RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

There is no such thing a too dead. If what you shoot messes up too much meat, that is a different argument and can be moderated by bullet placement. Shoot what you like and are comfortable and accurate with. I would rather hunt with someone with a 30-378 that is able to maintain good groups at the range than someone with a 243 whose “good” groups are 4 to 5 inches. It is the person and the gun not just the gun that is in question.

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

Didnt you give me crap all the time about my .243 ?
Anyway glad youve seen the light.
Shoot, I am down to a Hornet these days. Killed 3 this year with it.

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

There's a difference between taking marginal shots and making marginal shots. Shots hit twigs you didn't see; the deer takes a step; you flinch. No one's perfect. Larger calibers do make a difference. They knock down deer and/or cause more damage on any hit, be it marginal or good. If you take the time to clean up the meat, you won't deal with as much tainted meat. I've yet to taste it, and I've shot deer at all angles and deer running, walking, standing, and bedded. I don't take shots I think will result in marginal hits. But, I hunt public land where you better take a shot when it presents itself, and I enjoy still hunting and making drives which result in lots of tough but makeable shots. A .30-30 just doesn't put deer on the ground all the time. I've hunted with people using .243s and quartering shots and sometimes even broadside shots leave you without a bloodtrail. That's why I hunt with a .30-06. If you think hunters like myself don't have self control and we're starving then you're mistaken. We just do what it takes to stack the odds a little more in our favor for when things don't always go perfectly right.

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

Why do I shoot a 300 Wby for whitetail sometimes....because I can. ;)

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

Its all in personal taste, a few years ago a saw a laminated stainless Savage in 300RUM that I just had to have, don't know why but did. Still haven't got a shot at a deer with it yet.

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

I enjoy owning and using different guns. I prefer a 270 for deer but on the right mule deer hunt I might grab my 300RUM. I use the 300RUM for elk but now that I own a 375 H&H I'm not sure which one I will carry this year for elk. I may switch it up a bit. I'm also not sure which one I'll carry on my moose hunt in Alaska this year. We have this argument at least once a month and bottom line is, if it's legal,feel free. I'm just one of the guys that prefer to be a little over gunned. Different stroke for different folks. Who knows next year I may decide never to shoot a magnum again. We all have the right to use legal means of take, and we all have the right to change our minds on which is our weapons of choice. Everytime we change our minds it gives us another excuse to buy another gun!:D

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

All i know is that one year i tracked one of my buddies deer 400 yards. It bled the whole time....We never got that deer.....With a 30-06 i guarentee that it would have not gone beyond 200 yards. THe 243 doesnt compare to a 3006 for deer. I think its more ethical to take a deer quick with the least amount of suffering. Why not put a little more ketchup on the hotdog?

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

Yea...If you hit them in the wrong place, they are going to run aways...

Deer aren't hard to kill, your buddy just needs to learn how to shoot...:D

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

And if I had been their and shot that deer with my .22 Hornet, I guarantee he wouldnt have gone 1yd.
Tell yer buddy he needs to learn to shoot.
I use a .243 and killed a bunch with it, on average they run 40-60yds with a body shot.
They dont run at all with a neck or high shoulder shot.

RE: Overgunned for Whitetail
 

Deer was running. Nobodys perfect. Point is with a 30-06, bone would fly all through the animal and kill it, or its guts would have droppped out. I would like to see a 243 do that.Just IMO