What caliber would best suit my needs?

[Bill Allen]

I want to buy a new rifle for deer hunting so I figure that it would make sense to decide on a caliber first. The longest shot I have to make is about 200 hundred yards, though most shots are in the 50-150 yard range. I have been using a borrowed Savage .308 with a synthetic stock that weighs in at a hefty 11 pounds but I don't mind the weight since I usually sit in a tree stand. (I suspect that the weight is the reason that the gun has so little recoil.) I have no complaints with the .308 but I have not shot any thing else to compare it to except my brother's 7mm which just has too much recoil, for me. What caliber would best fit my style of hunting? Thanks.

[wrenchman]

the 308 is not a bad gun to shoot any way and it will do what you are looking to do.
when you get into any round frome 270 up to the 300 it is most just a personel choice the 7mm 08 is nice to.

[Jack]

If 200 yards is the longest range you'd shoot and deer are the only target, heck, you could use almost anything...
I'd start at 24 caliber, maybe 25 caliber would be better.
Like 257 Roberts, 25-06, 6.5x55, 260 Rem, 270,7x57,7mm-08, 280, 308....the list is gonna be nearly endless.
You don't need a magnum for the kind of deer hunting you're doing.

[Brithunter]

Hi There,

I will answer with another question:-

What is the easiest ammo to get where you are and hunt?

[Bill Allen]

Originally posted by Brithunter
Hi There,

I will answer with another question:-

What is the easiest ammo to get where you are and hunt?

I don't know. I live in a city of about a million people so I would assume that acquiring a good variety of ammo would not be a problem. I don't have any plans to do any reloading so I need a caliber that does have a good selection of factory ammo.

After finding this forum and extensively reading the threads I have learned that a non magnum caliber is what I probably need. I like the 25 caliber suggestion but how do I narrow my choice from there? Are there just small differences in the calibers suggested or are they all very close and one will be as good as another for a novice like myself and my hunting situation?

[jmarriott]

The new 25 WSSM looks intresting.

I would still go for the 7mm-08 as i believe it is a fine deer rifle cartridge.

[Gil Martin]

These good folks have given good advice. The range of possible caliber choices is a long one. My recommendation would be to shop the used gun racks at a few gun shops and see what appeals to you. I would stick with the more traditional calibers such as the .270 Winchester, .280 Remington,. 30-06 Springfield or the .308 Winchester. I agree that magnums may not be the best choice and the new magnums are expensive for the rifle and the ammo. It depends on what appeals to you, handles well and you can afford. All the best...
Gil

[Brithunter]

Hi There,

So where you live there should be a good selection of ammo...... good, now some one has already said check out the S/H rifles. Well I would certainly do that and as you are not hard and fast set on a cartridge you have a nice wide open field to look at. Myself I would be looking as the condition first, the rest will follow. Once you have found a likely candidate, if possible mount it as if you are going to shoot it. Now do the sights line up naturally? ....... or do you have to shift your head, even without a scope fitted if has no iron sights you should get an idea if it fits you. The fit of a rifle is more important than a lot of folks realise, it can the difference bewten a good solid hit and a miss or very poor hit should you have to moutn the rifle and fire quickly in the field.

Once you find a real nice condition rifle which feels right worry about what it's chambered for then. I would certainly steer away from the magnums though, the ammo is more costly and for what you want they just are not needed.

Oh and have fun lookinf and good luck in your quest!

[Bill Allen]

I hadn't thought about how the gun would fit me. Thanks for pointing that out. I guess the smart thing to do would be to hold a few of them up to my shoulder and see how they feel. I think I do want to stick with a tradition caliber. That makes sense to me.

I appreciate all of the advice that has been given.

[300 RUM]

If you have liked the 308 why not stay with it. Even in a lighter rifle the recoil is not bad. If you want a little less recoil the 7mm 08 or even 243 would be great choices. I have both a 243 and 308. They have the same case size just the 243 is necked down. The 7mm-08 is right in the middle between the 243 and 308.

I would stay with the 308 due to a little more "knockdown" with heavier bullets. The heaviest bullet for the 243 is 100gr. The 308 can go easily up to the 165 to 180 grain bullet which since you rarely shoot over 200 yards the bullet drop should not matter. Also there is an endless supply of inexpensive 308 ammo since it is a military caliber, great ammo for just plinking.

