Hunting with persicion ?

There is no minimum caliber for deer hunting in Ontario.
Not all of Southern Ontario(That starts, in the North, at the French River. Think North Bay and South. No calibre restrictions up that way at any time or for any game. The MNR Hunting Season "catalogue" does not say anything of the kind.) has the daft calibre restrictions.
As mentioned, it's mostly Southwestern Ontario(pretty much West of Guelph/Wellington County.) that say .275 or less, but some municipalities around TO specify .270. Both by the cartridge name, not the bullet diameter(your instructor was wrong. The by-laws, which is what the whole thing is, say nothing about bullet diameter.). So a .270 Win is ok, but a .276 Pedersen(A 7mm x 51mm using a .284" bullet that you'll never find anyway.) is not. And some of 'em, but not all, say for small game only. It is rumoured that it started just after W.W. I to stop returning vets from using surplus Lee-Enfields etc. for hunting.
In any case, any .24, .25, .26 or .27 calibre will do as long as its name ends in a '0' or '5'. Your biggest issue will be finding a suitable rifle that'll do for both deer hunting and target shooting. Typical target/varmint rifles in deer suitable chamberings tend to be way too heavy to lug around deer hunting. Unless you hunt from a blind.
6.5mm is .264". Not .255". The .260 Rem uses a .264" bullet too. Math means nothing to cartridge names.
 
kodiakjack said:
What year is your catalogue from? Did the limit used to be .277, then change to .275 at some point? I know it's been .275 for at least 15 years, as I found an old summary while packing a while back.

You're certainly not the only one to use the .277 number, so it had to be that at some time...
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I'm pretty sure the catalogue I read was over 20 years ago and it sticks to my mind over these years. :)
 
yes there is 100% no rifle restriction for deer in Ontario. Please find that restriction in MNR magazine and not what your friend told you. The only caliber restriction in Ontario is the small game .275. Again those regions that have that restriction have no deer rifle season at all, and that is why this "you can only shoot 270 or less" rumor exists.

Back to the OP, if your looking for a precision rifle for coyotes only then 260, 223, 243 go nuts. But to answer your questions regardless of all the southern Ontario rules or no rules. I would get a 260 anyways. Allowed for small game in the south and still a great caliber when up north for deer. Plus one of the best precision calibers. Only downfall would be if you wanted to use it on moose or bears. IMO you would need something a little heavier.
 
Hahah, my spelling on title may have been flawed. It seemed that this and some other research has cleared it up. Easiest path for me is two different rifles. Picked up the ruger gun site scout in 223/556 for the yotes and going to just use the old lever 30-30 or sks when I go north once a year.
 
260 or 6.5x47 should be fine for moose and bears if shot placement is good and distance isn't too far. The swedes shoot em all the time with a 6.5x55 swede.
 
rl4930 said:
260 or 6.5x47 should be fine for moose and bears if shot placement is good and distance isn't too far. The swedes shoot em all the time with a 6.5x55 swede.
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I hate hearing this over and over again. Swedes do NOT have moose like Canada. What they call moose is a elk sized animal. 1000lb plus moose are not what they are hunting. IMO a 22-250 with right shot placement will kill a 1200lb moose. Just like you can screw down every deck board on a deck with a screwdriver. But there are better tools for the job.
 
Chago said:
I hate hearing this over and over again. Swedes do NOT have moose like Canada. What they call moose is a elk sized animal. 1000lb plus moose are not what they are hunting. IMO a 22-250 with right shot placement will kill a 1200lb moose. Just like you can screw down every deck board on a deck with a screwdriver. But there are better tools for the job.
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Say whaaaaaat? 1000 lb Moose are ABSOLUTELY what they're hunting. Bergmann's rule much? :p. The subspecies in Sweden is Alces alces alces, which are about 20% larger than our Eastern moose and about the same size as Western moose. They call them elk (alg), but they're like 250 lbs bigger than a Rocky Mountain elk.

You may be thinking of the Alaskan moose, found only in the Yukon in Canada. It is indeed much bigger, up to 1400 lbs, but it's the least common one in Canada by far. Not what I think of when I think of "moose in Canada."

Moose are easy to kill in any case. Dunno if you've ever shot one, but they die WAY easier than deer in my experience. You definitely don't need magnum cartridge to kill an Eastern moose. The 6.5 Swede with it's superb sectional density would be an excellent choice for hunting them; perhaps the perfect choice. More than enough energy at any likely range, mild recoil, and more than enough penetration for quartering shots.
 
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flashman said:
Say whaaaaaat? 1000 lb Moose are ABSOLUTELY what they're hunting. Bergmann's rule much? :p. The subspecies in Sweden is Alces alces alces, which are about 20% larger than our Eastern moose and about the same size as Western moose. They call them elk (alg), but they're like 250 lbs bigger than a Rocky Mountain elk.

You may be thinking of the Alaskan moose, found only in the Yukon in Canada. It is indeed much bigger, up to 1400 lbs, but it's the least common one in Canada by far. Not what I think of when I think of "moose in Canada."

Moose are easy to kill in any case. Dunno if you've ever shot one, but they die WAY easier than deer in my experience. You definitely don't need magnum cartridge to kill an Eastern moose. The 6.5 Swede with it's superb sectional density would be an excellent choice for hunting them; perhaps the perfect choice. More than enough energy at any likely range, mild recoil, and more than enough penetration for quartering shots.
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If moose were any easier to kill, they're come premarinated. Big ole furry sacks of meat.
 
kodiakjack said:
If moose were any easier to kill, they're come premarinated. Big ole furry sacks of meat.
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Agreed, I know guys that have only ever used a 30-30. I plan on taking my 6.5x47 with me this year. I'll likely only be hunting calves anyway. And I want to take a wolf or two and a bear. My main gun though will likely be a 30-06 or 300 win mag. But I'm pretty sure I would have just as much confidence with the 6.5. If it didn't weigh 17lbs, i'd likely use it.
 
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