Author Topic: Best Deer Cartridge (Read 2646 times)

skamaniac · « **on:** March 05, 2007, 09:45:46 AM »

In the market for a barrel to take to Wyoming Mule Deer hunting. How about some opinions?

Encore28 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 05, 2007, 03:04:36 PM »

I had my answer all ready BUT you threw a wrench in the work by mentioning Mule Deer!!!

My favorite Whitetail round is the .257 Roberts in an Encore BUT the possibility of long shots I would lean toward a 7mm Mag for distances over 200 yrds.
Just my 2 cents
Encore28

kudzu · « **Reply #2 on:** March 05, 2007, 04:15:50 PM »

WT= 25-06
Muley = 7mag

Guns4570 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 05, 2007, 04:49:30 PM »

For anything under 300 pounds, you cannot beat a 25-06 loaded with proper bullets. For mulies and antelope, my chamber has an Accubond or a Barnes TSX. Here is a Mulie at 225 yards last October.....Nosler Accubond pushed by RL22.

jason280 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 05, 2007, 05:48:28 PM »

.280 Remington, especially in a 26" tube. I have safely gotten over 3100fps with 140gr bullets, and a 150gr load at 3000fps would be excellent for mule deer out to 300 yards.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 06, 2007, 01:14:49 AM »

25-06, 7mm08, 270, 308 or 30-06

hunter5325 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 06, 2007, 03:05:51 AM »

I like the idea of a .270win in a 28" PH tube, but I feel confident with my 26" T/C in 25-06 out to 400ish with 100gr XLC's pushed by IMR4831 @ 3400fps. Brett

teddy12b · « **Reply #7 on:** March 06, 2007, 06:24:00 AM »

I've never shot a Muley, but the whitetails I've hit with my 30-06 encore sure didn't like it one bit.

Selmer · « **Reply #8 on:** March 06, 2007, 04:06:21 PM »

I have no trouble handling big mule deer with a .243 and 100 gr. Nosler Partitions, so if someone's favorite cartridge is the .257 Roberts, I think that would be perfect. I personally carry either a .243 with 100 PT's or a .30-06 with 165 Nosler BT's. Both hammer deer, for longer range (over 300 yds.) I'd use the .30-06, but I also dumped a 5x5 that dressed out at 215lbs. at 240 yds. and my brother-in-law dumped his littler 2x3 buddy at the same range, both with .243's and 100 gr. Partitions. Pick what you like and can shoot well, anything at .243 or higher power level and similar trajectory will kill a mule deer as dead as you want it, but if you shoot a lighter recoiling round better, use that one, you'll place your shots better. Shot placement trumps energy and bullet diameter EVERY time.
Selmer

azmike · « **Reply #9 on:** March 06, 2007, 05:39:07 PM »

Quote from: jason280 on March 05, 2007, 05:48:28 PM

.280 Remington, especially in a 26" tube. I have safely gotten over 3100fps with 140gr bullets, and a 150gr load at 3000fps would be excellent for mule deer out to 300 yards.

I agree, but a 270 would be just as good at the recieving end. I just prefer 7mms.

swampthing · « **Reply #10 on:** March 07, 2007, 01:09:14 AM »

Any 6.5mm cartridge of your choice. The 140g 6.5mm bullets are longer and sleeker than any 180g 30cal, or 160g 7mm, also kick a whole lot less than the others at similar velocities. With the smaller frontal area after expansion they penetrate more. A barnes TSX in this caliber is'nt necessary but would be nice on safari in Africa.

basdjs · « **Reply #11 on:** March 07, 2007, 06:26:23 PM »

Haven't hunted mule deer but i have shot a number of large whitetails. I've shot a large number of deer in the 125 to 220 pound range over the years with the .243 at ranges out to 250 yds., but I'm very careful with shot placement. None have gone more than 50 yds. When I switched over to the Encore 3 years ago, I switched to .260 Rem ( a 6.5 mm cartridge) and love it...great ballistics and cross-sectional density and a lot more punch than the .243 at very similar recoil (with a Simms pad). I strongly agree with Selmer that shooting a lighter recoiling rifle results in better shot placement. 7mm-08, .257, and .270's are also good choices as others have stated. Nothing bigger than those are necessary if you focus on a good clean shot. I've hunted with several guys over the years that insist on shooting everything from '06's to magnums...all have lost deer due to poor or ineffective hits because they get pounded by their own guns.

