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30- 06, 270, 308
wolfpack
Member Posts: 1,250 ✭✭✭✭
Rifle deer season is quickly approaching in many states. There has been an abundance of new super calibers in the last few years and some of them do have their place in the right applications. I too have been enamored with some of the new stuff but is there really anything the old standard calibers can't take care of in 90% or more of hunting situations? Maybe one of the big 300 calibers for Elk would be a good choice? Personally I think a 7mm-08 is ideal for deer. Tell me what you think.
Comments
Most of the time I grab the 30-06 but I have taken a real liken to the 270 weatherby especially if I'm hunting a couple of the cotton fields where I can stretch the shots
I think the three chamberings you listed in the title are plenty adequate to humanely harvest any animal in North America. Everything has limits, so if one wants to start shooting elk at over 400 yards then one of the 7mm or .30 magnums would be a wise choice.
Took a nice doe at 250 yards with my 30.06, one shot and she was down. Son-in-law was with me in the elevated blind so I have a witness. I'll stick with it.
Brother hunts with his 30.06 and/or 30-30. They both get the job done.
308
Killed a lot of deer and a couple elk with my old 8mm but have been using a Ruger M77 in 7mm-08 lately.
I think the 6.5x55 deserves honorable mention for its use in Norway and Sweden for big game.
.270 is my favorite. That said, I have really taken to the .350 Legend for hunting the thickets. It’s like a cheaper version of my beloved old .35 Remington, and it comes in really compact little rifles (including ARs).
Oh yeah, I forgot about brother using the 35 Remington that was handed down from our Dad.
I hunted for 40+ years in Illinois and was stuck with just a slug gun for most of it… When I retired and moved to Missouri, I chose the .308 mainly because I had some experience firing that caliber out to 400 yards and was comfortable with it.
Since moving to Missouri, I have taken whitetail deer out to 275 yards with it. It does the job very well and not too hard on this old fud to shoot.
I've got a 6.5x55 but have never shot a critter with it! The last few years I hunted the western states, my go to guns were a 300wsm and a 270wsm just to judge how they performed and they did well. That being said, I otherwise have taken deer/antelope with .257 Roberts, 280 Rem, 30/30 and by far my favorite, the 7x57. My hand loads for my 70's vintage model 77 put out a 140gr Nosler at about 2800 fps and appears to be more than enough for my needs. So I can agree with you on the 7/08 because the performance is just about identical.
30 .06 for anything
I have never had an animal refuse to die because of the wrong headstamp on my fired round. I have taken deer out to 350 yards with the puny 30 Herrett and at five feet with a .38 Special. The ones I shot with a .308 weren't any deader.
I once wrote an opinion piece that postulated the two "magic" bullet speeds were 2800 and 2400 fps. Do some chart reading and you'll notice that a whole lot of chamberings with their ideal bullet weight have muzzle speeds very near one or the other of those numbers. Common cup and core bullets designed for those speeds are just about perfect for our non-dangerous game.
Those three do it for me. I have a .300 Blackout I havent shot anything with, I might try it.
Had a 300 win mag I got at a pawn shop for a good price. It was a Rem 710 with the broken gray stock. Gun was filthy and had mud in the barrel.
I cleaned it up real good, replaced the stock with a new black synthetic free from Remington. Did a cold blue on the barrel. Sold it back to the pawn shop for decent profit.
Age, arthritis, and injuries have taken me out of the 'big gun' field. I started with a 30/06 hunting rifle. Later in the 'big boy' long range game, I moved up to a 300 Win mag but that got old fairly quick. Backed down to 257 Wby (same recoil as 30/06 but longer 'hold on brown' capability). Still too much so dropped back to .308 and then 7mm08 trying to reduce recoil w/o losing terminal performance. Now, I'm at a level that I feel is comfortable and effective—6.5 Creedmoor. Basically same bullet weight as 7mm08 but with better wind bucking ability and long range terminal performance right up there with .308.
A 'good shot' can kill deer with darned near anything under optimal conditions.
Shots are close here. 44 Mag revolver is perfect medicine.
Truth be told, it really doesn't matter what you use, as long as you use it within it's capabilities. That said, you'll have a heck of a time prying my 270 Winchester out of my hands.
