What is the best all around deer rifle cartridge?

Question

What is the best all around deer rifle cartridge?

Answer 1

There are only two (2*) and they are the 30-30 Winchester and the 30-06 have harvested more wild game than any other calibers.*

Answer 2

The choice of cartridge is always a compromise. The best balance not factoring in local conditions might be 7mm08, but there are so many variables it's silly to be too dogmatic.

Answer 3

30-30 is by far the best all around deer slayer...especially in wooded areas.  If you are shooting across an open field the .270 is the way to go.

Answer 4

The .25-06 Remington with the 100 to 120 grain round.

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Answer 5

LOL a question with a million answers from a million people but i agree with the first poster.

Answer 6

I like my .30-06 for deer, but in some parts of the country (like Texas) the deer are on the smaller side so I use something smaller, like a .270 or a .243. Last deer I took was on new years with a .243 in Brownwood Texas.

Answer 7

That would be the .270......

http://www.chuckhawks.com/270family.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.270_Winche...

Answer 8

The best all round would probably be the 270 with the 25.06 a very close second.

Answer 9

that is in my opinion the winchester 270 but it all really depends on your preferences and shooting skills

Answer 10

I would say for a all around rifle, a .308 is my runner up.

Answer 11

Reggie, even money says you get every standard caliber from a 243 to a 300 as an answer. I would base the rifle on what and where I plan to hunt and the game involved. If your wanting a plain white tail rifle for a 200 yard shot or less then the 243 up to the 308 would be a good choice. If your planning to take multiple game up to elk or 400 yard shots then the 7 mag up to 300 would be something to consider. If your going up for brown bear or caribou I would look at the 300 up to 338 calibers.

  Every hunter has a preference and an opinion on their deer rifle. Take into account how comfortable you are as a marksman, plan for what you will mainly hunt, and what enviroment you'll be in. Some folks are not comfortable shooting past 150 yards nor can they take alot of recoil from a large bore rifle. A 338 win mag is overkill for 100 pound whitetails. And timber country likes to swat away small caliber bullets. The 308 or 30-06 make good all around rifles and can be loaded from a 110 grain plinker up to a 220 grain solid. The 270 and 280 have a following all across the country. And some of us just like to own the biggest and loudest rilfe on the range.

  For me,  its about all of these factors and all of the game I hunt in different states. Because of this and their versatality I use the 25-06 and the 7mm Mag. Again its all in the hunter and the choices he or she makes.  

Answer 12

While I do my deer hunting with an 06, I consider it to be overkill for a deer sized animal. For a pure deer cartridge, The 257 Robert's was once called the most ideal deer cartridge on the market.  But my choices would be the 257 Robert's, 308. ,7mm/08 and the 25/06.

Answer 13

Yep, this is going to stir up a lot of different answers.  Everyone has their favorite.  Mine is the .308.  Each of the standard deer cartridges has merit.  That is why they have become standards.  Some will swear by the .243, others will swear by the .270 or .30-30 or another of my favorites the .30-06.  However I don't think there is a single best deer cartridge.  The smaller calibers such as the often mentioned .223, are not suitable as deer cartridges because they don't have enough kinetic energy to guarantee a quick kill.  Some of the bigger calibers such as the 7mm Ultra Mag. are way too much gun for deer and will ruin a lot of meat.  As long as you stick to something between a .24 caliber to a non-magnum .30 caliber, you will be fine.  Within those parameters, the ideal caliber is the one with which you can shoot best.

Answer 14

What type of deer and what type of terrain?  Mule deer,  Whitetail and big Blacktail, in open country you need a knockdown cartridge up to 300 M. For antelope, a smaller cartridge with more range, for small Blacktail, a small short range cartridge.  In the PNW where I hunt, a Blacktail can dress out at 150 lbs, Mule deer and Whitetails closer to 300, Elk from 500 to 1000 lbs. A versatile cartridge is our choice usually a .30-06, then a .30-30, and then everything else. In Washington .223 are not legal for big game, not enough knockdown for a humane kill.