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Your Top Three
What are your top 3 deer cartridges? And give your reasons they're your favorites. If you don't have a top three, give your top 2, in other words your top choice up to 3 choices.
My first is my .270 Winchester. Why? It has good velocity and is flat shooting and it has served me well through 52 years. It's also supposed to be mild in the recoil department, however my particular rifle not so much. On the bench it will make you want to quit shooting. It slaps the hell out of you, especially after 3 or 4 rounds. However, I shoot full house hand loads and my rifle for a full sized deer rifle is rather light. However, as with many other rifles you don't notice it in the field.
One big gripe about the .270 seems to be bullet choice or lack of it. However through the years that has grown from about 3 different bullet weights, 100 grain, 130 Grain and 150 grain to as many as 7, all the way up to as heavy as 170 grains. And actually, that's 5 more than I'll probably ever use (unless I build a long range .270). Although I have shot 140s out of mine, I usually stay with 130s or on rare occasion I'll use 150 grains, depends on what and where I'm hunting. Once about 45 years back I went hunting on a ranch in South Texas and the deer down there are larger so I took some 150s. I had that box of Remington Core Lokts up until a few years back when I gave them to a friend who bought a new rifle and she needed some rounds to sight it in with..
There's a lot of hoopla over the 100 grain. I bought some once just to say I tried em, but wasn't impressed and I didn't see a purpose for them. They're fast but they won't last. If I want a varmint round I have a .22-250, a .223, a .243, and a couple of .25s that will do that job with less recoil and barrel wear.
My second choice is the .280 Remington. There's a dozen bullets for it, but here again, I can do with 2, maybe three. My go to bullet for deer is 150 grain. It's sort of a half step up from the .270 and if I think I need more bullet mass I like the .280 with 150 grain bullets. However, 140s work great for deer. I just started out loading 150 grain bullets because a friend sold me 400 7mm Nosler Ballistic Tips cheap and I've been using them for the last 11 years. I've also used Sierra 160 grain HP Game Kings but I'm not impressed with the velocities.
My third choice is my .250 Savage just because it's sweet. It's accurate and out to 300 yards its everything I need for deer and pigs. With 115 grain Combined Technologies Ballistic Tips its deadly on deer and hogs.
There's more cartridges I use and love but for my 3 go tos these are the ones.
What's your top three?
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Replies
It is inexpensive to shoot (comparatively) and it will slay monsters (with proper bullet placement). What's not to love.?
.243 Winchester - From light to heavy for caliber.....it does it all. from kid to adult. It does it all. From close to far. It does it all. What's not to love?
.308 Winchester - What can't it do?
I've had such good sucess with my Hawken caplock it's a viable option if I can get close. No cartridges needed. Same with handguns. Good for close up because of my mediocre skill and easy to carry. If it starts with a 4 its out the door.
- George Orwell
The .243 has to be in the list. After that, it changes. That's kind of like asking who my favorite kid is.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
1) .30-06 with 180gr. Rem. Bronze Point
2) .358 Win with 225gr. Sierra SBT
3) .270 Win. with 140gr. SBT
Why, because they always do the job.
JAY
1. 243 Winchester
2. 270 Winchester
3. 1894 Marlin .44 magnum
Life member of the American Legion, the VFW, the NRA and the Masonic Lodge, retired LEO
Wow!
At least 3 votes for Snake's favorite .270 Winchester.
It's been nice knowing you guys.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
.300 Win. Mag.....wheat/bean field rifle
.308 Winchester....anything else rifle
2) .308
3) kind of up in the air. Maybe .454 Casull or .44 Mag
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
1. .223 Remington
2. tie between .30-30 Winchester and .45 Colt (lever action)
3. 30-06 Springfield
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
JAY
JAY
Busted!
I have to admit that I like the .270, but it's more fun to tease others. As I've stated before, I've taken javelina, whitetail deer, antelope, mule deer and elk with this puny cartridge. Dead is dead, and that's about all anyone needs to say.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Now if we throw Red Deer in there I can go with .243 and .22-250 as options. Well at least I think it was a .22-250 as it was an estate rifle and I only used it for one day.
Does it still count against you if you purchase a .270 caliber, never fire it, and swap the barrel to a different caliber?? Is the .270 WSM somehow less despised than the standard .270?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
- .22 LR - for the little critters and plus it's just plain fun to shoot and plink with
- .243 Win - for deer hogs and most any four legged critter in NA that's too large for the .22LR!
- .308 Win - allowed me to reach out to grand when I used to shoot that far and can take any critter in NA, though if I were going for a Grizzly I'd want a bit more horse power and bullet size
Honorable mention would be my .300 WSM for Griz and Big Shaggy's if I ever decide to hunt them again!John 3: 1-21
2. .260 Rem. (have never used, but want one)
3. .308 Win
Yup, a very common theme with a ton of overlap....
For some odd reason I have a love affair with the .25-06 also. Never had 1 or even fired 1. I just want 1. Will probably never actually get 1 though.
N454casull
The rifle was purchased as a donor for a project. It just happened to be a .270 WSM. I was going to use a Rem 700 as a donor, but finding a Rem 700 in a short magnum is not easy around here. A Model 70 in a short magnum can be found from time to time, but no where near as cheap as a 700 can be found. A Model 70 came up and just happened to be a .270. Dont see too many .300 WSM rifles pop up.
Best cartridge I've ever hunted with, in a revolver anyway. Load it light enough that an 8 year old can shoot it one handed, or load it hot enough that a grown man better use both hands. Take anything from mice to moose.
500JRH in a Super Blackhawk revolver.
Because I like to see things blow up.
460 S&W
Yes, I know this is supposed to be top three for deer. These last two choices are a bit much for deer, but hey, dead is dead. My very first handgun big game critter was a buck with the 460 S&W XVR, so the 460 makes my top three because of sentimental value. That gun has since been sent down the road, but it got me started in handgun hunting, and for that, I'm forever grateful.
Next year i plan to use a .50 BMG
I hope to use the equivalent of a .45-70 for a lever gun on a deer this year.