Your choice of rifle caliber

[oldman45]

OK, What is your favorite caliber for White Tail deer? I have used everything from 30-30 to .270 to 7mm mag to .300 Weatherby.

I am thinking of this year using either .270 or 7mm mag since .300 seems a little much and I have a bad right shoulder and the 30-30 seems a little light in the event of a long shot being needed?

 

[Stu454]

If you've got a bad shoulder I wouldn't recommend a magnum, even a 7mm.

If you can't kill a whitetail with a .270 there's a problem.

 

[Raider]

A good rifle chambered in 7x57 Mauser. It's easy to shoot, accurate and deadly. Easy on the shoulder too.

Charlie

 

[Bullseye 2620]

This is a subject of some interest.

Here, where I live, shots are never more than 200 yards, and most occur within 25 to 50. (See the attached photo for a typical view on my farm.) As a result, lever action .30-30s have probably taken more whitetails in Virginia than any other rifle-cartridge combination.

However, there are times when I'd rather my Remington 700 VSSF in .270. Though legal here, I think the .243 isn't quite optimal, but a lot of people like this caliber. It just strikes me as a little too marginal if the shot isn't perfectly placed. I don't like having to chase through the brush and rhododendron thickets after wounded deer. The .270 overcomes that objection. And, it has the advantage of being pretty flat-shooting at the distances I am concerned with.

I agree with you that unless you're shooting whitetails at extreme distances, the 7 mm maggie and the .300 are too much. Elk in Montana, yes. Whitetails in Virginia, uh, probably more gun than is necessary.

My neighbor has an old rifle in .35 Whelen and he routinely gets his limit (and more ) with it. He's much better at fieldcraft than I am, which I guess is the point: the closer you can get, the less critical the caliber once you exceed the legal .243 threshold.

I plan on pressure canning a mess of venison this season. They are thick here this year. I saw three 12-pointers together a half mile from the house yesterday, and I've scouted out their path from where they bed down in a big pine thicket to their water source at a nearby creek.

Anyway, I wish you a bountiful whitetail season, regardless of the caliber you end up with.



Bullseye

 

[NFrameFred]

Well, after wading through and kicking aside piles of deer carcasses on the floors of hunting cabins, shooting range sheds, and sporting goods stores from all the expert passionate discussions about why "my caliber is the best and yours is a joke", all I can say is after 30+ years of hunting and dozens of eastern whitetails downed, what has worked best for me is the venerable .308 Winchester with 150 grain slugs in handloads and factory fodder. 99% have literally dropped "in their tracks", but I hunt with a bolt gun and am fastidious about taking my time and making a good heart/lung shot.

For variety another favorite of mine is a Remington 700 Classic in .35 Whelen (30'06 necked up to .35 cal). I know some like the term "over-kill" but dead is dead and you can't kill one any more dead with one caliber over another. But with 250 grain slugs in the Whelen it hits like a fly swatter and dumps them to the ground and because the bullets are generally made for heavier use than a whitetail, there really isn't much meat damage, especially compared to a 30'06 with 180 grain slugs - I've seen too many eastern whitetails "blown up" with that load. I'm sure some will disagree - to each his own. As I said, that is my personal experience. I've taken deer with everything from a .223, .357 mag, .41 mag, 7.62 X 39, 30'06, .35 Rem, 35 Whelen, and .308 to 45/70. They all work - some better than others. Shoot what you shoot best and most comfortably and my recommendation is for 30 caliber and above. The exception (which is so close it doesn't bear a lot of discussion) for me would be to add the 7mm'08 [ a little easier on the shoulder ].

YMMV

 

[kraigwy]

What's wrong with the 243, its great on muly's and they normally are a bit heavier then whitetails.

No recoil hardly, my wife broke her back and has three rods between her shoulder blade. She has no problems with the 243.

Its accurate, ammo is everywhere, re-loading is fairly easy and not as expensive as the 7 RM, and simular rounds.

