What are you shooting with??

I have a Remington .700 in 30.06. While a popular round, I wonder sometimes if is to much for whitetail. What are you using and what are your thoughts....30.06 too much gun?

.223.... since I am recoil sensitive






I shoot a .270 most of the time and .280 once in a while. I will shoot the .223 when deer hunting at times.

30-06 is not too much gun with 150 or 165 grain bullets. I use both .270 (Sako 85) with 130 grain bullets and 30-06 (Browning X-Bolt) with 165 grain bullets.

45-70, I prefer the knockdown power.

.243 win. My favorite deer caliber.

.300 Ultra Mag or the 06 if I am rifle hunting. I never heard of a deer that was "too dead"

Hunt with a bow 90% of the time

A bunch of different calibers, txshntr is correct. I never blew a deer up with my 300 win mag and I shoot 200gr. I like the 264 win mag, 7 mag, and my son shoots a 260 rem. My son shot a .223 last year and I think its on the edge of being too small. If your blowing the deer in half it might be to big but I doubt thats happening.

Go to gun is a 270 with 130gr SST. Back up is a 308 with 168GK. Also carry a 460mag with 265gr jacketed hollow points.

6.5x55 16 in setup running 140 gr amax
300 win mag running 208 amax or 230 bergers

I use a .243 or 308,son has a 243,daughter has a 260,wife has a 7-08, we have the 308 case covered!

I shoot a 7mm Rem Mag as my primary weapon with 140gr Ballistic silvertips. My son shoots a .270 with Hornady Lite ammo. I also hunt with a .243 from time to time. If you hit them where you are suppose to, they'll all do the job just fine.

I have to go to guns....06 is my main one and back up is 270.

My go to is my 6.8. It's the only thing I've used regularly for the last 2 seasons. I do keep my Tikka 270 ready just incase.

Mathews Reezen

My back-up incase I meet a hog walking out

.357maximum
7-30 waters

No such thing as too much gun. Too explosive a bullet, maybe, but that's not the caliber's fault.

i rotate thru the safe depending on whatever strikes me when i open the door
ranger arms 7mag and weatherby 22-250 have been the designated hitters this year

I have a 30.06, my first rifle. My go to is a 270 shooting 130 federal premium. My only negative on the 30.06 is I believe the recoil keeps most shooters away from getting enough gun range time in to be proficient with the rifle. My daughter would rather shoot the 270. With the 130 grain round, really flat shooting without a lot of recoil.

WOW! Will definitely knock down anything you hit.

i use 30.06 with 150 grain bullets as primary and 270 win with 130 grain as my back up

Well, there are deer and there are deer. Texas Hill Country yearlings are maybe 75 pounds live weight. Then I read on here of people shooting deer with about 275 pounds live weight. (Another thing to consider is you might want to shoot an exotic someday.)

And then their is the whole distance thing. I've never had a need to shoot a deer at over 125 yards, but some people seem to have trouble shooting them at less than 300!

A .243 WCF would be fine for most of us but for long-range shooting of big, big, Texas deer, I think it is marginal. The .270 WCF will cover ever thing though with less recoil than the .30-06. That's probably why it is the most popular deer cartridge in Texas today.

If I'm after a buck 30-06 is my go to. Does and spikes get the 243 or 22-250

The .30-06 is popular because returning Gi's were familiar with that round in the M1 Garand and there were lots of enfield surplus rifles ready to be sporterized. IMO it's defiantly adequate, but the recoil is a bit stiff for what you are getting from a 06'

I shoot a .22-250 and a .270 for whitetail

I shoot an ol .243

Marlin 30-30

Marlin 45-70 last couple years. All bang-flops!

Browning X-Bolt 7mm-08 139gr SST
Zastava M70 .308 150gr Powerpoints

I go back and forth between 30-378 wby 210 vld and 338-378wby 300vld hybrid.

Remington 770 .270

Remington 700 in 7mm-08
Back up is an old A-bolt .270.

I'm shooting with my Savage XP Trophy Hunter on 30-06 with 180 grain bullet. Yeah, it has a kick to it. It created a lot of damage to the last doe I hit on Thanksgiving day.

