small cal

Though I've killed a few deer with a .22-250, the lightest caliber I recommend for deer in Maine is the .243 Win, using 100 grain bullets.

The .30-06 is the most common caliber used here, and though we're one of the most heavily-wooded states, the most popular rifle here is a scope-sighted bolt-action. At one time the most popular was a .30-30, Winchester 94, but those days are gone. The 30-06, .270 Win, .308, 7mm-08, and .280 Rem, historically get-er-done very well up here.

Newer short-magnum cartridges, especially the .270, 7mm, and .300 are also probably fine Maine deer cartridges. The 7mm rem and .300 Win Mag are also popular. Magnums are generally unnecessary for the deer hunter who can hit a paper plate at 100 yards...every time. Come to think of it, if they can't hit the plate, they probably shouldn't be shooting a magnum either. Practice, practice, practice.

Picher
 
I use a 204 for deer.
Bullet selection and placement are key.

I use 40gr Hornady V-Max and head shots.
Turns deer heads into sacks of rocks.

With that small a caliber, you must ensure a quick and deadly hit, every shot.
To use a fmj or soft-point would be too risky.
Use "grenades" at MACH 3 or greater for 223 caliber and under, and scramble that brain.
The best head shot is when the deer is looking away from you and upward.

It requires patience, speed to acquire, and timing.
A rule of thumb:
If a deer is wary, the head will not stay still long enough.
If you are not comfortable with shots at your ranges, to hit possibly moving heads, don't even attempt it.
Go for larger calibers and boiler room shots.
 
I shot a doe once with a 220 Swift and personally would never do it again. I borrowed my buddies Ruger, with which he has shot several deer (I watched him shoot a small doe once).

The problem is with effectively anchoring the animal. The doe I shot was at about 150 yards. I shot from a prone position and watched it drop in the scpoe. Then I watched it get up again and run into the bush. I was using a 62 grain Barnes TSX. My guess is that the bullet sailed right through without expanding, leaving a pencil sized hole on entry and exit. I don't know for sure where I hit the doe (I was going for the heart/lungs), because we couldn't find any blood on the snow and we tracked that doe for 1/2 mile before we lost her tracks. I came back the next day to look again, thinking that the crows and ravens would pinpoint the deer carcass - nothing.

In Manitoba, "A centrefire rifle of .23 calibre or less is not recommended.". Now I know why.

If the right shot presented itself (neck or head or heart), then the .22's may do the trick. But I would never chance it again. I personally would not use anything less then a .243. Generally a SD of .230 is recommended for medium game (deer) and that would mean at least a 95 grain bullet in .243
 
Heart shots and small calibers, I will not do.

Its a guaranteed way to watch deer run away.
That may sound normal, but a small hole means a small blood trail, and greatly increases the likelihood of the deer being lost.
You must be patient, and be prepared for the deer to never provide the head-shot.
If it isn't there, dont shoot.

My 2cents.
 
Yithian, that is not totally correct. I shot a deer this year with my .223 using rem. greenbox 55gr. at 207 yards. It was a prone shot using a bipod from the front porch of the old farm house. Hit perfect in the heart and ran about 50 yrds. This deer made the largest blood trail that I have seen in 40 years. I was about a foot wide. All parties present, including myself, have a whole different look on this caliber now.
 
Heart shot deer will go 50-90 yards, depending on adrenalin at the time. A deer shot with about any kind of bullet that hits the heart will almost always result in a lot of blood. I suspect that the deer that got away was not hit in the heart, and probably not in the lungs; but I've seen lung-shot deer go a long ways if the bullet doesn't expand enough. Some people use heavily constructed 180 - 220 grain bullets in the '06 or -.308 Win and that's not a good thing. Deer are thin-skinned and standard factory ammo like Core-Loct and Power Points in the mid-grain weight ranges, are designed for deer and often work better than anything else.

If you must use .223 and other light varmint cartridges, pick a bullet designed for deer and at the velocity it will be used. If you pick your shots very carefully and keep the range under 200 yards, you shouldn't lose many deer. IMHO, this is not the way to go for beginning hunters. Military full-jacket rifle bullets should never be used on game.

Lung shot deer will go as much as 20-30 yards, provided the bullet expands adequately. A pencil-sized hole there can be a problem. I know a guy who shot an elk with the first batch of Winchester Fail-Safes throuth the lungs and had to do it 7 times over two days before the elk died from perfectly-placed lung shots. That was a .30-06 out of a Contender. If he'd used the Rem. Core-Locts he had at the ranch, one shot would have been enough. (Nosler and Winchester corrected the problem and they're great bullets now.)

Picher
 
I stand corrected on heart shots then.
I just dont prefer them tho.
I'll pop one in the head, over the chest any day.
DRT is my goal. No running or tracking, and most important to me, no pain or suffering for the animal.
 
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