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Caliber survey

Killed with:

30-30
.243
7mm/08
30/06 (killed the most with)
6.5 cm
7mm mag
45, 50, 54 caliber mzl

Witnessed my kids kill a couple with .223.

Just picked up a Bergara 308 and been eying a 6.5 PRC. I will never sell my 30/06 but the last few yrs have migrated to a light weight bolt gun in a low recoiling caliber. If I had to pick one caliber just for deer in my area, it would probably be the 6.5 cm with 7mm/08 and 308 right there with it.
 
7mm08 said:
I don't think I would've told that!
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Just for clarification... 😂
My "Rosie" is what I've named the bullet im loading for 243 this year. It's a Lapua Naturalis. I nicknamed it Rosie because it has the same BC as Rosie O'Donnell... 😂
IMG_20231113_085858.jpg
 
This is cool - I realized how few rifles I've killed deer with. Just bought the .308 a couple years ago and I haven't targeted does lately, so no kills with it, but I can't wait to shoot one with it.

.308
7mm (k)
35 rem (k)
.270 win (k)
300 weatherby mag ((k)
 
30-06 type of guy said:
Out of my 90ish or so deer all have been killed with my 30-06 except 1 with a 7mag.
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There's something that I admire about using only one or two rifles. Once they've been carried enough, shown some "love" in the form of honest blemishes and use-wear, they go from a simple tool to an object of admiration. Man, the stories that they could tell.

One of my uncles has used an old Remington 700 ADL in '06 since the 70's. Lord only knows how many white tails, mule deer, and elk he's killed with it.

When he passes it down, that rifle will be cherished and coveted by several of us.
 
30/06win is what I use. I'm not a gun guy so I went with practical utility over coolness. It'll efficiently kill any critter on the plant with readily available OTC ammo. So long as I keep same bullet weight it doesn't matter much which brand of ammo I buy. It all hits every range up to 300yds pretty consistently regardless of brand. And for me that is perfect because I'm generally not shooting over 100yds anyway and probably wouldn't even try at a deer over 150yds. Wife used it to drop an elk at 400yds though, so it's more capable than I am.
 
Lost Lake said:
There's something that I admire about using only one or two rifles. Once they've been carried enough, shown some "love" in the form of honest blemishes and use-wear, they go from a simple tool to an object of admiration. Man, the stories that they could tell.

One of my uncles has used an old Remington 700 ADL in '06 since the 70's. Lord only knows how many white tails, mule deer, and elk he's killed with it.

When he passes it down, that rifle will be cherished and coveted by several of us.
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That's right. I got it 17 years ago for Christmas. I bought a 6.5 a few years ago and it didn't feel right. That season I took it out and never killed one but the days I pulled out the 06 I killed my bucks.I got rid of it after that lol. My son has a 243 but I hope he enjoys the 06 or keeps it around once I'm done with it.
 
Ski said:
30/06win is what I use. I'm not a gun guy so I went with practical utility over coolness. It'll efficiently kill any critter on the plant with readily available OTC ammo. So long as I keep same bullet weight it doesn't matter much which brand of ammo I buy. It all hits every range up to 300yds pretty consistently regardless of brand. And for me that is perfect because I'm generally not shooting over 100yds anyway and probably wouldn't even try at a deer over 150yds. Wife used it to drop an elk at 400yds though, so it's more capable than I am.
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For me, with all the time at home that I have, I got drawn into the....well, what about this, I want to try that. Always searching for something new.... something to do. Thousands of dollars later, I've came to the conclusion that they will all do the job. Sure, some might have an edge when it comes to certain scenarios, but in reality.... you're just splitting hairs.
Your choice in the 30/06 (Springfield) is a solid one. I killed my first deer with one. Hindsight being 20/20... should have stuck with it and saved my money.
Kudos to you...👍
 
Dont hunt with a rifle much anymore but for the list of kills it is:

30/30
308
30-06
7mag

Majority have been with Remington 700BDL 30-06 165gr...Great all-around caliber. Long range. Thick cover. Very effective. Also ammo variety and availability is a plus.
 
I've only hunted deer with 4 rifle calibers, killed with each.
30-30, ok in the brush and short (100yd) distances, too much drop after that, sold it in the early 90s and won't replace it.
.270, a laser, If I can see it, I can hit it, which worked great in the brush with small openings.
.308. Not a bad caliber, will usually put it where I want it and DRT them.
6.5CM so far just a tiny one, but the round did it's job

I rotated my .270 and .308 throughout the season and have now added the 6.5CM to the rotation, no need to use anything else though I do own other calibers which I use for different game.
 
Tenntrapper said:
I was once curious about the 25 Souper. Almost went down that rabbit hole. I like the 308 based cartridges. I think though that if I ever went with another 25 cal, it would have to be a Roberts.
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I've always been drawn to the Roberts. Only hesitation was availability of ammo.

It would seem as though people opted for either the .25-06 or a larger caliber short action.

The problem for the Roberts (.257, 6.5 mm) now is that it is basically a harder to find 6.5 Creedmoor.
 
DeerCamp said:
I've always been drawn to the Roberts. Only hesitation was availability of ammo.

It would seem as though people opted for either the .25-06 or a larger caliber short action.

The problem for the Roberts (.257, 6.5 mm) now is that it is basically a harder to find 6.5 Creedmoor.
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I guess for me it would just be a nostalgia thing. I don't think it would kill any better or worse than any of the others.
 
243, 7mm-08, 7mm mag, 308 (2 different rifles), 30-06, 300win mag, 350 rem mag, 44 mag all kills. Working on adding a marlin 336 44 mag to the kill list as well as a 12ga slug
 

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