So how big is "too big" for Whitetails??

(We are talking about rifle cartridges here)

Go!

Well we all know that dead is dead. That being said, I would say anything larger than a .300 Ultra Mag is going to be too big for Whitetail.

Well me and you draw the line at the same point then. I have hunted Whitetails with guns much bigger than a 300RUM but to me when you pass the 300RUM threshold it becomes complete over kill and in alot of cases you start to lose long range performance with the +30cal bullets.

I dont think there is such a thing as to big, some cartridges are better then others.

It all depends IMO on what you plan on needing for whatever distance you plan on shooting at. One of the best deer killers I've ever used for DRT performance without wasting a lot of meat is the biggest heaviest bullet I've ever used on a WTail...in a 270 gr Speer at about 2500 fps out of a 9.3x62. No step DRT most of the time, and no bruising around the entry or exit holes..and ALWAYS good pass throughs. 1st 125lb'er I killed got moved about 35 feet in the air back up the game trail he'd come down...and I had to hunt for the entry hole....but I dinnit have to hunt for the critter none...and all without me having to worry gettin my hat knocked off or getting another monster Plavix bruise like some of the fast movers have awarded me with.
Ron

There is something to be said for the big slow movers, like 45-70 always enough gun, as the saying goes eat right up to the hole only thing is limited range for pratical applications. The big magnums just dump most of the energy on the other side of a whitetail

I do not really see where a magnum anything is needed for whitetails the 30-06 family of cartridges is where I draw the line for not needing anything bigger for whitetail.

The 50BMG that is in the safe is too big, and at 29lbs when loaded it is not one for still hunting or spot and stalk.

For texas whitetails anything bigger than 25-06 is to big.

I think big is to big is relative.. I will say IMO for TX whitetail I have a love for the 6.5s... BUT this...


was shot at 810 yards with a 300 smk. with that exit.. he didn't go far...

Shot with 338-408 (338 snipetac)



the far left is a snipetac.. and to give you an idea.. the 2nd from right is a 338 lapua based round.

Anything over 30-06.

No such thing as "too big"

Shoot what you feel comfortable with...the one that is most accurate, the one that fits the possible/practical distance you might have to shoot, one with proven results, and/or the one you have the most experience with. Few of the calibers that people choose are going to do enough damage to be considered "devastating" to the animal or meat.

I don't want a gun that will only allow a small margin of error for shot placement and distance. Scenarios arise while hunting that only provide a small window of oppurtunity and I want to feel confident I can succeed when they do.

As far as what is "too big"....I have shot rabbits with a 300 ultra mag and ate them the same night. Was it "too big"??? I am sure some would say so. Did it serve the purpose with minimal waste...yep

338 Lapua AI'ed and necked down to 30 cal bullets?

Yes sir! have two of them.. love it!

In the past few years I have taken WT with everything from a .22-250 to a .338 WM (mainly because I just love the rife). The older I get, the less I see the need for a large caliber for our deer. These days I'm thinking my .270 is overkill, haven't seen a TX WT that won't expire immediately from one well-placed shot from a .25-06 using a good bullet. They are truly lightly-built, thin-skinned game and it just doesn't take much.

That being said, hunt with what you like and what you're good with.

416 rigby is where I draw te line.... If you come down to mere mortal caibers, the 300wm is the best caliber in the solar system & universe to hunt WTs and pesky bullfrogs.

There have been many valid points given.

What is Best or too big only you can decide on your hunting situation.

For Myself I tend to like odd stuff. Like the .358 Winchester,35 whelen, 38-55,45-70. Which one I pick depends mainly on the distance I feel I will need to take shots at.

But I will tell you from Hunting this last year I felt my 35 Whelen was a bit much. Mainly due to the load and projectile I chose. I shot a 200 LB Hog at about 130 yards with the 35 Whelen and a 250Gr Speer HC and it made a hole out the other side you could almost put your fist in and blew blood out 10 feet and about 3 Feet Wide. No the Hog did not move just fell over lol.

