Best Caliber for Deer and maybe larger
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For guys that hand load, you can really bring out the accuracy potential of a rifle. Working up a load and shooting groups with different combinations of powder weight, type, bullet types and primers.
Rifles have unique personalities. Not all ammo shoots the same and what shoots good in your rifle may not shoot that great in mine.processhead said in Best Caliber for Deer and maybe larger:
For guys that hand load, you can really bring out the accuracy potential of a rifle. Working up a load and shooting groups with different combinations of powder weight, type, bullet types and primers.
Rifles have unique personalities. Not all ammo shoots the same and what shoots good in your rifle may not shoot that great in mine.Definitely!! I got super lucky on my first load. Still shot the others (on new paper), but I can’t beat the story for sure. Hand loading is the way to go. I started with the simplest set up, Lee Loader Hand Loader. $30 and a dead blow hammer got me started. I’ve upgraded a bit since then, but that was what I was using with the shot from the story. Also shooting out of a Savage Axis II with factory scope. Looking to upgrade the scope soon.
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processhead said in Best Caliber for Deer and maybe larger:
For guys that hand load, you can really bring out the accuracy potential of a rifle. Working up a load and shooting groups with different combinations of powder weight, type, bullet types and primers.
Rifles have unique personalities. Not all ammo shoots the same and what shoots good in your rifle may not shoot that great in mine.Definitely!! I got super lucky on my first load. Still shot the others (on new paper), but I can’t beat the story for sure. Hand loading is the way to go. I started with the simplest set up, Lee Loader Hand Loader. $30 and a dead blow hammer got me started. I’ve upgraded a bit since then, but that was what I was using with the shot from the story. Also shooting out of a Savage Axis II with factory scope. Looking to upgrade the scope soon.
Cory Brown said in Best Caliber for Deer and maybe larger:
processhead said in Best Caliber for Deer and maybe larger:
For guys that hand load, you can really bring out the accuracy potential of a rifle. Working up a load and shooting groups with different combinations of powder weight, type, bullet types and primers.
Rifles have unique personalities. Not all ammo shoots the same and what shoots good in your rifle may not shoot that great in mine.Definitely!! I got super lucky on my first load. Still shot the others (on new paper), but I can’t beat the story for sure. Hand loading is the way to go. I started with the simplest set up, Lee Loader Hand Loader. $30 and a dead blow hammer got me started. I’ve upgraded a bit since then, but that was what I was using with the shot from the story. Also shooting out of a Savage Axis II with factory scope. Looking to upgrade the scope soon.
Like you, I also started with a Lee loader when I got my first center fire rifle, a military 7.7 mm Arisaka. Norma ammo cost more than what I paid for the gun, so I started reloading for that old obsolete caliber.
Economics continued to drive my handloading after I started doing a little competitive target shooting when I was young and poor. Factory ammo was too costly so I tooled up for handgun and rifle calibers that I was shooting the most.
Not competing anymore so my handloading is less frequent now. -
Grimpuppy since I got a doe tag this year I am going to use my Grandpa’s Winchester 94 in 30-30. He shot many deer with that gun. I was with him when he shot his last deer and that was around 1990. He gave me that gun in about 2000. I’m really looking forward to it just because of the connection to him. I know he will be with me in spirit.
ND Mike you are quite a unique individual. Patrolling the highways. Delivering babies
and now teaching hunters education. Congrats 
and thank you for all you do. -
ND Mike you are quite a unique individual. Patrolling the highways. Delivering babies
and now teaching hunters education. Congrats and thank you for all you do.cdavis hahaha! Yeah sometimes I can get pretty busy. I’m glad I don’t coach football anymore or I really wouldn’t have time for anything!
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You could also buy a bow. There is a satisfaction you get from harvesting an animal with a bow that you will never get with a rifle.
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You could also buy a bow. There is a satisfaction you get from harvesting an animal with a bow that you will never get with a rifle.
Grimpuppy said in Best Caliber for Deer and maybe larger:
You could also buy a bow. There is a satisfaction you get from harvesting an animal with a bow that you will never get with a rifle.
I think Jonathon is lined up with a rifle hunting opportunity, but you are absolutely correct about bow hunting.
