I think it'd be fun to hunt with a 45 long colt, but i have been told multiple times not to try.

It will it at close rqnge or with HEAVy handloads from a good revolver or contender.

22-250...inside 100 yds...

22-250 works real well thats what i used to use when I was a kid longest shot I took with that gun was 250 yards she run about 35 yrds and fell. My wife still uses the gun today. Also killed a few with a 223 ruger number 1 head shots never had to take any long shots with it. But I prefer my 30/06 never let me down.

The lowest I will go is .243.

What? Nobody uses a .50 BMG? I thought this site was all about who used the biggest gun.
Many good calibers but my personal opinion is, it's more about shot placement but wouldn't use anything smaller than a 5.56. If i had a gun, I personally would choose a .308

.243

With being a guide for 13 years and hunting for 25 years It's been my experience mainly through guiding clients that I have noticed folks who come on a hunt and bring a large caliber rifle tend to be sloppy and dependent on the gun rather than their ability to effectively shoot the gun. They tend to have the mentality that "well i have a 300 Ultra mag, and I can make a marginal shot and he will go down eventually." I'm not saying all large caliber rifle users are this way but it seems more and more I see that mentality peeking it's ugly head.As i was brought into hunting at an early age I was taught to wait for the correct shot and to make the best shot I could. I grew up using a .243 and effectively took whitetail with live weights up to 275lbs and numerous 300lb plus exotics with a .243 and never had any problems with shots under 300 yards. If i'm not holding 3/4" or less groups im livid. My point is there are a lot of factors outside the rifle caliber that can make or break a clean kill. But if it were me I would choose no less than the .243 OK, now all the big gun boys can get in an uproar from my comments......carry on!

My old Grandma only had a .22 in the 40's. She taught us the ear shot when we were kids. I personally never shot a deer with the 22 but many squirrels and rabbits have made it across the table. I still have it. Winchester model 68. Maybe not legal but poor people made due back then. Grandma could have given Annie Oakly a run for her money. I'm sure we all have some stories about our elders. They are all legendary in some way. I prefer my trusty 243 and up.

All this discussion makes me want to weigh in here. Years ago. I had a buddy who used a .22 Hornet to hunt deer with. I always thought it was to small a caliber to hunt deer with, but he killed quite a few deer with it. Shot placement was, and always has been the key when using such a small caliber.

My Mom and her family lived on Morris Ranch in Fredricksburg during the depression and they killed everything with a 22 or a club..hunger determined...I've shot and cull shot ranches for a long time and used a 22-250 w/Barnes 55 gr X bullets all the way
thru a 338 Win Mag if I played. The 22-250 is deadly accurate and flat shooting and with the X bullet you will get massive penatration and shock. I shoot a lot now with my 308's but I don't get the same effects..little different even with perfect placement but it gets the job done and I just shoot'm to eat anyway. My buddy uses his 30-378wthby mag just as dead..more noise..Don

As said, shot placement is everything but if a little bullet in the right place will do the job then a larger bullet in the same place will do it also.

Shoot enough animals and one will turn or bolt just as you break the sear. The quartering away shot turns into a solid rump shot. Glad I had my .30-06 (or .308 or .270 or ? with premium bullet) and not the little gun. I've hunted elk with the .30-06 and 180 gr partitions but prefer the .338 Win Mag and 225 gr Partitions in case the same happens there - and I can still keep it under an inch for 3 shots off the bench at 100 yards.

So, original question: Well what caliber do you think is the smallest you would hunt with?

My answer: .243 Win and then only with a premium bullet.
TC

I've killed most of my deer with a 22 hornet. That's all i hunted with from when I was a kid thru High School. It was a cheap H&R single shot with open iron sights that my granpa gave me for Christmas when I was little kid. My grandpa would always buy the ammo every year before season so I never saw the need to buy anything else. Pop em right between the eyes at 25 yds. Never had a one animal that didn't drop dead in its tracks.

Todays bullets have made a lot of calibers way mo adequate than they used to be, especially if you reload. Texas deer are very thin skinned and light boned, everything from a 223 on up will work with adequate bullets and proper placement. You guys think that what claiber is the smallest for Texas deer is an interesting topic, you should see what its like when guys move to Alaska and ask whats the best caliber for Alaska hunting, its incredible how many guys shoot guns that they are completely inaccurate with! Spent many a days at the public range up there chuckling my [censored] off watching guys go from hunting with a 270 down here and then buying a 338, 375 or a RUM and they cant shoot for chit but they think thats what they need for moose,caribou and bear!

I have killed several deer with a 410 slug, savage bolt action gun with rifle sights I had put on it. 75 yards all out of the same stand in my back pasture.

I have taken several deer with a T/C pistol in .222 but I hit them on the head less than 100 yds some at 50yds and closer, several deer and turkey with .223. But that was all I had and shot them ALOT! Now the smallest I go to the stand with is a 6.5 Grendel. I also hunt with a 10mm and .45 Colt out to 50yds.

Smallest caliber? .221 fireball

Has anyone used bullets from Dynamic Research Technologies (DRT)? I've been reading that hunting whitetail with their .223s isn't unreasonable. Anyone? -Fat