Most popular deer caliber?

[Guest shanesmith]

i think the 30-06 is the most used of all the rifles , i just dont like anything but a 300 & 7mm-08

[Guest sharpshooter01]

Model 70 .270 here. I would say that the .30-30 has taken a back seat to the .270 and .30-06, I know quiet a few people that hunt with a .300 too.

[frankmako]

back many mango season ago the best deer guns were in 30-30, 35 remington, 30-06, and 12 ga shotgun. now things are different, it is hard to say. but a long time a go the 30-30, 35 rem and 30-06 were kings in the deer hunting business. 12 ga shotgun was the poor mans deer gun.

[Garufa]

I read a similar discussion several years ago when doing some Enfield research. Guess what they say up in Canada about cartridges and big game? They swear by something different. And there's some big critters up there.

Posted merely for informative purposes. You never know when Jeopary will have a gun related topic again.

[CBC2009]

270 for me, 30-30 for my son, 06 for my father, as far as the best for deer harvest is knowage and confidence of the rife.

[war4peace]

30-06 for me and 30-06 is the way it will be as the tradition goes

[deerslayer]

.30-06 here. The trend is to get a 300 Ultra Super Short Extended Super Belted Magnum, but I think the perceived need for all the extra power for taking 150 pound whitetails is silly. If everyone realized how little the difference is in energy and trajectory between a .30-06, .270, 7mm Rem. Mag, and .300 Win. Mag, there would be a lot of suprised people. I bet the .30-30 still has the most confirmed kills.

[threeshot]

I read a similar discussion several years ago when doing some Enfield research. Guess what they say up in Canada about cartridges and big game? They swear by something different. And there's some big critters up there.

Posted merely for informative purposes. You never know when Jeopary will have a gun related topic again.

So what cartridge do the Canadians prefer to use for big game?

[Garufa]

So what cartridge do the Canadians prefer to use for big game?

.303 British. That's what all their surplus rifles chambered.

[war4peace]

"more deer killed with a 30-30"

Heard that all my life as well, however i would be willing to bet that statistic has shifted over the past decade or two to either a 270 or a 30-06. An opinion seconded by one of the recent hunting/gun mags. the 30-30 is a very popular rifle due largely in part to the fact that so darn many of them were made. It's been around quite a long time and as far as rifles go its still quite inexpensive.

I've had one, and don't like it. range is quite limited- 100 yards and closer, the velocity and power leave a lot to be desired, and the trajectory somewhat resembles that of an artillery shell. YES lots of animals have been harvested with one and it continues to be a viable choice for whitetail deer. im a big fan of "match the caliber to the conditions" and im not saying the 30-30 is that bad however... there are other calibers that outperform the 30-30 by such a wide margin it just doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to use one in this day and age. and besides

Remington is the main one i use, but winchester and federal have them too... online ballistics tables that allow you to compare up to a few different cartridges at once. select similar bullet types and weights and run a 30-30 vs. a 30-06 and compare. run it vs. a .300 win mag for an even more dramatic result.

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/

[Guest shanesmith]

i think deerslayer needs to go to remingtons website and look at the ballistic tables

[Guest shanesmith]

i also think the 30-30 has now taken a backseat to the 30-06 and the 270

[deerslayer]

i think deerslayer needs to go to remingtons website and look at the ballistic tables

Well, let's see. According to Remington's website, here's a quick comparison between the four calibers I mentioned. All are using lighter "Core Lokt" bullets for apples-to-apples purposes.

results at 300 yards with a 150 zero:

.30-06 w/ 150 grain bullet

11.4" low and 1445 ft.-lbs of kinetic energy

.270 w/ 130 grain bullet

9.8" low and 1472 ft.-lbs of kinetic energy

7mm Mag w/ 140 grain bullet

8.5" low and 1878 ft.-lbs of kinetic energy

300 Win w/ 150 grain bullet

8.7" low and 1828 ft.-lbs of kinetic energy

While some may see these numbers as earth-shattering, I wouldn't turn around for the difference. The lowly .30-06 only drops barely 2.5" more than the mighty .300 Winchester Magnum at 300 yards. All the calibers still have plenty of power to flatten the fattest mule deer. Keep in mind that the kinetic energy formula squares velocity, which I'm not convinced should play such a significantly bigger role than bullet weight.

I still know plenty of people who hunt with a .30-30. It's definitely ballistically inferior to the rounds above, but a friend used one to take a deer at 180 yards WHEN HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD. Not something I would encourage a 14 year old to try, but it can be done.

