What medium caliber in X-Bolt for deer?

You just want a new rifle, don't you...?

:D

Remington makes 'less recoil' ammo. Maybe in .300 Win.Mag. Don't know for sure.

I'd spend the money on ammo instead of a new rifle.
Or a new scope or something.

But, if you really want a new rifle, I'd spend the money on a new rifle...!!!
Hope that helped! ;)

P.S. If it's dead, it wasn't overkill.
 
To supplement a 300, I'd pick a 243 or 25-06. The 25 will do everything that the 243 will do and will be reliable on large mule deer. The 270 will bring you within recoil range of the 300.
 
.270 for sure, cheap to shoot and plenty of knock down power behind them. 115 or 130s for deer and load up 150s for elk within 150 or 200 yards and your good to go. I just wouldnt shoot anything past 200 yards on elk with a .270
 
257 weatherby just to shake things up. Ammo is more expensive unless you reload, but honestly, how much will you shoot unless you're carrying it to the range every weekend. It's a 25 06 on steroids.
 
From your list I'd say 270 with 130 gr bullets and don't second guess yourself later. You are good from rabbit to moose. Old caliber but it works as good today as it did 50 years ago.

I make my recommendation on the fact that I do not know where you live and the 270 is good anywhere for nearly anything. If you are on the plains or in the desert I would have said 25-06 but 270 works out good there too.
 
Id recommend the 270 as well, but you mentioned that you are interested in a short action. A 270 and 25 06 are going to require a standard length if that is not a bother for you.

If it doesnt, the 270 is by far the most versatile cartridge youve named, ammo is available just about every place which cares to stock any at all, and shoots pretty flat too. A bit overpowered for small varmints, but then there is the off season practice to consider too:D
 
So what in your opinion is the biggest benefit with going with the .270 vs the 7mm-08 guys? I'm not tying to answer my own question, but to me It seems the .270 has the most selection, and slightly cheaper ammo if your shooting the bargain stuff. If your shooting the good stuff, like Hornady, Winchester Silver Tips, Federal Vital Shok etc, the prices are about even with most other calibers.

I hate to admit it, and this should probably be another thread topic, but I found myself looking at the ballistics of the .270WSM vs. the standard .270. Its not a whole lot of difference, but the WSM's do lend them selves a few favors. They are short action, and with the short and fat necked cartridge, you get more efficient powder burn and with that comes better accuracy. This is nothing that a good hand-loader can't accomplish on their own with the standard .270, but again I'm not a hand-loader. On the flip-side of the coin, the WSM's don't share the selection, availability, and price point of the standards of which they were born. I wonder if the WSM's are another bunch of "fad" calibers. (something tells me they aren't)
 
You just want a new rifle, don't you...?
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yup:D

I make my recommendation on the fact that I do not know where you live and the 270 is good anywhere for nearly anything. If you are on the plains or in the desert I would have said 25-06 but 270 works out good there too.
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I live in suburban NJ. In NJ you can't hunt with a rifle, just a shot gun, so I will be rifle hunting deer in NY, PA, and I also might be going to IL this year. I assume you're taking in distances beyond 200 yards on the 25-06 recommendation.
 
270 vs 7mm-08 vs 270WSM? It doesn't matter. All three will do what you want. Heck, a 30-30 will do what you want. Pick the 270 because of ammo availability.
 
.270 would be my choice (yes, I own a .270). Easy to find factory ammo ranging from 100 gr Remington Express to 150 gr "good stuff" that'll put the hurt on an elk sized creature.
That said, the 7mm-08 and .270 WSM are neat if you like the short action. If you're not after cheap ammo, and the increased ammo cost of the WSM is not a big deal, I might look at the .270WSM
 
The 270 will bring you within recoil range of the 300.
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I don't see how...

Cartridge (Wb@MV)------------------Rifle Weight/Recoil energy/Recoil velocity
.270 Win. (130 at 3140)------------------8.0------------16.5----------n/a
.270 Win. (140 at 3000)------------------8.0------------17.1----------11.7
.270 Win. (150 at 2900)------------------8.0------------17.0----------11.7
.270 WSM (130 at 3275)------------------8.0------------18.7----------12.3
.270 WSM (150 at 3000)------------------8.0------------18.9----------12.3

.300 Win. Mag. (150 at 3320)------------8.5-------------23.5----------13.3
.300 Win. Mag. (165 at 3110)------------8.0-------------26.2----------14.5
.300 Win. Mag. (180 at 2960)------------8.5-------------25.9----------14.0
.300 WSM (150 at 3300)------------------8.25-----------22.5----------13.3
.300 WSM (180 at 2970)------------------7.25-----------27.1----------15.5
.300 WSM (180 at 2970)------------------8.25-----------23.8----------13.6
 
I'll cast my vote for the .270 among the choices.

