I consider myself a serious deer hunter I guess, but I don't drive myself crazy much anymore. I don't waste much time or money on the clothes, the gadgets, or the theories--I waste my time and money where it counts: on my rifles.
Do I spend a fortune on them? No, that's not what I meant. I mean, I get what catches my eye, then work hard to squeeze every ounce of utility from them. I work up my own handloads for each that'll shoot the most accurate and buy it the best optics I can afford (or embezzle). And then I shoot it and then shoot it some more as far as I can to get to know what it can and cannot do. I also figure out along the way what I can and cannot do with the rifle.
If I had an AR-15 I'd hunt with it.
Here's a list of what I've used on game, and my impression--my impression of course.
223 Remington: Remington Model 700 ADL.
I broke my neck, and would have never used this cartridge to hunt deer, but I was wary of recoil to my healing vertebrae. I also happen to shoot this rifle alot, so I have the utmost confidence in it. So when I was hunkered down in my burlap poncho on the hay field, I had no compunction using this diminutive cartridge on a medium sized doe.
I thumped her in the head while shooting off sticks. Strangely, my hunting buddy had radioed me if I "had seen anything" and I whispered, "Hang on," into my radio while squeezing off the shot. He got to hear the report through his radio and then a moment later through the air. That was kinda neat.
So if you wanted to use an old bolt gun with the old, slow and familiar twist rate, I'd stick to head shots inside 100 yards. With a new AR with a fast-twist barrel and 60 gr Noslers or something, I'd go on and take a classic broadside body shot out to 150 yards. Bullet placement is super critical if you want to find the deer you shot and killed.
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| The .223 Remington. The Chap Stick is for scale. |
This rifle and cartridge are insanely versatile. I can load 55 grain varmint bullets to 4000 feet per second (fps) and I can load 100 grain bullets for deer to damn near 3100 fps safely and many different bullet weights in between!
The mild recoil make it a good gun for folks who don't like getting the crap kicked out of them at the range or while hunting. Though, you rarely notice recoil when you're hunting. Lots of people hand these to kids as their first deer rifle, but the recoil can still be a little stout for a little practicing off the bench. It was for my kids I felt like. I did hunt with it the minute I got my cervical collar off for the rest of the '07-08 season.
The handful of deer I have shot with them died and were found. They all ran, dead on their feet, for a pretty good distance, but that was with classic broadside shots through the chest cavities. I imagine I could neck shoot deer with this rifle and collect them where they stood.
It's a good cartridge, but bullet placement is pretty critical. 100 grains is pretty dang small. My 700 shoots so well that I don't think I'll ever give it up unless the IRS forces me to, but past 150 yards, you better be dead on.
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| The 100 grain for deer on the left, and the 55 grain. |
6.5X55MM (Swedish Mauser): Mod 98 Santa Barbara/Mod 70 Winchester/Mod 700 Rem.
Three rifles chambered in this cartridge? Yes. That's how much I think of it. With 140 grain bullets, this dog hunts. I found out one day quite by accident, that this 140 grain bullet at a steady 2700 fps had the same "trajectory" as a 150 grain bullet from my .308 going 2900 fps with less "KAPOW" and less recoil. An inch and half high at a hundred yards and two inches low at 200 is in my tiny mind, just about perfect for any rifle. It's long and skinny and slips through the air quite easily.
I've never lost a deer with this cartridge. The recoil is on par with a .243, but the payload is much heavier and steadier. I even killed a coyote with it but instantly felt guilty about that.
I couldn't recommend this cartridge as there aren't any new rifles being made for it meaning you'd have to get someone to build one for you. The cartridge is an intermediate between "Short Action" and "Long Action" so you might have feed problems in your long action rifle you have built for it. If you buy an old Mauser, you'll have to shoot wimpy factory loads which build pressures with the ancient age of old Mausers in mind. Of course, as a handloader, none of that bothers me, so I love these rifles and what they can do.
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| 140 Grain sweetness. |
260 Remington: Remington Model Seven.
This, like the above Swede, is a .264 caliber cartridge. I love it too. In short, I would say, they made a cartridge to shoot like a swede, but to dimensions that allow it to be packaged into short action rifles. And there ain't no rifle action shorter and handier than is used in a Remington Model Seven. The rifle is a delight to use. Mine was snapped up when it was a youth model, but I added a recoil pad to make it adult sized.
Everything I said about the Swede is of course true for the .260. I loaded it with 100 grain bullets for my son when he was ready to move up from his first deer rifle. And for the last two years, he's been using this Seven to do all his hunting, but loaded with the lethal 140 grain projectiles. He doesn't know this of course. I have him practice with the 100 grainers at the bench so he doesn't beat himself to death and develop a flinch, and then switch him out to the 140 grainers when he hunts. They miraculously share the same "zero" in that little Seven, and that's a real plus.
