Author Topic: Minimum Deer Caliber (Read 5071 times)

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #30 on:** September 26, 2007, 04:00:27 AM »

to finish my post , ( operator error ) we could do well with most any high power rifle 243 or above . But the deer I see in Canada and in the Midwest maybe a 2506 or equal and above would make more sense ! if range was long maybe 7mm or 30 cal would be the smallest !

roscoe · « **Reply #31 on:** September 26, 2007, 03:27:22 PM »

Manitoba,Canada 243 Winchester

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #32 on:** September 27, 2007, 02:04:47 AM »

roscoe , nice deer ! i goose and duck hunt the marsh where THE END OF MAIN boat ramp is great place !

Davemuzz · « **Reply #33 on:** September 27, 2007, 02:38:29 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on September 27, 2007, 02:04:47 AM

roscoe , nice deer ! i goose and duck hunt the marsh where THE END OF MAIN boat ramp is great place !

Shootall......Goose & Duck....I watch the outdoor channel when I find something interesting on. However, every goose & duck hunting show I've ever watched is the same. They all go like this: Honk..Honk..HHHHOOOOONNNNKKKKK......QQQQUUUUUAAAAAKKKKK.....BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG.....Nice shooting Charlie. And then it starts all over again for the next 30 minutes. No real plot....kind of like watchin the movie of the Titantic. You know the ending.

Dave

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #34 on:** September 27, 2007, 11:06:17 AM »

i never watch um much either , but in Manitoba its a heck of alot of BANG BANG BANG !

Rummer · « **Reply #35 on:** September 27, 2007, 08:53:18 PM »

Most places where deer are hunted they are not all that big or hard to kill. There are lots of right answers to the deer cartridge question. So deer cartridges are as much about personal preference as anything else. I prefer to use .30 caliber and larger rifles. In fact the .338-06 and the .35 whelen are two of my favorites. If you don't have shoulder problems, your gun fits you and you are using a standard (not magnum) cartridge recoil should not be an issue. At the ranges I shoot deer trajectory isn't an issue either (my average shot is around 60 yards). Since the recoil and trajectory differences are insignificant for my purposes, I see no real advantage to a .243 over a .35 whelen. Not bad mouthing the .243, I just prefer to punch bigger holes in critters.

That being said I guess if I were to pick minimum caliber, my personal preference would be a bullet of at least 6mm in diameter. 6.5 would be better

I know that there are a lot of guys out there who successfully use centerfire .22's effectively, but I personally wouldn't. Not when there are so many other options better suited to the job at hand.

Rummer

James B · « **Reply #36 on:** September 27, 2007, 08:59:13 PM »

For me its 25 caliber

carpman1972 · « **Reply #37 on:** October 01, 2007, 04:04:21 PM »

Kentucky has no minimum caliber. But the cartridge must be a center fire cartridge. Doesn't matter what caliber you use, It's where you put the bullet that matters.

Spanky · « **Reply #38 on:** October 05, 2007, 08:38:43 AM »

Quote from: carpman1972 on October 01, 2007, 04:04:21 PM

Kentucky has no minimum caliber. But the cartridge must be a center fire cartridge. Doesn't matter what caliber you use, It's where you put the bullet that matters.

I'd agree with that statement all the way. I have shot deer with my .22 Hornet and had them drop. I am not recommending a Hornet for deer by any means but it does show that placement is more important.

Spanky

rockbilly · « **Reply #39 on:** October 13, 2007, 05:57:57 AM »

I wouldn't even estimate the number of deer I have killed with a .243, but it has averaged about 4-5 deer per year for the past 45 years. I shoot a mild hand load, 33grs of IMR3031, with a 100 gr bullet. It is mild, but very accurate in my gun.

I managed a large spread for many years, during that time I leased to hunters and saw just about every caliber from a .17 up. Many deer were taken with some of the smaller calibers, but more deer were lost with the calibers smaller than the .243 than I can count. After a period of several years where many deer were lost to the .22 class guns, I put a stop to using them, and set a .243 minimum limit, the number of deer lost was reduced significantly.

One point that was brought out in one of the above post, Caliber makes little difference if bullet placement is not in the correct place. I also found that a lot of people could hit the x ring on a regular basis when shooting from a bench, but when looking at a game animal they couldn't hit the side of the barn. That said, it is my opinion that caliber does make a difference in killing deer sized animals, A bad shot with a larger caliber will often allow for another shot, while the .22 class guns don't do enough damage to slow the animal down, it jumps the fence and is lost forever to the vultures..............