[glockster157]

I have to agree with deerslayer. Most folks would be much better served by a rifle that had less recoil, that fit them well and they can shoot accurately, a really good scope of lower magnification and good light gathering. But instead they want more power, recoil and a few inches less drop at 300. Most people hunt in the woods and take shots under 75 yards and if they were in the open, they never practice beyond 100 and have no idea where there rifle shoots at 200+. Ask most what the maximum point blank range is for their rifle, what there load is and where did they have to zero to get that the MPBR and they will look at you like you have two heads and tell you they zeroed there $49 Bushnell Sportview in just find at that beer can off the hood of their truck and (as I had one fellow tell me) "they have been hunting with the same box of bullets for two years, why do all that shooting?"

[Almond27]

I had a friend I work with who came across a .300 win mag for a price he couldn't resist and he said for this area(Tennessee and North Georgia) he didn't see how it was any better than his .308 for deer. He said it just hurt alot more to get sighted in. Another fellow I work with shoots his .300 win mag at 75 yards and acts like it better any other rifle known to man but I'm sure he has alot of bloodshot meat.

[mousegunner]

Well, it seems the 30-30 is not as popular as it once was. There are so many other rounds to choose from. And people love speed and power. Personally, I can't see past 100 yards, and I hate recoil, so I will stick with my Marlin/Glenfield 30-30. I have skinny elderly shoulders, and recoil HURTS.

[Guest Mugster]

Well, it seems the 30-30 is not as popular as it once was. There are so many other rounds to choose from. And people love speed and power. Personally, I can't see past 100 yards, and I hate recoil, so I will stick with my Marlin/Glenfield 30-30. I have skinny elderly shoulders, and recoil HURTS.

My M94 feels worse than my .308's because of the skinny buttstock. The other thing is a .308 with a 125-130gr bt bullet is good to 220-240 yards with no correction. I reload so I can take advantage. If not reloading, a .243 with a, what, 100ish grain bullet is a laser with factory ammo...and the recoil is real mild rifle depending.

I can see pretty good, but its looking like i'll need reading glasses sooner or later. Good glass can really help. A low powered nikon or bushnell 3200/4200 helps immensely. Nikon gives the best bang for the buck imo, they got a 2x7 shotgun scope that works well to 200-250 yards mounted on a rifle. Not much over 100 bones.

In terms of something bigger like a 7mm or .300, I've seen hits and done them myself with a 7mm under 50 yards. Meat destructus maximus, or with a bullet designed for moose, it'll just pencil right through. I've never hunted a 30-06 or a 270, but they may be just as bad. I keep a 7mm sendero as my across the field rifle. If I need to get out to 300-400 yards, that and a 12-16x scope is my system of choice. 7mm will smack ya a little. Mine weighs at least 11 pounds with the scope, so that helps a little.

Anyway, thats my strategy. The old M94 sits at the back of the safe these days. But if these high dollar rifles and scopes ever fail me, I know where to go...

Edited February 3, 2009 by Mugster

[war4peace]

By all means a 30-30 is more than capable of taking a deer efficiently within certain limits . I don't have much against the 30-30 i just prefer my ah-6

[Guest shanesmith]

i shoot a 300 win mag the kick doesnt bother me at all and i have seen a 30-06 not pass thru at 60 yards and it was a good shot in the shoulder but with the 300 i shot a deer at about 250 yards in almost the same exact place and lets put it this way it didnt go but about 3 feet and for 300 yards or more i would much rahter have a 300 mag than a 30-06 or a 270 and for closer than that also so id rather have a 300 all the time but if i had to choose a lesser gun it would be a 270 not a 30-06 but a 30-06 has killed alot of deer and so has the 270,300,7mm,30-30 and 243 im just not a fan of the 30-06.

[deerslayer]

i shoot a 300 win mag the kick doesnt bother me at all and i have seen a 30-06 not pass thru at 60 yards and it was a good shot in the shoulder but with the 300 i shot a deer at about 250 yards in almost the same exact place and lets put it this way it didnt go but about 3 feet and for 300 yards or more i would much rahter have a 300 mag than a 30-06 or a 270 and for closer than that also so id rather have a 300 all the time but if i had to choose a lesser gun it would be a 270 not a 30-06 but a 30-06 has killed alot of deer and so has the 270,300,7mm,30-30 and 243 im just not a fan of the 30-06.

That was one long sentence.

So you think that 200-300 fps that the .300 offers over the .30-06 was the difference in penetration? No two shots/hits are exactly alike. What kind of bullets were you using with each? From my experience, .30 caliber 150 grain Ballistic Tips come apart and do not penetrate at .30-06 velocity (~2900 fps), especially when hitting part or all of the shoulder. Drive that same bullet out of a .300 at 3100 or 3200 fps, expansion will be even more violent and fragmentation will be even worse.

FWIW, a .243 was mentioned earlier as being "a laser." According to Remington's website, once again, a 100 grain Core Lokt load zeroed at 150 yards drops 10.4" at 300 yards--barely 1" difference from the .30-06.

