New Caliber for whitetails
 

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

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!

+1 T-bird's comments.

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.

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.

For deer, what about a 7mm-08?

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.......

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 !

+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.

ahhh....so many choices
 

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.

It's like golf clubs, you have to have the right tool for the job. That being said preference is probably the biggest factor here. Where you hunt plays a role as well. Sure a 243, 25-06, 257, 260, 7mm 08 are all great deer rounds, but what if your in an area where you may encounter a big bear, I bet you'd be praying to have that 30 cal then.

If we are throwing bears into the equation then give me a 12ga. w/ slugs. Great deer round and a defensive round as well. :s4:

25, 28, and 30 cal bullets are my favorites. What you load 'em in is your choice.

As good as the 308 Win is, the above statement just isn't true. A .308 Win shooting a 150 grain bullet with 45 grains of powder to 2900 fps out of a 7.5lb rifle will create 17.7 ft-lbs free recoil. If the rifle weighed 8lbs, the recoil would still be 16.6 ft-lbs.

A 25-06 shooting a 110 grain bullet at 3200 fps with 50 grains powder weighing 8 lbs (the extra 1/2 lb being from it being a long action with a 24" tube, which is typical of a 25-06, versus the short action and 22" bbl typical of 308 Win's) will generate 13.7 ft-lbs (about 22% less recoil).

A 270 Win shooting a 130 grain bullet at 3000 fps with 50 grains of powder from an 8lb rifle creates 15.5 ft-lbs recoil (12% less than a 308).

Just so we have the facts straight.

As to the OP's question. My choice would be the .25-06 of the two. Decent priced ammo, good availability and selection, flat trajectory and more than enough to kill deer just about as far as most folks can hit them. The 270 would be a good choice, too. As would the .243 Win or 308 Winchester. I like the quarter bores, but my personal choice was the 257 Weatherby Mag, but I wouldn't recommend the 257 Wby unless you handload. Factory ammo is shockingly expensive.

Mike

Driftrider, that may be true, but imho a 270 has always had more felt recoil to me than my 308's have. And this has been with several different guns and loads over the years. But like I said, that is me. But then again I have shot a 7mm mag that didn't have anymore felt recoil than a 270 either. But to be back on topic, probably one of the best all around selections for deer would have to be a 308 just because of the many different rifles and ammo available.

+1

best of both worlds.. Necked down .308 with the kick of a .243

It would be my first choice..

brian

tell us more...just whitetails? woods? open fields?
what do you have for whitetails already?

.243win
.240wby
6mm-284
6.5mm-284
.270win.
.270wsm
7mm-08
.300wsm
.257wby
.338win.mag.

.270 was built for that work


North to south & east to west


It's the deer rifle that can go anywhere.

And limited to an effective range of about 50- 75 yds.

12 ga slug is effective out to 100yds with the right combo of gun and bullet. But its definately not even in the same league for a deer cartridge as the 7mm-08, 270 win, 243 win, 30-06, etc. (I mention those 4 because those are the ones that I've had). I currently have a 44mag Marlin 1894, Ruger M77 in 270 win, and Rem 700 in 243 win. If you want a cartridge that will give you everything for a deer go with the 270, short, long, the 270 is a time prooven shot maker. And if you are concerned about recoil, remington makes a recoil manager shell that is comparable trajectory wise to a 130gr or 150gr standard load.

7mm-08, 270, 30.06 or 308.. take your pick, they all work perfectly. Really comes down to if you want to hunt something bigger some day, ammo availiblity, and cost of ammo.

270, 30.06 cheap and EVERYWHERE
7mm-08 about $10 more for 20 rounds and can't find it all the time but it's becoming more popular
308 - about $3 more per 20 than 30.06 in my area and not as previlant as 270 and 30.06 at least around my parts.

The .25-06 would be my vote. Great for any deer. I assume you have other rifles and are just adding to your battery. If this were not true, I would get a .30-06 and use this for deer hunting as well as elk hunting, moose hunting, etc.

The range in which a deer is being hunted will help you choose a caliber as well as the terrain and as you mentioned if there are critters around that will hunt you. There really are alot of variables that can go into your choice of calibers, with personal preference being a major one.

Id go with the 7mm-08

Good deer gun lists get pretty long. It's fine to get a new gun but a couple questions I ask are: #1 What are your intentions - hunting situation, range, game, goal, etc. Question #2 is what do you have currently?

I sure don't see a lot of factory loads to choose from in 7mm-08 though, that might be important if you buy ammo. It is a great round too. The .260 is also a great whitetail hunting round and it recoils even less than the 7mm-08. It is truly enjoyable to just shoot it all day long on the bench.

The 260 is a better option for factory ammo??? Not that I have seen. Want choice buy a 308, 270win or 3006 if your stuck shooting OTC Mo.

I can buy 140gr core-locts at Wallymart for my 7mm-08 and they shoot great out of my Tikka. No premium bullets needed for deer.