243 bolt action is the smallest that I will go. That said, I used to shoot a 30-06 but sold it in favor of a 7mm Rem Mag based on what I've seen it do at 210 yards. I just wasn't really impressed with the 06 after that.It was a good clean shot but most likely only took out one lung due to the lack of blood trail that I witnessed. The doe ran a good 700 yards into the next property over before it gave up the ghost. The owners denied that they seen it although there was blood all over next to thier cabin and I did some scouting on my own after hours. Oh well, I can't prove anything and only come off as paranoid.
I hear that the 7 Mag really puts them down in thier tracks and with the extra terminal velocity I figured I could not go wrong.Yeah I know, I hear a lot of arm chair quarterbacks on the web say that a 30-06 will take them down fast at distances well past that but I don't really know about that.
I round that turns the lungs and heart into jelly and produces a soft ball sized exit wound is the round that I want to use! It puts the animal down as quickly as possible. Yeah, it's a mess but it's nothting this old survivalist Marine cannot handle.