I'm not trying to come across as a .30-06 Nazi or something, just trying to point out that the advantages offered by other calibers thought to be far superior are almost insignificant.

[Guest Mugster]

That was one long sentence.

So you think that 200-300 fps that the .300 offers over the .30-06 was the difference in penetration? No two shots/hits are exactly alike. What kind of bullets were you using with each? From my experience, .30 caliber 150 grain Ballistic Tips come apart and do not penetrate at .30-06 velocity (~2900 fps), especially when hitting part or all of the shoulder. Drive that same bullet out of a .300 at 3100 or 3200 fps, expansion will be even more violent and fragmentation will be even worse.

FWIW, a .243 was mentioned earlier as being "a laser." According to Remington's website, once again, a 100 grain Core Lokt load zeroed at 150 yards drops 10.4" at 300 yards--barely 1" difference from the .30-06.

I'm not trying to come across as a .30-06 Nazi or something, just trying to point out that the advantages offered by other calibers thought to be far superior are almost insignificant.

Yeah, thats close enough ballistically. But felt recoil with a 100gr bullet in a .243 or a 110 in .308 is slight enough my 11 year old nephew can shoot it. I'd never put him behind a 30-06 using core-lokts, which kick pretty good...well, not for a couple years yet. Might try to load it down a little (.30-06), but case capacity gets in the way.

The other thing is, and no offence, but remington core lok or whatever is bargain basement ammo. The gold standard for a 7mm is at least 168 grains @ 3000 at the muzzle, and because of the massive case capacity they like to be loaded up and shot out of a 26" barrel with a wad of slow powder. So, I think the numbers are a bit weak on the magnum rounds (I dunno that much about .300 win mag).

I know my 160 sierra's run about 3150, FWIW, out of my sendero. I'm pretty sure my buddy that uses an 06 clocks his 150's at around 2600 out of a 22" barrel. So 10 grains heavier at 500fps faster is what your looking at, and in a good bullet, the 7mm has a better BC. He may be underloading, I dunno.

[glockster157]

3150 fps on a 7 mag is about 200 fps faster than published data and 2600 fps is about 300 fps slower than published data and my own experience in many different 30-06 rifles I have owned with 150 grain bullets. I would say one is optimistic and the other is very light. The reality is that they are not 500 fps apart, you might be getting more velocity from the longer barrel but probably no more than 150-200 fps from a normal full power 150 grain 06 load.

[Guest Mugster]

3150 fps on a 7 mag is about 200 fps faster than published data and 2600 fps is about 300 fps slower than published data and my own experience in many different 30-06 rifles I have owned with 150 grain bullets. I would say one is optimistic and the other is very light. The reality is that they are not 500 fps apart, you might be getting more velocity from the longer barrel but probably no more than 150-200 fps from a normal full power 150 grain 06 load.

We should go shoot when it warms up. I'd like to see some actual clocks on factory 06 150gr weight. There's a 300 yard range not far from here anyway that is low cost. I have the chrono, rest, and everything to do the clocking. We'll get my buddies 06 out too if I can pry him off .223 long enough to breath. He only shoots handloads though.

[deerslayer]

Agreed--Core Lokt is cheaper stuff; I just kept quoting their numbers for apples-to-apples comparisons. A quick search of Remington's ballistics pages reveals very similar numbers with their Premier Accu-Tip loads.

I prefer 168 Ballistic Silvertips in my .30-06. My load is 56 grains of IMR 4350, and velocity is 2800-2850 out of a 24" barrel. My dad's favorite load for his Ruger M77 was 51 grains of IMR 4064 with 150 grain Sierra flat base Spitzers. They averaged 2900 out of the M77's 22" barrel, and he shot several one hole groups with them. Most 150 .30-06 loads average around 2900, but some approach 3000. 2600 sounds like a reduced-recoil type load. I agree with mugster--a 500 fps difference just doesn't sound realistic.

BTW, I wan't knocking the .243--I think it's a fine round and I want one someday. IMO, it's just not the laser beam that many seem to think.

Edited February 4, 2009 by deerslayer

[DaveS]

My favorite deer rifle is a .50 caliber flintlock Kentucky Rifle. The .50 cal round lead ball that is held in the barrel by a piece of greased "shirt tail", does an awesome job on WT Deer out to about 150 yards. Most of the shots are made around here at about 50 yards or less. My second favorite rifle for deer is my Reminton 870 with a slug barrel. Next comes my .308. Outside of that, the fellows are shooting .308 (4) and another has been with his 30-30. He has been hunting with the same old beat up 30-30 for about the last 48 years. Says he's not about to change!

Now something about those flintlocks...loose your bullets and your done for the day. I can always find a piece of rock to shoot mine! LOL

Have fun and enjoy. No matter what you're shooting!

WD (Dave)