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What caliber do you hunt with

  • 30-06

    Votes: 6 22.2%
  • .308 Winchester / 7.62x51 Nato

    Votes: 4 14.8%
  • 7mm Remington Magnum

    Votes: 4 14.8%
  • .300 Winchester Magnum

    Votes: 1 3.7%
  • .270 Winchester

    Votes: 3 11.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 9 33.3%

What caliber do you hunt with & why did you choose it?

8K views 68 replies 40 participants last post by  troutwest66 
#1 ·
Just out of curiosity I was wondering what everyone uses to hunt with and the reason behind your caliber choice. Who knows, maybe this thread will help someone one day when their choosing a new hunting rifle. I'm adding a poll to the end of it, but I'm about 95% sure of the outcome already, let's see if I'm correct.

I hunt with a Ruger M77 chambered in 7mm Remington Magnum. The reasons behind my choice is the high BC of the .284 cal. bullet, bullet weight ranges from around 100gr up to about 180gr so I can basically varmint hunt and bear hunt and everything in between with the same caliber. The higher cost of the magnum cartridge is offset for me since I reload, so I may be paying pennies more then someone that reloads for let's say a 30-06. I will probably never see the distances, but if I had a long shot of 500 - 600 yards (not that I ever plan to) I have faith that the bullet will make it with enough ft lbs of energy to drop the game I may be hunting. Also I know alot of people complain about recoil of this caliber, but to me it doesn't kick anymore then a 30-06 or similar cartridge.
 
#2 ·
I like the 308.

You can buy rifles 16" bbl to 26" bbls and change your range. You can buy semi autos or bolt actions. So I have many rifles to fit what I am needed. If I need to push the limit of the 308 with 26" of bbl I can do it for distance. if I need a short semi auto for those 2 legged zombies I have it too.
the 26" bbl will shoot 2900 to 3050 fps depending on charge
the 16" will shoot 2450.
 
#3 ·
I've hunted these small Texas White Tails with .223, .243, .270, and 30'06. All work, but I've migrated back to the 30'06. No real reason---I just like the punch. And if a big pig shows up, I'm ready.
 
#4 ·
I voted other. Down here in the pineywoods of East Texas you won't get shots of over 100 yards unless you hunt pipe lines, or high lines, and I don't. A 12 gauge shot gun works just fine for me, and so does a 30-30.
 
#5 ·
I chose other..Everyone sees to be thinking med to big game..I hunt tree rat, rabbits and assorted smaller critters. My go to hunting rifle is a .22, 2nd go to is a 410 shotgun, and for deer, ect a 30-30. nothing fancy just what I grew up using and never saw a need to change.
 
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#8 ·
No Raven, I just figured those probably listed as the "big 5" calibers to hunt with here in North America. I know that some folks use the .223 Remington, .243, 25-06, shoot there probably been more whitetail deer taken with a .30WCF or as most people call them "30-30" then any other rifle out there. I just figured throw it under "other" and list the cartridge in the comments and why you chose it.
 
#7 ·
Those are all cartridges. Among them is 3, thirty caliber cartridges.

I hunt with several cartridges of different calibers. I use, in no particular order: 43 Mauser, (.446 caliber), 9.3 X 75R, (.366 caliber), 9 X 57 and 9 X 57R, 9 X 71 Peterlongo, (all those .355 or close to it), 10.5 X 47R, (.410 caliber), 6.5 X 54 Mannlicher, (.256 by European standards, .264 here), 8.15 X 46R, (.32 cal.), 40-70 Sharps Straight, 45-90, 7 X 57 and lastly, one that hasn't seen the woods since I bought it, a Model 70 Featherweight Classic in .270 WCF. Occasionally I'll break out my 500 BPE just so I can say I've hunted with it. That isn't counting muzzleloaders.
 