It's a good round that should meet your needs with plenty to spare, given the qualifications and parameters you laid out.

Biker
 
The .270 is a fine catridge but I have no use for it. I have a bunch of 30'06's, a .243 or two, a 280, 7mmMag's and my 7mm-08. I've never been a big fan of the 25'06 just because everyone I know that has had one and shot it on a regular basis has told me that after a little while it starts to lose accuracy as the barrel wears faster. Whether or not that's true, I don't know for sure. If I were looking at .25 caliber rounds the .257 Bob would get my nod.

I'm looking into building a 6.5-284 Norma since I handload the ammo but wouldn't even consider it if I didn't.

My favorite deer hunting cartridge right now is the 7mm-08. I load it up with a 150grn Nosler BT over 45.5grn of H4350 and a Win LR primer. It clips along about 2700fps and is absolutely devastating on everything I've shot with it. I like the fact that the 7mm/284 has such a wide variety of bullet weights to choose from like the .30 cailber rounds and since I handload its easier when I get a standardized weight that all my 7mm's like. Of course modern day bullets are a far cry from those older hunks of lead we use to chunk downrange.

Since you threw the Elk in there I'd stay away from the .243 Win, yeah it can do the job but so could a .223 given the right circumstances, like a head shot. Now for deer, I plan on using my new Savage .243 some next season but doubt very seriously it'll totally replace my Sako 7mm-08. Anything you listed will do a fine job on the deer but since there aren't any elk on the coastal plain of SC, I'm going to leave the for sure's for those that do hunt them, I just know that I wouldn't be using a .243 for a 1000lb animal.
 
I assume you're taking in distances beyond 200 yards on the 25-06 recommendation.
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Yes indeed, 300-400 shots on deer, antelope, coyote were par for the course. I was using a .308 and my commanding officer was using a 25-06. I was using iron sights and he was using a scope and I dearly wanted to trade with him. He still would have out shot me but the coyotes were to small for me at that distance and the antelope weren't much easier. I'd have to belly crawl another 50 yards closer but he didn't have to. I was using 180 gr bullets but for what we were shooting 130 gr 270 cal would have been plenty.

I don't know where in Illinois you are planning on going but you had better bring your shotgun. One reason I left Illinois and moved back to Wisconsin. I'm still using .308 as my primary weapon but now I have a lot of other toys in other calibers to fall back on. Come to think of it my first deer in New Mexico was with a .357 mag Single six at 135 yards. I don't do that anymore. Only deer I ever had to shoot twice and I don't like having to shoot twice. Today I wouldn't take that shot but I would with a rifle.
 
I'm not really sure why so many people favor "small" rifles for deer. I know I am stealing a line here, but all other things being equal, bigger bullets usually work better ;)

As long as you can still shoot a slightly larger rifle equally well, I would not recomment a 5.56 or 6mm or perhaps even 6.5mm rifle for deer. (though I know they can be used effectively I believe moderate 7mms and 30s have an advantage) Perhaps if you have some reason, like recoil affecting your back problems, or only having a budget for one rifle and wanting to use it to hunt small varmints as well as deer, then you could compromise and make due with a "smaller" rifle.

By the way, why rule out .308 just because you are thinking of getting a target rifle in that caliber later? Having a deer rifle in the same caliber MAY allow you to use bullets with the same down range ballistics and save you a bit of memorization when it comes to long shots, and if you ever do get into handloading, you could most likely use the same dies and save some cash and/or clutter.

Anyway, of your first list of calibers, I would go with 7mm-08 for a nice light recoiling, moderately long range rifle with decent knock down power on deer. Loaded with the right bullets, it is a decent little round. But the .270 has a long history of getting the job done nicely as well and might be easier to find ammo for if you are in a pinch and need to get your hands on some with very short notice.
 
Interesting that the 270 win would have less recoil than the 270 WSM with the same weight projectile.
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There is no mystery; though the two cartridges may be firing the exact same bullet, the WSM is a bigger case, loaded to higher pressures, and uses at least 10% more power. This gives the WSM move velocity with the same projectile, and more velocity equals more recoil. (and often a louder report)
 
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