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RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

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ORIGINAL: soarkrebel

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ORIGINAL: Alsatian

If I had a .338 winchester magnum, as someday I would like to, I would not hestitate to use it on either deer or pronghorn antelope. As someone pointed out, larger, heavier bullets won't expand on deer -- which means they won't destroy a bunch of meat -- but they will probably kill the deer or antelope just as effectively. Larger calibers may also qualify -- .375 H&H, .416.

Obviously you don't need .338 to kill deer or antelope. But what if it is raining, your other guns (.30-06, .25-06, .243) are all nice wooden stocked guns, and your .338 is stainless with a synthetic stock, which rifle do you take into the steady rain?

Of course, you have to be careful of your backstops with such a powerful cartridge, but you are supposed to be taking care that your bullet is safely contained even if you miss your target anyway.

UHHHH maybe you need to go look at guns there alsatian . those other guns(30-06,25-06,243) ALL come in stainless synthetic versions. at least the ones in my safe are!

And take that old outdated 30-06 and shoot it at some steel plate and see the nice hole it leaves.

larger heavier bullets don't always mean a quick kill. i have trailed deer a long way after being hit by 45-70's and most recently a 450 marlin. and those heavy large bullets will expand.

But it's ok to desire a 338 win mag i wouldnt mind having one myself but then again i really would like one of each .

I think he's saying if you have a .338 with the synthetic and the lighter deer guns you own have wood stocks, THEN you would take the synthetic out in the rain instead of your lighter wood guns, not that there are not synthetic stocks available for the other calibers.

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

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Largest caliber I've ever used on deer had a bore diameter of 0.729! Heck of alot bigger than anything mentioned so far. Shooting 1.25 oz of lead downrange at about 1100 fps @ 100 yards. Kills deer with extreme prejudice.

.54 cal smoke pole?

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

i've taken deer with my .338 win mag can't say theres much difference.than killing with the 30-06 the big bullet really doesn't expand well unless you hit'em in the shoulder bone.i did handload some of the barnes 160 grain bullets and take a couple deer they worked real well.

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

Wouldn't use anything bigger than the .300 mags.

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

12 guage slug. But my favorite is the 30-30.
Chuck

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

Biggest I would use is the .270. Its the largest rifle I own, and it does and excellent job.

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

1865 i see that now:eek:

After working all night and a little pain medicine for my throbbing tooth that just got a root canal i could misread it. sorry!

And sorry to alsatian also.;)

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

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ORIGINAL: timbercruiser

Biggest I would use is the .270. Its the largest rifle I own, and it does and excellent job.

Hey timber on them dog size florida deer a 270 is almost a like a howitzer huh?:D

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

soarkrebel: 1865 has correctly interpreted my thought. I'm not saying the .338 would be preferable out of the lot of rifles I mentioned. Actually, I definitely prefer my .243 or .25-06 to my .30-06 for deer/antelope hunting. They are entirely adequate to the task, and why hammer yourself with heavier recoil than necessary? On the other hand, I have stayed home on days of steady rain during deer season because I'm not about to put these rifles through a wash cycle. I have thought about buying a crummy cheap rifle, perhaps with iron sights, for just such rainy day duty -- 8 mm mauser, .303 british, some other military surplus rifle -- but haven't found the rifle yet. On the other hand, I have been musing over the idea of acquiring a .338 winchester mag and while I prefer the aesthetic virtues of wood, am considering the practical advantages of synthetic stocks and stainless steel action/barrel. Were I to acquire such a .338 with synthetic stock and stainless steel action/barrel, what would be wrong with using the .338 on rainy days rather than staying home?

Maybe I have mistaken the original post. Also, if in fact the .338 would destroy substantially more meat than more traditional deer cartridges, I probably would not use it for that purpose, because I sure don't like damaging and throwing away deer meat.

RE: Whats the biggest gun u would use on a whitetail?

Soark I don't usually hunt in Fl, choosing to do the majority of my hunting in Alabama. Good bucks, live weight are around 190 lbs. Tell the truth, this year I saw a few local Florida deer that would be a trophy anywhere.