[fabsroman]

Andy,

When I saw that there was a new post to this thread, I figured that I would post myself about how I feel about the "Best" deer cartridge.

Quite honestly, I don't think there is any best cartridge because each one does something a little differently and each time a person shoots a deer there is something different about the situation. My first deer was taken at 30 yards with a .30-06 and Core-Lokt bullets. I broke his back and he dropped right there. Was the .30-06 the ideal cartridge for that scenario, probably not. A .30-.30 would have worked just fine and iron sights would have beena lot better than the scope I had. My second deer was almost the same situation, but it was right under my tree and only presented a front shot. At that time, I had just bought my .300 Win Mag and it had, and still has, a 3-12x scope on it. A little better than the 4x scope the .30-06 had on it, but not the best thing for that shot. Well, shooting down on the deer I put the Core Lokt bullet into the middle of the top shoulder. Blood came shooting out of the entry hole and the bullet never made it to the other side because it disintegrated. Granted, the deer dropped like a ton of bricks. There have been many more deer shot with my .300 Win Mag and it is getting to the point now where I am starting to lose count.

Anyway, my point is that a person can only pick one of the perfect cartridges and perfect setups if he/she knows exactly how the deer is going to present itself. Without knowing all the variables, a person can only guess as to what is the perfect cartridge to use. Quite honestly, I think the most important thing is not selecting the perfect cartridge, but using the gun you are most comfortable shooting. I have a .270 Win, .30-06, .220 Swift, and .300 Win Mag. I am most comfortable with the .300 Win Mag followed closely by the .220 Swift.