Snipe4Food

gunna get a new gun sooner or later this fall and was wondering what everyones input is on their prefered choice of caliber for whitetails. I was thinking along the lines of 25-06 or 270

T-bird

truthfully, either of those would be great ... a lot of guys argue one caliber over another but nearly anything between a .243 and .30 cal makes great deer medicine ... pick the one you like and have fun!

bugsNbows

+1 T-bird's comments.

brasmunky

if all you are shooting is deer i would go with the 25-06 or even go down to a 243 to cut down on the recoil a little. both are super flat shooting and have plenty of knock down. If you are planing on long shots in high wind situations i would suggest a 270 or 7 mm. I think that 30 calibers are a little over kill espesially for whitetails. they are more suited for elk sized animals. what the other guys said is true though its all about personal preferance. when i lived in idaho everybody liked to carry around 300 ultras and stuff like that but i used a 7mm because its alot less recoil and cheaper to shoot.

ajstrider

I like my .308 rifles. It will recoil less than your 270 or 25-06 you want, and it shoots a bigger bullet. It is a little slower so longer range trajectory is not as great but honestly, i have never shot at a deer past 100 yards before. If you intend to hunt over open fields that are massive, a flatter shooting cartridge may be up your alley. But with the .308, if you decide to ever go hunt an elk or black bear, the rifle will still be good for that. There is a lot of good factory ammo available for the .308. If you stepped down to like a .243, I would only use premium bullets like Partitions on deer then, and that will jack up ammo prices. But with a .308 you don't need those premium bullets to ensure penetration. I am a .30 caliber fan.

Mr Wasabi

For deer, what about a 7mm-08?

Frank in the Laurel

Let's not forget about the 7mm/08... it's in the same class with those two, recoil, noise, expense and in every other category PLUS it allows just a little heavier bullet if you feel you may need it someday.......

Sheridan

I'm with T-bird & B-N-B



.243 to .30 cal and "all" the features you like; most importantly, it feels perfect when you shoulder it !

Camosteel

+1 I'm sure there are equals but I can't name one better for whitetails. Short action, low recoil and a .284 bullet just seems the perfect pill for deer sized game.

schoolcraft

I guess when someone talks about a "whitetail deer rifle", I immediately have ".270 Winchester" jump into my head.
For deer sized game, a decently constructed 130gr. or 140gr. bullet out of ol' Jack's favorite caliber would be tough to beat.
If I was hunting deer stands where a really compact rifle would be a big plus, I think I would be looking at a Rem. Model 7 or Ruger UltraLight in 7mm.-08 or .308.
Guess you kinda' have to throw in the ol' .30-06....just because you have to. lol

Just whitetails....no hogs, elk, black bear, ect......

Give me a .270 Win.