Which caliber for first deer rifle?

For your 1st deer rifle???? Why buy one and then upgrade later when the cost is going to be the same? 243 and 7-08 would work fine for deer but neither will have the energy of the 270. Besides, someday you might get a chance to do a little elk hunting. You have had some experience with the 270 and found it to be pleasant, so my advice it to go with it. By the way, bullet placement is important and I love all these quotes and such that game can be brought down at long distances with small caliber rifles, but down range energy is important too. You can bring down a bear at 200 yds with a 22lr if you hit him in the eye and go into the brain. You can bring down elephant with a 7x57. However, they would not be the best choice. You will be hard pressed to find anything better suited for deer at the range you stated than the 270.
 
Brian BC is never irrelevant, we know you dig the .243, but it's not the kill everything caliber that you think it may be. However a .30 cal could very well be, and if you load proper bullets, it can easily take anything on this continent.
I think the .270 winchester has many benefits for a hunter. Also I like them both, but would carry the larger of the two if the situation dictates.:)
 
Shooting whitetail deer at 225 yards max distance, BC is most assuredly 100% irrelevant. Figure me the difference in the point of impact at 250 yards between two big game bullets with a 150 yard zero in a 10mph cross-wind. BC is irrelevant.

I've never said that a .243 is a "kill everything" caliber but it most certainly is a kill everything up to at least elk size caliber. Shot placement matters, the energy you put in the tree on the other side of the animal doesn't matter. The .041 or .065 difference in the size of the hole is irrelevant.
 
Before Sandy Hook, I would have said .308 because you can find it anywhere from multiple manufacturers in several bullet weights. Now that there has been a run on 'military' ammo and there is no .308 in stores anywhere, I would say 7mm-08 or 270.
 
My first deer rifle was a 243. Shot many deer with it
you can't go wrong with the 270 either. I love my 243 with
100 gr Noslers.
 
I like .308 for a do it all caliber. Especially if deer will be your primary target. 7mm-08 is just as good and funny as it may seem, easier to find, at least right now. I've killed deer with a .243 as well, and if I was doing any sort of varmint hunting, might consider it, but for majority deer, I'd go a little heavier. Just my two cents.
 
Bought my daughter a 7mm-08 and she had trouble with recoil. Sold it and bought the same model rifle in .243 for her and she liked it much better. I shot both rifles and felt there was significantly more recoil with the 7mm-08.
I have a .270 and a .243 but do the vast majority of my deer hunting with my 6.5x55 which I think compares to the 7mm-08 more than a .243 or .270. I am in my 50's and have had a couple of shoulder operations so recoil is an issue with me.

That being said, since you stated that the .270 was comfortable my opinion is that it would be the most versatile, meaning if your situation were to change; ie, shooting at longer distances or larger game. For your exact situation now I think any would work. The one caveat is that where I live, 7mm-08 ammo is a good bit more expensive.
 
[I'll disagree with the .243. While yes, it is a suitable deer caliber it can also be a deer wounder in the hands of an inexperienced hunter.]

So can anything else.
I have killed deer with a .243, .270, .300 Wby, and 7MM Rem Mag.
The .243 has as high percentage of in the track kills as the other cartridges. I have killed 2 antelope with it at slightly over 500 yards without any difficulty.

Of the OP I would go with the .243.

Jerry
 
Yall know you cant kill a deer with a .243. Deer are armor plated. I recommend nothing smaller than a .338 Lapua. Preferably a .50BMG.:D:D:D
 
.243, Hands Down

The .243 is a hard hitting, low recoil, and accurate round. It is more accurate at 400 yards than the 30-06. It is a great round for deer, because it doesn't recoil much at all, and has the power to drop a deer. The Ruger American Rifle is a great rifle, and has a very smooth action. I tried the action of a .243 Ruger American Rifle and it was a nice short, smooth action. .243 is definitely what you want to start out on. Hope this helped and let us know what you decided on. They are all great rounds, but the .243 is what you need to start!
 
While I am guilty of preferring old straight cased ,large caliber chambered rifles that shoot heavy bullets with rainbow trajectories.......my .243 caliber rifle has cleanly killed a couple deer requiring one shot each that I just bought before last deer hunting season ! I bought the rifle for the main purpose of varmint hunting go figure ! :) Very little recoil , flat shooting , and can be chambered in light easy carrying rifles.....what's not to like !
 
I have used a .270 on deer sized game for almost 40 years, but if I were starting out right now I would buy the Ruger American or Savage Trophy XP package in 7mm'08. It is excellent..very accurate and easy on the shoulder. If antelope is in your future, you might want to lean back towards the .270 or 25'06. Both are a bit flatter shooting.
 
If that is true, I challenge you to build a winning bench rest rifle out of a .35 Remington or a .44 magnum. All other things being equal, they would get their rear ends handed them by the 6ppc the .30Br, and about 100 other cartridges.
 
reynolds357 said:
If that is true, I challenge you to build a winning bench rest rifle out of a .35 Remington or a .44 magnum. All other things being equal, they would get their rear ends handed them by the 6ppc the .30Br, and about 100 other cartridges.
Click to expand...


Reductio ad absurdum

Reduced to the absurd.

First, those are CARTRIDGES, not calibers.

Accuracy is NOT caliber dependent. That's why snipers use .338 Lapua, .300Win Mag and .50 BMG.

Some cartridges are inherently more accurate than others, that's completely different than similar calibers.
 
mauser 8mm post

at 400 yard a .243 drops about 20" and is barely packing 1000 ft.lb of energy. I consider it just barely a deer cartridge at that range....ok for small deer but not a big Iowa buck.

The 30'06 drops about the same but is still packing almost 1700 ft lb of energy. Still elk medicine and plenty for any deer that roams the woods.
 
I will say,( for once) I totally agree with Brian's Quote: Reduced to the absurd.
Reynolds, what are you thinking about? You can build a benchrest rifle in both .35 caliber and .44 caliber...There isn't a caliber that you couldn't build a rifle to..... with money and smarts, man can do most anything.;)
And Doyle Is right because accuracy isn't caliber specific.:)
And Woolybooger Iowa is a "shotgun/muzzleloader" state, as pertaining to firearms deer hunting. (pistols can be used in rifle calibers I beleive)
 
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