My Observations on Optimal Deer & Moose/Elk Rounds

D

Danny Boy

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
63   0   0
Location
GTA
I ran two polls in the recent weeks – The Optimal Rounds for Deer and Moose/Elk.

The most popular votes:

Deer (331 votes) - .308: 24%, .270: 21%, 30-06: 16%

Moose/Elk (237 votes) - .338: 27%, 30-06: 22%, 300WM: 18%

My observations:

o There are more deer hunters than moose/elk hunters almost at 3:2 ratio

o Most big game hunters are conservative, thinking a larger calibre is better. This observation contradicts those postings asking and supporting the 223 is enough gun for deer or 25-06 or .270 is enough gun for moose. I am surprised that .270 received a small number of votes for moose/elk.

o A significant numbers of hunters have voted for calibre larger than .338 in the “Others” category for moose/elk.

o With the newer design lead free bullets such as TSX there is a trend for hunters to use lighter bullets to gain speed. I suspect this trend will continue as other manufacturers such as Nosler E-Tip are being introduced. I would not be surprised that lead bullets will be banned in 10 years time.

o Without running a third poll on the most popular round for big games, I think 30-06 will win hands down as the best combo rifle.

I want to thank everyone for taking part in the polls.

Anyone care to offer other observations?
 
o5rx9v.jpg






:D:D:D:D:D
 
Don't talk about banning lead bullets. We got the lead out of the ground, and that's where it will eventually wind up again.
 
It doesn't surprise me about the larger calibers doing better. I voted for your two winners. While smaller calibers can perform perfectly well when the shooter does everything right in terms of bullet choice, shot placement etc, the larger calibers are more forgiving for shooters throwing around cheaper bullets with, say, marginal accuracy. Not ideal, but in real life, that's what often happens.
 
stubblejumper said:
It didn't finish first in either of the polls,so it didn't win anything.
Click to expand...


My observation reads: Without running a third poll on the most popular round for big games, I think 30-06 will win hands down as the best combo rifle.

I am not a 30-06 fan. Admitting 30-06 could be the winner is not an easy thing for me to do. :(
 
My take on this - cartridge doesn't matter - it's if the shooter is smart and competent enough to take a high percentage accurate shot every time as well as know his gun well, what's the issue with which cartridge selected?

I could do just as well with the 243 Winchester as with the 45-70 Government within the parameters I've just outlined.
 
John Spartan said:
My take on this - cartridge doesn't matter - it's if the shooter is smart and competent enough to take a high percentage accurate shot every time as well as know his gun well, what's the issue with which cartridge selected?

I could do just as well with the 243 Winchester as with the 45-70 Government within the parameters I've just outlined.
Click to expand...

Sage words like that have no place on GCN......;)
 
Danny Boy said:
My observation reads: Without running a third poll on the most popular round for big games, I think 30-06 will win hands down as the best combo rifle.

:(
Click to expand...

McDonalds hamburgers are the most popular hamburgers in the world, but I seriously doubt if they are considered the best hamburgers
 
John Spartan said:
My take on this - cartridge doesn't matter - it's if the shooter is smart and competent enough to take a high percentage accurate shot every time as well as know his gun well, what's the issue with which cartridge selected?

I could do just as well with the 243 Winchester as with the 45-70 Government within the parameters I've just outlined.
Click to expand...
I agree. I suspect that a lot of the voting was heavily influenced by the 'bigger is better' assumption, rather actual field experience. Recently, I've been surprised to encounter several fellows who have taken Whitetail and Mule deer in the 150 to 250 pound category with the lowly 38-40 at traditional velocities, and usually with 1-shot kills. This past fall, I took two bucks, each approximately 200 pounds in weight and each a 1-shot kill with a 30-30 shooting 150 grain cast bullets at around 2,100 fps, a combination that many fellows would think is anemic. I think what tends to happen is that there is a lot of exploration at the upper bounds of powerful guns but not a lot with the old traditional 'has-beens'. As a result, a lot of younger fellows don't realize that there are more cartridges that'll do the job with standard shot placement than you can shake a stick at.
 
A guy hunting Deer and Moose/Elk is no doubt well served by the 30-06....180grains at 2800fps works...What else could a guy ask for?

Well....The 300 Win mag is nothing more than a 30-06 with a bit more speed and versatility. I think it deserves an honest look

An Elk hunter might want more bullet weight than 180 grains. The 200gr bullet at 2950fps fits that bill nicely for the big guys!

