Best gun for deer hunting?

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I'm not big on buying guns that's serve no purpose. I would like to get back into deer hunting this season and was curious, since I already have 2 shotguns maybe I should get a rifle instead of a 12 gauge for deer. Growing up in ohio I always used a 12 gauge slug for deer, but in Kansas I figure since I'm able to use a rifle I might be better off with that.

I think a 30.06 is a little much for deer. What is a fairly common caliber that people use for deer?
 
Just because I like to disagree with Shawnee :neener:....

I am going to suggest a 270 Winchester.

I get to Kansas quite a bit for work... and there are lots of places to hunt with wide open spaces.

The chance for a long shot where the 243 might run out of legs is a possibility.
 
Kforkybuck-1.jpg

Its common for riflemen to claim it takes a long range bolt action rifle to down game on the open prairies. Yet archers and black powder hunters seem to make kill shots at fairly close distances. Why is this? Hunting skills and patience.

You can buy a good used Marlin 30-30 for less than $300. A good but not spendy scope can be purchased through cheaperthandirt.com; look at Bushnell and Simmons for affordable yet sturdy scopes.

New and improved ammo by Hornady puts the old 30-30 into the 225 yard zone. Those who say it ain't so are kidding themselves. 30-30 is a truley GREAT hutning cartridge that is easy to master due to moderate recoil and affordable ammo. This big heavy bodied muley toppled after one soft tip bullet was shot through the chest. My daughter took this buck at about 125 yards or so.

Good hunting to you.

TR
 
My standard recommendation for caliber for deer hunting is 270-30-06-308. The 30-06 is quite good and is not too much gun. The caliber also gives you some flexibility that some smaller calibers don't have should you want to hunt something larger.

A lot like the 243 win for deer hunting. I think they are a tad light, but they do the job usually. The usually part is why I switched to a Remington Model 700 BDL in 270 win. It is a great caliber for deer.

If I had to do it all over again, what would I choose? Remington Model 700 BDL in 270 win. :)
 
Great now I'm all kinds of confused. :D My solution....... .50 cal sniper rifle.:what:
 
I agree with the 50.

Then, if you don't already, you can start reloading and calm it down a bit.;)
 
I missed if you have any handguns or not, I will assume that you do. With that I would suggest a different option. Marlin makes some really nice lever actions in the .357 Mag caliber. That would give you a nice 200 yard range firearm in a pistol caliber that you might already have ammo for.

If that is not larger enough for you Marlin also makes the lever in .45-70 which is tried and true for ALL big game in North America.

The real bottom line is there is NO correct firearm, just the one that feels right to you. I would just as easily use a nice bolt action .257 Roberts, .25-06, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .30-06, or .300 Winchester Mag. All are dialed in for 200 to 500 yards depending on which one and where I am hunting. I also keep the Marlin lever actions available in both .357 Mag. and .45-70 for different game and heavy brush hunting. Each shooter here will give you the calibers that they like best for each type of hunting. My brother in law has taken many deer, caribou and a moose with .270 Winchester. Now shot placement is a whole other subject.
 
Every caliber listed here is great.If you decide on the smaller calibers,you will need to pay close attention to bullet types.
With proper bullets,all will do what your 12ga will,only a lot farther away.
 
"Great now I'm all kinds of confused."


LOLOLOL ! Well, that didn't take us long. :D:D


Fact is - there are several good deer calibers and there are many more calibers that are really meant for larger game but people use them on deer just because they already have them.

Great deer calibers are:

.243 Winchester
6mm Remington
.250 Savage
.257 Roberts
30/30 Winchester (subject to the 225yd. range limitation mentioned above)
.32 Winchester Special

Some not-so-thunderous larger calibers that enjoy very good reputation on deer are:

.25/06
6.5x55 Swedish Mauser
.270 Winchester
7x57 Mauser
7mm/08 Remington
.35 Remington ((subject to about a 250-300yd. range limitation)

Any .30 caliber (except the 30/30 Winchester) is laughable Overkill for deer.

HTH
:cool:
 
Go to Walmart. Look at the centerfire rifle cartridges behind the counter. Any one of them is a good deer round.