 

[Jim Shugart]

.308 That is all.

 

[NFrameFred]

What's wrong with the 243

Nothing. Most of my prejudices against certain cartridges come from observing folks use them who shoot poorly . Not exactly fair, but it leaves an impression. I hunted with a couple of guys who thought the sun rose and set on a .243 and saw them both shoot and lose deer more than once. Also knew a clown over 30 years ago that thought his .30 carbine was an all purpose killer from anything from mice to moose . . . he shot five or six whitetails each year and usually brought home one . . . no excuse for such "hunters".

 

[41collector]

My favorite is the .257 Roberts. I have also used a .264 Win Mag and the .270. Neither of the 2 larger calibers has ever dispatched a white tail any better than the Roberts.

 

[buckeyeshooter1]

I have shot 129 deer with a .308 winchester and 16 with a 30-06. For me, .308 is the caliber to use.

 

[feralmerril]

This is like what is your favorite woods handgun thread. Most of the centerfire calibers will kill a deer dead. Its about what combination of action and caliber that seems best for you. I have something like 12 to 15 rifles in every action and many calibers. Everyone of them will do the job. Deads, dead! Last year as almost a afterthought I took a remington pump 760 with a peep sight in 30=06 to the range. I had inherited it from dad 7 years ago. Dad always hunted and killed his last nice buck with it at about 86 years old. I cut my teeth on pump 22s and 12 gauges so its really the most natural to me. The pump was accurate, fast handeling and light. Whats not to like? I have shot my most deer with a 94 winchester in 30-30 that I bought new as a 16 year old kid back in 1957.
For a bolt action I have them in 7x57, 270, .308, and .300 H&H mag and I have a browning auto in 30-06. I find the bolts and auto with scopes to be too heavy and ackward compared to my levers and pump. I also have a winchester model 88 in .308. I really like a ruger 77 I have in 7x57. That cartridge shoots different bullet weights and brands to the same POA for some reason!
Just go with the action that appeals, and a rifle that fits. Take it to the range and know where it hits at various didtances and thats the best rifle for you.

 

[keith44spl]

When I do have time to hunt game, I've one rifle for the lower 48...

pre-64 .300 Win. - Load 'er up, load her down. She's good to go.

Su Amigo,
Dave

 

[walnutred]

I think the most versatile rifle I ever owned was a 7x57 Ackley Improved with a 28" barrel. It worked on everything from groundhogs up and is still harvesting elk regularly in Montana. However the only centerfire rifle caliber that I've always had at least one of is 30-06. Boring, I know.

 

[Gutpile Charlie]

Any of the mentioned calibers would work fine. I've used .30-06, 6mm Rem (.243) and .270 on deer.

If I didn't have one, and was just buying a rifle for all around deer use, I'd have to go with the .308 Win. This cartridge is the "moral equivalent" of the .30-06 but just come in a slightly shorter package. If a .308 won't work...nothing will.

 

[Marksman]

I killed my first and biggest whitetail (254# field dressed) with a .308 handload, 180 gr. Hornady RN. My favorites now are .257 Roberts and .35 Whelen, the Whelen accounted for an 8 pt. buck in '08 with a .225 gr. Sierra BT spitzer handload. Both rifles are pre '64 Winchester M/70's, the .308 was a pre '64 Winchester M/88.

 

[NFrameFred]

I killed my first and biggest whitetail (254# field dressed)

Whitetail ? Sounds like you shot somebody's milk cow !

 

[Hermann]

.308 works for me

 

[Snapping Twig]

I use a 6.5-06, hard hitting, long range capable, lower recoil.

Eventually I'll get a .260 and a 7mm-08 as I believe they are more than capable of taking any deer under any circumstance and have flat shooting hard hitting characteristics.

 

[Erich]

6.5x55 here.

 

[66TAS]

30/30
308
25/06
250 Savage
30/06
44/40
In no particular order the calibers I have used with great success.