just wonderin'

What's the smallest gun you would use for deer to caribou sized game

  • 223 rem

    Votes: 13 12.4%

  • 22-250 rem

    Votes: 6 5.7%

  • 243 win

    Votes: 51 48.6%

  • 25-06

    Votes: 11 10.5%

  • 7.62x39mm

    Votes: 4 3.8%

  • 308 win

    Votes: 14 13.3%

  • Other (explain)

    Votes: 6 5.7%
  • Total voters
    105
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With all of this "magnumizing" that hunting and gun writers are talking about I was wondering whats the smallest gun people use for deer to caribou sized game.
 
if i had a 223 i would load it with some 60 grain nosler partitions and use it on meat deer. i have used the 22-250 and 7.62x39 on deer. since i don't own a 223 or 22-250, the smallest (ballistically) cartridge i can see using again in the future is the 7.62x39. the smallest in caliber would be a 6.5mm of some sort.

for caribou, i can't imagine having anything less than 7mm in my hands as it is a long drive to northern bc to find the nearest huntable caribou.
 
I was wondering about using a 223 or 22-250. My friend shot his deer this year with a 270 WSM and the exit hole was bigger than my fist, he also had alot of bloodshot meat and he is not to happy about it. He wants to go back to a 243 now for deer.
 
MiG25 said:
for caribou, i can't imagine having anything less than 7mm in my hands as it is a long drive to northern bc to find the nearest huntable caribou.
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So you base your minimum caliber on the distance you drive while hunting rather than dispatching game quickly and humanely?

I'll bet you meant something else entirely.....
 
joe-nwt said:
So you base your minimum caliber on the distance you drive while hunting rather than dispatching game quickly and humanely?

I'll bet you meant something else entirely.....
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you'd win that bet, when i am at home, i could easily see 10-50 meat deer by walking a mile from my house (maybe even without leaving the yard), lots of opportunity to take my time and pick my shot.

if i am driving 18 hours to go hunting, i am not going to be packing my coyote gun.
 
Seems to me this board is magnum crazy. There was a thread a while ago about the virtues of a .375 H&H mag. for deer. I was chastised for not agreeing with the rabble. I would go for a 6.5x55, 7x57, 308 or 30/06 which I don't think was even mentioned.
 
I voted 25-06, but realistically I've shot way too many deer with a 45 caliber muzzleloader to think that it takes much to kill a deer. Still, there is a big difference between shooting "A deer" and shooting "the deer" After sorting through hundreds of deer, I don't want to bring along any more limitations than is necessary when a decent one appears. Seldom will anyone see me with anything less than my 7 mm STW.
 
Win/64 said:
Seems to me this board is magnum crazy. There was a thread a while ago about the virtues of a .375 H&H mag. for deer. I was chastised for not agreeing with the rabble. I would go for a 6.5x55, 7x57, 308 or 30/06 which I don't think was even mentioned.
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But then again my elders in Nova Scotia used to use 22lr on Moose. Apparently they liked a frontal shot through the left eye (Winchester 67 single shot). Never really found out why just the left eye. My uncle once said they were left eye dominant. Go figure.
 
huntinstuff said:
an accurate 243 is lots. As a matter of fact, Im in the market for a bolt 243 right now. Good thread. Too many guys carry too much gun.
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And what? Kill the deer too dead?:p
 
joe-nwt said:
And what? Kill the deer too dead?:p
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Good question....I think the big gun affects the shooter more than it affects the game. Ive watched guys pay thousands to hunt moose and show up with a .375 H&H that they couldnt shoot worth sh*t. Had that guy brought his .243 or 25-06 or 6.5x55 etc etc, he would have done alot better.

I'm all for big boomers, if you can handle them. Most guys just can't. Whether it's due to recoil, weight, expensive ammo or whatever, most guys have trouble with a big gun.
 
joe-nwt said:
And what? Kill the deer too dead?:p
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no but u can destroy a lot of meat. i shot a caribou with 223 and i don't know if i missed the animal i was aiming for and hit this one or what but i hit it in the hip. the bullet hit one hip and shattered it the bullet kept going and hit the other one and stopped right there. the only piece of meat i could not eat was the piece around the shattered hip, if i had used a 270 or 30-06 most of both hind quarters would have been jello.
 
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