Best deer caliber

SuperCub said:
There's a few pumps in Sask, but nothing like in Ontario. The rest of the west pretty much scorn them.
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They were very popular up to about when I was in my twenties. Pushing bush was the norm, and rapid fire was wanted. About the only autoloaders that anyone had any respect for was the Browning and they were sort of regarded as a rich man's gun. The Rems typically shot well, few people reloaded (quite a few had never even heard of it), and clip fed rifles that actually worked twice in a row weren't very common. Combine that with the over-whelming dominance of pump shotguns and the pump rifle's place was secured.

What changed? Practically all of it. ;)
 
caramel said:
Over 50 years of hunting, i owned couple hundreds of firearms since that time.

The end result always been the same, i am back to my good old 308 caliber.
It seem, nothing else make a better hunter, out of me.

My confidence run high when i hunt WT with my Steyr Scout 308.:)
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That right there is the answer - any cartridge in a rifle that you have confidence in. You can nit pick ballistic data all you want to justify your favourite round, in the end they will all kill a deer with a properly placed shot and a good bullet. I have 25, 26 and 30 caliber rifles that I use for anything from deer to moose with the odd unfortunate coyote in between.
 
I have shot plenty of deer of various sizes at various ranges, from dog-size Blacktails on the west coast to Mulies and big Whitetails on the Canadian prairies (some that are almost the size of small elk), and since average range varies so much, from about 15 yds. in the Wet Coast rain forest to well over 300 yds. on the prairies, why would we reasonably expect to find one rifle type or calibre to be most efficient for all deer in all conditions? The problem is with the question, not the answers.
 
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hoytcanon said:
I like the .303 Brit as well... got out of it for many years, due only to the platforms it was available in, but I was super-stoked about Ruger doing the runs of No.1-A's in .303 Brit... the end result was a rifle similar to your custom No.3. I have had three of them and they were all accurate... no plans to liquidate this one, but the No.1-A .30-30 (22") will likely go, even though it is a beauty, with a great trigger and superb accuracy.
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Gorgeous looking Rugers!
In reality, anything darned near is a decent deer cartridge if it is a legal caliber o shoot, I think it has far more too doo with the type of rifle a person likes to use and is comfortable with.

Cat
 
I've killed more deer in BC with the 303brit than any other caliber, a few moose and black bears as well.
A lee enfield no1 MKIII , shortened to 19" barrel, sights removed and dropped in a well fitted monte carlo stock with a decent close to mid range optic is one of my absolute favorite rifles to hunt deer with. 180gr federal power shock always drops em fast.

I also hunt deer with a 7mm rem mag, just depends on the hunt and what other critters that might be open at same time. I think for BC, the 7mag or the 30-06 would be the "best" all around calibers for deer, bear, moose, elk, sheep and goat.

can't see anything wrong with the 270 either although I've never felt the need to own that caliber.
 
i think it depends on the terrain. if one were shooting mostly open country a .270 or something similar is tough to beat. for woods use, or shots 250 yards or less, the .358 and similar would be nice.
 
Another favorite of mine for deer hunting is the not so popular 284win, in a short action rifle. Same ballistics as a 270 or 280 in a compact rifle. It's good for fairly long shots and also good in the timber. It's too bad it wasn't chambered in more rifles.
 
stripperclipper said:
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Donny, he’s from the streets, not like those other new kids.


I’ve seen too many shoulders blown up from 270’s and 300WM’s that I think the natives might have it figured out with 223’s behind the ear
 
As a polygamist gun owner I have trouble answering the question.

Over the years I’ve killed deer with the following cartridges.
.243 Win
.25-06 Rem
.270 Win
.270 WSM
7mm-08 Rem
7mm Mauser
.284 Win
.280 AI
.30-30 Win
.308 Win
.30-06
.300 WSM
.300 Win Mag
.358 Win
.50 cal ML
.54 cal ML

I just can’t seem to settle on a best, as they all did the job, given the situation they were used in.
 
For me, it would depend how far I'd be making the shot.

Within 100m and in the bush? Bullet weight rules, so the bullet isn't deflected by brush; .358 Win for example. Or 45-70 maybe?

Around 300m? Velocity rules; .243 for example. Within point blank range, it's basically point and shoot.

For shooting more than 300m? Ballistic coefficient rules. 6.5 PRC or 6.5 Creedmoor.

If you can only have one and need something versatile for all terrain, go with .30 cal. I'd say .308, or 30-06 depending how much recoil you like.

So because of my budget, I have a .308.
 
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