across a swamp.

Have a Cz527 in 7.62x39.....dam thing rusts horribly. Thought of 25-20, even 22 hornet. Maybe 243 with trailboss. Not into a expensive or 100 yr old pistol caliber lever gun to get sandblasted in the thicket. Maybe a Savage 340 in 30-30 or beater savage 99.

Thoughts.....besides how it's obvious I shouldnt be literally crawling in ticks, soaked.to the.azz, after.faun sized deer.....pushing 60yrs old.
 
I've spent a bit of time with a suppressed 300 blackout, and many years ago a .308 with subs, , mostly used over dogs for pigs, and the odd deer, when an opportunity popped up,
slow killing, no hyd shock, we used to lode a 200gr soft point in backwards, to increase tissue damage, more choices now.
If your hunting with it, look at leigh defense, as they make expanding bullets for sub sonic speeds, these work well, open up to over an inch from the two pigs, i seen killed with them, 240gr i think
in my view the .223 with a heavy bullet 60gr up, or a 6x45, 75-100gr (mines a cooper) are far better hunting weapons, and much more versatile,
Nothing wrong with the 300 blackout, a specialized weapon, that makes little sense with out access to a suppressor.
 
I get wanting to be able to hunt with the rifle you have. What I don't get is the minimalist attitude that less is somehow better. If you want to hunt deer and that's the rifle you have, you've tested the bullet and load and are convinced that the bullet will upset sufficiently to produce humane kills at the ranges you are likely to shoot, then go for it, otherwise don't. If on the other hand, you are looking to purchase a new compact deer rifle, and don't think you can manage a .308, a .300 Savage is an effective cartridge with mild manners, as is one of the numerous medium case 6.5s.
 
What I don't get is the minimalist attitude that less is somehow better. If you want to hunt deer and that's the rifle you have, you've tested the bullet and load and are convinced that the bullet will upset sufficiently to produce humane kills at the ranges you are likely to shoot, then go for it.


That's just it, I am definitely not convinced my rifle in its current form can produce humane kills. I've never taken this 5.56 rifle out hunting it's just too weak for deer in my opinion. The .223 kills with velocity and the shot barrel my rifle had loses too much velocity. Muzzle energy is 700-800 foot pounds max. I want a minimum 1000 foot pounds at 100m.

Right now all I have that's suitable is a 24" barrel .308 and I hate pushing through thick undergrowth with it. It's heavy and long.

So the objective is short and light but with enough energy to take a deer ethically. I was thinking 7.62x39 but then I'd need a new rifleV and mags entirely. .300 BO is just a new barrel.
 
That's just it, I am definitely not convinced my rifle in its current form can produce humane kills. I've never taken this 5.56 rifle out hunting it's just too weak for deer in my opinion. The .223 kills with velocity and the shot barrel my rifle had loses too much velocity. Muzzle energy is 700-800 foot pounds max. I want a minimum 1000 foot pounds at 100m.

Right now all I have that's suitable is a 24" barrel .308 and I hate pushing through thick undergrowth with it. It's heavy and long.

So the objective is short and light but with enough energy to take a deer ethically. I was thinking 7.62x39 but then I'd need a new rifleV and mags entirely. .300 BO is just a new barrel.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your .223 with a 16.38" barrel will absolutely produce humane kills @ 100m with proper bullet selection. This nonsense about .223 not being enough for deer is an old wives tale that needs to die.
 
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your .223 with a 16.38" barrel will absolutely produce humane kills @ 100m with proper bullet selection. This nonsense about .223 not being enough for deer is an old wives tale that needs to die.

Nobody says that a .223 can't kill deer... they say that only jack-offs choose it over more appropriate options, when available, to prove that their fathers were wrong...
 
Nobody says that a .223 can't kill deer... they say that only jack-offs choose it over more appropriate options, when available, to prove that their fathers were wrong...

That's probably the most useless response I've read on this forum. Do you condemn bow hunters when rifles are more appropriate for hunting?:rolleyes:
The .223 is plenty appropriate for whitetail deer regardless of what people like yourself think about it. If anyone wants to argue, I'll send you videos and pictures of deer being hit with .223 at 200 yards and dying within 15 yards. Shot placement and bullet construction is more important than caliber.
 
