caliber gun
 

I was wondering what you guys think is the most popular caliber gun for deer hunting. Also what caliber gun do you think you should use for bigger game animals.

RE: caliber gun
 

The .30-06 is king. There are other chamberings that sell almost as well, but the '06 has been on top for a while. One reason is that it is capable of handling anything you'd come across in North America (with proper placement, of course), all the way up to the big bears. Unless you're going to face charging grizzlies in the Alaskan interior, it should take care ofjust about all of your needs.

RE: caliber gun
 

There was an article in either Sports Afield or Outdoor Life recently (Oct. or Nov.) about deer cartridges. The 2 most used, seemed to be the 30/06 and the 308. Both very similar in ballastics with the 308 having a little flatter trajectory.

RE: caliber gun
 

Go with a 30-06 for deer and close range big game. The .06 will take down everything from deer to bear to elk and even moose. Although, the shots should be limited to 200 - 300 yards. I wouldn't try for a moose more than 100 yards. If you want to go after deer, and you don't have to or want to shoot a long ways, the 30-30 is the perfect gun. It's inexpensive to shoot, no recoil, and can kill a deer easily up to 150 yards.

RE: caliber gun
 

I personally don't shoot 06's, only because everyone and their mothers shot them. i like to be different. i have a 30-30 i use sometimes but mostly my 6mm. i've never read articles about it but i would guess for sure the 06 is the most popular, everyone uses them that i know.

RE: caliber gun
 

10 years ago I would have said 30/06 or 30/30..

Today I would say that hands down THE most popluar calibre gun for hunting whitetails due too populated areas, rifle restrictions, and just recently the extreme accuracy, reliability and special seasons,, its the .50 cal muzzleloader!

RE: caliber gun
 

30 odd hands down

RE: caliber gun
 

.30-06 is by far the most popular, readily mentioned caliber that I have heard in the present. the .30-.30 has taken more deer than any other caliber through out history. The 7mm-08, .270 and .243 are also very popular calibers. All are very good with the .30-.30 being more of a short to medium range caliber.

RE: caliber gun
 

Assuming that you are using the same weight bullet, the .308 spits it out about 100 fps slower. How could it possibly have a little flatter trajectory?


I was at the rifle range a couple weeks ago to sight in my .243, and Iwalked down the line to see what the other guys were shooting. The vast plurality were shooting .270's.

RE: caliber gun
 

What's a 30 odd?

RE: caliber gun
 

HLDeerHunter.........
You just stated you wouldn't try a moose with a 30-06 more than 100yrd.......why is that. I would try a moose anywhere within 300yrds with my '06 and I know it would drop him very eithically with a well placed shot. I wouldn't shoot anything much further than a 100yrds with a 30-30 however.

You should check some ballistic tables .......150gr hornady IB, 3000ftp@muzzle, 2 inches high at 100yards is 7.3 inches low at 300yards with lots of drop down power left.

what makes you think a moose, deer, elk or bear is going to survive that within 300yrds.

just looking for your reasoning behind your statement

RE: caliber gun
 

For deer, I would say the 270. For overall medium to large game, I would go with the 30-06 (a.k.a. odd 6):D

RE: caliber gun
 

30.06 for me! Do they make anything different? If so, why?

RE: caliber gun
 

How in the world can you figure that the .308 has a flatter trajectory than the 30-06 with the same bullet weight and pressure level?????
Are you aware that the .308 is simply a 30-06 case that has been shortened? Apparently you really don't know much about rifles and their cartridges. All other things being equal-the 30-06 will be 150-200 fps faster than the .308!

RE: caliber gun
 

Funny!! Not much argueing with that post.

For larger game the heavier bullets available for the -06 are hard to beat between the 2.

RE: caliber gun
 

Duck, I'm curuous, why do you think everything is funny? Is it sarcasm, or what?[8D]

RE: caliber gun
 

I like the .270. But then again it is just a necked down 30.06. It shoots a bit flatter and kicks a bit less, which is the main reason that I shoot it. I would almost bet that if you where to take a poll of all of the members here that the 30.06 would be the #1 used rifle with either the .270 or .243 coming in 2nd. Idunno, there are so many popular hunting calibers nowdays. I am sure that the 30-30 would be right up there, with .308, 7mm mag, and the .280 all possibly vying for the 2nd spot as well. Behind an overwhelming 1st being the 30.06. I might be wrong, but the 30.06 is more than likely the king.

RE: caliber gun
 

I'm still waiting to hear how that "magic" 308 Win. shoots flatter than an 3006????

Another thing... Do you guys that keep asking this question about calibers know that the "caliber" is the diameter of the bore.... It's the CARTRIDGE behind the bullet that holds the powder and makes it go fasssst.... (hopefully)

Do you want to talk about "calibers"??? OR "cartridges"??? or maybe both?

DM

RE: caliber gun
 

Put a 24" barrel on a 308 and 22" barrel on a 30-06 and watch two ballistic 'sisters' look like twins. And then if you want to hand load you can easily have the 308 past factory 30-06.

Having said that and having given the whole 308/30-06 alot of thought and time reading charts I still laugh when people say the 308 can't do something a 30-06 can. Unless you load the 200+ bullets your barrel could make up the little difference.

RE: caliber gun
 

ROTFL!!!!!!!!!!:D:D(quack quack)

I bet it's just good weed, Chantecler.

RE: caliber gun
 

Comparing apples to oranges there, aren't you?

I thought that, generally speaking, an inch of barrel length makes about a 10 fps difference. So, if you're comparing a 22" .30-06 to a 30" .308, they ought to be about equal...

For practical purposes, with bullets under 180 grains, the two are essentially ballistic twins with factory loads. A deer won't be able to tell the difference. But, for larger bullets, the 06 definitely has an advantage. And, I would expect, given the larger case, handload vs. handload, the 06 still comes out a little ahead.

RE: caliber gun
 

More like Necturines to Oranges:D

I've heard everything from 10 to 40-50 to 100fps per inch. And it stands to reason that it would depend alot on which cartridge you were talking about. There's gonna be a different number when comparing 44mag pistols to carbines then 7mmRUM carbine to 'long' guns. I've brought the whole 308/30-06 debate up to discussion before and a tactical/sniping forum much like this one and received a good amount of info from guys who know the 308 and 30-06 pretty darn well. I was given the 2" comparison and the whole topic of handloads. I also got the impression that the ceiling for both with handloads put you back to a 150-200fps advantage...which brings us back to the barrel length. Where the 30-06 comes into its own is with the heavy heavy bullets. Something alot guys don't feel is necassary in the 30 cal with todays better bullets.

RE: caliber gun
 

I guess my answer to the original post would be to say that the 30-30 has probably killed more deer than any other, but it has been around longer than most others,too. The 30-06 is PROBABLY the most used round for all - around big game hunting in North America, mainly due to the wide variety of factory ammo available for it, along with it's excellent reputation. With that said, I would personally perfer something a little larger for the BIG bears, but the '06 certainly has accounted for it's share also
I also have to agree with the fact that the .270 Win. has a huge following also, and feel the others fall in line somewhere. Just my opinion ..

RE: caliber gun
 

Like I said-ALL other things being equal-that means both with equal barrel length AND handloaded-PLEASE check the capicity of both cases. Do you realize that when they developed the T-65=7.62X51=.308 they simply shortened the 30-06 case?????? apperantly you REALLY need to research some more.