Smallest caliber for deer?

[Dr Elliot]

Less than 100 yards? Why not consider a handgun caliber like .44 Mag or .357 Mag? One of the Ruger carbines in .44 Mag or a lever gun in either caliber would be a great little gun.

I'm with BBQLS1 on the suggestions. Light to carry and easy to handle rifles chambered in .44 Mag and .30-30, as well as some similar rounds, are very effective inside of 100 yards. Pistols are fun too, but you must practice to become proficient.

I'll assume you are shooting the .270 from a bolt gun. .25-06 will require a similar sized rifle and kick about the same. It is actually a necked-down .270, which is a necked-down .30-06. By going to a short action, you will save some length and weight in a similar bolt gun. .243, 7mm-08, and .308 are progressively necked versions of a shortened .30-06 shell. With the smaller powder capacity, you get less recoil. With a bullet weight up to 165 grains, the .308 will match the .30-06 in all ballistic properties. The 7mm-08 very closely matches the performance of the .270. The .243 is a softer choice that can be quite effective with reasonable shot placement. The .243 can also double as a varmint round. Anything smaller than a .243 will require pinpoint accuracy and leaves no margin of error.

Another choice would be to get one of the single shot rifles legal for Primitive Weapon Season. Very effective inside 100 yards and covers the extended season.

My personal choice is to buy 'em all. You'll eventually settle on a couple as your favorites. The rest can hang on the wall and really spruce up the look of that den!

 

[jnormand33]

i recommend 30-30 own an old marlin 150 yrds its dead go load it. no recoil pretty accurate. also reloading will give u some crazy combinations.

 

[Boutdoors]

Carry a handgun & rifle & cover it all.Thats my plan for next year.270WSM & 44mag or 460.Have the option to handgun hunt but if the big boy comes out at 500yd. he's going down.

 

[paul]

If your looking to get out of the hard recoil, I may know a solution. My Uncle bought his young son a .308, but he is a little too small for the recoil. So, to solve the problem he bought some "low recoil" ammunition. That was the first time I'd heard of it and I'm not sure if a semi-auto could cycle it, but through his bolt action he has taken multiple deer with great success and hasn't lost one yet. I'm not sure, but to save a buck you may want to consider checking into some low recoil ammunition or if you have a buddy who reloads see if he can make some light loads for you.

 

[Paintball]

From an older post has info and pics on deer hunting with a .223. In short if the wall hanger walks out would you want to have a .223 or something better? Best of luck next season to all.

http://www.bayoushooter.com/forums/showthread.php?65363-Shooting-a-deer-with-a-silenced-weapon/page2

 

[Win1917]

In short if the wall hanger walks out would you want to have a .223 or something better?

That's kinda the way I look at it. I like to hunt the thick stuff too so I want big holes and short tracking jobs.

 

[I.B. Pimpin]

I would recommend 125 gr 357 Sig or 127 gr 9 mm +p+. I dropped a 14 point white tail at 700 yards with my Sig.

 

[Ben Segrest]

Also gonna be adding a 35whelen & a 45-70 soon to extend my seasons....

It really cracks me up that .35 whelen is considered a "primitive" round.

 

[leVieux]

I switched my entire family to .243Win Remington Model 7's for deer about 20 years ago and have been very happy with the little rifles.

 

[Nutz275]

A 22-250 is the smallest that I would use to hunt deer. I would only recommend this to people who could shoot well though. Overall, a 243 Win would do the trick nicely.

 

[paul]

I would recommend 125 gr 357 Sig or 127 gr 9 mm +p+. I dropped a 14 point white tail at 700 yards with my Sig.

NICE SHOT!

 

[Glocker]

My smallest deer caliber is .260 Remington. Not to veer off subject but to the guy who said .300 win mag and such don't expand fast enough for an intsakill shoot the 165 gr Hornady SST. Shot a doe at laser measured 350 and by the time the recoil came back down she was down for the count. Looking at the deer once skinned the expansion was violent.

 

[BIGGREEN]

270 WSM. I used to shoot a 7mm-08 and it worked well but the muzzle energy of the WSM is unbeatable. 130 grn. @ 3400 fps. Untouchable by any other load/caliber. Even the 150 grn. load is 3150+. It is also BY FAR the most accurate round I have ever used at 200+ yds. It is a little pricey though. The standard 270 is also a great round.

 

[Ben Segrest]

What is the smallest caliber that can be used for deer?

270 WSM

 

[Cochise]

While .223 may be legal, most people(including the hunters safety instructors I know) recommend .243 or larger. Based on my experience, personally, I say .270 win for the WIN!

 

[stancel]

I am with BBQLS1 on sub-100 yard shots. A handgun caliber lever gun is a great choice, and way fun to shot. A 12ga with rifled barrel and a good slug are also hard to beat, but it will kick you like a mule.

7mm-08 would be my low recoil caliber choice. I personally like 30/30 and 308.

 

[101guns]

+1 for the bolt action 7.62x39. If you get a little min-mauser in that round, you have a heck of a low recoil deer round out to 125-150yards. Pushes a 123 grain Winchester softpoint down the tube at 2300 fps. Virtually a 30-30 in bolt action and can shoot pointed rounds. Mini-mausers are light, short and kid-friendly too.

 

[longdude17]

+1 on the 7.62x39 rounds, Id like to find one in the min mausers....but I have yet to find one in my price range. I find the sks with a rear peep sight works just fine and is plenty accurate out to 100-150 granted you actually practice with it.

Let me know where your finding them lil min-mausers.

 

[JLouv]

You may want to pm the guy above your post...

Otherwise, there's usually a few of them on gunbroker at any time.

Remington makes one....the 799. Charles daly had a one. Also cai imported some version of it by zastava.

Mine is a CZ-527.

You can get them for $400-700 range. Pricing goes along the lines of Charles daly being the low end, zastava, Remington, then cz

 

[charrison21]

I switched my entire family to .243Win Remington Model 7's for deer about 20 years ago and have been very happy with the little rifles.

Great choice for deer. .243 is an amazing little hunting rifle. lightweight and minimal recoil. My wife shoots one and has taken down numerous deer.......Not all have been good shots either. Only downfall is the blood trail you sometimes get with smaller caliber. Drop here and Drop there. if you are going to shoot smaller caliber, invest in a good tracking flashlight....unfortunately, eventually you will need it. especially if a 200+lbs walk out and you hit bone.