As for the rifle there are countless choices. The Savage is an inexpensive yet accurate rifle with the new accutrigger. You can get the heavy or light weight barrel.
Remington also has a great assortment of rifles a little more expensive than the Savage but the Remington has a history of rock solid reliability and many many after market upgrades available.

I would go to the local gun shop and try on a few, see how they fit. Then see what falls in your price range.

For Me, the price range thing usually makes my decision for me.

[PJgunner]

First off, I would definitely stay away from the magnums. For the circumstance you have described, they are not needed. While others have given good advice on the various cartridges, my choice would be the .308 Winchester hands down. The 30-06 would be my second choice and the 7mm-08 or 7x57 Mauser my third choice. That last one (7x57)is a darn good round but is underloaded by the factories. It can be souped up if you're a relaoder to what the 7mm-08 can do and go with heavier bullets to boot. A great round and I like it.
But, let's go back to the .308 and why I rated it first. One, is is just about as powerful as a 30-06 and in some cases more powerful. What did he say? Yup. I have chronogrphed several brands of ammo in both .308 and 30-06 using 180 gr. bullets and the .308 was faster. It is my thought that the liability lawyers have suggested that the factories quietly down load the good old 06 just a bit more than they used to due to the old weak guns still in use. Let's just say that one brand I tested had the .308 going almost 50 FPS faster than the 30-06 in the same brand.
My personal choice for the .308 as an all round load would be with a 165 gr. bullet. I took a fairly large Mule deer at 250 yards with a 165 gr. Speer Hot-core loaded to 2550 FPS from an 18.5" barreled carbine. (Ruger 77 RSI) The same load delivers 2610 FPS from a 22" barreled Winchester M70, for whatever that's worth.
The point is, although I could load up faster loads, this one does the job. I forget what load I used in a 20" barreled .308, but the 150 gr. bullet pushed by a hot load using H-335 took down a 250 plus pound Mule deer at 427 paces, witnessed by two hunting partners. The 150 gr. is fine for deer, but mangles too much eating meat IMHO. Most 180 gr. spitzer bullets may be a bit too tough, but they should work OK. I feel the 165 gr. bullet is an excellent compromise, and I wouldn't worry about that load on elk out to about 200 yards.
I must like the .308 quite a bit as at last count, I have seven sporting rifles and one target rifle chambered to the round.
One of the sporters only weighs 5 pounds, loaded, scoped and with a sling. That one only has a 19" barrel. Recoil is not as bad as you might think with that rifle, but holding it steady is a bit of something else.
Look for something like a short action Winchester M70, Ruger 77, Savage 110, Remington M7 or 700 or my favorite, a Ruger 77 RSI in .308 and have fun. Every one of those rifles should do the job for you with ease, except the RSI. They can be a bit fussy about ammo, but once you find the key, they'll be good shooters too.
Paul B.

[CanWoodsman]

25 cal. is excellent for deer & in my opinion the 25.06 is best. Good out to 400 yards & generally the easiest 25 cal. ammo to find. Also good for smaller game with lighter bullets.

Good Luck on Your Choice

[earschplitinloudenboomer]

Good Savage 110 in a .30-06 would be hard to beat. If you've shot a 308, the recoil is certainly no worse, if the weight of the gun and stock design are comparable. The Savage has a long action, may as well utilize it. The .30-06 caliber is the standard everything else is measured by. I don't currently own one, but they work for the conditions you describe quite well.

[Dom]

Boy, so many good options and a lot of good info here. Kinda gonna boil down to a personal thing, but I'll give .02 cents worth:

1. If it's only ever going to be used for an average, excellent deer rifle, .270 gets my vote.

2. But, if it's going to be used for anything more stout, like black bear or big mulies or elk, I'd lean towards the venerable 30-06.

Take a 7Mag or 300 WinMag, more ooomph if it was more of an elk hunter, but at the cost of burning quite a bit more powder and recoil and not needed in a deer rifle. Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[Cal Sibley]

I think my 30 caliber days ended with the purchase of a 6.5x55.
Mine is a Remington Classic and shoots everything from 85 to 160grs., and accurately at that. it's not a heavy kicker, and you won't need to tote around a 10 lb. rifle. I don't know why it took so many years for me to latch onto a 6.5x55, just a slow learner I guess. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal