What is the smallest cartridge YOU would hunt whitetail deer with?
- Thread starter Target-Hunter-Reloader
- Start date
Killing many deer since 1970 with different guns & calibers ,,,,,,, the best is my BLR in .243 .
Killed big Sask. deer with this @ 200 yds. & always using 100 gr. bullets .
Never hit a deer with the .243 that didn't hit the ground & stay there.
Frank
Killed big Sask. deer with this @ 200 yds. & always using 100 gr. bullets .
Never hit a deer with the .243 that didn't hit the ground & stay there.
Frank
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
"Smallest" I'm comfortable with is the 243 ... although the 44-40 I used to use was effective but probably the "shortest" !
Have also used the 25-06, 30-30, 308 & 30-06 all to good effect.
The biggest ones I've used were a (Mod '71) 450 Alaskan & a 35 Whelen. My current favourite is the 257 Roberts.
Have also used the 25-06, 30-30, 308 & 30-06 all to good effect.
The biggest ones I've used were a (Mod '71) 450 Alaskan & a 35 Whelen. My current favourite is the 257 Roberts.
Considering the difference in velocities between the 'old' calibers (30-30, 25-35, etc.) and the 'new' calibers (non-blackpowder origin) I think a better criteria would be bullet weight. ie-what's the lightest bullet you'd hunt deer with?
Personally I prefer 150grain and up, so that'd put me in 27-30cal.
I mostly use a 165 grain in 30-06.
Hunting deer with a varmint caliber, be it old (25-35) or new makes me edgy.
Personally I prefer 150grain and up, so that'd put me in 27-30cal.
I mostly use a 165 grain in 30-06.
Hunting deer with a varmint caliber, be it old (25-35) or new makes me edgy.
I've dropped big moose bulls with a 100gr TSX pill from a .25-06 rem , so I'd have no qualms using the same on a whitetail deer. I know that their nervous systems reacts differently, but still, if it can reliably kill a moose (the largest of the deer family) , then it can do the same on a 200 lb deer.
I am no fan of .243 , but I guess that would be my MINIMUM in a pinch if I arrived at a camp without my ammo and someone had one of these as a spare to loan me..............
I am no fan of .243 , but I guess that would be my MINIMUM in a pinch if I arrived at a camp without my ammo and someone had one of these as a spare to loan me..............
Bigfoot 870
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
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In NS we are limited to .23 cal and larger, for big game.
I am a .270 Win guy, but was all set up with Federal Premium 60gr Nosler Partitions, for my .223 Rem, in the event the law changed. I was going to limit myself to 100 yards maximum distance and only take broadside or quartering away lung shots. Doesn't matter now, as I just sold my rifle and that ammo.
I see that some are confused between caliber and cartridge.
To answer the OP question, I say .243 Win, but it has it's limits, just like the rest.
In NS we are limited to .23 cal and larger, for big game.
I am a .270 Win guy, but was all set up with Federal Premium 60gr Nosler Partitions, for my .223 Rem, in the event the law changed. I was going to limit myself to 100 yards maximum distance and only take broadside or quartering away lung shots. Doesn't matter now, as I just sold my rifle and that ammo.
I see that some are confused between caliber and cartridge.
To answer the OP question, I say .243 Win, but it has it's limits, just like the rest.
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In centerfire rifles it's my 243 Win with 85 grain Sierra Gamekings.
My "blackpowder" Bambi rifle is a 38 cal sidelock shooting 93 grain roundballs.
But either are only used if I'm hunting from my bow stand and don't plan on shooting more than 50'ish yards (and have never had to shoot further than 30 yards in 4 decades of deer hunting).
My "blackpowder" Bambi rifle is a 38 cal sidelock shooting 93 grain roundballs.
But either are only used if I'm hunting from my bow stand and don't plan on shooting more than 50'ish yards (and have never had to shoot further than 30 yards in 4 decades of deer hunting).
The smallest rifle I have is a .243 Win and I've successfully taken a deer with it, so I guess that would be my minimum. If I were to acquire something in .22 cal then I wouldn't rule it out in a pinch, but there wouldn't be many reasons to use such a small rifle when I have a number of more suitable options available.
I think the first thing you need to do is figure out the minimum caliber required for your province and use that as a guide as the minimum. I would say nothing smaller then a .243 as your first moral rule as a hunter is to make a 1 shot clean kill on your animal.
Moral rule? Care to define that?
Having seen a significant number of big game shot with 22 cf's now, I would have to say that every one has been nothing short of spectacular when bullets meet flesh. I personally think that a quick death is really the only thing that should define what is acceptable for use. Having seen and used 45 caliber bullets on big game, and 45 GRAIN bullets on big game, disruption of vital organs should be first priority, not caliber. Choose an appropriate bullet, and put it in an appropriate place.....
Having seen a significant number of big game shot with 22 cf's now, I would have to say that every one has been nothing short of spectacular when bullets meet flesh. I personally think that a quick death is really the only thing that should define what is acceptable for use. Having seen and used 45 caliber bullets on big game, and 45 GRAIN bullets on big game, disruption of vital organs should be first priority, not caliber. Choose an appropriate bullet, and put it in an appropriate place.....
As in Nova Scotia. That said, many hunters use a .243. A great deer/coyote round. My go-to deer rounds are 45-70 for short range (up to 165 yrds.), 30-30 for short-medium range (100-200 yrds.), and .308 for medium to long range (200+). Terrain and vegetation determine what I'm going to hunt with on any given day. It all depends where I'm at.
Turkinator
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Onterrible
.177 wad cutters