Remington 700 30-06 - Federal premium btsp in either a 150 or 165gr
Remington 700 22-250 - Federal premium sp in a 55gr

Several caliber ranging from 223 to 300 wby, a bow, and 54 cal smokepole

30-06 Remington 700. 150 gr CoreLokts.

.50 BMG off my hip a la John Rambo

I've heard a lot of good things about the .280. How does it compare to the .270?

I shoot a .270 Winchester 70 130gr Winchester PSP.

Backup is a Remington 700 .223 with 55gr PSP CoreLokts. I call it the Hammer.

I love my .280 and it's an awesome round in my opinion. Shooting 140 grain Accubonds I've never had a critter take a step after being hit by it. That being said I've had the same results shooting a .270 with 130 grain Accubonds.
Thinking maybe I need another .270

If your not looking to shoot long range they are dang near identical.

Savage .270, with 130 grain federal premium ammo. Very effective set-up for me.

Good job Johnny!

6.5 Creedmoor
308 Win
7mm08

7mm rem mag w/ 150 gr nosler ballistic tips although now that my son seems to be taking it over I'm in the market for a 25-06.

Up until this year, the only deer I've killed a deer with is my Winchester .30-30. My boss invited me to come to his ranch to get rid of some does, and I shot two of them with a .22-250. Now my go-to deer rifle is a .300 Win Mag because I don't want to track them very far.

Diamond Black Ice

Wife .243
Me .308
And sometimes I pull out the old 22-250 or .223, for old-times sake.

.308 launching Hornady 150gr SST

.223 launching Federal 62gr Hoghammer.

.243, 80 gr. Barnes TTSX. Does a fine job.

I really like my .308 Marlin express.

Load my own FTP bullets.

6.5 Creedmor, son and wife shoot a .243.

No .25-06 fans on this forum...

I haven't picked up my 7mag since last year. Nothing but whitetails this year.

100 grain Grim Reapers flying about 300 fps out of my Bowtech.

weatherby vanguard 25/06 horandy 117gr sst

First one this year was with my Ruger NMBH 45 Colt- only went 20 yards.

Next was with my 444 Marlin- Bang flop.

Plan to just carry these two guns remainder of year.

I inherited a 25-06. Would love to try it out but my son has latched on to it and I cannot seem to get it back. Shoots like a laser beam. Not sure what he is launching with it!

Marlin 30-06 with 150gr and .308 just depends on the type of hunting I'm doing and the terrain.

Remington .270 model 700

remington 700 30-06 with a 150 core-lokt

I don't often shoot deer. But when I do I use a 223 like the Ranchman. Keep hunting my friends.

Weatherby vanguard 257 117 hornady's

Ruger .270 w/130gr SST

I have always thought my 25.06 was my best gun for Texas deer. I own most of them and always shoot that 25.

Switchback XT

I've been mainly using a 7-08 for Texas deer the past few seasons. Just about perfect for that endeavor IMHO.
And no, a .30-06 is not too much gun. An '06 is never a bad choice.

Weatherby mark v in 25-06 with 100 grain core lokts

I keep a 25-06 behind the door of my office. I never know when an axis will walk out to the feeder in the middle of the day.

Remington 700 in .270 Win. , occasionally Ruger Mk. ll in .243. On rare occasions Contender in .357 Bobcat from bow blinds.

700 270 150 power points

.308, 150gr SST, win M70 HB
.243, 95 gr SST, 700 ADL and 788
Excalibur Matrix 380, 264gr 18" BEE with 150 gr Xbow Trick
.50 cal CVA inline muzzleloader, Hornady 250gr .45 cal HP
Just picked up a Ruger American in 7mm-08, will need to find a good load after I fit it out with a new set of Talley rings and a VX-1 4-12x40

Destroyer 340 and 270 winchester as my back up.

Me - T3 .30-06, my 165 grain hand loads.
Wife - T3 7mm-08, my 140 grain hand loads.
Backup - Browning White Gold Medallion .270 Win., factory 130 grain Remington Core Lokt.

Not a one of 'em are too much. We have large zombie hogs wandering around in addition to the deer. Besides, I like what a .270 and a 7mm-08 does to those menacing, corn thieving, feeder damaging raccoons.

Bastages.

