Rifle calibers and hunting

Every manufacturer has their own chart with their own guidelines depending on bullet weight and type for each category. For a newb shooter,it can be very confusing. The OP's .308Win is an awesome round as long as the bullet weight and type will cause maximum penetration and rapid expansion. I recommend 160gr. PSP and up for large North American game with accurate shot placement in the vitals to ensure a quick,clean kill.
 
What about 6.5 Creedmoor?

Where on the suitability chart would it be placed? Good for a deer? enough for a black bear? a moose?
 
SLToronto said:
What about 6.5 Creedmoor?

Where on the suitability chart would it be placed? Good for a deer? enough for a black bear? a moose?
Click to expand...

The Creedmoor is a Space-Age cartridge, loaded with a Max load of "pixie dust" and the amazing TSX it will kill anything on this planet... and a few other planets too...
 
What a useless chart. 308 with 180gr and up lead core controlled expanding bullets is where it's at. If you want one bullet for hunting everything, use a Nosler Partition. The front core comes apart for good tissue damage and the rear core ensures adequate penetration. A 308 actually has less chance of bullet failure than a higher velocity cartridge. You could also use a 180gr Hornady SST for deer and the same weight Interbond for moose/elk. They should shoot to near the same point of impact because they have an identical shape but you'll want to double check. The mono-metal bullets are not magic - they trade tissue damage for penetration and are not required for moose in medium velocity 30-cal cartridge. A high velocity 243 would want a mono-metal Barnes TTSX or similar for elk and moose sized critters. Penetration is more important than tissue damage and fragmentation but having both is ideal for a faster kill.
 
SLToronto said:
What about 6.5 Creedmoor?

Where on the suitability chart would it be placed? Good for a deer? enough for a black bear? a moose?
Click to expand...

A friend of mine dropped a whitetail buck in sept on opening day with a 6.5C, after seeing the wound it made I’d have no doubt it would work on a black bear. His deer was a 70-80 yard shot and it dropped like a stone.
 
there is nothing in canada that walks on land that I would not hesitate to hunt with a .308
perhaps I would not be comfortable using on polar bears, grizzly bears and bison..... but if I had to I would expect the animal to be dead at the end of it.
Bullet selection, shot placement and distance to target is pretty much the only considerations to make.

that said.... my go to rifle for pretty much everything is a 7mm rem mag ..... but I love the rifle itself (ruger m77 mkII walnut) not the caliber.... this one gets the job done extremely reliably
 
30.06 for anything Deer or larger.

My opinion is from 45 years of hunting and having owned almost every caliber on the chart.
 
45ACPKING said:
that said.... my go to rifle for pretty much everything is a 7mm rem mag ..... but I love the rifle itself (ruger m77 mkII walnut) not the caliber.... this one gets the job done extremely reliably
Click to expand...

This is one of the better - if not the best - points made in this thread. The platform is really important. If you have confidence in the rifle, dead is dead, and the target won't be around to argue. Calibre and bullet construction and weight are big factors, too, no question, but if you shoot well with one rifle over another, that pretty much silences the .270/.308/.30-06 debate.
 
MiniMe said:
I'm planing to start hunting next year and I was talking to a friend about suitable calibers for Moose and Deer. He is a hunter from Quebec.
I found a bit weird when he said my 308 was not suitable for moose unless at short range and for moose I'd need at least a 300winmag.
Click to expand...

He's out to lunch or has a severe case of magnumitis.

For ALASKAN moose, something bigger than .308 wouldn't be a horrible idea. For EASTERN moose, which is what you'll be hunting, .308 is more than enough at any reasonable hunting range. Moose die easy, easier than deer IME.

It's enough to make you wonder how all those moose were killed with .30-30s and .303s before they invented the .300 WM in the early 60s.
 
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