The official 2012 deer hunting thread.

[Superwho]

Try his out and see what works for you. Use that as a baseline when you make your purchase

[Gtracer]

Try his out and see what works for you. Use that as a baseline when you make your purchase

Damnit man, dont bring logic into this decision...I am looking for someone to agree that this impulse buy will be the best thing since sliced bread until deer season is over....


But seriously, good thought although I can only shoot one at a time...what cal do ya'll suggest?

[Silverback]

I grew up hunting whitetail with a .308, was an all around good gun. Also shot a .270 and a .30-06, but kept going back to the .308 for some reason.

This year I'll be shooting a .300 Win Mag that my old man decided to pass down.

[ThreeFingerPete]

So I have a question and do not want to hijack so if someone has a simple reply then maybe this wont sidetrack the topic.

I have an offer to go deer hunting this season and I have never been. Growing up my dad went hunting but I was never old enough and they did not trust me with a gun. Well, my stepfather has some land up around Amarillo and offered to take me with him this season for rifle hunting. He has several rifles I can chose from but I see this as an opportunity to go out and buy myself one, only problem is, too many to chose from.

I know the standard calibers i.e.: .308, .270, 30-06...etc but am not sure what caliber would be best for medium to long range hunting. He has plenty of land so distance is not something to worry about but I do have about a $500 budget so I am assuming used will be my best bet.

I see a lot on THF that come with scopes and bi-pods already for decent "package" deals but as stated before, not sure what caliber would be best without 'overkill'. Any advice is appreciated, I would ask him but I guess this is my way of learning something without letting people know I dont know...lol

If you're only going to have one hunting rifle, a .30-06 would be a great choice. will bullet ranges from 110gr to 200gr, you have more choices than with any other single round. I'd also look at a 7mm-08, .308, .270

[Gtracer]

I grew up hunting whitetail with a .308, was an all around good gun. Also shot a .270 and a .30-06, but kept going back to the .308 for some reason.

This year I'll be shooting a .300 Win Mag that my old man decided to pass down.

Yeah I was feeling the .308 but unsure.

I think I will go with this, as you said, it is a good 'all around' caliber. Let me know how that .300 holds up to the .308 when its all said and done. Saw a nice .300WBY in a Remington 700 on THF that was nice...except the $2300 price tag although it did have some nice optics.

Thanks again for the advice

-Chris

[ThreeFingerPete]

Yeah I was feeling the .308 but unsure.

I think I will go with this, as you said, it is a good 'all around' caliber. Let me know how that .300 holds up to the .308 when its all said and done. Saw a nice .300WBY in a Remington 700 on THF that was nice...except the $2300 price tag although it did have some nice optics.

Thanks again for the advice

-Chris

.300 win mag is a lot of rifle for shooting white tail.

[Trip McNeely]

.300 win mag is a lot of rifle for shooting white tail.

Lol. I think I'm overkill at my 7mm mag, but I'd like to go elk hunting too someday.

[Gtracer]

.300 win mag is a lot of rifle for shooting white tail.

60% of the time it works everytime...

[ThreeFingerPete]

60% of the time it works everytime...

Everyone likes to think they're not recoil sensitive.

[dee]

Yoo damn won't want a 300 Weatherby after you bought a box of ammo for it not to mention the added recoil.

[CJ]

I grew up hunting whitetail with a .308, was an all around good gun. Also shot a .270 and a .30-06, but kept going back to the .308 for some reason.

This year I'll be shooting a .300 Win Mag that my old man decided to pass down.

Yeah that's excessive for deer in these parts. .300 win mag if you're shooting extreme distances, but 100-200 yards from a stand is just ridiculous.

[Gtracer]

Yoo damn won't want a 300 Weatherby after you bought a box of ammo for it not to mention the added recoil.

You got that right. Wish I could hunt with a 17HMR...lol be out there all day and not spend more than $15 on ammo

[Sleeper]

We hunt big Kansas white tails with a .243 all the time. A .243 with a off the shelf corelokt will drop a deer no problem.

I use a 165 gr .308 out of a tikka t3 lite. Have dropped a few at 400 yards no problem. Shoot what you can hit something with imho. To some even a lite weight tikka like mine is to much recoil for someone who is not used to shooting a heavy recoil gun.

[Trip McNeely]

We hunt big Kansas white tails with a .243 all the time. A .243 with a off the shelf corelokt will drop a deer no problem.

I use a 165 gr .308 out of a tikka t3 lite. Have dropped a few at 400 yards no problem. Shoot what you can hit something with imho. To some even a lite weight tikka like mine is to much recoil for someone who is not used to shooting a heavy recoil gun.

My 7mm mag is a Tikka t3 lite stainless. Love it.

[dee]

I hunt with a 7mm-08AI now and also really like the 25-06 for a whitetail hunting round.

FWIW I've used everything from a 223, 22-250, 243, 6mm rem, 25-06, 7mm-08(AI'd version though), 7mm Rem mag and 30-06. All work very well the 25-06 and down require attention to bullet type being used since they all double as varmint rounds as well. My advice would be to pick something you are comfortable shooting and that you won't flinch while shooting.