King of deer calibers?

The 30-06 can be loaded up or down to suit your needs. Off the shelf ammo will do the job on anything on this continet. It IMO is still the most popular deer cartridge except for maybe the 30-30. In terms of which has killed more deer it would be the 30-30 and then the 30-06 but the 44-40 would be way up there.
 
500 yards is way too far for most hunters to even see a deer, never mind hit one in the vitals. 500 is also too far for any listed cartridge to be reliable. Energy loss and ballistics for all of those make 500 just plain too far.
Reloading manuals reflect the conditions on the day of the test with the firearm or universal receiver only. Computer programs aren't reliable either.
I suspect you'll find the ubiquitous .30-30 still rules the deer bush for the numbers of rifles carried.
 
T, I kill deer past 500 regularly. Funny thing is I have not missed a deer, or wounded and failed to find a deer, in over 15 years. The last one I missed was at app 50 yards.
7 WSM and 7 Rum are usually the reapers.
7 WSM is not all that much different from a couple on the list.
 
Well, I won't, "disagree greatly" with the bullet selection. But there are a few that I would adjust. The 243 would be better with a heavier bullet. And the 270 is certainly better with heavier bullets. But we were talking about just deer, right? And yet figures were quoted to 500 yards and the 30-30 was left out. My experience is mostly with the 270, so I will comment on it. The choice of 130 grain bullet was correct and the velocity quite reasonable. The actual bullet choice I have not used, but I can say that the Speer 130 grain flat-based spitzer, was an absolute death-ray on deer in my experiences. But for really long range, you have to go with what your rifle shoots most accurately at the extreme range of the longest shot you are willing to take. 100 yard groups mean nothing if you will take a 450 shot. For my 270, I found the best long range accuracy with Nosler 150 grain Partitions started at 3,000 fps. There have been any number of other combinations that did as well, nay, even better at 100 yards that would seriously destabilize into buckshot patterns at 300 yards. It seems a lot of shooters expect that a great 100 yard load recipe will maintain the same MOA thoughout to longer ranges. It ain't so! I wish it were, but real ballistics aren't that simple and apparently not without some gremlins on the ride to 500 yards. For a 24" barreled 270 Winchester, I have found that reasonable maximum velocities with optimum powders to be 3,200 fps for 130 grain bullets; 3,100 for 140's; and 3,000 for 150's. You can certainly force them to go faster, but case life will suffer first and something could break next. And why? Isn't the object to accurately place your bullet down range and bring home the venison? The only reason I will run those 150 Noslers that fast is the accuracy it delivers in my rifle. For most shooting I use something milder. My pet load pretty much beats anything in the OP's chart, but so what? It might be a better load for Elk but we were discussing deer calibers. I've only experienced two deer with a 308 Winchester. It would seem that a 270 makes a quicker kill. But such limited experience means nothing. What we all really could stand, is more time spent hunting and shooting regardless of caliber choice. It's a fun thread, though; we're into our third page. Happy holidays. Pathfinder
 
What we all really could stand, is more time spent hunting and shooting regardless of caliber choice. It's a fun thread, though; we're into our third page. Happy holidays. Pathfinder
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Well said. :cool:
 
besides what is the ballistic king for deer, what cartridge has taken more deer? probably no way to really know. but, in modern caliber, I would think the 30-30 might be the numero uno
 
Yeah limiting the subject matter to deer if we were debating elk too that one is so easy everyone knows the answer already, 180gr 30-06 there is not much that can compete and nothing beats it without a considerable increase in recoil. As far as deer are concerned I personally think bullet caliber is less of a concern then it is with larger game, bullets still have enough energy/speed going through their vitals that they are often still in their shock cavity stage going out the far side. What is the functional difference between a 25 caliber and a 30 caliber if they are both destroying everything within a 3" wound path through the vitals? Is the additional momentum/penetration of a 250gr 338 caliber bullet any advantage going through a 90lbs deer broadside? Where as on larger game we have to rely more on the caliber for the PWC tract after the initial shock cavity, hence the more off angle shots someone takes the better served they will be by a larger caliber. The way I see it the law of diminishing returns starts really kicking in hard past 25 caliber and 243 caliber is still very effective given careful shot placement and quality bullets. Feel free to disagree if you like but that is the way I see it, the most damage I have ever done to a deer's vitals was not with a 450 Marlin or 300 Win Mag but a little 120gr pill from a 6.5x55 literally liquified the chest cavity from the liver forward.
 
