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Since it's finally nice enough outside to take the guns out for a little range time, that got me thinking- what is your favorite deer rifle cartridge, and why?
I'll start. My favorite is the old .30-06. It is one of the better balanced cartridges out there. It is about a good 300 yard cartridge on deer, which is really every bit as much if not a little more than just about any hunter really can use. But it is not such a fire-breather that you have to worry much about a typical deer bullet turning into an explosive varmint bullet if you happen to shoot the deer at 20 feet instead of 200 yards. Recoil is about as much as most people can tolerate and still shoot well, which means that this is the most powerful cartridge throwing the largest, heaviest bullet with the most knockdown power to hit anything within most people's effective shooting range. You can buy ammunition for it everywhere ammunition is sold, and you can do so relatively inexpensively. Most rifles and just about every long-action rifle line is chambered for the .30-06. Reloading is not difficult and the .30-06 is considered to be one of the easiest cartridges to reload for that will fit in a box magazine as there is plenty of shoulder angle, the neck is >1 caliber in length, and there is no belt to mess with. Brass, bullets, and suitable powders abound. It may not be the softest-shooting, longest-range, or largest-caliber deer rifle out there, but it is very well balanced. That balance is why the cartridge is still one of the top two deer cartridges in the U.S. despite being 106 years old. Probably the only cartridges that can really rival the .30-06 are the .270, .280, .308, 8x57 IS and possibly the .338 Federal. All are excellent rounds and other than the 8x57 IS (which in the U.S. is nearly unheard of and factory ammunition is about as powerful as a hot .30-30 load) all are derived from the '06. Coincidence? I think not.
I'd have to say the .30-06 is my favorite. For the area I hunt, the terrain, the trees, the brush, etc... The .30-06 is the most versatile.
Another reason is that when a person goes hunting, they can't or won't carry 2 or 3 different rifles. If I could, I'd take my .270 Saako with me as a primary weapon and use the .30-06 only if I have to.
But over all, the .30-06 does everything I ask it to.
I like using a 300 winmag for most of my hunting these days. strong enough to take most things down with not alot of damage to the meat. I might have to try it on elk, caribou or moose one day in Wyoming or Montana. although I dont know what the hunting is like there yet.
After long years of hunting both big mulies in central British Columbia and the American west, and of lurking around in the foggy coastal forests stalking the wily Columbian blacktails, I'd probably go for one of the following 4, from smallest caliber on up. (Anything bigger &/or hotter is overkill IMHO)
1. 257 Roberts Ackley Imp
2. 6.5 X 55 Swede
3. 7-08
4. 7 X 57 (no Ackley version required...)
(I also very much like the much maligned and forgotten .358 Win, but even though it's not such a long distance champ, it's startlingly good on medium-to-close-in big deer, elk, bears, etc.)
In a good rifle, with <MoA accuracy and a high quality lo-power adjustable scope (a 1.75-6X Leupold with an illuminated reticle comes to mind...), plus a good rangefinder, I can easily hit and score a deer (or even an elk or 'bou...) out to ±400 yards.
Beyond that I'd probably test my stalking skills and just get closer! No 800 yd shots for me, nope. Too many variables there, incl. one's ego, which tends to fade away as we grow older and wiser.
So.. if I HAD to pick one? It would be the 6.5 X 55. And yet oddly, I don't have a rifle in that caliber! Hmmm. "Huuu-Neeeee! I need a little bit of spendin' money, n'Kay? Oh just take it out of "housekeeping", would you?
Probably the only cartridges that can really rival the .30-06 are the .270, .280, .308, 8x57 IS and possibly the .338 Federal. All are excellent rounds and other than the 8x57 IS
I also chamber custom rifles in the .338-06 Ackley Imp, which is just about the nicest non magnum but almost magnum performance mid-caliber cartridge. That one urges, for example, a 225 gr spire point out of a 26" bbl at around 2950 fps, and will thus stop even the biggest, baddest 6 pointer in his tracks all the way out to 400 yds easily!
But then, as I often tell newbie hunters, "The fun stops when you squeeze that trigger!". Whole lotta work to then commence!
Good, sane, and somewhat interesting choices! I suppose you guys must actually hunt and shoot a good bit as there are a lot of classics on this list and not much for Eargesplitten Loudenboomers.
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Originally Posted by rifleman
After long years of hunting both big mulies in central British Columbia and the American west, and of lurking around in the foggy coastal forests stalking the wily Columbian blacktails, I'd probably go for one of the following 4, from smallest caliber on up. (Anything bigger &/or hotter is overkill IMHO)
1. 257 Roberts Ackley Imp
2. 6.5 X 55 Swede
3. 7-08
4. 7 X 57 (no Ackley version required...)
Interesting choice of cartridges. The 6.5x55 sells pretty decently in Sakos and CZ 550s and its short-action ballistic twin the .260 Remington has some popularity as well. The 7mm-08 took a while to be appreciated but is selling like hotcakes, and I would be surprised if it isn't regarded as a classic in about 50 years. The other two are certainly classics but other than a limited run you rarely see them in new rifles in the U.S. There is a lot of overlap with existing cartridges going on, and people essentially decide they'll pick one and the rest languish in obscurity. I think most people just go with the .25-06 over the standard .257 Roberts+P as it performs better and fits in the same rifles. I'd bet your AIed version is likely within spitting distance of the .25-06. The 7x57 is immensely popular in Europe but has never caught on in the U.S. Its stock loadings are essentially duplicated in the short-action 7mm-08. The hotter loadings I am sure you are using are essentially equal to the .280 Remington. The .280 is an excellent cartridge but sells slowly as well, in no doubt due to the .270 being so wildly popular and having many decades and one Jack O'Connor's worth of head start. There is no standard short-action non-magnum .270 which is why the 7mm-08 likely sells so well.
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(I also very much like the much maligned and forgotten .358 Win, but even though it's not such a long distance champ, it's startlingly good on medium-to-close-in big deer, elk, bears, etc.)
Now there is a cartridge that is vastly under-appreciated. I went looking for one in a bolt and came up empty on many occasions. I know there is Gunbroker but I'd rather handle a firearm I will drop a bunch of bills on before I buy it. Very few non-magnum cartridges between .30 and .44 have done very well. The only one that anybody sees much of is the .35 Remington, and it sells very slowly compared to the .30-30. I suppose that people all think they need to shoot 300+ yards or <50 yards- there is no in-between where a medium-range medium-bore would be ideal. Someday I will rebarrel a nice rifle to .358 Winchester or if anybody makes a decent new bolt in it, I will snap it up pronto.
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So.. if I HAD to pick one? It would be the 6.5 X 55. And yet oddly, I don't have a rifle in that caliber! Hmmm. "Huuu-Neeeee! I need a little bit of spendin' money, n'Kay? Oh just take it out of "housekeeping", would you?
I mainly use the 308 Win and 270 Win but they are nearly identical in balistics. I lean toward the 308 if I want heavier bullets for heavier critters.
The 30 06 will do it all but I have left handed rifles in the above calibers and grew up a big Jack O'Conner fan
Don't have a deer rifle yet, but finally found someone that is willing to start teaching me about hunting. Gonna be complete overkill but I want a combination target/hunting rifle for giggles so I'll probably end up getting the Remington 700 5R in .308 with a Leupold 3-9x50 scope. (It'll be used for wild pigs/boars in TX, deer, and sometime maybe elk and antelope).
As soon as the wildfire here stops threatening the town where the fun store is, I'll probably order it and will post pics once I receive it.
300 Weatherby. Just by changing the load I can hunt every large North American game and some small ones.
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