Best White-tailed round?
 

So what do you guys think, anybody have any opinions:)

I just purchased a .270WSM, my choice for an all-around white-tailed round. I' ll hunt with it this year in AL, PA, MI, and WI. I' ll be setting aside my proven 30-06, 165 gr., in favor of a little flatter trajectory out to 300 yards, and of course, an excuse to buy a new gun and scope.

So what' s the best round? Not the most versatile, but the best for white-tail.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Everybody' s got their " expert" opinion, but I' m a firm believer that so many of today' s cartridges give such similiar performance that there is no BEST at anything.

That being said, I' ll cast my vote for the .308......but that' s only becuase that' s my current favorite ;)

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

I would have to choose the 6.5X55, but I agree with diyj98 that there is no best cartridge.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

I am 100% in agreement with diyj98.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

It may be hard to find the " best" , but if you won a years worth of hunting white-tails in IA, AL, KS, WI, IL, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and could take just 1 gun, what round would it be chambered in?

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

In the areas you mentioned, I' d probably go with a 300 Winchester Mag. It' s a bit more than generally needed for whitetails, but it would have plenty of range for longrange shot and plenty of energy for a big Canadian monster.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

7MM REM MAG.

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RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

.260 in the Remington 700 mountain rifle..... it' s very light, very little recoil, and packs enough punch to drop the biggest whitetail bucks. I agree though, there are a bunch of " best" whitetail rounds & rifles.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

I personally like the 30-06sprg and 308win. only because those rounds i have taken deer with. if it was just from what i hear from forums and from doing my homework. it would be the 25-06rem

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Quilly beat me to it...The 25-06.

It' s a great calier! That said...I now hunt with a .270. No slouch in it' s own right. LOL

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

My opinion of what is " best" has changed over the years. Today my vote goes to the 280. In the past I' ve favored a 30-06, 308, 7mm Mag and 270. Like everyone else has said, there are a lot of " best" deer rounds as everyone has their own opinion.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

The " best" one would be a rifle that you are comfortable with and can shoot accurately. As far as cartriges go there is really no " best" . Any of the normal " DEER" cartriges (243, 260, 25-06, 270, 280, 7mm-08, 308, 30-06, 257 rob., 7x57, 6.5x55, 7mm mag, 300 mag, the list goes on and on) are more than capable of taking any whitetail that walks this earth and the majority of those listed I would feel very comfortable hunting elk and moose.

The 270WSM I would list as an excelent whitetail cartrige and a very capable elk and moose cartrige.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

7mm-08 Rem for me. Why? Because it is the rifle that I am most proficient with at the moment. I haven' t had the range time with my others yet to get as comfortable with them.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

7mm Mag. Good luck.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Any standard cartridge of .25-cal or greater from the .308, .30-06, 7x57 or .284 class will do anything you would ever need for whitetails.

On the extreme outside would be rounds like the 7mm Rem Mag, the .270 and 7mm Wby Mags and the SAUMs/WSMs. Cartridges like the Ultra Mags and STW are way more than needed and can only be effectively used by about 1% of the hunters out there, and even at that for only about 1% of their shots at game. That is an awful small percentage of actual need to take that much abuse at the range.

If I had to choose, I' d go with the .284 Win or the now commercial 6.5 x.284. Both will take whitetails cleanly at 50 or 500+ yards and are equally lethal at at either range.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Not to be undergunned or left behind, The 378 Weatherby Mag should drop them without to much trouble. 300 Grain Spitzer at 3100 fps. WHAM their gone. Don,t need a knife or field dressing tool. Just bring a mop and bucket.[:-]

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Seattle,

On one note though. The .270WSM, according to a chart I found on this site, is actually rated around 2#' s less kick then my current 30-06 I' m using, when comparing a 165gr. to the 130 gr., and at least a pound less when considering any load. I' d agree though, for me, I want nothing to do with the kick of the 7mmWSM or the 300WSM. I' ve shot the 300WSM, and maybe I' m a wimp, but I didn' t enjoy shooting it as much as my 30-06(and my 30-06 doesn' t even have pad!)

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

There is no " best" whether it be a round or a rifle. There is only what works best for YOU in the conditions in which you use them.

What works best for ME in the conditions in which I hunt for white tail I prefer my 45-70 to any other. The 45-70 may be the worst choice for you. Only you can determine the correct answer to your own question.

Maine Hunter

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Mainhunter,

The " best" round can be discussed to great length for sure, I' ve already made my choice so it doesn' t matter to me, but I' m always intrested in hearing others opinions. I like seeing discussions like this simply because it helps me learn and think about options for future purchases or future hunting trips. The only way to learn is to be open and to the opinions of experience. For me, I wanted a rifle I could hold dead on out to 300 yards, take down a 200#+ dressed whitetail, that wouldn' t beat the heck out of me if I wanted to shoot a box of ammo on a Sunday afternoon in June. I also wanted an excuse to buy a new gun, for a new, better scope!;)

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

NorthJeff - I think the .270 WSM is one of the best rounds to come along in quite a while. They key is that it has the word " Magnum" in the name, but it really isn' t a big, overly-powerful, shoulder-bruising cartridge that causes people to flinch. From this standpoint, all the WSMs and SAUMs are about the best thing the shooting/hunting industry has done for both hunters and game in the last 10 years (with the exception of offering the .260 Rem, .338-06 and now the 6.5x.284).