That's just it, I am definitely not convinced my rifle in its current form can produce humane kills. I've never taken this 5.56 rifle out hunting it's just too weak for deer in my opinion. The .223 kills with velocity and the shot barrel my rifle had loses too much velocity. Muzzle energy is 700-800 foot pounds max. I want a minimum 1000 foot pounds at 100m.

Right now all I have that's suitable is a 24" barrel .308 and I hate pushing through thick undergrowth with it. It's heavy and long.

So the objective is short and light but with enough energy to take a deer ethically. I was thinking 7.62x39 but then I'd need a new rifleV and mags entirely. .300 BO is just a new barrel.

Then just get a used model 94 carbine in 30-30. I have a deluxe carbine model 64. Its only 37" oal! Easy as hell to push tgrough bush with and the 20" barrel yields good results to kill at 100yds. I shoot 150gr Hornady American Whitetail with it and it works very well. I can shoot 2" @ 100 yds with it all day long with the irons from a solid rest.
 
Nobody says that a .223 can't kill deer... they say that only jack-offs choose it over more appropriate options, when available, to prove that their fathers were wrong...

Weird when their grandfathers were killing them with 22’s and the most anemic pistol cartridges known to man just fine.
 
That's probably the most useless response I've read on this forum. Do you condemn bow hunters when rifles are more appropriate for hunting?:rolleyes:
The .223 is plenty appropriate for whitetail deer regardless of what people like yourself think about it. If anyone wants to argue, I'll send you videos and pictures of deer being hit with .223 at 200 yards and dying within 15 yards. Shot placement and bullet construction is more important than caliber.

I've been bowhunting for 40 years... and archery gear does not kill in the same way as firearms do... the physics is completely different, apples to oranges. The point is not that it "can" work, the point is that if you have options with more energy, then it is a dumb-azz kid trick to use marginal gear that "may not" work... your shot will not always be perfect. Also, the bigger problem is not what expert hunters/marksman do with marginal equipment it is when attempts are made to mimic their results by the new and inexperienced... the results are more wounded animals.
 
Weird when their grandfathers were killing them with 22’s and the most anemic pistol cartridges known to man just fine.

They did not "kill them just fine," they left many wounded animals to die unused for every one the took home to their families... is that what we are aspiring to?
 
I've been bowhunting for 40 years... and archery gear does not kill in the same way as firearms do... the physics is completely different, apples to oranges. The point is not that it "can" work, the point is that if you have options with more energy, then it is a dumb-azz kid trick to use marginal gear that "may not" work... your shot will not always be perfect. Also, the bigger problem is not what expert hunters/marksman do with marginal equipment it is when attempts are made to mimic their results by the new and inexperienced... the results are more wounded animals.

I've seen more wounded animals by idiots who think shooting the biggest caliber they can find guarantees an instant kill even with bad shot placement. I stand by my statement that proper shot placement and bullet construction are a far more important factor than caliber or energy numbers.
 
I've got the savage axis in 300 blk with a 16 inch barrel and I'd have no problem taking deer out to about 200 yards with the right bullet. Where I hunt though shots can get further so I find myself grabbing my 243. It would be a perfect hog round. Glad we don't have hogs like the US though...

North
 
The 30-30 have been doing the job for more than 100 years. If it ain’t broken dont fix it apply here.
For what the OP want t do..no need to re-invent the wheel.
 
I've seen more wounded animals by idiots who think shooting the biggest caliber they can find guarantees an instant kill even with bad shot placement.

People who can't shoot are equally hopeless with small caliber rifles, a jerk jerking on the trigger scenario In some cases its through lack of education, in others its through a lack of character. That said, I've come across enough people who have a freezer full of meet that's been harvested with a .223 or a .22-250 that I no longer criticize, but I still think those are cartridge choices for experts rather than novices. That said, difficulties in reading the wind and range. estimation can get the best of any of us.
 
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