what cartridge is best for small and deer sized game?

dgradinaru said:
i tried that in my old marlin 45-70 model 1895, but it didnt work.:confused:
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I had to do some testing all right, I forget now what 410's worked best. Some scattered all over hell but the one I finally found was good to about 10-12 yds on rabbits and 12-15 on grouse. Had to be sneaky on the little sh!t.
I think it was 5 or 6 shot 3", had to single load of course. Mine was an old original 86 Win.
 
30-30 Winchester

30-30 is all you need;

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I would get a .308 Winchester and start reloading. You can launch 100-110gr. bullets at about 1900-2100fps with a light charge of Hodgdon Clays or Trailboss for small game like grouse and rabbits and not blow them to smitherines. Then you can shoot the full power loads for anything else. Shooting only one gun makes for a better shooter!!!
 
Or .308

VLT79 said:
I would get a .308 Winchester and start reloading. You can launch 100-110gr. bullets at about 1900-2100fps with a light charge of Hodgdon Clays or Trailboss for small game like grouse and rabbits and not blow them to smitherines. Then you can shoot the full power loads for anything else. Shooting only one gun makes for a better shooter!!!
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.308 is another good deer sized game cartridge, my Win 88 loves Varget and 168gr Nosler BT
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I'm down to reloading only the 30-30 & 308 too
 
So what is the purpose? Small game as a food source for family? Pet Food? Chicken food? Are you ridding the area of Varmints or is it a matter of preserving the hides or pelts.
One must firstly be ethical on the largest game they will be hunting. That does not preclude hunting moose with a .338 Win Mag and taking a grouse with a head shot. It is still a matter of using the gun you got with you at the time . . . after that it is a two gun Question!
 
With the 30-30, 308 you can cast your own boolits and load up a respectable small game round for rabbits and birds.
Heck, you can do that with any cartridge. The two mentioned are popular & forgiving.
 
I agree with Huntsman. If you handload, the .30-30 would do both roles well for you. The Lee C309-113-F "soup can" cast bullets sitting over about 6.0gr of unique or red-dot make great small game rounds. Then you can use regular 170gr (cast or jacketed, take your pick) for big game.

The same goes for .308
 
I got a .270, my uncle has 2 .270's, both my grandpas shot .270's. You cant beat em. For squirrel and rabbit 22 lr. .270 does a number on coytes (if you want pelts then .270 is a no-no). My uncle and cousin both shot 2 BIG bull moose and folded them both a 200 yards with 130 gr core-lokts. Same with mulies, whitetail and a couple elk. I just got my .270 in october and ive only taken whitetail deer and a couple coyotes. It has light recoil(depending on gun and ammo, i find 150 gr gives you more of a jolt) , can find ammo anywhere you go and can handload some pretty wicked shells. So my vote is .22lr and .270 win. My 2nd choice would be a 243 or 25-06
 
Why do people think they have to phrase it as "which is best" for killing game or deer? Just about anything will do it, so on what criteria do you expect to evaluate how something is "best"?
 
trebor2880 said:
I agree with the 243, as I wouldn't go under that for deer.
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I don't think you legally can go under .243 for deer hunting.


whitetailwoodsarcher said:
well i thinking about using it for rabbits and small animals like that then if i see a deer on my woods walk i can harvest it as well!
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Well then what you need is a Combo Rifle/Shotgun. My friend has an old Brno 7x57 over 16gauge. The problem is the cheap combo guns are high quality but are chambered for obsolete rounds. The Expensive ones are chambered for more common rounds. Or if it says Merkial on it then you're going to pay a fortune. Or you can go onto Baikal Canada and look at some of their modern day combo rifle/shotguns. They have one that fires 12gauge and 30-06. You can still ace a coyote with a 30-06 since you don't eat it. If you want to keep the pelt after then oops not going to happen with the 30-06. Any ways that's my advice. My friend takes down deer, elk, grouse,rabbits, and coyotes with his 7x57/16 gauge. One more problem is, they tend to be heavy guns. Like you're carrying two guns.....humm... maybe you should just get two guns.
 
I agree with previous posts favoring the 30-30 - guns & ammo are reasonably priced. But if you're hunting dear at longer range, perhaps a 25-06 is more suitable.
 
If your looking for a rifle then thats one thing but a shotgun sounds like it may fit the bill better would it not?? Hit a rabbit even with a .223 and you may not have anymore rabbit lol. A 12ga with #6 or 7.5 for small, a slug or buck for the rest. Most versatile weapon in north america if you ask me.
 
I like combos, a savage 24v in 30-30/20 gauge will do it all, don't weigh that much. OTOH, do a search on the Hammond Game Getter, which allows you a 30 Yd range with nail gun blanks and Buckshot. They come in many high power chamberings. Not too $$ and available in edmonton. I have one and it works great.
 
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