The only drawback to my set up is barrel length, but I'm going to fix that shortly when I build one on a Model 70 Winchester action with a 22 inch barrel from Douglas. That's what hunters should do on the off season; buy and shoot new rifles!
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| The 140 grain on the left, 100 grain on the right. |
6.8 Remington SPC (Special Purpose Cartridge): Remington Model 700 Light Varminter.
If you think about it, killing really ain't all that special a purpose for a rifle cartridge! I actually stuck this .270 caliber rifle action into a youth model stock and took my kids hunting with it. My son got his first deer with it--and what a deer it was! The recoil is very mild, but with a 110 grain bullet, it felt to me that it would have a more lethal effect than say a .223. And it wouldn't beat the kids silly like a .243 Win would at the bench.
I crawled up on a little buck and dropped him where he stood with a lucky shoulder shot once. And that just goes to show, that shot placement is critical when shooting animals with this rifle. Also, it it's probably a little to wimpy to stretch out past 100 yards or so for deer.
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| It's a 110 Grain .270 caliber. |
270 Winchester: Remington Model 700 Moutain Rifle.
Obviously, the .270 is the heat. Its reputation was made on the 130 grain bullet and that's all I ever used. I had some 150's for it, but I never got around to using them. I've since sold the rifle I had, but this is the cartridge I recommend to anyone wanting to get started deer hunting. I mean, the cartridges and rifles are available anywhere in these United States at anytime you want them.
The only downside in my mind (only, probably) is that these rifles are long action rifles which for a little feller like me makes stock crawling and scope mounting somewhat problematic...sometimes. You'll never have any trouble out of it and if you shoot it alot, you'll get really good with it.
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| A factory 130 grain topped cartridge. |
7MM-08 Remington: Remington Model Seven/Remington Model 700.
This is a huge step up from the 243 Win. even though it too is a short-action cartridge. In the Model Seven, it's a joy to carry though recoil can get a bit stout--but you never notice that from the tree you're in. This is a cartridge that can be used for all manner of game depending on which load you roll yourself, or buy in a box at Gander Mtn.
The two I have have served me well. The Seven is the veritable tack driver which only boosts confidence. The last deer I shot in the 2011-12 season was a 96 yard head shot with this rifle. Having helped hunting buddy's look for four wounded deer that year, I decided I would start dropping deer in their tracks. The 700 I own, however, is going to get reamed out to 284 Winchester, but that is another story...
I would recommend this cartridge to anyone, but ammo can be hard to come by out in the sticks. It's plenty of gun for deer and frankly, everything else in NC that "they'll" let us shoot.
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| 150 Grain bullet. |
280 Ackley Improved: Remington Model 700.
Yeah. I know. This is a 7MM cartridge and this was my first "custom" rifle. The .280 Ackley is based of course on the 280 Remington but with the case "blown out" and the shoulder angle sharpened more than the parent case. Why? So we handloaders can stuff more propellant into the case and force the bullet down range faster.
Yeah. Why? Well, I can just match the "ballistics" of the 7MM Remington Magnum cartridge with this cartridge but with a 24 inch barrel, two more cartridges in my magazine, and with less powder which means cheaper as well. The recoil is a little less too because of less propellant, but only slightly. This rifle isn't much fun to shoot off the bench, but it's not as fierce as a 7MM Mag.
In fact, every three or four years or so I forget and buy a 7MM Mag, take it to the range, and quickly remind myself why I don't own one! I'm a little feller.
The cartridge is fine. It will do anything the .270 Winchester will do without a whole lot of difference. It is a "long range" number and being thus, it was the first cartridge I ever shot and was able to recover the bullet from the corpse.
An improved cartridge is something handloaders do because the plain Jane version of the cartridge isn't sexy enough. On the bright side, regular factory ammo will do in a pinch if need be with only the loss of velocity and a changed zero.
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| 150 grain bullet. |
30 Winchester Center Fire (30-30 Winchester): Marlin 336CS/Western Field M740
I can't say anything bad about this cartridge and the Marlins I have toted. Well, I won't. It's true, people will sniff when they see you carrying it afield now and that's a shame really. The 30-30 belies the importance of paper "ballistics" when it thumps deer dead. Flat metplats and modest velocities have always been lethal at moderate ranges.
But you know what? Hornady's LeveRevolution ammunition has changed the game forever. I don't bother to reload 30-30 ammo but will start now as the components for Hornady's awesome, spitzer pointed lever gun ammo has become available to us reloaders. The pointy bullets with the rubber tips are exactly what tubular magazined rifles need! These have turned 30-30's into semi-long ranged rifles.
Of course, the cartridge is fine up close and personal in the hardwoods. The first high powered rifle I ever bought was a Marlin in 30-30 Winchester in 1984, and I still got it though I yanked out the weird little "cross-bolt safety" and old hardwood stock I cracked playing Rooster Cogburn--spinning a 336 is harder than it looks...so was that concrete floor.