But I will go down to a 200 or 225Gr Bullet for this next year.

Jester, the 350 Rem Mag the short ballisitic twin of the wheelen is one of my favorite thumpers, it gets a diet of 225gr Partitions, has worked on whitetail, mule deer, elk and up to 3 hogs at a time. Give that bullet a try, I think you would like it

I think anything less than 700 NE would be ok, above that it may be a tad bit much...

Too big is subjective...the best Tx WT cartridge is obvious however 7-08

Amen.

I don't like shooting anything larger than a 308 win based chartridge. I really like the .243 winchester, but its not an 800 yard gun (amazing shot btw)

I'll never critisize anyone using for using a bigger gun, except if they are using it to copensate for piss poor accuracy. Using more gun won't compensate for poor shooting. It never has. You miss the vitals on a deer, and it is not going to be a cleen shoot.

My uncle went to africa and rented only a .375 h&h to hunt everything, he took antelope (smaller than white tails) just fine. I guess the 375 can be the best all around caliber (all around the world)

This is too big.

I may be wrong here but I think distance has more than just a little bit to do with it. Where I’m coming from here is that my son at age fifteen last year had a big case of “magnumitis” and insisted on taking a 300 Win. Mag to Bandera hunting.

The first evening out he made what I thought was a decently placed shot on a buck at about eighty-five yards. The deer ran off into thick cover and wasn’t found. We think that at the speed of the 150 gr. bullet that it may not have expanded. I honestly don’t know and am open to opinions. To me 30 caliber is 30 caliber. To this day I think that if that same bullet had come out of a 30-06 or 308 at that distance we may have recovered that deer.

The next day he used a 270 and knocked a deer down and we brought it to the house.

I am guilty of using a 375 H&H for deer hunting.

Probably not much need for anything over a 30-06 in Texas but that does not mean big is not fun. Love my 416 Ruger Alaskan. Never punched a deer with it but it is truely a hog thumper. 350 grains at 2550fps get the job done!

X2 whitetail and aoudad in south Texas. Not sure what I was thinking but I sure had fun.

For neck, head, and shoulder shots, 270 should be the max and for behind the shoulder shots it should be 300 mag(ultra or win) or 308 as max

Sweet rifle! I have had this crazy urge to buy one in 375 Ruger. Those Hawkeye Alaskans are one of the most serious lookin big bores made!

its funny you posted that 416 ruger. That gun is on the short list of guns im thinking of buying for my cape buffalo hunt.

Just shoot it upside the head with the RUM

I shot a large cull doe a couple of yrs. ago w/Hornady 165 gr.
interlock tipped...had a hole in her from the 308 you could put
a cantelope in...and she ran about 50yds in the white brush...I
usually use 130 gr Barnes X..and get one shot DRT Kills...But I
tried these..no such thing as too big..just what pleases you the
user..DD

Too big to me means, if it breaks my shoulder it's too big.

Lots of 300 mags used in Texas. I can justify those sizes based on the current hunting objectives. Larger than that seems to be a waist of powder and recoil. I've hunted for years with a 7 mag.

No caliber is too big as long as you hit them in the right place.

I have shot deer with 223 all the way up to 45/70

45/70 dead on impact no walking moving or nothing I like that!!!

223 and even 243 you got to be right on but most ran 50 yards.

308, 30'06 has been 50/50 dead right there to run 50 yards

300 mag, 300wby mag if it's a close shot under 100 yards I've never had one fall where they stood. Over 100 yards drt!

To big is in the eyes of the person shooting or wanting a rifle

Texas wild whitetails? .270 is near perfect. Go up to some of the "big rack" states and they can get huge. .270 still good with a competent marksman but I know plenty of guys that go way bigger.

so your saying it takes more punch to kill a deer with a lung shot than putting one thru its shoulder?

I definitely think there is such a thing as too big...this 20mm Lahti, too big...wouldn't be no more deer left!

