best type of caliber

[deerhunter1362]

what is the best type of caliber for whitetail deer...I wont to get the gun in a browning A-bolt

[scoutinlife]

My Choice would be either the 30-06 springfield or the 7mm-08 ! ;)

[mj1angier]

Alot will depend on the area that you hunt. Is it long, clear fields or thick bottoms? If you a re going to try for only 1 gun to handle both you need something that comes with a lot of diffrent loads. 30-06, .308 would be on my short list. If most shots were less than 100 yds or in thick stuff I would go with a 30-30.

[RangerRick]

My choice would be a 270, however if you have any intentions of moving up to elk I'd go with a 7mm mag as you can load it from 100 grain to 175 grain bullets and it is just as flat shooting as the 270 but packs a much better punch, especially at 3-400 yds.
Ranger Rick

[Archangel]

In the south 22-250, 223, 243, 270 all are good, I use a 243 ;D :) ;D Just my 2 cents Michael

[Booker]

I took 2 nice size does with a old Yugo SKS
7.62 x 39 worked just fine.

[Toad_Sticker]

Alot will depend on the area that you hunt. Is it long, clear fields or thick bottoms? If you a re going to try for only 1 gun to handle both you need something that comes with a lot of diffrent loads. 30-06, .308 would be on my short list. If most shots were less than 100 yds or in thick stuff I would go with a 30-30.
+1
except I would use the 06 or .308 in the brush as well.
I took my first elk with a .308.
TS

[DM]

I've said this many times before, and i'll say it again. The 30-06 is probable the finest "all around" big game cartridge ever designed.

I also think that the 7-08 is probable as close to being a perfect whitetail deer cartridge as you can get.

Both need the proper weight and style of bullet for the animial hunted to get the best out of them...

DM

[HPshooter]

.30-06

.30-06

.30-06

You can buy ammo for it anywhere in the world.
You can buy reloading components for it anywhere any reloading components are sold.
There are probably more and more varied loads for the .30-06 than any other round in the world.
There are still huge amounts of military surplus ammo available in this caliber. Some of it is sealed in age-proof containers.

The only two down sides are the recoil and the amount of powder they burn, but even that can be adjusted in reloading. If you really wanted to skimp you could put in half the necessary powder and still beat the ballistics on a 30-30.

(I'm KIDDING! ;D Don't even think of reloading as I described!)

[Uncle_Alvah]

The 30-06 is probable the finest "all around" big game cartridge ever designed.


A great round no doubt, but these days, it's advantages over the .308 are just about nill. Ammo might be a bit more common, but thats about all.

[Farmer]

Look around and see if you can find an older Browning Mauser action. You can find just about any chambering, but I'd concentrate on .270 or 7mm Rem Mag.

The Mauser action is just about the do all and be all of rifle actions IMO.

I just picked one up in 7mm Rem Mag for $895 with a Leupold 3x9 scope. It's Belgian, built in 1968.

It's a twin to my brother's. A few weeks ago he got a deer with his - neck shot from the back. Broke the neck and flipped the deer over. That'll do!

[junegypsy]

Reckon you have already bought rifle, but 270-280-7mm08 or 260 is plenty good. I use a 6.5x55 for all big game in North America!

[STRIKER]

The 30-06 can be loaded w/ so many different loads that I can't pass it by.

From medium game to large game to sniper duty it will perform adequetly in most areas and superbly in others.

It's like owning six different hi-powers. That's my two cents worth.

[RangerRick]

On second consideration I would make it the same cal as my Battle Rifle if at all possible. In a SHTF world this only makes common sence and the deer won't know the difference.

Rick

[deerjackie]

25 06

[hunter63]

My favorite is the 7 mm Mag, load up for elk (180 gr), down for antelope (.130 ga), for white tails and mulies, factory (150 gr).
Ballistics almost identical to the .270, but has more down range energy.
Stuff falls down and stays down.

[OzarksJohn]

Howdy.

.30/06, .30/30, .270. get a rifle or two set up for these and THEN entertain other abberations in cartridges. Last I looked, .30/30, .270, and .30/06 were the only centerfire "deer rifle" cartridges that big stores consistently used as a loss leader. When those three cartridges are about half and in some cases less than half the price of some of the other popular rounds you will feel the difference in your pocket real fast. For what it's worth; There were some instances of .30/30 ammo being on sale last fall for about 8.00 a box with a $5.00 rebate coupon available. On the other side of the spectrum, I saw 7mm Remington magnum and .300 Winchester Magnum at nearly $23.00 a box for plain old CoreLokt. It took the rebate coupon to get it down to only about $4.00 a box over the shelf price of .30/06 and .270 for similar loads. OzarksJohn