Or...Maybe you want to go sheep hunting and want a real fast load...A 130gr TSX at 3500+fps would put any sheep within reasonable range up above the mantel.....Maybe 130grains is too light for your thinking? How about 165 grains at 3300fps?

Or hey, maybe you just want to shoot 180gr bullets?
Why not 3100fps rather than 2800?
Or...Maybe you hunt deer in the thick stuff and want a nice moderate load for the 180s?...(I do)!
55 grains of IMR 4320 gives me just over 2800fps and one hole accuracy.

Other than 180 grains at 2800fps the 30-06 can match none of the above....Not even close.

That friends, is versatility.
 
Favorite calibers are usually decided by where and who you hunt when you first started off hunting, no matter what age. I been hunting for over 22yrs, and when I first started out, the small group of guys I hunted with all had 30-30's, so when I was a teen, what did I buy ???? You guessed it a 30-30. I thought it was the cats azz lol Then I changed hunting groups, and got to try out a 308 and a 30-06, and loved the 308, and bought one of those soon after lol.

Hell, in all my 20 + yrs of hunting, no one I know in my are has or even talked about a 45/70, now thanks to CGN, there is one in the safe. The more I read and learn here on CGN, the more I realize there is more than just a 308, 30-06 and 30-30 out there which are great for hunting.
 
heavyBullet said:
Favorite calibers are usually decided by where and who you hunt when you first started off hunting, no matter what age. I been hunting for over 22yrs, and when I first started out, the small group of guys I hunted with all had 30-30's, so when I was a teen, what did I buy ???? You guessed it a 30-30. I thought it was the cats azz lol Then I changed hunting groups, and got to try out a 308 and a 30-06, and loved the 308, and bought one of those soon after lol.

Hell, in all my 20 + yrs of hunting, no one I know in my are has or even talked about a 45/70, now thanks to CGN, there is one in the safe. The more I read and learn here on CGN, the more I realize there is more than just a 308, 30-06 and 30-30 out there which are great for hunting.
Click to expand...

And you have alluded to another point - sometimes caliber choice is dictated by one's preference in firearm / action type, or vice versa. If one likes lever actions, then his caliber choice (excluding the new Marlin stuff) is probably secondary, to some extent. If one wants a 45/70 or 30-30, then he would probably end up with a lever action.
 
well i've got BOTH- BUT THE GUN IN MY SCABBARD is a 308 savage 99 loaded with 308/180's 2610 fps- i've got the 338 for BIG BEARS, and nothing else- i have no doubt the 308 would work on old griz as well, provided i had time to PLACE THE SHOT PROPERLY and could crank more than one in there if need be- my 338 is a semi-auto bar
for just that reason- 2 or more quick shots in a panic situation- while i know it can be used on moose or elk, i consider it a bit of overkill as i use 275 grain bullets.
 
wapitiwhacker said:
..... by the fact that they are left handed or left eye dominant. Unless you want a 270, 30-06. or 300WM finding the caliber of choice can take some looking for in a bolt rifle.
Click to expand...

i'm both left eye dominant and left handed- hence, i have a savage 99 in 308 and a bar in 338- but those are choices for speed , i wouldn't have a bolt in my situation- it's just plain clumsy-horseback, high mountains- but if you special order through a dealer, i'm sure most of the maunfacturers make at least one in 338 -
 
Win 38-55 said:
Don't talk about banning lead bullets. We got the lead out of the ground, and that's where it will eventually wind up again.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I think that the banning of lead bullets is inevitable. Somehow, the liberals have got everyone brainwashed into thinking that any amount of lead is bad; this is asinine, but this is the reality that we are soon to be faced with. There have even been many on this site that have had a total freak out when they realize that some of their lead bullet may still be left in the animal. Now, I don't know where they thought the weight went when the bullet started out as a 180gr bullet, and was recovered at 120grs (pixies maybe?), but it has to be somewhere in the animal. Lead paint was banned because a very small number of children where pulling large amounts off of the walls and eating it, over long periods of time, and "somehow" getting sick. By the way, the same people that want to ban everything lead are the same ones that will stuff their kids full of pop and chips to stop them from demanding things from them for just a few moments................ever thought about the unnatural chemicals in those things?
Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom