Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

"Everything's bigger in Texas," people like to say. That's true of a lot, but not of whitetail deer.

So I've got a question for Texas deer hunters--what's your favorite caliber for Texas deer?

I've heard recommendations about 30-30, .243, .270, you name it.

What do you recommend?

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

There is no such thing as the "best" caliber for any type of hunt, but if you want a versatile caliber you should try the 7MM Rem Mag. it will be great for either Texas Deer or Colorado Elk......


Just my 2 cents.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I agree aith WA7MM. If I could have only 1 rifle, it would be a 7mm Rem Mag.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

270 sendero

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I picked up a .260 for my boys and they and I really like it. I use a .270 and it does very well too. Some say that .243 is a bit small and shot placement becomes more critical, but lot's of guys are using them too. I use 130Gr. ballistic tips on the .270 and 120gr. ballistic tips in the .260. Nobodys been running far when they get hit with these.

:)

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

A 25-06 is more that enough for Whitetails.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

If I were to buy a rifle that would only be used for Texas whitetails, it would have to be a .25-06. Make it in a Savage All Weather with the new AccuTrigger, and I couldn't be any happier!

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I use a 30-06 150Gr. That is more than enough to hunt here in Texas...I have buddies that hunt with .308 and .270 ... I dont see a need for a 7mm Mag here in Texas but allot of people hunt with them

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

Personally I think that the magnum craze has gone a bit far. Deer here can be killed with almost any caliber but the 270, 308 and 30.06 seems to be the favorites in my neck of the woods.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I have used many different cartridges but if I had to pick a favorite for deer in Texas it would probably be a toss up between 270 Win and 7mm-08 Rem with 308 Win coming in a close second. All are easy on the shoulder, not too bad on the ears and deadly on deer.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I could not agree with more TEXAS 10PT....I have a few buds that have had a 7mm mag and they used it one season or sighted it in and looked at selling it....Too much gun for here..

I'm not knocking the mags.....I just don't see the need to use one here...IMO

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

Like you said TEXAS is a big state. Lots of different hunting conditions between the senderos of south Texas and the piney woods vs the open west vs the hill country of central Texas. I've used a 6mm since 68' in the hill country but didn't get an exit on a big hog I killed in east Texas last year. But, it went about 5 yards, so I guess I can't beef to much:eek:

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

Even though I use a 7MM RM, I agree that the magnum crase has gone way overboard! With good 100 grain bullets, the .243/6MM will take any deer from Texas to Canada! Deer are not hard to kill! I bought my 7MM RM for future big game hunts, and am just breaking it in on Whitetails!
That said, I also don't think that you can be over-gunned, and I think that the .260 or the 7MM-08 would be two calibers that are just about "perfect" whitetail calibers, flat shooters, plenty of power on the business end, easy on the shoulder!

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I just got back from an Axis and Fallow doe hunt with my 9 year old son. I used a 25-06 with 120 grain Core-Lokt. A smaller caliber would have worked just as well. IMHO, no need for anything larger than a 25-06 for Texas deer.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I've used all types of calibers on s. Texas deer, big hogs, and nailgi. One of my favorite deer rifles that I've got is my ruger rifle in 220 swift, thats the gun I carry in my ranch truck and have used it to take alot of deer and hogs. One of my friends works on the kennedy ranch, he uses a 223 rifle when culling nailgi cows. Its all about shot placement and confidence. But I would say the most popular caliber down here is the 270, 30-06, and 7 mag. My personal favorite caliber is the 243, I love that gun. You can use just about any caliber and if you put it in the right spot, like at the base of the deers neck, the animal is going to almost always drop and be dead before they hit the ground.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

Yep , every caliber mentiones are good on texas deer. Heres my pick on the best calibers, in no particular order. 22-250 .243/6mm 25-06, 30-06, 260, 270, 7 mag, 300 mag, 7-08, 308, hmmm did I leave any one out. I'm partial to the .243, I love this caliber, I've owned other calibers but none has been as accurate out of the box as the .243 and I've owned several .243's and they were all very very accurate out of the box. I use 100 gr. Hornadys and have had complete pass throughs on big hogs out to 200 yds. Never lost one animal with a .243, its not as small as some claim , after all it's just a case necked down .308

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

.25-.06

I SssEEEE DEAD DEER!!