#12 ·
first rifle i bought was a rem 700 in 30-06.. was my only rifle for a while.. so it did all my hunting.. hog, deer..e tc. A couple years later i picked up a marlin 336 in 30-30 for hog. I also had a 12g but never liked to hog or deer hunt with slug or buckshot. Birds and squirrel with shot.. sure. Fast forward some decades and the sky's the limit. ;) depends on if i am hunting raccoon or tyranosaurus
 
#17 ·
My go to hunting rifle is my 300 Winchester magnum. This year I may use my Ruger M77 in 338 Winchester. My 300 Winchester load is 72.7gr of RL17 with a 150gr CT silvertip, MV is in the 3,300 range, just under 1/2" group at 100. My 338 load is 59.5gr of IMR4064 with a 225gr SST, MV runs about 2,590, this one also shoots under 1/2" at 100. I chose these because I don't want to do any tracking lol.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I checked the .308 but I also use others. I use my 30-30 Marlin with Ghost Ring sights and 160 gr. Hornady Leverevolution ammo every time I know my shot will be less than 100 yards (type of game doesn't matter) which is very often here in north Fl. It's my favorite "carry rifle". Like carrying a 2x2, 3 feet long. Slick.

I use the .308 for any known shot beyond 100yds or night hunting hogs. Type of game doesn't matter. In it I usually run Remington 150 gr PSP Core-Lokt bullets. The "original controlled expansion bullet". No need for expensive, fancy boxed ammo that claim to do 90 degree turns in mid flight. This one has been knocking critters down for decades and it's cheap in comparison.

This year my 1.5 inch fixed blade broadhead coming out of my crossbow has provided me with 1 doe and 3 hogs so far. Didn't want to leave it out.
 
#19 ·
I chose 7mm Rem Mag because it is my primary rifle for hunting. But I do have several different rifles that I hunt with but which one I use is determined by landscape and weather. My hunting rifles consist of Marlin 336 in 30-30, Rem 700 BDL in 270 and 7mm RM, Rem model 700 Seneros in both 264 WinMag and 7mm RM. The Senderos are both stainless with synthetic stocks so I use them in wet conditions. The 30-30 is for heavy brush areas under 200 yards. The other two BDLS are for fair weather long range possibilities.
 
#21 ·
.30-30 and I wouldn't be fraid to use it on anythin I'm likely to hunt from turkeys (yes I have) to elk. A buddy of mine figures I could take a cape buffler with one. I think he over estimates me. Mostly white tail huntin fer me. Kills skunks and **** door knob dead quick also, hehehehe. Both the last two animals shot were sick one skunk one ****.
Got a new to me one I would love to bloody, although I know its killed way more deer than the one my dad gave me fer my 15th b day.
 
#24 ·
30-06, or 30-30,or243,or 6.5 mag,or 12 ga. It just depends on which one feels "lucky" that day. It hasn't worked so far this year.If I had to choose only one,hands down the 30-06. I'm heading out right now with one of my 30-30's......It feels lucky this morning.
 
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#25 ·
I live in WI (Cheesehead country) and the 30/30 and 30/06 rule the woods. I now use a 270 mainly 'cause as a kid a read alot of "Cactus" Jack O'Connor stories & books. He certainly was right about it being a great caliber, easy to reload, very accurate and friendly recoil. Deer hit with a 270 firing a 130 gr bullet don't have a chance.
 
#28 ·
I used to use my 30-06 because it was the first deer rifle I bought and everyone else used them for deer. I started shooting silhouette with my 30-06 but the recoil of shooting so many rounds a day was too much. So I bought a Remington 700, it was a mistake. The firearm I ordered was a lower grade 7mm-08 but the guy that I ordered it from was a scatterbrain and ordered the Remington 700 Varmint in .308 instead. It was a score for me and I've put a ridiculous number of rounds through it. I'm comfortable shooting to 500m with it, which is further than I would shoot at an animal. It's heavy for a hunting rifle but I won't use anything else. Shooting it is second nature.
 
#29 ·
While reading through this thread again it occurred to me I didn't answer the "why" part. Not that it matters. I hunt with the above named cartridges because of their rarity in most cases, at least in this country, or uncommon in all but one cartridge, the 270. For the majority of them so little is known and I thoroughly enjoy the process of putting fine, old firearms back to their intended use. That and the common American cartridges, as good as they are, bore me to no end. I'm certain I have a counterpart in Europe who is enthralled with old American cartridges and rifles who finds the cartridges native to his continent as boring as I find ours. However, ballistics don't lie. Consequently none of the cartridges I listed are any more effective than any number of good ol' American developed cartridges. A decent bullet at a decent velocity, sized according the game being hunted works and works well, regardless of its nomenclature.
 
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