Best Deer Hunting Round, LOL!

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Before I give my answer I'll have to review what it takes to be the best all-around deer cartridge.

1. Accurate out to 300 yards
2. Easy to shoot
3. Handloading is not required
4. Good selection of bullet types and weights
5. Fast handling
6. from 0-300 yards the deer travels no more than 10 yards after being shot in the chest (90% of the time)

All of the cartridges listed or mentioned in this thread will meet items 1 thru 5 but its items 6 that separates the champ from the contenders. The small, lightweight, fast-moving rounds regularly produce DRT results at 200-300 yards but fail to produce the same DRT results. The 6.5s thru 300WM are all great rounds and have put countless deer in the freezer but they also struggle with item 6. So is their a mythical cartridge that meets all six of my items, why yes there is, it's my favorite cartridge of all time the 35 Whelen

@Art Lambart II
I was wondering when the Whelen would get a mention. Loaded with 225grain accubonds and woodleigh projectiles at 2900 fps it would be great but I find my 25 Epps Newton improved usually gives dry every time.
I'm also surprised the 257 weatherby didn't get a look in.
Bob

 

[Nyati]

@Nyati.
Why not get a 25/06 and have all bases covered from r pie to red and with the right projectiles even Sambar deer.
Bob

I have used a 25-06 in Africa with full satisfaction, however, that caliber is unknown in Spain, and I would say most of Europe.

 

[Von S.]

As I am an eater of meat , not wanting to waste any I want to take all reasonable shots at the head or the neck.

It appears to me that very many people here seem to resist the idea of taking those kinds of shots and some of them appear to have the same objections and say that they in number say that they have seen numerous deer starving to death because the bottom jaw has been shot off. Many will say that they are shooter of 5, 6. And 7 inch five shot groups at distances up to 1000 yards with their hunting rifles, yet won't take a 50 yard head or neck.

As a kid back in the 50s my uncle gave me an absolutely pristine Winchester lever gun and an entire wooden case of bullets. The rifle is still pristine though there is some of those old bullets left. Quite a few found their way into deer skulls with some never leaving.

In the few years that I used it I got great job at a real gun shop and was liked well enough to havi g been given a Jap 6.5 sniper rifle with enough war ammo to go out west and take up prairie dog slaughtering Wow I thought.... it's even got a scope. Unfortunately you couldn't beg a 6.5 jap softpoint back then and damned few would even ad it to holding one.

Opening morning I took out 4 deer with headshots on deer that weren't 100 yards away nor did they weigh more than 100 pounds either. ( we were prodded into filling g all tags with quite a few adults too drunk from the previous days activities and the only deer thet could possibly kill would be if they ran one over after they got dressed in the red and black fancy hunting clothes going to the bar by 1030 am to get a good seat for lunch)

All the rounds on the list are just fi e for deer shot I. The head and the beauty is you don't ever have to chase them

 

[Cam Moon]

I've head shot plenty! (I'm also a meat hunter)
I think a lot of the stories about the deer with the jaw shot off and starving to death are "I have a friend of my cousin's who's neighbour's best friend's uncle saw.... "
That, or the people who saw these deer are also the ones who saw Bigfoot.

 

[BeeMaa]

Surprising results so far...

As of right now 30-06 and OTHER are tied at 23% with 17 votes each.

Biggest surprise for me is 0 votes for 30-30.
Supposedly one of the most "common" deer calibers.
Although "common" for AH members is more like 458LOTT for deer.

 

[Dwight Beagle]

the 6.5 creedmoor is a 0 - 300 yd deer cartridge, not a 400 - 1000 .
it is a good 1000 yd target round though.
bruce.

I believe the 6.5 Creedmoor/6.5x55 is good out to probably 500 yards for deer, at least Texas deer.

Curious:

Then why do I see and hear about guys using the 6.5 Creedmore to shoot mule and white tail deer, and antelope out west, (predominantly Texas, Montana, Wyoming), at ranges out to 1000+ yards?

I don't remember the caliber, show (title might have been long range hunter or something similar) (the show is/was on one of the 3 hunting channels my buddy watches when I visit), or western state they were hunting in, so I can't give any definitive details. If I recall correctly the guy made somewhere around a 1200 yard shot on a deer.