Well every gun mag I've read lately is filled with articles and ads telling me that the .26 nosler is the be-all end-all of deer cartridges.

I don't agree, and I also think you can't declare a "king" for all deer. I hunt in North Carolina, where a 200 pound field-dressed deer is the most likely the heaviest deer you will ever see. Up north and into Canada, there have been 400 lb. deer harvested. How can the same cartridge be "king" for both?

I have a 16" barrel .308 that I prefer for woods hunting, and a 6mm rem for the open fields, although the .308 could easily do double duty. In the past I have used bore sizes from .224 to .358 and they have all done the job. The most destructive round was 100 gr Nosler ballistic tips loaded hot in a .25-06.

If I could only own one deer rifle, to hunt any and all deer in North America, and had to pick a "king cartridge", I'd probably pick the .270 win. But in reality I have a safe full of rifles and not one is a .270 win.
 
My .02

I've taken deer with 30/30, 307Win, 270Win, 280Rem, 30.06, they all have one thing in common, bang flop! There may be dozens of rounds that would be suitable for taking deer and in the hands of hunters who can put the bullet where they want is all that is needed. I wouldn't began to select one caliber only, in the hands of competent hunters most of them will work well, bullet placement and the skill of the hunter is the factors that count the most.. Dang I left off a .243Win, I did recover the animal (spike) after tracking a short distance.. William
 
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William you have stated the obvious so well, certainly the skill of the user trumps all, and certainly most modern centerfire cartridges (and a few old ones) are more then adequate to the task.
Again there is a clear difference between deer in different parts of the country, but minimum is at largest a 243 caliber to my knowledge, nearly all ballistics/hunting experts agree between 800-1.000fps minimum for trophy class deer and most of these cartridges exceed 1,200 at exceptional range. I would put a 120gr 25-06 against any whitetail that walked this continent and certainly the same would be true for the larger calibers. Reasonable level of overkill on normal sized deer and still more then enough for trophies, that would be the "ideal" I am talking about.
As far as the contest goes I am leaning towards the 6.5 Creedmoore it appears to be the closest thing we have to the perfect deer cartridge, fantastic ballistics, 1/2 the recoil of an 06, class leading efficiency, and the reputation for tack driving accuracy does not hurt. BUT if I were to narrow the scope to inside woods range the 308 has it, easy on barrels, penetrates deeper on those off angle shots we so often encounter in the brush, slightly larger blood trail associated with the 30 caliber bullets (useful in the thick stuff) and TONS of free brass floating around I have buckets of the stuff. If we narrow the scope to common cartridges all around I call the 270 Win the winner, sure it is not quite as efficient or compact as the 7mm-08, but it is more economical to shoot, good trajectory at long range and you can pick up a box of shells at Wally World at 2AM if need be. And last but not least if were were to include larger game elk/moose/large hogs the 30-06 is in a class all it's own here without a doubt. I think that is as fair as I can score it, no loosers here they all serve their purpose very well, even my 7mm-08 which did not top a single category.
 
Don't know where you got your velocity data, but they are extremely high with the traditional 22"-24" barrel, excepting the 270 at 3158. Most 270s come with 22", so 3050 would be the norm. I get my numbers behind a chronograph, not marketing or manual data.
 
As mentioned my data comes from Nosler which to date has been the closest to my real life chrono numbers of all my manuals in most rifles. Believe it or not some of those are on the conservative side from what I have seen, my 06 outpaces noslers quoted speeds by 100fps and it is a 22" barrel! Oh and no hit of excess pressure. Every rifle is different, some are simply faster then others, my 7mm Rem Mag cannot crack 3,000fps with a 150gr while my friends blows that out the water with the same loads both are 24" tubes.
 
Oh boy lots of "chest pumpin" going on here in this thread, before the he said she said list of favorites, I can tell you that I've taken a lot if deer with .270, 30-06, 7mm rem mag, and I cant see any difference with a well placed shot, hell How much deader can dead get.....
Pardon me if I swell up like a bullfrog but this thread is a waste of gas...