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| Hornady LeveRevolution, an old Winchester, and an ancient saboted .22. |
7.5X54MM MAS: MAS Model 1936.
The cartridge is fine. It's .308 caliber, a 150 grain bullet cooking out of the muzzle at about 2750 fps, so it's plenty deadly. The problem is the rifle. It's an old French number from before WWII. It has a good sight system for shooting in broad daylight but deer (and the Viet Minh) only come out in the wee hours of the morning and the fading light of dusk...but I harvested a deer with it.
The 7.5 is in the same class as the good ol' .300 Savage. It is plenty lethal and has plenty of punch, but obviously no one who isn't on a mission is going to hunt deer with it. I've been on a mission to kill something with every rifle in my safe for a while, and the MAS 36 was in there so it got its chance to shine.
I don't recommend it.
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| Medium length, giant case head. |
308 Winchester: Remington M 700/Rem M 788/Browning BBR/Marlin XS7
If I had to give up all of my rifles and settle for one, it'd be in 308 Winchester and it'd be a toss up between that Model 700 and the Marlin XS7. Saying the 308 is versatile is an understatement. Think of it as a 30-06 short! Handloading just carries that versatility to the Nth degree as one gets into countless combinations of bullet weight and applications.
Having practiced with rifles in this cartridge so much, I have a confidence level with my .308's that borders on cocky. And that of course means good, clean shots afield. The other good thing about this cartridge is that it too fits into the light, short-action rifles which I prefer. In fact, I'll have you know, that this cartridge, having started life as a military chambering, has been necked up and down and is the granddaddy of my 243 Win, 260 Rem, and 7mm-08 Rem and big poppi to the 338 Federal and 358 Winchester which I don't own...yet. All of those cartridges are based on the 308 Winchester case and all fit into short, easily-toted rifles.
Of course it's a good deer round. That's needless to say, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to start hunting or just start shooting. Ammunition is everywhere and pretty easy to find, and there's tons of different configurations to choose from. Have at it.
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| The 308 Win might be all you need. |
30-06 Springfield: Rem 700 BDL/Mauser 98/1903 Springfield/Rem Model 30 Express.
This is America's 30 caliber cartridge. It's the father of so many cartridges that I won't list them all as it would make me crazy. In the list I'm making here, it's the father of the 280 and 270. It's a long action, good for any game in North America and by default, the great state of NC too.
It's not my go to gun for one reason. It's just too dull. It's just too ho hum because everyone has one. And, it kicks like a damn mule! The last deer I shot with one was from a vintage 1926 Model 30 Express Remington with open sights in the 2010-11 season. Because so many rifles have been chambered in 30-06, when a weird, old rifle no one wants catches my eye, I'll buy it even if it's chambered thus.
That old 98 Mauser has the faint Nazi Eagle on it though it was polished off mostly. My '03 Springfield, the rifle that was designed around the cartridge more or less when *it* was the premier assault rifle, would probably curl my hair if it could speak of what it had been through.
Anyway, it's always going to be a good choice for hunting even if it won't wow your guntard friends. Ammunition is everywhere--even rustic gas stations in the middle of nowhere right next to the RC colas and corn nuts.
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| Rifle Cartridge, Calibre .30, Model of 1906. |
35 Remington: Marlin 336CS/Remington 760 Game Master
This is one of those cartridges that I love and use late in the season when I've shot a few deer, but want to limit my shots for the rest of the season so I don't look like a blood-thirsty maniac. It's made it's reputation in the Marlin lever action rifle, but was invented for a semi-automatic rifle.
In the Marlin, flat nosed bullets are the order of the day because of the tubular magazine--or are they? Again, Hornady's LeveRevolution Ammunition has changed the game somewhat. It's still an inside a hundred yard cartridge--mine shoots eight inches low at 200 yards--but the pointy, rubber-tipped spitzers are way more accurate.
It just packs more punch than the 30-30 yet has the same range from the same type of Marlin, so what's not to love? The Remington 760 is just a fun, vintage rifle that doesn't care if the ammo is pointed or not. It's a pump-action rifle, a "yankee lever gun", that I fell in love with and waited six years for the pawn shop to come down off their price!
Factory ammunition is good, and Hornady's is great. Limit your shots to inside 100 yards and you're hunting with a big bore.
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| Old flat-nose on left, and Hornady's LeveRevolution. |
350 Remington Magnum: Remington Model 700 Classic.
This stomper was made for killing giant, scary animals, and I respect that, but we're short on those in my neck of the woods. All we got is deer. The recoil is so brutal that I've only the guts to put a fixed four power Leupold on top of this thing because it has such generous eye relief.