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

NorthJeff
Your last post more clearly defines what kind of " round" you are looking for. The " best round for White-tailed deer" was not (in my opinion and some of the others who posted above) a very good way to pose the question.

" What is the best club for golfing?" If you could only take one club out on the golf course what would it be? If I was going to a LONG DRIVE competition I would take a driver and if I was going to a putting competition I would take a putter but to play a regular round I need them both and a couple in between.

When I am hunting deer in the wide open spaces where shots are usually on the long side and I usually have some time to settle in and take a carefully aimed shot, I take my bolt action model 70 Win. in .264 win. mag. with a 3 to 9 scope. (my long driver) When I am hunting deer in thickly forested country, where other bigger game may be on the adgenda as well and shots will be close and maybe hurried, I take my Rem. 7600 pump in .35 whelen with a 2 to 7 scope.

Robin

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

I' d say 7mm-08.

This coming from a guy who owns a .270.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

The 25-06 is one of the best and the 257stw may be the ultimate cartridge for deer but I am very content with the 7mmstw even though it is a little overkill even for our large bodied canadian deer.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

My current favorite is the 7mm-08.Accurate,light weight,low recoil,and deadly on our northern Bucks.

woods

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

I would have to go with the 25-06.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

I have used a number and it is really hard to tell someone else what is the best for them. I agree the 25-06 is a good deer gun, as is the 270 win, 308 and so on. My personal favorite right now is the 7 mm rem mag, plenty of power, flat and tolerable recoil make it an excellent all arounder for my area & mio:D

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RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

for me , it would have to be my .270 win. , or my .35 whelen , or any .35 caliber :D:D

if your talking about others , even small framed men , women , and youths ( children ) , i' de have to say the .260 rem. , a good 6.5 cal. is hard to beat on game and it offers light recoil , and a compact light rifle for smaller frame shooters :D just my 2 cents worth :D:D:D:D

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

The 30-06 is a better deer gun than all the rest under more varied conditions, second best is the 308.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

I would like to know what a .30-06 can do on deer that a .270 Win and a .280 Rem can' t. I' d also like to know how on Earth the .30-06 will keep up with either of them beyond 250 yards.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

The 30-06 is a better White-tail round because you can use the heavier 180 grain bullets in close range situations to reduce meat damage and get better penetration necessary for odd agles sometimes encountered in thick brush hunting situations. Since we are talking white-tails this is commonly where you will find them. With reloads or Hornady light mags the 30-06 shoots every bit as fast and flat as the 270 or 280 using more mass and bullet diameter. A better question is what will the 270 or 280 do that the 30-06 can' t

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

First of all there is no use squabbling over 270, 280, or 30-06 since they are all great cartridges. However, when you are talking penetration the 280 will have an advantage over the 30-06 due to sectional density at least on paper. They are so close in actual field performance that it is a moot point.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Never seen a Whitetailed round....

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

The .30/' 06 can do NOTHING the .270 won' t do as well for anything up to elk, PROVIDED YOU LOAD IT WITH THE RIGHT BULLETS!!!

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

270, 280, 30-06? There is so little differance between the three that no deer will ever know what its been shoot with. Which is better really depends more on what' s between the shooters ears rather than physics. There is no reason to use a 180gr bullet in the 30-06 for close range work on whitetail. A 150gr or 165gr standard soft point bullet launched from the ' 06 will deliver complete pass thru on any deer at close range. Even if he' s wearing a bullet proof jacket. The same results can be achieved from both the 270 and 280 and a least a dozen other rounds. The 270/280 will give a slight edge in range but a hunter has to have the skill to use it. If you like a 30-06 that' s fine, but don' t sell other rounds short.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Duffy,

This wasn' t a question of the best round for me, but just an open-ended question to get some opinions. I find that around the rest of the country (as opposed to the northern 2/3 of MI), many have very specific reason they use their favorite deer round. Up hear, it' s go and buy the biggest gun you can handle (30-06 to .300 Win Mag), and go hunt, without any though to what may the best for the given situation. It' s all about opinoins, and I like hearing them. That .264 sounds like a great one though.

I also enjoy my dad' s 25-06. Fun to shoot, flat trajectory, and can have a wide range of users. In fact, if you ask my 7 year old nephew his favorite, it would be the 25-06, as he harvest his first deer with it this year in an AL hunt during January(when he was 6!).

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

With all the great deer cartridges it' s impossible to say which is the best.I' ve had allot of success using my .270 Win.One shot kills is the norm.
Ruger Redhawk

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

Getting serious here now. My 250-3000 Remmington 700 and my 6.5x55 Muaser is about as good as it gets for me for all deer hunting. Always one shot kills, No recoil not much meat damage. No earth shaking muzzle blast. Yes I do dare to venture into the forest without a Magnum. Without fear even.

RE: Best White-tailed round?
 

I use 130gr in my 270 Winchester, my buddies used everything from 243, 25-06, 280, 30-06, 7mm Remington magnum on Alberta White tail and Mule deer. ;)