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Best Caliber for Mule Deer

jared2678jared2678 Member Posts: 14 ✭✭
edited February 2008 in Ask the Experts
Going on a Mule deer hunt this year. Thinking of getting a .280 Rem. Any other suggestions?
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Comments

  • bull300wsmbull300wsm Member Posts: 3,289
    edited November -1
    That will work...nice round
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  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My favorite Muley gun is a 280.

    CP
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  • Horse Plains DrifterHorse Plains Drifter Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 40,233 ***** Forums Admin
    edited November -1
    That'll work just fine. Personally I would buy a 30-06, but that's just me.
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  • spooksterspookster Member Posts: 513 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    ,,,Any of the everyday "deer cartridges"6mm-7mm .270-30/06-25/06 etc... will work,,,,Think more about SHOT PLACEMENT and knowing your rifle , I would hunt with a rifle you are familiar with, and start thinking more about judging distances, or getting a range finder as some mule deer areas are flat and its hard to judge the distances in some of that country.
    Kinda like huntin chucks here in the east,,then goin after prairie dogs.
    just my 2 cents and my experiences
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  • sandwarriorsandwarrior Member Posts: 5,453 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    jared2678,

    Anything from a .243 on up to a .338 Win mag will work for mule deer. That said, since you are hunting muleys you may want a flatter shooting cartridge. That would include the .243 Win, 6mm Rem, .257 Rbts, 25-06, .260 Rem 6.5x55(if you reload) .264 Win mag, .270 Win is a big fav back home, 7mm-08, .280 Rem, 7 mag(s), 30-06. 7mm and 8mm Mauser are okay if you reload or buy hotter European ammo. You don't really need anything bigger than a 30-06. But, some want huge hitting power and flat trajectory. So the 300-338 mags come into play.

    I think you will find the slower rounds that launch a heavier bullet will be at a disadvantage out west where the muleys do roam. It's usually a lot more open and shots taken are longer than in the more heavily wooded east.

    My personal choice is a .257 Roberts. Plenty of hit for a mule deer at trajectory's satisfactory out to 400 yds. That is, if you reload...or use Hornady Lite-Mags. And very little recoil.
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  • CS8161CS8161 Member Posts: 13,596 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Up here on the Crow reservation, they use 22 magnum alot. But they are not bound by the same rules and regulations as the rest of us.[:(!]
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  • XXCrossXXCross Member Posts: 1,379 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    It's not WHAT you use, but how WELL you use it!
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  • spooksterspookster Member Posts: 513 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    --- AMEN ---
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  • Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,281 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My personal preference is the 7mm Rem Mag, but as several others have pointed out, there are a lot of effective cartridge/rifles combinations.

    WACA Historian & Life Member

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  • captkirk3@dslextreme.comcaptkirk3@dslextreme.com Member Posts: 3,804
    edited November -1
    My First and My Last Deer, and all the in between Deers were taken with the Venerable old 30-06...Never took but one shot and never Lost one...Thats over Fifty years of experiance talking....
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