However if the question was simply what caliber is more pleasurable to take deer with?, then Im your huckleberry.....270 winchester...
 
King

Back in the 70s I was hunting in eastern WVa. The host was excited over a Rem
141 in 35 that I was packing. It seems it was just like one his grandfather had.
He offered to buy it but I didn't want to sell it. To ease situation I ask him if he
would like to use it. He would but only if I would use his. So I had to use a Win.
351 that week, I had extra rifle m-70/308 but didn't want to offend him. I got my deer with the 351 not top of my list as deer calibre. Deer ain't cape buffs
anything will kill them if you can hit the vitals.
 
Any of your rounds will work fine. But I'm surprised that .270 isn't the consensus answer here.
 
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hooligan1 that is kind of my point, if the 6.5 Creedmore has deer thumping power similar to the 270 Win and has recoil close to the 243 would you not consider that a really dandy cartridge, dare I say darn near ideal? Especially for a youth, inexperienced shooter, or someone like my dad who has a bad shoulder and cannot handle his 30-06 anymore? I will venture a guess here, and call me crazy if you like but I think more deer are lost due to poor shot placement related to excessive recoil then are lost to 243win/257 Roberts "puny" cartridges. I have seen it several times, I shoot A LOT, I am quite comfortable with 270, 30-06, 7mm Rem Mag but many inexperienced hunters are not but carry one anyway. I think if light recoiling cartridges were more commonplace especially ones that still carried significant punch that would be on the decline. So no I am not knocking anyone's favorite, heck if you can put that 416 Rigby where it is supposed to go every time by all means use, that may be the "ideal" rifle for you, but the majority of hunters would be better off with something a little more practical hence the reason for this. For the record, I WAS one of those dumb kids that was told I need a magnum if I wanted to hunt for real, so my first rifle was a Win 70 7mm Rem Mag and that was the hardest kicking thing you ever saw, left me black and blue for weeks after shooting it, everyone teased me until they shot it and it did the same to them, I was shaking every time I pulled the trigger, I never dared take a shot over 70 yards because I knew it was effecting my shooting, owned three other 7 Mags over the years and none was even close to that thing.
 
I'm not at all surprised you can beat the Nosler book velocity without a hint of pressure. Since the reloading manuals try to respect SAAMI pressure limits, their load data tends to reflect this. So what will happen if you go 5,000 psi beyond maximum in a 30-'06? Well, if it's a modern, strong rifle, like a Remington 700 or Winchester 70, you will get more velocity and no more strain on the rifle and brass than if it were a factory loaded 270 Winchester. If you have a 24" or longer barrel, you may even find it nipping at the heels of a 300 H&H Magnum. That scenario would be 100% safe. But suppose that ammo was loaded into a 1903 Springfield? Hopefully nothing, but now we're really gambling. For a 1903A3 it might just be a proof load. But if it's a low-number Springfield you could have a catastrophic failure, perhaps even fatal. For some cartridges, the limitation is the yield strength of the brass, because all the arms that chamber it are so strong. For others, the limitation is in the firearm itself, the weakest link. Another prime example that comes to mind is the 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser. The ammo is loaded to a pressure that respects the limits of the rifle. The same cartridge is sometimes chambered in stronger rifles, like the Winchester model 70 Featherweight I saw at the gunshow one time. In such a rifle, you could safely outrun the 260 Remington.
 
King of deer calibers?
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Thought as everybody lists their personal favorite I would return to the basis of the topic with this quote from one of the greatest authorities on small arms in modern history.

"If you can't do it with a 30-06, you probably can't do it."
Jeff Cooper

That being said, I actually have two rifle cartridges I select from depending on if I am hunting in the woods, or more open areas. 30-30 Winchester for my woods stand where shots are limited to no more than 100 yards. 7MM Remington Magnum for my field blind where shots at 300+ yards are possible.
But we're I limited to just one rifle to cover every situation, it would most likely be a 30-06.:D
 
I know this is a slight detour for this, so I apologize, but I need to ask something.

I thought if a chronograph showed velocity greater than what is listed for maximum powder charge its still a red-flag. Am I right?
 
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