You cannot go wrong with a 270 or a 30-06. And ammo will be easy to find.
 
Pretty much what Shawnee said, +1.


Great deer calibers are:

.243 Winchester
6mm Remington
.250-3000 Savage
.257 Roberts
30/30 Winchester
.32 Winchester Special

Some not-so-thunderous larger calibers that enjoy very good reputation on deer are:

.25/06
6.5x55 Swedish Mauser
.260 Remington [added]
.270 Winchester
7x57 Mauser
7mm/08 Remington
.35 Remington
Click to expand...

I highlighted some of the "better" ones, in my opinion.

Also .44 magnum or .45 colt in a rifle, .300 Savage, .303 Brit, .30-40 Krag, .45-70 with light "level I" loadings, and 7.62x39mm with proper ammo are also good non-overkill choices, though a bit more on the stouter side of recoil than the bolded "preferred" choices. IIRC, the 2nd largest typical whitetail ever shot with a gun and recovered, and for awhile the largest, was killed with a .25-20 (neck shot), albeit with some tracking.

But killing a deer is 95% shot placement (hunter skill in the stalk, the shot, and anatomy knowledge - oh, and your rifle's accuracy & precision), 4.9% bullet selection (bullet construction needs to match the game's body type, ambient conditions, and velocity when it reaches the game), and 0.1% cartridge choice, once you get to .357 mag and above. So just throw a dart and pick a caliber. If you enjoy recoil, then get a .270 win or .30-06 (or heck, get a .300 maggie if you like recoil). If, like most people, you don't particularly enjoy extra noise & recoil, then go with one of our "lighter" recommendations.
 
Go to Walmart. Look at the centerfire rifle cartridges behind the counter. Any one of them is a good deer round.

You cannot go wrong with a 270 or a 30-06. And ammo will be easy to find.
 
All the suggestions you have gotten so far have been good. My personal favorite is the 270 win. There is not a lot of difference between the 270 and the 30-06, the 06 is probably just a little bit stouter. You can always lower your grains on the bullets if you are worried about to much gun on the 06 or the 270 for that matter.
 
Go to Walmart. Look at the centerfire rifle cartridges behind the counter. Any one of them is a good deer round.
Click to expand...
I agree, knock off the .223 or .22 hornet and you have plenty of good calibers: I would go with 30-30, 30-06, 270, .243. It really doesn't matter as longs as you can hit a paper plate at your target distance.


Any .30 caliber (except the 30/30 Winchester) is laughable Overkill for deer.
Click to expand...
I don't really agree with this statement because if the buck of a lifetime walks up, I want enough gun to put him down there and right there. That being said there are some BIG deer in Missouri, and I hunt with a 30-30 :D

PS, Shawnee, you don't own a .243 unless you bought one since you sold the old one :neener:

HB
 
I think a 30.06 is a little much for deer.
Click to expand...

Not really. .30-06 is NEVER a bad choice. Popularity of the caliber proves that if nothing else. I prefer the .308 only for the light weight short rifles it comes in. .270 Win, .260 Rem, .25-06, 7 rem mag, all good flat shooting rifles for open country. I could name a bazillion more that will work fine if I really wanted to type that much.

My 3 personal hunting rifles are in .257 Roberts, .308 Win, and 7mm Rem Mag. That covers all situations far as I'm concerned. Really, the .308 covers most any situation, what I like about it and why it's my go to rifle. I also like enough bullet to put down any hogzilla that might walk by that I might wanna take, but I really prefer 200 lbs and under hogs for eatin'.
 
i will have to say the 7mm08. very light recoil. i have kills on whitetail at 300yd with no problems. but if you want something a little bigger go with the 30 06 it will take any game in north america.
 
.308 win all the way.

zero it a 100 yards and you can shoot anything from 350 yards in.

also ammo is around $15 a box a wal-mart.

recoil is not bad all

i was a diehard 30 /30 fan untill i
bought my .308

still love my 30/30 's but carry 308 to woods now.
 
Personally I like the 12ga best unless you're going to be shooting out over 100 yards. If I had to pick a rifle it'd be a 30-06.
 
The 30-06 is too much for deer, just like the .223 is too little.

To the OP, what do YOU shoot best?
 
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