Short action Whitetail cartridge

[bootsmcguire]

my state doesn't seem to think you can kill a deer with anything less than a .243 cal bullet. Or else I'd be right there with you with my 22-250.

+1, same here. Loaded properly and shot placed properly a 22-250 can do a great job. If I could use 224 cal here in my home state I'd consider building something like a 22-6mmAI or a 22-243 or similar.

[lomfs24]

Luckus, I have not tried the TSX, but before I moved to Kansas and I still hunted with a 22-250 I don't know how many deer I took with a 52 grain HPBT Seirra Matchking. That was of course before I learned that you can't kill deer with a HP Match bullet. BANG! FLOP! Seemed to work anyway. Awww, the things you can do when you don't know you can't do them. ;D ;D

[Luckus]

Last year was the first time I shot anything with the TSX. The 6 pt was angled away from me and I shot it thru the right side. The bullet thru the lungs and exited half way up the neck on the left side, unbelievable penetration for a 22 cal. It was a little uphill from me, and it did run 20 yards or so. My cuz and I have used Swifts for years and have tried a bunch of bullets, ranging from 50 gr Speer & Hornady's to 55 and 60 Gr Hornady's. The 60 gr Hornady HP is really hard to beat. By the way my MV on the 53gr tsx is 3925. We have never lost a deer with them, and our experience has been even poorly hit Deer cannot survive the Swift.

[243LPR]

243 with hornady 100 gr sp or 308 with 130 gr Barnes TSX. Either one is a 1 shot kill.

[NATTY BUMPO]

7mm-08. Effective, mild recoil, short action, tons of bullet choices if you reload, and good ammo selections if you don't reload. It could very well be the perfect short-action deer cartridge.

[wch]

257 Roberts; if you must, then 257 Roberts Ackley Improved.

[Luckus]

I can also vouch for both versions of the 257. My Ruger 77 257 AI with 100 gr Hornady's is a good one.

[NATTY BUMPO]

In order, 7-08, 308, 260. I'm a 7mm fan, and the 7-08 is a sweet little cartridge that tends to be the little engine that could...it performs better than it really has a right to. 308 second in a nod to bullet diameter. I'd have absolutely no probs using a 260, but left-handed 260's are hard to find, while 7-08 and 308 lefties are readily available. I have a 7 RM and a 280, but one of these days I'm gonna get a 7-08. The older you get, the less enchanted you are with recoil. That's one reason why I'm liking my .25-06 so much right now...it doesn't beat me up but definitely takes care of business. I wish more folks offered the 260 in a lefty, as the S.D. on those 6.5 bullets is wicked good.

[007FJ]

Mr. Roberts had it right.


257 Roberts, that is.


I just built (as in had a great retired friend build) one of these with an old Sako Finn Bear Barrel that the same friend had. It is so sweet that I put my best scope on it. I have used a A-Bolt SS Stalker in 270 for the last few years but I love shooting that 257. We built it on a 110 action, cerakoted it all flat black, dropped it in a Savage Walnut stock from Numrich, bedded and relieved the end where it was binding the barrel. It put the last three at 5/8ths with Nosler 110 Accubond factory loads. I plan on using it this year along with the 338 Federal Sako 85 that I just scored.

I wanted just one rifle that he built. As much to have a family history piece as much as accuracy (brothers ex father in law). That 257 is the 3rd and most plain looking but I love how it turned out. Pulled the EGW rail off of it this weekend. It now has Talley one piece mounts so I HAVE to go sight it in again, maybe tomorrow!

[idpamaster]

.223 Federal Premium Serria 55gr Boat Tail Hollowpoint. Good for whitetails if you can shoot to about 300 yards. I have downed 51 deer over the years with this load the longest at about 300 but most in the 30 to 130 yard range. Almost all were heart/lung shots, this load takes out a couple of ribs going in and blows up in the chest cavity. Out of the 51 almost all of them dropped in their tracks and the one that went the longest didn't get out of sight. Only hit one that wasnt immediately recovered due to my hitting a sapling about 10 yards before. 51 out of 52 is pretty good.

The 243 is probably a better deal as it has more range but you can shoot a 223 a whole lot more for the money. A 243 with the same bullet in 75gr hollowpoint maybe the deadest deer i ever saw shot.

[Lincoln4]

.243 Win. Every deer I've shot with it dropped in it's tracks. The 8 point my daughter shot in October, same outcome. And what a pleasure to shoot.

[jake23703]

I'm in Virginia and hunt deer and hogs so I'm building a 7mm-08 on a Savage 16 action with a 20" vamint barrel. I was going to build a .260, but factory ammo options are rather limited and I haven't found the time to make use of my reloading bench. I suspect that will change once I have the new rifle completed. I like to spend time at the range and the .308 kicked just hard enough to suck the fun out of that. I'm hoping that the new rig will be portable in the field and comfortable to shoot at the range to make for the perfect rifle for me.

[tammons]

7MM-08 is a nice round. Try some 162 Amaxes some time.

[Grit #1]

3006 then .308win I know the 30 cal is a long action however: I choose it over all other for one reason.
No matter were you go in any state, even overseas, you can walk into any store that sells ammo and there will be 3006 Springfield at a reasonable price. Always cheapper than anything else save the .223 Rem.
My second choice is the .308 basically for the same reasons except the 308 runs about $5.00 more a box.
Either one will plant midsize to large game with authority. I have killed multitude of white tail and mulies with the .308Win. Don't ask how many; I can't count that high.
Best regards,
Grit

[txbdyguard]

7mm-08 built on a 16 action in a B&C medalist stock

[lomfs24]

The 6.5x47 Lapua sure did the trick this year. Dropped in his tracks with one shot, and very little recoil.

[tammons]

My favorites are....

Low reocil - 6.8 SPC and 110 gr pro hunters, 95 gr TTSX for hogs.
Hardest hitting low recoil round I have used.

7mm-08 and the 162 gr amax.
308 208 gr amax.
Both over .3 SD. Great hog bullets, but overkill for small deer.
Still shot a doe last year in the neck with a 208 gr amax, and DRT with a big exit hole.

Not a short action but, 270 win with 130 gr pro hunters.
270 is a great all around flat shooting cartridge. You can load a
95 gr barnes TTSX bullet to about 3700 FPS over RL17 or 160
gr Nosler partitions for the big stuff.

Surprised nobody ever legitimized a 270 short action cartridge off 308 brass.

[kweeks10045]

7-08 here too. I have the 7-08 and .243. The 243 is a great gun, and mine has killed close to 100 deer since 1964, but the 7mm-08 is much more versatile. With 145 gr. Speers, you can get 2920fps with 51 grains of Re 19 from a 22" barrel. This will get you a solid 300 yard deer rifle, even on larger Canadian deer. If you need be, you can load lighter or heavier. Craig Boddington sent his daughter to Africa for plains game with the 7mm-08. She took a number of large species including a big Zebra, Kudu, and Gemsbock. The 7mm-08 is awesome, light recoil, easy to reload, readily available over the counter ammo, very versatile, etc., etc. And, the 140 Nosler Partitions work great for moose or elk.

[trubble1966]

savage model 10fp pre-accutrigger 300 wsm,drops them on the spot. 8 point muley in idaho using 165 grain fusion.Absolutely love it.

[fyimo]

In Arkansas I use a 243 or 308 as I like them both. In Colorado when I hunt out there I use a 270 Win or a 30-06 as the shots can be at greater distances and these two handle Mule Deer well.