(Putting it nicely) My hunting buddy and I both questioned the ethics of why take/attempt such a long shot and how is this considered hunting. To each their own way when it comes to hunting, as long as the hunt is done legally.

I’ve been hunting deer in Texas my whole life, bagged my first deer in 1970. I don’t know a single person who’s shot a deer in Texas at 600 yards, much less 1,000 yards. Not anyone I’d believe anyway. My longest shot was around 325-350 yards, the vast majority of my shots at deer have been under 200. Under 350 yards is all I feel competent to take. I only know one person that takes even 500 yard shots, he’s my closest neighbor. He is a brilliant shot though and the only person I know that I feel is qualified to take shots of that magnitude. Not saying there aren’t a host of other people qualified, I just don’t know any of them.

I have friends and family with deer stands 50 yards or so from their feeders. I have not been able to summon up the energy to hunt white-tails that way for many years. I don’t really have anything against it but it’s not my cup of tea. If I were subsistence hunting that would be a different story.

 

[YancyW]

I went to Mizzou!

Me three...

 

[curtism1234]

As to the 25-06, I think the lack of apprecation is due to the long action and the heavy weight that can come with it. If you are going to carry a 8.5+ pound setup, there is no reason why you couldn't shoot the 270.

Lightweight rifles are another matter. A 270 could be a little uncomfortable for some. I could see the 25-06 be appealing, particularly in open plains. That tends to be its bread and butter.

 

[1dirthawker]

the perfect deer rifle:

is between 25-30 caliber, shoots a bullet between 120-180 grains and has a velocity between 2500-3000 fps. those parameters will kill any deer that ever walked, specific cartridge is not so important, depends on lots of things, cover, distance, etc.

 

[bruce moulds]

some might remember the old ruger 44 mag semi auto.
it looked like a ruger 10/22, and had a 4 shot tube mag.
i can see some applications for such a rifle.
but then there are other applications suited to a 7mm stw.
bruce.

 

[Ridge Runner]

some might remember the old ruger 44 mag semi auto.
it looked like a ruger 10/22, and had a 4 shot tube mag.
i can see some applications for such a rifle.
but then there are other applications suited to a 7mm stw.
bruce.

I use to have one of those Ruger 44 semi auto rifles when I was stationed at Fort Bragg. A great gun for hunting the small deer and feral hogs in that area. The short barreled rifle was similar to a long barreled pistol, using snake/bird shot it also made a good snake gun when fishing, especially the Cape Fear river.

 

[Alistair]

The best deer cartridge you say?

 

[Forrest Halley]

Surprising results so far...

As of right now 30-06 and OTHER are tied at 23% with 17 votes each.

Biggest surprise for me is 0 votes for 30-30.
Supposedly one of the most "common" deer calibers.
Although "common" for AH members is more like 458LOTT for deer.

I think the Lott is a great deer round. Just about any bullet you run will kill them. Just think all the other deer will come running in to find out what the heck that loud noise was. Meat damage might be a slight issue...running a 300 grain bullet absolutely flat out.

 

[njc110381]

My favourite deer caliber for here in the UK is the 6.5x55, very little recoil, inherently accurate, very little meat damage on the smaller species but fantastic performance on the bigger species.

I was going to say exactly that. I've had lots of deer calibre rifles over the years but none have impressed me as much as the Swede. A 140gr 6.5 bullet has a SD of .305 - it'll pass right through a deer but at a velocity that doesn't bruise the meat too badly.

I don't like fast rounds for deer. I don't generally shoot over 300 yards at anything living and under that the faster rounds make a mess. If it's doing over about 2800fps it's excessive.

 

[BigSteve57]

Surprising results so far...

As of right now 30-06 and OTHER are tied at 23% with 17 votes each.

Biggest surprise for me is 0 votes for 30-30.
Supposedly one of the most "common" deer calibers.
Although "common" for AH members is more like 458LOTT for deer.