If you're recoil sensitive, then the 30.06 is too much gun for you (not the whitetail). I own a 7mag, .270 and a .308. The caliber that I will use will depend on the distance from my stand to the feeder. 100 yards or less, I will use the .308. Going beyond 100 yards, I will use the .270 or the 7mag.

20+ year old 700 in 270.

25-06 117 gr SST

7 Rem mag with 180 grainers. Don't hit the shoulder!

Guess I am becoming an "equal opportunity" hunter. It just depends on which rifle I focused on tweaking that year. Two years ago it was the 270 with 130 Fed Premiums (long spike, DRT). Last year it was the 6.5x55 with 120 grain Barnes TTSX (120 pound sow,DRT). This year it's the 7mm 08 with 120 grain Barnes TTSX (2 bucks, both DRT). Next year I'll probably dust off the 6mm or the 308.

300 RUM with 180gr hand load or 25-06 with 120 gr hand load. It really depends on where I am hunting.

I agree with another post.... Never to dead!!

I used a 6 MM Rem Mag for years for deer with well over 20 one-shot kills. Five years ago I shot a medium-sized boar and he shrugged a bit and went back to eating corn before I put one in his ear. I now rotate between two different .300s. My favorite is my .300 win mag because I can shoot one-inch groups between the Remington Managed Recoil 150g and the Hornady Superformance 180g SST (I tried the Superformance 165 GMX but they rifle didn't "like" them). I keep it loaded with the 150s for deer, but it a pig steps out a quick change of the clip and I am shooting the 180s!! I also have a .300 AAC Blackout that is awaiting its suppressor and it will probably become the favorite deer/pig slayer.

6.8 SPC backed up by 270

I have been using a Mauser 7mm mag with Win Super X 150grain Power Point.

Have been hunting mainly around Comanche County, now hunting more in East Texas and thinking I should get a 30-30 for the Piney Woods.

Lets see, 30-06 165 No.BT, 6.5 x55, 7x 57, 7.65 x 53, 243 win, 12 ga. slug, but my favorite gun in a custom 280 rem on a 09 arg. action scoped with 6x fixed IOR Valdada scope, Hogue over mold rubber stock, stuffed with 150 gr. swift scirroco II, best combination I have every used.

Remington 722 .257 Roberts 100-117gr
Winchester pre-64 Model 70 .270 130gr
Marlin 30-30 open sight 150gr corlok for the short distant bow stands

Weatherby Vanguard SII .257 Weatherby Magnum and PSE X-Force.

Old J.C.Higgins with Husky Swedish action in 270 with 130 grain hand loaded Hornady Partition. 130 grain groups better than 150 grain.

Remington 700 BDL 270
Remington 700 CDL SF 257 Weatherby
Browning Silver 12
Browning A5 12

The Partition is a Nosler product.

6.8 here Iif it's inside about 400, farther than that I drag out the bolt gun in .308.

Ruger 270 w/ hornandy 130gr superperformance

bushmaster 223 with 55 gr cheap soft points

Depends on my mood and the weather. This year it was mostly my Nosler 35 Whelen shooting 250 grain partitions:



If it is really wet out I switch to my Sako .270 (top) or my X-bolt 7-08 (bottom) shooting 150 grain partitions or 140 grain accubonds respectively:



I prefer the 35 Whelen as bear season is open at the same time as deer so I always have a bear tag when deer hunting and the 35 is good bear medicine.

Not so fast...

I'm extremely recoil sensitive and my "daily driver" rifle is a .300WM TC Pro Hunter

It's a custom from Mr Brown with a JP Howitzer brake and the gun feels like shooting a .22

at the range, I warn guys to my left and right that my gun is loud and may hurt ya. Most look at me crazy and laugh and say WHATEVER dude. My first shot normally has them grabbing their chest then ears. The old timers say ok then once I pull it out they smile and back off or go down a few spots.

It will clear out a busy range in .005sec

Been shooting Rem 700 in .308 the last couple of years.
Grew up shooting a Win model 70 in 30.06. Used a browning .270 for a cupel of years as well.

None of them really sexy but all were good shooting, put the meat on the table guns.

Howa 308, 30.06 remmy second choice.

What am I shooting? What day is it?

I've got an old Savage 99CD in .308 that says "take me, take me" every time I open the safe, but the .06 is always around. Most used the last few years was a Marlin in 35 rem.....