When I had a custom rifle made 25 years ago or better, I decided on the 7x57mm. I have been out west and hunted with a 280 Remington and 7x57mm Mauser before I had my rifle made. The 7x57mm done everything I wanted to do so I went with it.
The secret to dropping any animal is bullet placement and bullet selection, and practice before hand and know your limitations.
The 30 caliber rounds will do just as well as the 7mm, I just personally prefer the 7mm.
I remember reading a story published years ago about Jack O'Conner. He was in the hospital and had previously ordered the last of Winchesters 7x57 barrels put on a model 70 and sent to a custom gun maker. The rifle was finished and brought to him in the hospital (those were the days!). It was said his health was immediately improved.
.270 win is a good round. My wife has brought home whitetail, muley, and antelope using her .270
Started with 308 and 30-06 almost 55 years ago. Worked well for all these years. Dead deer couldn't tell the difference ,neither could I. While I have always dreamed of a .375 H&H ,being as there are no grizzlies or cape Buffalo in my area I never could justify the cost. If I were to change at this late date I would go to a 275 Rigby.
275 Rigby - 7X57 a rose by any other name..…
🤔 Bob
Just checking to see who is paying attention !🤠
I've been doing the same since I took this job,,,,
I know a couple guys that just have to use the newest and hottest rounds available. For years I've heard things like "oh you're still using that? You're selling yourself short." I just hang deer up, skin them, and show them how much less meat I lose from a 250gr bullet going maybe 2500fps versus a 150 going well beyond 3000. I'm not above using rounds that run a lot faster and more powerful, and are the new hotness on the market, but damned if the old reliable stuff isn't still efficient.
Maybe one day I'll even buy a rifle that was designed in the latter half of the 20th century….
This discussion reminds me of a fly fishin' trip I took with a buddy of mine. We'd gone down to Mann Lake on the SE Oregon high desert and were fishing for Lahontan Cutthroat trout. We were using nymphs worked over the weed beds and Jimmy was having a heck of a time with his new gear. $600 Sage fly rod, umpteen hundred dollar reel, the best Scientific Angler's fly line that money could buy. He would just froth the water out to about 17 or 18 yards in front of himself. Meanwhile, just down the bank a bit, ol' Neo was pitchin' his 1974 vintage fiberglass Cortland with a $30 Hi reel and a rather inexpensive double taper line. I could often get all 30 yards of fly line out and I was having a ball catching 18-20" fish. Finally he couldn't stand it anymore and he asked how the hell I could cast that far with that old POS outfit!? I told him it was because I'd been using the same ol' POS outfit for 30 years whereas he had to get used to a new rig every other season.
The latest and greatest ain't always all that great.
Amen to that. It also reminds me of the first (and so far only) time I went duck hunting.
A couple friends invited me to go, and asked what I was bringing for a shotgun. One had a Benelli, the other a brand new Browning. The Benelli was a 3 1/2" 12 gauge. The Browning, a 10 gauge, a BPS if I remember right. I was taking my 1897 Winchester, with a 2 3/4" chamber. I wanted to see how it would do, and it was the only shotgun I had at the time, other than my .410. I bought a couple boxes of expensive (to me, anyway) non-toxic shells that wouldn't hurt the old bore, and a plug in the magazine tube to get it to waterfowl specs.
"Just what do you think you're going to do with that old relic" and "just how far do you think you're going to shoot birds with that?"
Well, how many ducks and other birds were knocked out of the air long before your $5 per shot "look at me, I'm a big kid now" magnums came along? It's a 28" barrel with a full choke. You might be surprised.
Any of the three will do the job. I always shot .257 Bob, and 7mm Rem mag. Now I hunt with 2 in 6.5x55, and handgun in 6.5 Grendel. Also a Win 94 in .45 Colt.
Right on, I often get razzed about my Mitchell 300's.
Love my old 300's! I did pick up a couple of the newer 300's and they're pretty nice.
I have a few of those 300's, too. But mine have a "." in front of the 300 and things like "Savage", "Winchester Magnum", or "H&H after the 300.
Military trained on the 7.62x51 (308). To ranges out 600+ yards.
But only hunt in wooded hilly rural KY at 150-250 at most. I'm comfortable and it's what I reload for too.
I stick with a straight 4 X Weaver with German pot Reticle. Scope is quick and easy to track.
While I was Colorado I used a 7mm Mag, but my bad shoulder won't take the larger calibers any more.