just wonderin' somthing else

[uphere]

well is seems that the smallest gun that most people wold use for deer and caribou is 243 now whats the biggest

 

[joe-nwt]

I use my 300WM.

Before the magnum bashers take over, the reason I use it is because I have the utmost in confidence in this gun. It gives me the accuracy I need for long shots, and so far, by placing the shots exactly where I want them, I have had very little bloodshot meat to deal with.

Do I need a 300WM? You bet I do!

Many people prescribe to the big/slow theory. It will be interesting to see how big.

If using a "magnum" bothers some, perhaps you should think of the 300WM as a 30-06+P.

 

[daniellybbert]

Im going to use a .338 LMAI this year on some does

 

[win70]

.300wm

 

[joe m]

I'd use my .444 for deer if the situation came up and the opportunity was right. Don't have anything bigger.
If it's legal and you have one use it

 

[Tumbleweed]

'Big' won't mash meat into a bloody pulp; frangible bullets and high velocity will. I'd rather use a .375 H&H with a stout bullet lumbering along at 2500 fps than a .270 Win. with 130 gr. Ballistic Tips, if I figure on eating the results.

When all is said and done, I feel completely comfortable with a 7x57 or a 30-06 or anything in that category.

 

[Dogleg]

I'd use the biggest thing I have on deer without batting an eye. How else are you supposed to get to know a big boomer in the field? It's got to be better than showing up for a hunt for something big, mean and expensive with a rifle that has never been hunting before. Besides, what's the harm? Bullet choice makes more difference in meat damage than caliber choice.
A lot of us hunt deer in conjunction with moose or elk, and you're a lot farther ahead shooting your deer with a .300 mag than your elk with a .243.

 

[dnepr]

use my .444 all the time works great . I would use as big as I could shoot comfortable . even with a 50bmg you put it through the ribs you wont loose much meat.

 

[Scott_N]

It would be overkill, but like others have already said, I don't think a 375 would damage all that much meat.

 

[Dogleg]

It would be overkill, but like others have already said, I don't think a 375 would damage all that much meat.

Exactly right, it doesn't with the right bullets. I've done more damage with some combinations in a muzzleloader than a .375 TSX through the ribs.

 

[blargon]

.375 H&H, if I had one...

 

[catnthehatt]

I'd shoot deer with anything, as long as the load was good.
Cat

 

[death-junky]

50 cal bmg
ttyal
Riley

 

[todbartell]

well, if I was hunting for elk, bear, or moose and happened to come across a nice deer, Id shoot it with anything I was packing. Did just that a few years ago when I took a small 4x4 mulie with a 350 grain Speer MagTip out of my 416 Rem Mag when he stepped out 75 yards away when I was hunting moose. Killed it, but no better than a 117 grain bullet out of a 257 Roberts would of

no need for anything larger than a 30-06 for most general deer hunting. Some special applications may require something larger, like : close range brush hunting - 444 marlin or 45/70, or long range field hunting - 300 Ultra Mag or similar

 

[Camp Cook]

45-70 and 375 RUM

 

[Gatehouse]

I'd shoot deer with anything, as long as the load was good.
Cat

X2

 

[grandslamer]

i use .308 parker hale for everthing from coyotes to moose

 

[Gibbs505]

300 mag is what I have. Would not hesiate to use the 375 if I get one.

 

[Boomer]

My all around rifle is my .375, so that's what I'd use.

 

[Micky Finn]

I'd shoot deer with what ever I had as long as I KNEW that I wasn't under gunned. An animal can only get so dead but tracking a wounded animal, although necessary, is unsatisfying.