I got back in to bow hunting 16 years ago and my rifles don’t see nearly as much hunting action now. -
Grimpuppy processhead undoubtedly there is a feeling that you get when harvesting an animal
With a bow. Up close and personal and it’s amazing to be that close to the game and everything you experience when hunting from a stand or ground blind. All sorts of critters walk by.I think there’s also a feeling that hits you when you take an animal from a longer distance and do so cleanly. Just like upclose in a stand, that animal has no clue what hit them. I harvested an antelope at 340yrds suppressed and it was just as intense of an experience as a whitetail at 8 yards in the tree stand.
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I hunted with a bow for many years and got my first buck with an old recurve and cedar arrows many years ago.
But ,alas, at 70 yoa and disabilities I can’t draw a bow anymore. So I go for long range shots with
my 7mm rem mag to fill the thrill rush. But bow hunting is the best. -
Out of the ones you listed I would go with the 7mm Mag. I am very partial to a .270 and not the magnum cartridge. I have shot many deer with a cheap Savage chambered in 270. I also shot my one and only bull elk with it too. But I did buy a Savage 7mm Mag that is almost identical to my 270. My Dad and 2 brothers all shoot 7mm Mag and they have for over 25 years.
ND Mike all you hunters out there need to check out the HAMMOND Game Getter on Google so that you can harvest grouse and small game with your rifles with minimal noise and no tissue damage. I haven’t missed a head shot on a grouse in a tree in 30 years
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One of the things I like best about archery hunting deer is the long season. I get to observe deer and wild life, be outdoors, and so much more now since the season is 4 months long.
The 10 day firearm season was just so compressed in comparison. If I couldn’t bow hunt or we didn’t have a muzzle loading weapon deer season, I would definitely be back out during firearm season, though.
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You could also buy a bow. There is a satisfaction you get from harvesting an animal with a bow that you will never get with a rifle.
Grimpuppy your right about that. The.hunting is a little more satisfying with a bow.
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I hunted with a bow for many years and got my first buck with an old recurve and cedar arrows many years ago.
But ,alas, at 70 yoa and disabilities I can’t draw a bow anymore. So I go for long range shots with
my 7mm rem mag to fill the thrill rush. But bow hunting is the best.samnora1 nothing wrong with that.
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bocephus I agree with you fully. We have to keep hunting alive by passing it on to youngsters.
ND Mike congrats on passing your knowledge along. I have enjoyed watching the kids become more confident as the course moved along. Like many I enjoy seeing someone harvest their first deer, rabbit, etc… Teaching them proper handling, processing and cooking. Nothing better than a forest lunch or shore meal.
I inherited my grandfather’s model 94 a lifetime ago. Never ever seen him load it or take a deer. He just liked to get the h3ll out of the city and get to camp. A cherished firearm, I have never loaded it either. Now the one I bought is a workhorse and shows the scars of use and hard hunts. Many deer have been taken. Congrats.
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ND Mike congrats on passing your knowledge along. I have enjoyed watching the kids become more confident as the course moved along. Like many I enjoy seeing someone harvest their first deer, rabbit, etc… Teaching them proper handling, processing and cooking. Nothing better than a forest lunch or shore meal.
I inherited my grandfather’s model 94 a lifetime ago. Never ever seen him load it or take a deer. He just liked to get the h3ll out of the city and get to camp. A cherished firearm, I have never loaded it either. Now the one I bought is a workhorse and shows the scars of use and hard hunts. Many deer have been taken. Congrats.
YooperDog thanks. Funny how sentimental we become. I really miss talking to my Grandpa. We had a unique relationship. He was my Grandpa but he was also a great friend. I could talk to him about anything and he would listen and offer advice. He was never judgemental towards any of my decisions.
To give you an idea of what he was like, I was 12 years old when he sat me down and told me how important our last name was and that when I received it, it was clean and untarnished. He told me it was my responsibility to keep it that way and to make sure that my children and grandchildren did the same. That really stuck with me even though I was only 12! He was such a hard working honest man.
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YooperDog thanks. Funny how sentimental we become. I really miss talking to my Grandpa. We had a unique relationship. He was my Grandpa but he was also a great friend. I could talk to him about anything and he would listen and offer advice. He was never judgemental towards any of my decisions.
To give you an idea of what he was like, I was 12 years old when he sat me down and told me how important our last name was and that when I received it, it was clean and untarnished. He told me it was my responsibility to keep it that way and to make sure that my children and grandchildren did the same. That really stuck with me even though I was only 12! He was such a hard working honest man.