454Puma · « **Reply #40 on:** October 26, 2007, 11:45:40 AM »

woodchukhntr
Back awhile(20 +years) -NY where you could use rifle it was .25 caliber or bigger I grow up in Western NY we were slug/Buck only in Niagra Co. For me the .24 caliber should be a good min caliber to use!

ironglow · « **Reply #41 on:** October 28, 2007, 01:47:51 AM »

454;

The really curious thing is that while for years in the "rifle zones" of NY, .25 cal centerfire was the minimum...now, with the counties recently opened to rifle,
requirements are simply "centerfire".

Theoretically, a .17 rem or a .22 Hornet would be legal...perhaps not wise..but nonetheless, legal !

Even legislators that know nothing about a subject "legislate" on it ! ...go figure...

S_J_KENNELS · « **Reply #42 on:** October 30, 2007, 08:50:50 AM »

While I have not hunted any wheres else then south Texas I will say this. For this area IMHO the .243 is the best all round caliber for around here. I have shot more hogs then I can remember with it and it has never failed me come deer season out to my personal limit of 100-150 yards or less. Although my personal favorite guns are my .308, and second is the .270 as with these I can shoot longer ranges and drive tacks with them. IMHO it is not the size or caliber of the gun so much as can the person shoot it and not have any problems shooting it accurately??? SHOT PLACEMENT!!!! Good shot placement can not be acchived if the shooter is scared of the gun. Which in turn makes for bad shots and/or wounded game.

DakotaElkSlayer · « **Reply #43 on:** November 04, 2007, 07:54:20 PM »

Minimum caliber for deer? Depends on the shooter's ability.

Jim

skb2706 · « **Reply #44 on:** November 06, 2007, 09:01:41 AM »

What would possess anyone to seek the absolute minimum 'anything' for the job at hand. Why would you not want to know what works 'best' or 'better than marginal' or 'satisfactory'. ...why not use something above middle ground.

If you have 'low hanging goals' no doubt you will attain them -

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #45 on:** November 06, 2007, 09:46:14 AM »

now that's well put !

264 WIN MAG · « **Reply #46 on:** November 09, 2007, 02:54:26 AM »

You shouldn't ask men hunters these questions...ask women.

Women will tell you that "too much" is always okay, but "too little" just sucks.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #47 on:** November 09, 2007, 03:31:51 AM »

I don't disagree with most , but it is somewhat funny that we insist on certain min. for 120 lb or less deer and what is deemed unsuitable for deer is acceptable for human targets at 180 lbs. plus !: ie. 30 carbine , 223 and F&N 5.7 !
Oh well !

beemanbeme · « **Reply #48 on:** November 09, 2007, 05:37:03 AM »

Those weapons were intended to wound not kill. And the capacity to carry a lotsa ammo (much noise in a fire fight) in a small sack.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #49 on:** November 09, 2007, 09:14:36 AM »

That has been said many times by many people but never have i seen or anyone else i have talked to seen it written by any official that those weapons were made to not kill .
I find it odd that we would arm our entry teams with wound only weapons when a wounded opponent could kill you !
I find it hard to believe police would use a wound only weapon when they have no problem using ammo that can't be used in military operations because it works better !
I find it hard to believe that the Israelis would use the 30 carbine ( with Winchester hp ammo ) for years in the squads that were sent out to stop suicide bombers when death was the only way to stop them . maybe the fact that it is close in preformace to a 357 mag. was their reason .

PartsMan · « **Reply #50 on:** November 09, 2007, 09:45:48 AM »

I only have two problems with shooting a deer with my 223.
My 7mm-08 and 30/30.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #51 on:** November 09, 2007, 09:50:46 AM »

OH no didn't want to start that beat to death debate over !
just find it odd how people look at different uses for a gun !

264 WIN MAG · « **Reply #52 on:** November 09, 2007, 04:35:36 PM »

#1 Deer seem to be a little more resilient than humans. I don't know too many humans that would survive very long in the conditions a lot of these deer thrive in. Also I don't know too many humans that could take a bullet to the gut and run 3 miles with their organs dragging the ground.

#2 I don't know anyone who would try to shoot a deer with a full metal jacket. Most military rounds are full metal jackets. Mainly because they pass in and out. Sure they can kill you, they are essentially making a hole through organs and whatnot and letting what's on the inside out...that's not good. Basically...I don't think anyone is trying to say that "typical" military ammo can't kill, but I don't think it's really bent on maximum killing potential either. The way I look at it is if I shoot someone through the gut with a TSX they'll probably live for a couple of minutes before dying...the others can now run off. Now if I shoot someone in the same spot with a full metal jacket round it does enough damage to kill that person without a doubt, but it's more likely that his buddies will end up carrying him for miles before he eventually dies...so not only do I get the kill on guy #1, but I also get a chance at his now slower moving buddies who have to drag him along. Just my two cents...

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #53 on:** November 12, 2007, 02:41:10 AM »

may to the wounded guy , but who said ball ammo ?