What state are you hunting in?
Are you stand hunting, driving, in a tree stand, stalking?
What would be your longest shot potential?
What resources do you have available for ammo?
How much experience do you have hunting?
How much shooting experience do you have?
What is your budget range?
Do you currently reload or plan to?
Have you been to any kind of hunter safety course? (assuming your new at it)
There really are so many good cartridges these days. I see guys on this board mention a cartridge every time i get on here that i've never heard of. It's important to have "enough" gun for whitetails, but shot placement has as much to do with hunting success as the rifle cartridge.
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If you decide you just don't like the weather in Oklahoma, then just wait a few minutes.
if i could only have one chambering for whitetail it would be one of these:
.243
.25-06
.270 win my personal favorite
7mm-08
.308 win my secound choice
.30-06
i would choose from these because my shots may often be short, but sometimes can be fairly long. where im going this year by myself, and with the bro in law, shots could be taken as far as one can shoot accuratly. that means th .30-30, .45-70, 20 and 12 gauges wont work for me.
when i go to deer camp, it will be with a rifle with no scope, as shots will be 100 yards max. ill use my rifles wearing open sights, in .308 or .223.
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the .270 win. its not called the .30-06 improved for nothing.
Was kind of joking... kinda I am experementing with reloading some Sierra 70gr soft points for white tail but i need to see if my 20 in 1in 9 twist barrel will stabilize it. On a more sereous note, I have used to great effect on deer
303 brit
7.7 Jap
7.62 russian both 39 and 54R
30-30
30-06
My favorite by far is the 30-06 I think its a great round.
if they wont stabalize, try the winchester 64 grain power point or the hornady 60 grain SP.
im useing the hornady. from what i can tell, that 64 grain power point is the bullet to beat for hunting deer with a .223.
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the .270 win. its not called the .30-06 improved for nothing.
.243
.257Roberts
.270Win
.280Rem
.308
.30-06(mine is a Remington 700 shooting Winchester Power-Point 150gr)
7mmRemMag
Are all going to be your run-of-the-mill cartridges and many will double for elk rifles including the .308, .30-06, .270 and 7mag.
In Wyoming and many other states the minimum cartridge is a .243 and I tend to believe in at least that to take down a Whitetail of any size. Also...boiler-room shots only. I don't want to start a thread war here...but take any Hunter's Safety class and they are going to tell you time and time again that behind the shoulder or if you absolutely must through the shoulder is your best shot. Neck and head shots are just too risky.
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The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun.
—Patrick Henry
Last edited by Archetype_wyo; 10-05-2010 at 04:17 PM.
It's all about shot placement and knowing your rifle. I have dropped several in their tracks with a 243. My dad dropped a nice nine point last year at around 350 yards with this rifle. However, the 243 is by no means a brush gun. As long as you have a good clear shot, like a field or power line, it's good to go. Twigs or even heavy rain will throw off a 243. And don't think I'm bragging on this round, I have had to track a few too, like I said, it's all about shot placement and knowing your rifle.
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All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent
It's all about shot placement and knowing your rifle. I have dropped several in their tracks with a 243. My dad dropped a nice nine point last year at around 350 yards with this rifle. However, the 243 is by no means a brush gun. As long as you have a good clear shot, like a field or power line, it's good to go. Twigs or even heavy rain will throw off a 243. And don't think I'm bragging on this round, I have had to track a few too, like I said, it's all about shot placement and knowing your rifle.
A high velocity bullet is deflected far less than a heavy bullet at low velocities.If the twig is flexible,blades of grass,rain are pushed aside by the air turbulence created by the bullet going through the atmosphere before the bullet ever gets there.A high velocity bullet creates a larger disturbance than a lower velocity bullet pushing very small twigs and rain drops aside much sooner than low velocity bullets.No bullet or even a baseball will ever be struck by a raindrop unless moving very slowly.The best demonstration is a spinning top.When at high rpm it deflects very little when it bumps something but when it slows down if it touches something it goes all over.The reason is at high rpm the atmosphere has little time to move building more force to hold the top upright.At lower rpm there isn't as much force allowing the top to be deflected more.
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Samuel
If you have to pick just one, the best one, it would be 7mm-08!
For all intensive purposes for availability of ammo and value... At smaller gun stores there is a good chance that there will be no ammo or if there is it's not the make/model/engine size that you need. Where the .243, .270, .30-06, and 7mag all will have your best choices for both cost of the rifle and cost of the ammo, .30-06 being the cheapest across the board.
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The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun.
—Patrick Henry
Of most of the calibers listed there is no right or wrong answer, I personally like the 280 Remington, but finding ammo for it could be a pain if you don't reload.
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