I'd be more worried about starting a range fire with that then having any deer left!

i've shot or witnessed firsthand deer shot with everything from a .22, several pistol cartridges(like a .380, 9mm, .40,.357) to the largest i've seen one hit with, a .338 win mag.

depending on scenario's, alot of factors come into play. if your hunting way out west or shooting down long sendero's or across an oat patch I can see where a 7mm mag would be appropriate. its not fun tracking a deer at last light thru blackbrush and guajillo, I'd rather knockem down in the road.

I would say, for 95% of texas deer hunting (hunting over a feeder at ranges from 75-125 yards, shooting deer that will dress just on either side of 125 lbs, then anything larger than a .280 is overkill. really a .260 or 7mm-08 is about perfect.

if your hunting bigger south texas or panhandle deer, hunting in thick brush, or in areas where a shot can stretch a ways, then a little extra assurance dosent' hurt.

personally, I think my .270 is the cats azz when it comes to deer, have no reason to shoot my 7mm mag or 30-06.

May I suggest you shoot them in a better spot, I've never had one take a step. Been shooting the 300 Roy for over 40 years.

In almost 60 years of hunting Texas deer, I've come to the conclusion that there ain't no such thing as too big. But also, it's also hard to get too small. (I had a buddy who killed lots of deer with a .22 Hornet single shot and I've killed my share with a .222.) To me there are three components to what makes a good deer combo: (1) Confidence -- what rifle do you feel comfortable and confident with (2) Accuracy -- which rifle hits where you want it to. (3) Bullet design. -- if it doesn't expand, a small bullet will indeed kill what you shoot, but you may have spend hours tracking with little or no blood trail. Personally, I like a bullet that opens up quick and puts the deer on the ground. I do NOT like following a blood trail.

Any thing bigger then a quarter bore...daaaa

its too big if you cant hit where you are aiming besides that you are good to go

Buddy of mine shot a doe with my .50 BMG. Shot him with an M8 API round. It ran a few yards so I am going to classify the .50 as not big enough.

It makes a lot of sense to use a bigger slower bullet once you check into it... I read that Elmer Keith deplored the 270 but loved the bigger bores, even for deer.

I dont think there is a too big, as long as you can make a good shot give it a try.

I dont like tearing stuff up too much, and I have seen deer with much larger exit wounds from a 243 than my 300wby. Alot of it depends on velocity and bullet construction. I dont load full bore loads to extend my powder supply, brass life. Also yields the on game performance im looking for and when I need the power I can stack them full.

matt

Nothing is to big, it's just having fun!! I've shot several hogs, deer, yotes and one unlucky coon with my .375 H&H that I used to have. It was fun, but now I just stick to the .243 or my .25-06 as soon as it gets here in the next week.
Remington xcr, hs stock, Kahles 4-12x42, running Double tap 235 grain tsx at 3100+ fps makes them good and messy!! Makes me miss my H&H!!

300 ULTRA MAG ON PREDATORS IS MY FAVORITE!!!!

Dead is dead but the buzzards like us to use big guns on smallcritters. Makes it easier for them to get at the meat.

Or this

in my opinion, the question is ambiguous therefore, the solution for "Too Big" is relative. Any caliber/bullet combination that will deliver 1,200 ft lbs of energy into the target at the distance you are shooting is ample power to get the job done. Any more than that can be considered too big. Choose your poison, big and slow or small and fast.

I think that it depends on if you want to hunt long range

At reasonable distances, I like my .35 Remington. It drops them on the sendero and I don't have to venture out into the brush... If I have to make a longer shot, I'll go with a 30-06... I would rather err on the large side than on the not enough gun side...

Lol can't ever get to big. If I could get a cannon in a deer stand I'd knock me down with a cannon ball

If it beats you up so bad you can't shoot it comfortably or accurately then it's too big. Recoil doesn't bother me I just go with the flow so I've yet to find one too big. Ok on edit there was a time I put 9 rounds out of a stock 460 Weatherby from the bench, that one will tenderize your shoulder in short order. But I got it sighted in!

cat shot with .450 bushmaster at 50 yards