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I bought a .260 Rem a couple of years ago. I had bad experiences using the 120 grain Ballistic Tips but after switching to 125 Nosler Partitions, I think this is just about the perfect deer gun for most of Texas.

If you need something for those longer shots, Winchester will be introducing a .25 WSSM later in the year, the ballistics look very impressive.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

The list is almost endless on this one Moose. My uncle and cousin both shoot 22-250's for deer, and they ve taken alot of deer with them. and havent lost one. Ive shot 22-250 30-06 270 25-06 7mag 30-30 and 243. and been succesful with all of them My favorite was the 25-06 although Im switching to .243 this year because thats what Im building. Its all shot placement. If you can hit em in the vitals all these guns will do the job, make a bad hit and an elephant caliber wont kill em. I dont like the magnums as much they are a little much. Type of terrain your hunting comes into play too. Hunt the piney woods and a 30-30 with a scope cant be topped but take it out west and and you ll be wishing you had a flat shooting bolt action. 270 30-06 are probably the most popular calibers anywhere. confused yet?

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I guess my only option is to get one of each. Plus a spare--make that two of each.

Wait till I tell the wife!

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

haha, yeah that should be an expereince. What have you looked at so far?

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I shoot a Ruger M77 in .270 spitting Federal 130gr. BTSP (Sierra bullet) zeroed at 25yds and hold dead+center out to 300 yds. The trajectory of the BTSP will reach +3in./-3in. out to 300yds, with that zero. The kill zone of the average deer is 10in. (heart/lung area) so a dead+center hold will be in the vital area, regardless of the distance, out to 300 yds.
They are just as dead, in the SC beanfields, with a .270 as with the Mag. calibers.

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

Jason, I've got a used Remington 742 carbine in .30-06 that I picked up recently. It shoots fine, and came equipped with a Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x40. Pretty old rifle, and has a muzzle blast that'll wake the dead for miles around, but it's really a hoot.

I was wondering whether it was too much gun for a small deer. Maybe I could try lighter loads (maybe those Remington reduced-recoil loads or something).

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

I like my 7MAG. It was a hand me down from my old man, so it's not like I wnet out and chose to go big. Part of it is a macho thing, I suppose, but I can comfortably take this bad boy elk hunting, so it's versitile. And it knocks the snot out of whitetails.

Year before last, a guy I hunt with shot a buck with a .25-06 and caught the shot on video. Looked like a perfect lung shot and there was blood everywhere. We tracked that son of a gun for hours and never found him. The trail went about 500 yds and just ended. There were 5 of us tracking too! That is proabably an isolated incident, but right or wrong, I ain't taking no chances. If the Hammer comes out, there's something gonna die.

As far as hogs go, you never know if a monster boar is going to come to your stand where I hunt. I've seen a 300lb boar take .300 WINMAG with mild discomfort. Their skulls are like iron(like mine, my wife says)

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

naw moose, that 30-06 is fine, probably the most popular caliber in the US for deer hunting, Ive shot several with a 30-06. You ll be reall happy with that rifle,

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

This topic is a huge can of worms but the caliber also depends on the skill of the hunter. I would use the largest caliber you are comfortable with in the .30 cal range. The reason is, a .243 etc is a capable gun in skilled hands but I have tracked many a deer shot in the shoulder with this caliber because it didn't do the trick. A .270 can also give a hunter false confidence, I've also tracked a lot of wounded deer shot with this caliber.
I recommend a .308 or a .30-06 at least. Once you become more skilled a smaller caliber is ok but the small calibers do not have the "knock down power" to correct an ill placed shot.

Ryan Campbell
http://www.hossfly.com

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

That hog must have been made of iron. I have shot 250LB. + boars with a .243 right behind the ear and they hit the ground like a safe

RE: Best caliber for Texas deer?
 

shot placement is the key on any game. If your confident and capable, you can kill with almost any caliber. Doesnt matter what you use if you hit it in the butt, right? ;)