Best Caliber for Deer for 200+ Yard Shots?

[Crazy Coot]

I'm considering a new gun for the upcoming season due to the new lease I was lucky enough to stumble on. It has some nice flat, open fields and I'm looking at some 200+ yard shots. What is your favorite caliber for deer for those 200+ yard shots?

 

[Newtosavage]

7mm is my favorite caliber for deer. 7mm-08 is my favorite cartridge, near or far. IMO the 7mm-08 is the sweet spot for deer sized game.

 

[Luvbowhuntn]

Hard to argue against the 7mm-08 as the perfect deer caliber. Very mild recoil and hits animals a lot harder than it should

 

[Stray Horse]

25-06

 

[ChemE]

I have hunted with a pre64 model 70 Winchester Super grade featherweight in .308 since I started hunting in the 70s. It started shooting a little loose last year so I bought a new CA Mesa in 6.5 CM just today. I went with that simply because there is more 6.5 ammo in my available in area other than 308 and no one has a 308 rifle available.

 

[mncoolbeans]

Shot Whitetail out to 200-yards with the Following, .270, 6.5CM, 30-30, 308, 7mm-08, all of them dispatched deer very effectively. Do your part, Zero your rifle, practice a lot, build confidence with your rifle and put the bullet where it should and you'll be happy.

 

[Hondo64d]

I'm considering a new gun for the upcoming season due to the new lease I was lucky enough to stumble on. It has some nice flat, open fields and I'm looking at some 200+ yard shots. What is your favorite caliber for deer for those 200+ yard shots?

There really isn’t a “best cartridge.” In terms of effectiveness, if you put two bullets of similar weight, construction and impact velocity into two deer’s vitals, the results are going to be similar.

I like the 6.5 Creedmoor because:

-Relatively light recoil because that makes it easier to shoot well.
-Factory ammo available. Even though I hand load, I want to be able to go into most places and get factory ammo in case my hand loads don’t show up with my luggage. Top quality 6.5 Creedmoor factory ammo will shoot nearly as well as hand loads in a quality rifle.
-I prefer short actions.
-Lots of high BC bullets available which aids in impact velocity and fights wind effects as ranges get long.

John

 

[Doc Holliday]

.270

 

[WCB]

200+ what does that mean? out to infinity?

 

[Crazy Coot]

200+ what does that mean? out to infinity?

A max of around 400

 

[WCB]

A max of around 400

My go to is a 7rem mag but honestly I would personally just get a 7mm-08 .308 or a 6.5 crd. I have all of the above and if I know I was only shooting to max 400 it would be 1 of those 3.

 

[Crazy Coot]

My go to is a 7rem mag but honestly I would personally just get a 7mm-08 .308 or a 6.5 crd. I have all of the above and if I know I was only shooting to max 400 it would be 1 of those 3.

What ammo & weight are you using with your 7 mag?

 

[Seeleylakehuntr]

I would use a 7mm. I shoot a 154 sst from Hornaday. This is my Caliber of choice for deer and elk.

 

[MJB]

270

 

[Newtosavage]

My go to is a 7rem mag but honestly I would personally just get a 7mm-08 .308 or a 6.5 crd. I have all of the above and if I know I was only shooting to max 400 it would be 1 of those 3.

All three are great deer rounds. 6.5 CM to .308 from least to most recoil. Otherwise, nothing inside of 400 yards will notice the difference.

 

[gjs4]

I’ve got a bunch of the calibers listed and a 257 wby, the 7s and 30s shared but my (smokeless) 45 ML is it. DRT from 5 to 400. Can ring steel at 650 but 400 from a bench rest is all I’m considering for deer shots.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sccritterkiller]

.308 with 150gr bullet and a can. Your good out 600yds....and you won't have to fight the man bun crowd for ammo. 150gr 308 ammo is not hard to find.

 

[UCFJed]

While everyone will have an opinion, consider looking at your favorite brand’s ballistic chart/calculator and seeing for yourself. Once you find a caliber that has enough kinetic energy to be effective, it’s a trade off of recoil and drop rate.

Anything from 6.5 to 270 to 30-06 are all effective with modern factory ammunition. I’d recommend against more niche calibers due to the challenges with finding ammo.

 

[ZAK13]

308,7mm-08, or my favorite the 270 will do just fine

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

.264 caliber. .260 Rem cartridge for me, although with factory ammo 6.5 manbun is hard to beat these days. Many more options and availability than .260 Rem.