My brother in law always used his marlin 30-30. Nothing wrong with it at all for deer. I always used a 30-06 with Remington 180 gr pointed soft point core lokt (PSPCL)for the bullet. My wife uses .243 Win using Remington 100gr PSPCL. I like the bullet because it seems to do the right thing when it hits bone or soft tissue. Nowadays, after hunting bigger game with my 30-06 I'd say 30-06 is the most I would need for Whitetail in the US Eastern woodlands. The '06 is a lot more capable than I would have thought.

So why did I get a 30-06 for whitetail deer? Well, because back in 1980 when I started hunting (and incidentally also the year I met my bride) that's what my father in law used and he said it WAS THE BEST CARTRIDGE FOR DEER. I've been using it ever since.

 

[Ridge Runner]

My brother in law always used his marlin 30-30. Nothing wrong with it at all for deer. I always used a 30-06 with Remington 180 gr pointed soft point core lokt (PSPCL)for the bullet. My wife uses .243 Win using Remington 100gr PSPCL. I like the bullet because it seems to do the right thing when it hits bone or soft tissue. Nowadays, after hunting bigger game with my 30-06 I'd say 30-06 is the most I would need for Whitetail in the US Eastern woodlands. The '06 is a lot more capable than I would have thought.

So why did I get a 30-06 for whitetail deer? Well, because back in 1980 when I started hunting (and incidentally also the year I met my bride) that's what my father in law used and he said it WAS THE BEST CARTRIDGE FOR DEER. I've been using it ever since.

IMO. If a choice of keeping 1 caliber for North America and doing away with all the other calibers the 30-06 would be my choice.

The 30-06 is the most versatile caliber on the North American continent. It can be topped with a 110 grain bullet for varmints or beefed up to a 220 grain for the big/heavy animals.

For those that want to stir the pot.

The 7mm Rem Mag, 270, 308 are also good calibers.

The 308 can be loaded with virtually the same bullets as the 30-06. However, a 30-06 can be loaded down to a 308, but a 308 can't safely be loaded up to a 30-06.

The 7mm and 270 are better at longer ranges; maybe not so good shooting in dense brush that can more easily deflect the faster, lighter bullets.

 

[Cam Moon]

My brother in law always used his marlin 30-30. Nothing wrong with it at all for deer. I always used a 30-06 with Remington 180 gr pointed soft point core lokt (PSPCL)for the bullet. My wife uses .243 Win using Remington 100gr PSPCL. I like the bullet because it seems to do the right thing when it hits bone or soft tissue. Nowadays, after hunting bigger game with my 30-06 I'd say 30-06 is the most I would need for Whitetail in the US Eastern woodlands. The '06 is a lot more capable than I would have thought.

So why did I get a 30-06 for whitetail deer? Well, because back in 1980 when I started hunting (and incidentally also the year I met my bride) that's what my father in law used and he said it WAS THE BEST CARTRIDGE FOR DEER. I've been using it ever since.

I would say that in some cases, (such as thick, heavy bush), a 30-30 is probably a more suitable choice than a 30-06. However, the -06 will still get the job done. If you are taking a 250 yard shot the 30-06 is the obvious choice between the two.
I would imagine that your father and many others who are casting their vote for the 30-06 are looking at versatility. The 30-06 is incredibly versatile, and for many, that's the key! In my opinion, the 300wm is even more-so and why many choose to hunt deer with it. Both are truly overkill for most hunting, probably 80-90% of the time, but as long as you are not recoil sensitive then it doesn't matter much.
But if you ARE sensitive to recoil then you may have MUCH better results with a different choice altogether! That's why what works for one, will not always work for another, and why this debate has continued for generations! I think it's a great debate, and I enjoy hearing people's experiences and opinions.

 

[Cam Moon]

Ha ha ha! It looks like @Ridge Runner had similar thoughts, but was quicker on the reply!

 

[curtism1234]

I would say that in some cases, (such as thick, heavy bush), a 30-30 is probably a more suitable choice than a 30-06.

Tell that to the gentleman shooting a 180gr round nose coreloct 30-06 in a browning semi-auto / lever or Remington semi-auto / pump

 

[Von S.]

If a 50 grain round nosed lead bullet coming out of a 22 or hits a ground hog in the chest at 100 yards and blast a hole through him with tail straightening effects knocking him deader than Julius Ceasar then what size diameter weight, and velocity would it take for a deer.... and better yet a cape?