ND Mike my grandpa had almost the identical talk with me when I was young. It was about our name and our reputation and work ethic. I remember it like it was yesterday and still live by it and impressing it on my own children. I sure do miss him.
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YooperDog thanks. Funny how sentimental we become. I really miss talking to my Grandpa. We had a unique relationship. He was my Grandpa but he was also a great friend. I could talk to him about anything and he would listen and offer advice. He was never judgemental towards any of my decisions.
To give you an idea of what he was like, I was 12 years old when he sat me down and told me how important our last name was and that when I received it, it was clean and untarnished. He told me it was my responsibility to keep it that way and to make sure that my children and grandchildren did the same. That really stuck with me even though I was only 12! He was such a hard working honest man.
ND Mike thats great. I was lucky enough to have a grandfather who lived to be 99. He was one of the most honest, caring, and hardworking persons I have known in my lifetime. Its been exactly a year since I lost my Dad and he was 91. I listened to him give a similar talk to his grandkids, including my 2 boys. Im really missing my Dad today, he taught me how to hunt, fish, garden and navigate life. You cannot replace the power of good parents or grandparents.
“You never really die until you end up on the wall at a Cracker Barrel”
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ND Mike thats great. I was lucky enough to have a grandfather who lived to be 99. He was one of the most honest, caring, and hardworking persons I have known in my lifetime. Its been exactly a year since I lost my Dad and he was 91. I listened to him give a similar talk to his grandkids, including my 2 boys. Im really missing my Dad today, he taught me how to hunt, fish, garden and navigate life. You cannot replace the power of good parents or grandparents.
GWG8541 I know your pain. Oct 29th it will be 2 years for the loss of my dad, he just had turned 71. My grandpa died at 87, he was a potato farmer that was still carrying 100# sacs of taters at 80 years old. I was 13 when he passed away. Work ethic, to be honest, and help others was driven into my head. When someone tells me I’m just like my dad, it’s a big compliment.
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ND Mike my grandpa had almost the identical talk with me when I was young. It was about our name and our reputation and work ethic. I remember it like it was yesterday and still live by it and impressing it on my own children. I sure do miss him.
cdavis sounds like our Grandpas were two peas in a pod!
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Cory Brown said in Best Caliber for Deer and maybe larger:
processhead said in Best Caliber for Deer and maybe larger:
For guys that hand load, you can really bring out the accuracy potential of a rifle. Working up a load and shooting groups with different combinations of powder weight, type, bullet types and primers.
Rifles have unique personalities. Not all ammo shoots the same and what shoots good in your rifle may not shoot that great in mine.Definitely!! I got super lucky on my first load. Still shot the others (on new paper), but I can’t beat the story for sure. Hand loading is the way to go. I started with the simplest set up, Lee Loader Hand Loader. $30 and a dead blow hammer got me started. I’ve upgraded a bit since then, but that was what I was using with the shot from the story. Also shooting out of a Savage Axis II with factory scope. Looking to upgrade the scope soon.
Like you, I also started with a Lee loader when I got my first center fire rifle, a military 7.7 mm Arisaka. Norma ammo cost more than what I paid for the gun, so I started reloading for that old obsolete caliber.
Economics continued to drive my handloading after I started doing a little competitive target shooting when I was young and poor. Factory ammo was too costly so I tooled up for handgun and rifle calibers that I was shooting the most.
Not competing anymore so my handloading is less frequent now.processhead for all you reloaders out there. Keep the velocity on the low side if you like to eat up to the hole. At high velocity you can easily waste a quarter of a deer as it’s not good enough for making sausage
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ND Mike thats great. I was lucky enough to have a grandfather who lived to be 99. He was one of the most honest, caring, and hardworking persons I have known in my lifetime. Its been exactly a year since I lost my Dad and he was 91. I listened to him give a similar talk to his grandkids, including my 2 boys. Im really missing my Dad today, he taught me how to hunt, fish, garden and navigate life. You cannot replace the power of good parents or grandparents.
GWG8541 I feel like it is my responsibility to carry on the values that my own Dad, who will be 71, and my Grandfather taught me. We owe it to them. I know you feel the same way. I really feel sorry for people who don’t have those relationships with their Dads and Grandpas!
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