deer rifle cartridge suggstions please
- Thread starter boltman223
- Start date
Sorry about posting the recoil table twice. It's difficult to keep up with all the replies. The original post was 8/16/13 and the last response by the originator was on 9/22/13. 75 replies over 5 weeks for this guy to figure out what works for a deer rifle. There should be a way for the originator to prevent more responses once you get the info you want. I'm sure people will explain for another month or so what makes a good deer rifle. The recoil doesn't bruise or cause pain, it's the anticipation of an explosion 2 feet in front of your face in my opinion. I used to shoot small groups at 200 yds. with a 7mm Rem Magnum from a bench.
BigDMT
Cigarcop said:Love my little 20" 6.5x47L
Very nice hunting rifle. Love it
I'm starting to find that I like the compactness of shorter barrels. Most of my varmint rifles have 22" barrels for easier handling in a truck while shooting gophers and they are all dying just the same. Thinking about turning some of my hunting rifle barrels down to 20"-22" because it will make the rifles that much easier to handle in the mountains/woods and I know that with a well placed shot, deer and elk will be dead just the same as well
Hi everyone, I haven't made up my mind yet. Since I bought the model 7 I am going to wait to decide. I would like to try some different cartridges out before I do make my final decision. I have the ability to do the barrel work myself so I am going to try to find some take off barrels and see what I like.
It has been fun to read what people think and use. Thanks for the input. Who knows what kind of ideas I will get.
It has been fun to read what people think and use. Thanks for the input. Who knows what kind of ideas I will get.
XTR
F-TR obssessed shooting junkie
After 7 pages of responses I'll try to sum it all up: (like this wasn't predictable)
Something bigger than 223Rem and smaller than a 338 Lapua, and whatever I use is best.
Threads like this will always get the same responses. Pretty much every short action chambering you can imagine from 243 to 30 cal, with a few magnums and the 284Win thrown in for spice.
In the end anything you pick will work, and probably none of them will have killed as many deer as a 30-30. (my brother hunts with a 30-30 that I have him about 20 yrs ago and has killed way more deer than I)
In the end it's up to you. Deer are not hard to kill and everything mentioned here will work, the decision you have to make is which features do you want. A few extra FPS? Availability? Pure accuracy? Lapua Brass (can't for the life of me get this one but it is a consideration for some)?
A white tail has a vital zone that is about 10" in diamater. Anything out there should be able to hit that at 300 yards with pretty much any bullet. Probably with far greater accuracy than the person behind the trigger.
Personally I'm a fan of 308s and 7-08s because of the availability of components and choices in bullets and loads, but my muzzle loader does a damned fine job on deer too.
Something bigger than 223Rem and smaller than a 338 Lapua, and whatever I use is best.
Threads like this will always get the same responses. Pretty much every short action chambering you can imagine from 243 to 30 cal, with a few magnums and the 284Win thrown in for spice.
In the end anything you pick will work, and probably none of them will have killed as many deer as a 30-30. (my brother hunts with a 30-30 that I have him about 20 yrs ago and has killed way more deer than I)
In the end it's up to you. Deer are not hard to kill and everything mentioned here will work, the decision you have to make is which features do you want. A few extra FPS? Availability? Pure accuracy? Lapua Brass (can't for the life of me get this one but it is a consideration for some)?
A white tail has a vital zone that is about 10" in diamater. Anything out there should be able to hit that at 300 yards with pretty much any bullet. Probably with far greater accuracy than the person behind the trigger.
Personally I'm a fan of 308s and 7-08s because of the availability of components and choices in bullets and loads, but my muzzle loader does a damned fine job on deer too.
The .257 Roberts will be limited in length in a short action with longer bullets. The 250 Savage or even a .25 Souper would be a better choice in a short action. You can make Souper by necking down 260 Rem.
Either a 260 or a 243 would fit nicely. I have seen a lot of deer and bear killed with a 243 or 6MM Rem. Usually they are instant kills. That Sierra 85 grain HPBT in 243 is a killing bullet. Seen a 500 lb. black bear killed at 547 yards and the bear just fell flat. Never moved. This was with a 6MM REM.
DCRYDER
Silver $$ Contributor
Another vote for the 6.5 Creedmoor. I would never consider a case as long as a 6mm Rem, 257 Roberts, or .284 Win for a short action reciever. When loading vlds the 308 length cases are too long for my liking. I also don't deer hunt with any bullet smaller than a 6.5 and at least 130 grains. Sure a 85gr 243 bullet will kill a deer at 300yds, but every shot is not perfectly broadside and standing still. I feel much better with the extra ballistic coefficient, momentum, and penatration.
I would also recommend the 7-08.
I recently built a VZ24 Mauser action into a sporter with a military 7X57 barrel. The 7X57 is very similar to the 7-08.
I picked this cartridge as I was tired of my 30-06 recoil and I found the 7X57 will reliably kill any North American game.
I can load my 7X57 for my 13 year old grandson and the recoil doesn't bother him ( I have recently given him a sporterized 7X57 Spanish Mauser) and I can load heavily and still have mild recoil. I can load with 175 gn at lower velocity, 140 gn for high velocity or 162 gn A-MAX for exceptional ballistics.
I recently built a VZ24 Mauser action into a sporter with a military 7X57 barrel. The 7X57 is very similar to the 7-08.
I picked this cartridge as I was tired of my 30-06 recoil and I found the 7X57 will reliably kill any North American game.
I can load my 7X57 for my 13 year old grandson and the recoil doesn't bother him ( I have recently given him a sporterized 7X57 Spanish Mauser) and I can load heavily and still have mild recoil. I can load with 175 gn at lower velocity, 140 gn for high velocity or 162 gn A-MAX for exceptional ballistics.
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