Favorite deer cartridge and bullet

reloader326

Member
Might hunt PA this year, if so it will be the first time I will hunt deer with a bottle-neck cartridge. I have the following cartridges to choose from:
.243
.270
.308
I'm leaning towards the .270 and I have an excellent shooting load worked up with 130 gr. Hornady SST and Vihta Vhori N130.

Any of them will do the trick, but what's been your best DRT deer dropper?
Also, bullet placement; shoulder or behind the shoulder?

Thanks for your input!
 
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I dont normally deer hunt, but this year Ive had the itch to try it again. Not sure which is my favorite but I like my lackhawk 44spl and a HP bullet I cast.
I want to try my No.1 International in7x57 with 175gr RN
I also plan to try my Marlin 336 in 35 Remington with a 237gr LFN bullet I cast.
I know any of them will be sufficient.
 
Over the years I've killed deer with something like 22 different cartridges. For still hunting in the northern reaches of the country where very large deer can be on the menu my goto for years has been the 30-06 with 220gr RN's, 35 Whelen with 250 RN's and the 375 Win with 250's. For small bores it is the 250-3000 in a Savage 99 and a wildcat 25-204 which matches the 250-3000/257 Roberts factory specs with a 100gr bullet(preferably a 100gr Partition). I've killed a number with the 270 and 140gr game kings.

Use enough gun, you never know when a "biggun" will show up.

 
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Ive taken one deer so far and it was with the 44spl that I mentioned. But Im currently awaiting for its return to me.....I sent it to a custom builder in Arizona for some action tuning and barrel work. Hope it come home soon and is more accurate than before.
 
DRT deer dropper? Nothing can consistently promise "dead right there" every time performance. Any suitable deer cartridge is only as good as the guy pulling the trigger. Any of those on your list will do a good job if you steer it right.
 
Originally Posted By: GCDRT deer dropper? Nothing can consistently promise "dead right there" every time performance.
100% Agreed, just looking for everyone's experience so I can make the best decision. I've only ever had one deer drop dead like that; small doe shot with a 1oz slug.
I've always aimed behind the shoulder, but In this particular instance I would be willing to sacrifice some venison for a potential DRT.
 
Truthfully, I have only harvested two deer with a firearm. One with a 308, dead right there, and the other was with my 44spl at 30yds and it ran about 60yds. The time frame of these two are years apart. All my other were taken with a traditional bow. Rarely did I have a chance to hunt private or public land with a firearm. So I stuck with a bow for a long time. Now days are different.....This seasons challenge is 2-3 deer with my 44spl or 45 colt, 7x57 No.1 with aperture sights, or the 35 Remington with aperture sights.

Personally speaking, I dont find deer hunting to challenging (compared to coyote for example) and dont get overly exciting with “buck fever”. So I try and make it exciting/challenging.

Reloader326, just a bit of advice for you about handgun hunting. Choose a good bullet, I prefer cast but they arent for everyone. If you are new to it, Id say practice A LOT!! When you think you have it made......go load some more ammo and practice some more, lol.
I practiced at 50 and 100yds for a whole summer and early fall. I felt very proficient, when I got my chance later that year when season opened, that doe was shot at 30yds and I flinched a bit and hit her in the liver. She ran to me and I missed her completely, lol lol, at 15yds! 😁😁😁
The liver shot was devistating and she didnt travel far, dying on my property. Haha, luckily the shot didnt turn her into a messy field dressing session.
 
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I've killed more with a muzzleloader than anything....for 2 reasons:
1.)I like muzzleloaders, a lot, especially my .54 T/C Renegade.....love that gun.
2.)Up until the past 2 years, Ohio has been a shotgun only for deer, state. I'm not a fan of shotguns shooting slugs, so I opted for using a muzzleloader instead during the deer gun season. We are now able to use straight-walled rifle cartridges, which is good. I killed a buck a couple seasons back with my Marlin 45-70 and a 250gr Hornady Monoflex...not a DRT, but my shot was low and he ran maybe 75 yards. That was my fault.

Aside from that and the shotgun slug mentioned earlier, it's all been bow kills.
 
Originally Posted By: GCDRT deer dropper? Nothing can consistently promise "dead right there" every time performance. Any suitable deer cartridge is only as good as the guy pulling the trigger. Any of those on your list will do a good job if you steer it right.

^^^^^^^+1
No idea how many deer I have harvested with everything from .223 Rem. (while coyote hunting & culling deer) to .375 h&h (familiarization w/rifle for planned eland hunt). Our S. Tx. deer are not as large as the northern deer; largest buck I have taken field dressed 175#.

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Before I hung it up as far as deer hunting, my all time favorite was a .338 WM, but that is way more gun than necessary; just what I used for larger exotics and it worked equally well on smaller whitetail.

From the weapons mentioned, either the .270 or the .308 would be my choice.

Early on, tight behind the shoulder to preserve meat but the older I got the less I enjoyed tracking those that ran, especially into the thick S. Tx. brush. I later switched to shoulder shot; break both shoulders and they drop. What have you lost....4-5# of meat?

Regards,
hm
 
I've killed the vast majority of my deer with a .243 Win shooting 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tips and .270 Win shooting 130gr Nosler Accubonds. If I am going deer hunting with no chance of running into an elk or a grizzly bear, I'll take the .243Win and not think twice. I have used a .270 Win extensively since I was 12 years old and I have a lot of confidence in my Tikka with a Leupold CDS scope. It't a joy to carry such a light rifle which is why it got the nod for the last few years. I have used quite a few different cartridges to shoot deer and they killed just as well but when I reach in the safe, I don't often have to think twice about which rifle I am going grab. You can't go wrong with any of your current choices.
 
30-06 180 gr core locts, Ive lost count of the whitetails over the years harvested. I can tell you they've dropped 99.9% of my deer where they stand. I've had a half dozen in the last couple years make it about 20-30 yards after a lung shot.
 
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Deer ain't hard to kill as long as bullets hit what they oughta hit.

I hunt the Rockies exclusively. A 400 yard shot ain't uncommon.

Were I to submit data for digital analysis, my guess is the .270 Win would be the top mule deer cartridge. But any reasonable cartridge will kill mule deer within its limitations.

I do think that white tail bucks are more handsome than mule deer. I'd like to get up to Ontario for a shot at one of its famed, massive whities. But Canadian guides only hunt during hockey game intermissions and when they're are no televised games. I've read that Colorado is starting to produce big whities, but it's almost all private land.

Were I to buy another big game rifle, it's be a .308 Win or a 7x57 carbine.
 
I've used a .30-06 often but prefer the .300 WM shooting CoreLokt's in both.
I get many of them including this year in the neck @ 260 yds.
 
I think I'll stick with the .270 (Older model Rem 700BDL) and the 130gr SST's. I took it out last weekend and fired 2 cold bore shots. Both shots were 3/8" low, 1/2" apart, centered on the bull at 100 yards. I'm happy with that, might raise it a minute.
 
130 grain Sierra GK bullets outta a .270 Win will drop Rocky Mountain mule deer in their tracks.

The wind can blow pretty good on high Rocky Mountain plateaus. I can see why some hunters use 180 grain .308 caliber bullets. But I ain't experienced a problem fillin' tags with a .270 Win.
 
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