d80hunter

I was the same way until I tried a .450 bushmaster. I used pump, lever action, and bolt action guns for 25 years. Now I hunt deer with an AR and like it.

Oldtimr

Actually Someoneyouknow you are wrong! Shot placement is everything! I have a 45-70, I use it more than any other rifle I own and have taken a lot of deer and hogs with it. However, a bad shot is a bad shot and if you make one you not only make an animal suffer needlessly, you may not find your game. The size of a bullet does not make up for poor shooting!

jeepkid

Yup its all about bullet placement, whether it be with a 45-70 or a .223, either one with a well placed shot will equal a dead deer and the one shot with the 45-70 won't be any "deader"...

GTOHunter

Tennessee Deer Rifle....personally I would go with the following Calibers....a .243 would be the lightest Caliber I would get,a Browning A- bolt Hunter would be a very good quality wood stock Rifle!Next choice would be a 7mm/08 that would be a light recoil Rifle with plenty of knock down power on Whitetails in a Browning A-bolt or a Savage model 11/111 GCNS in a Wood stock also!The money You save on these Rifles You could afford a nice set of mounts and rings and a decent scope and have money left over......for a nice Coyote/Predator Rifle!

I reccomend the Savage Axis II in Camo (Accu-Trigger) with the Scope Package in a .223 Caliber using a lighter Hornady V-max Bullet in 40-53 or 55 grains!

Now You have a nice Whitetail Deer Rifle and a Coyote/Predator Rifle for under $1,400.00 and some money left over for a couple of Slings and extra bullets!

muzzlestuffer

aside from the ar platform which by the way can be used in many different area's of shooting with someone on a budget don't forget the bullet technology has got a lot better over the years and calibers i would have never considered i take another look at i have killed deer with a .223 55 gr barnes x bullet and guess what dead dead dead just like any other caliber he said about 125 yards for deer and varmit this caliber fits the bill even if he doesn't want that style rifle that's ok but the caliber is good for what he wants to do with it and it's cheap to shoot so sorry if i got things stirred up because this subject usually does !

Topgun 3006

It will continue to get stirred up when anyone like yourself tells a person to use a minimum caliber for an animal when there are a lot better choices. You also made a 300 yard statement earlier and now seem to be backing off that and are talking 1/3 that distance!

muzzlestuffer

come on are you serious a marginal caliber ? there is nothing wrong with a .223 for deer and varmits especially at the range of 125 yards i think he said ? you can get a great ar for a decent price and have more money for optics and he can have a defense type of weapon to boot if he needs one. he said he was on a strict budget so i was thinking the biggest bang for his bucks! no pun intended. by the way i did suggest a .308 as well. fyi the only reason i started hunting with a ar rifle is where i hunt in arizona there is a lot of bad things going on so i feel more comfortable with my ar with a 20 or 30 round mag in certain areas of the state other wise i use my muzzleloaders and or a handgun to hunt deer. i don't want to start a pissing match it was just a suggestion one of many different opinions. thanks !

muzzlestuffer

no you just need to read more carefully i said the .223 caliber is good out to 300 yards and he said in his post he was shooting at a distance of 125 yards. in this circumstance it is not a minimum caliber!

muzzlestuffer

by the way you say" anyone like yourself " what is that supposed to mean you don't even know me so don't get personal ! i personally don't need a 30-378 weatherby mag to kill a deer which by the way i do have and have used i was just making a suggestion to the guy so he can form his own opinions after reading up on the subject some more.

Topgun 3006

It wasn't getting personal at all and I don't need to know you to state what I did! We are on a forum and saying what you are is taking that completely out of context. I meant exactly what I said and that is that you or anyone else that suggests or recommends a minimum caliber like you did in this thread when there are many better choices does a disservice to the guy asking and even more so to the animals he might wound by using that marginal caliber if he went that route. You're also not going to get out of your original statement of the .223 being good on deer out to 300 yards because it's right there in black and white. That has nothing to do with his shorter distance he might use it at because you still maintained in that first post referencing 300 yards and even knew that it was going to cause a stir in the boos comment you made. Yep, boo on you!