Selmer · « **Reply #12 on:** March 08, 2007, 03:08:36 AM »

Yep, what he said. My M70 Classic FWT in .30-06 is the most I like to shoot in the recoil department and I'm a larger guy. If I ever purchased anything bigger than that it would probably have a brake on it. I did load development for a friend that HAD to have a .338/.378 Wby for shooting whitetails and "dropping them in their tracks." It has an excellent brake on it and brought the recoil down to about my .308 with stout 150 gr. loads. The only shot he can get them do drop with instantly is either the CNS shot or a gut shot with 180 gr. Ballistic Tips (he's loading his own now, I wouldn't load BT's in that monster for him.) He tried shooting it without the brake once at deer, notice I said once. After that he went back to the brake. He was pretty ticked off when he watched a 100 gr. Partition out of my .243 cause a 2x3 muley to rear up and fall over dead at 250 yds., I took the top out of the heart and that was the result. He says, "Why won't my .338/.378 do that?" I say, "It will, just practice and don't be scared of the recoil." (or actually in this case, the muzzle blast!) He still insists on using it for deer and has obviously killed them, but no deader than my .243 or .30-06 with a bullet in the right place.
Selmer
BTW, I also gave him first shot on a buck at 427 yds. (paced after the kill). He missed, the deer was confused about the source of the shot, and a 165gr. BT from my .30-06 dropped him within 30 yds. of where he stood on impact, it's ALL in shot placement.

skamaniac · « **Reply #13 on:** March 08, 2007, 05:22:03 AM »

I whitetail hunt in michigan with a Win Mod 70 in a 30.06 and a Win Mod 94 30/30. These are only two centerfires i own. I have six muzzleloaders including a .50 Encore barrel. I'd like to get a centerfire barrel for my frame. I know my 30.06 will do everything i need to do but i was thinking something a little more recoil friendly for the Encore. With that in mind, i think i'm narrowing it down to the 7mm-08, 25.06 or .243 or ?. What i'm trying to accomplish is a round zeroed at 200 yds that shoots flat enough that i don't have to take my crosshairs off hair at 300 and under perfect conditions 350-400with enough punch to hammer them without getting the snot kicked out of me with the Encore. I recently put Flex-tech stock on with the Limbsaver pad so that will help some. I shoot alot but am limited to 150 yds. I found a range not tooooo far away that has a 300 yd range so i will be able to practice since the weather is suppose to break this coming week.

Selmer · « **Reply #14 on:** March 08, 2007, 05:29:06 AM »

The .30-06 will handle that nicely, but maybe more recoil than you want. The .25-06 fans will tell you to look no further, and the 7mm-08 fans will say the same. Personally, I'd go with the 7mm-08, .260, or .257 Roberts. Have fun!
Selmer

Wyoming · « **Reply #15 on:** June 02, 2007, 07:46:35 PM »

