Straight wall deer cartridge

F

Fred Arnold

Member
What caliber straight wall cartridge is the best deer gun.
I have been hunting with a 45 muzzleloader the last several years and used to 250+ yard shooting capabilities. It looks like we will be able to use rifles this year, but must be straight wall.
All opinions are welcome and appreciated.
 
Originally Posted By: Leadbelly45/70, .444 marlin, .375 Winchester would be my top three.

What he said plus the 460 S&W pretty impressive velocities from a Encore 24" barrel
 
Those were the three I thought about.
The 375 ammo and guns seem to be hard to find.
I am thinking of trading off my weatherby 7mm mag
since I have not shot in in a few years.
Is 375 brass-dies available-reasonable or should I look at the 444 or 45-70
 
Originally Posted By: Rich44Originally Posted By: Leadbelly45/70, .444 marlin, .375 Winchester would be my top three.

What he said plus the 460 S&W pretty impressive velocities from a Encore 24" barrel

Speaking of encores and one I forgot. I have a tc katadin carbine in .450 marlin. It's belted kinda like a .458 win mag short but it will do what hot 45/70 reloads will do in a factory form. I've had the most experience with the 45/70 and am biased towards it but all other mentioned will do just as well.
 
If it was 125 yards or less I would use a lever Marlin in .357 Magnum with a 4X scope. 125 to 200 yards a .44 Mag lever Marlin with a 2-7X scope. Over two hundred yards is iffy with any straight wall, but a heavy loaded .45-70 will sure do the trick if you know how to place your shots with its rainbow trajectory. I would use a Marlin here as well but a Ruger Number 1 would be nice too. A 2-7X or 3-9X scope be good.

.45-70 killed lots of Injuns and lots and lots and lots of buffalo. Will still work just fine for deer.
 

Since I live in Ohio, I will be hunting with a Ruger 96/44 for brush and a 38-55 Winchester 1885 for field hunting.


From the ODNR website:

The council also approved straight-walled cartridge rifles for deer hunting. The rifles are the same caliber and use the same straight-walled cartridges that are currently legal for use in handguns. The new regulation is designed to allow additional opportunities for hunters that own these guns or want to hunt with these guns. These rifles have reduced recoil compared to larger shotguns, and the rifles are more accurate than the same caliber handgun.

Legal deer hunting rifles are chambered for the following calibers: .357 Magnum, .357 Maximum, .38 Special, .375 Super Magnum, .375 Winchester, .38-55, .41 Long Colt, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .444 Marlin, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .45 Long Colt, .45 Winchester Magnum, .45 Smith & Wesson, .454 Casull, .460 Smith & Wesson, .45-70, .45-90, .45-110, .475 Linebaugh, .50-70, .50-90, .50-100, .50-110 and .500 Smith & Wesson.

A new regulation states shotguns and straight-walled cartridge rifles used for deer hunting be loaded with no more than three shells in the magazine and chamber combined. The current hunting regulation states a shotgun must be plugged if it is capable of holding more than three shells.
 
Thanks for all the replies.
I was wondering why the 450 marlin is not on the list.
That 9.3x72 looks interesting but it is not on the list either.
I think I am going to start looking for the 444 or 45-70,
probably in a lever gun.
 
Do you mean "best" as in accuracy, moderate recoil, great handeling and bullet performance or did you mean FUN FACTOR?
Check out the smile on this guy.

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Originally Posted By: OstiDo you mean "best" as in accuracy, moderate recoil, great handeling and bullet performance or did you mean FUN FACTOR?
Check out the smile on this guy.

[img:left]http://[/img]


While a .45 ACP can and has killed deer, I hope this fellow did not need to empty that entire 50 round magazine to get that nice buck!
smile.gif
 
My Contender carbine in .357 max would be just the ticket loaded with 185 gr. hardcast zippin along about 1850 fps. and as long as you don't mind cleaning it on occasion you can run .357 mags and 38 specials for a bit of cheap practice.
 
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