I've worked up a pet load that shucks a 200 grain spitzer out at 2800 fps and have never bothered to experiment further with it. Why? This is all you need. Well, and you'll need some dies for reloading because as I write this, no one is making ammunition for this bad boy which means you'll have to roll your own.
So why own such a hot house flower? Because the rifle is gorgeous, a short action, and light as a feather. No one's got one, and that makes it a guntard's dream.
And the cartridge isn't as hard on deer as you'd think it would be. I've actually seen a doe shot with the 350 strung up right beside one shot with a 270 at the processor's, and was surprised at the difference between the injuries. Each were easy to see without the skin. Both were shot near 100 yards, but the 270 shot doe was mangled to point of losing the off side front leg while my doe wasn't nearly as battered.
It's a good cartridge, and if the Greensboro Bear ever shows his grimy face during bear season...I'll be ready...or her face.
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| The original "Short Magnum" from 1965! |
375 Winchester: Marlin 375.
An even bigger bore than the 350 Rem mag, this cartridge is actually a pussy cat. It's chambered in lever guns, so it has to be loaded with flat-nosed bullets, but since it's 375 caliber, it already contains more punch than the either the 30-30 or 35 Remington. Well it too loves a 200 grain bullet, cut its teeth on a 200 grain bullet, and that's all I have ever loaded in it.
The one doe I have harvested with this rifle and cartridge dropped in her tracks at 107 yards. Lucky hit? That of course is possible, but it permanently fixed in my mind the thought that I said earlier: Flat noses and moderate velocities hit really hard, harder even than paper "ballistics" would lead you to believe.
But, it's an odd duck and you might have to search long and hard for ammo, and pay a pretty penny for a rifle--especially an original Winchester Big Bore in which the cartridge was first introduced. You might think it worth it if you handloaded I suppose. I did.
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| A "new" cartridge that owes it's life to the old 38-55 Winchester. |
444 Marlin: Marlin 444S.
If the 350 Rem Mag is a stomper, then the 444 Marlin is a double-stomper! You can find factory ammunition for it, and maybe you should since it comes with a 240 grain, flat-nosed bullet. I read the manuals, and they all lauded the 265 grain Hornady flat-nosed bullet as far superior--and maybe it is. But from a Marlin 336 action (called 444s) the recoil is brutal.
I have said above, when you're hunting, you don't notice recoil, but when you're hunting with this cartridge, you better beware. I scoped mine with a low power variable for the extra eye-relief but still hesitate before I squeeze the trigger to take stock of where my face is, where my eyebrow is. At the bench I take the rear Butler Creek flip-up scope cover all the way off as it's that close during recoil.
Is it too much for white-tail? Yes, I would say so. But for up close, inside one hundred yards, slow and fat will get the job done. A poorly hit deer will probably succumb very quickly and be found rather than disappear into the brush to die slowly or at the mouths of predators. I wouldn't recommend it for beginner shooters though.
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| When your 44 Rem Mag is too weak! |
The Rest
The only cartridges and rifles left that I own and would consider shooting deer with are:
45-70 Government: Marlin 1895
This bruiser was a military cartridge until the 1890's or so. Made for killing American Indians back when that was cool. It's rough enough to kill anything in North America and might be a tad harsh on deer, but it would do that pretty well.
The recoil is so harsh with a jacketed, 300 grain flat-nosed bullet that I won't even put a scope on it. Right now I have a rear Weaver "peep" sight on it and might stick with that. This is the only rifle I have ever shot and worried about my retina detaching. I'm almost not kidding.
44 Remington Magnum: Marlin 1894
This is a pistol cartridge that has made it's way into small, lever-action carbines as well. I would love to thump a deer with this--think of it as a 444 Marlin Short--since it has plenty of gas to get the job done as long as the range is reasonable, say, inside of 100 yards.
The little rifle would look ridiculous with a scope, so it too is an iron sighted proposition. That means it'll have to be broad daylight and classic broadside before I'll attempt a shot. But it would do well I imagine.
357 Magnum: Marlin 1894CS
This may be the weakest cartridge anyone should shoot at deer. And I'll only do it opened sighted, broadly lit, and inside 75 yards. This is the cartridge for guys who can get deer almost to bow-hunting range. This for the doe that wanders right up to the blind and then won't go away unless you throw your cushion at her, or kill her.
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| The 45-70, 44 Mag, and the 357 Mag. |
So, that's it. My impressions aren't ironclad, and might even be wrong. I know a guy who only hunts with two rifles, two Weatherby's, and they're both chambered in 270 Winchester, and he thinks he's got all his bases covered. And he does I suppose, but that's not a fun way to live if you ask me.
I've gathered a few rifles in several different chamberings and a few different models, and I've enjoyed taking them out and seeing what we can do together. The only caveat I would give to anyone wanting to hunt is something my hero once said, and even titled a book the same, and that's, "Use enough gun!"
-rbm