What barrels do you own now? You may already have one that will do. Mule deer are not that hard to kill if you can shoot and hunt. If you can't shoot and don't know how to hunt then it doesn't matter what you bring. You always hear about long shots but the average hunter can't hit past 300 yards under field conditions. I have yet to meet anyone that can accurately judge range past 300 yards. a 30-06 class round shoot flat enough to keep the cross-hair on an animal to 300 yards sighted in at 200 yards. The bullet will drop 2 feet to 400 and 4 feet to 500. That is where hunting comes in, get closer. For years I used a Remington Left Hand 700 in 30-06 with a 3x9 power scope set on 3X. If the deer or antelope looked too small at three power than it was too far. Think about it, you should be able to pick your spot and hit a deer at 100 yards with a one power scope or the same as iron sights. A scope set at three you should be able to hit at 300 yards. As shooters we like to talk and read about big guns that shoot fast but a 308 Winchester is all you will ever need in the lower 48 if you can shoot and hunt. I still have my Remington 700 LH 30-06 and will never sell it but it has been a safe queen for years. I stopped using it out of boredom. I bought it in the early 70's when I lived in Ohio. I used it in West Virgina and Michigan on whitetails then came to Wyoming in 1980 and used it for another decade. At the time there weren't many left hand rifles so I used that one on everything including varmint. Since then I used everything from 44 mag revolver to single shots rifles. Most mule deer are shot under 200 yards here in the west contrary to what you may have heard in gun magazines. They couldn't sell issues if they didn't have new and latest gear. I think they do a disservice to experience hunters that own and can handle their standard rifles thinking that if they only buy a better gun that will make a difference. What's better? a hunter that can hit a paper plate at 200 yards off hand with his or hers 308. That same hunter then buys a new 300 mag because he is told he needs to and then has trouble hitting the same paper plate at 100 yards. Year ago I had a freind come out here that was a shooting buddy of mine. He had hunted deer in PA but never shot a big game animal but I new he could shoot. He shot his antelope at 90 yards with a 243 and his mule deer with a 308 at 45 yards !! I could buy me a 7mm RUM or a 300 RUM (those are fast and flat) and shoot farther but I never felt the need to. That is what this is all about - what you really need to hunt.

Wyoming

Chuck White · « **Reply #16 on:** June 03, 2007, 02:10:33 AM »

I prefer 7mm-anything.

I'd like to see how my Pro Hunter in 280 Rem with it's 28 inch barrel would perform on the long-range muleys.
I'm going to give it a try this fall on the whitetails here.

JGREG · « **Reply #17 on:** June 03, 2007, 08:07:12 AM »

300 wsm winchester 180 grain soft point less recoil than my old 270 with better ballistics knock down muzzle velocity etc.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #18 on:** June 03, 2007, 08:34:19 AM »

im a little old school so you can throw all the mags out of the chase especially the short mags which to me were nothing more then a gimmic the gunmakers invented to sell a few more rifles. My favorite longer range deer rounds are the 257 roberts the 2506 and the 280 but a 270 or 06 would serve you just as well.

poncaguy · « **Reply #19 on:** June 05, 2007, 03:47:56 PM »

I'm old school too, but I do love my 270WSM and 300WSM..........but I have 204,223,22-250,243, 260, 25-06,270,7mm-08,280,308, 35 Whelen and 45-70.

Capt Gary · « **Reply #20 on:** June 06, 2007, 11:43:39 AM »

A good 30/06 barrel will do it all.
I have lots of other calibers, but when it comes time to go hunting I almost always reach for an /06.
Load a good 165 gr. bullet.....learn to shoot it and never look back.

californiahunter93 · « **Reply #21 on:** June 21, 2007, 04:34:35 PM »

A good accurate deer caliber I like is the 6.5-284 but not much factory ammo is available. Other good flat shooting calibers are the 270, 7mm rem mag, and the 300win mag the 30-06 is good but has more drop. I would go with the 7mm mag out of the above.

poncaguy · « **Reply #22 on:** June 22, 2007, 03:52:19 PM »

For deer, a 270 or 7-08 is just about perfect.................nothing bigger needed.

nomosendero · « **Reply #23 on:** June 22, 2007, 06:05:43 PM »

I have taken Mule Deer, Whitetails & Antelope with 25-06 through 300WM. I like the bigger ones like the 300 if Elk are also involved,
not saying you need it, just what I like. But for Deer sized game, the 25-06 with the proper bullets has never been lacking from up close to a little over 400 yards in my own experience, not keyboard theories. I have seen some of the quickest kills with that round.

kudzu · « **Reply #24 on:** June 22, 2007, 06:57:22 PM »

Nomo, I would have never guessed you would have voted for the 25-06.LOL

DM

PS-hope u r doing well, still in my thoughts and prayers

nomosendero · « **Reply #25 on:** June 23, 2007, 03:12:55 AM »

Quote from: dancoman on June 22, 2007, 06:57:22 PM

Nomo, I would have never guessed you would have voted for the 25-06.LOL

DM

PS-hope u r doing well, still in my thoughts and prayers

Thanks for the kind words, things are better.