Best caliber for irish deer

Sika_Stalker

This may have been asked already but in your opinions what would ye consider the best caliber for deer stalking on this island

jwshooter

Sika_Stalker wrote: »

This may have been asked already but in your opinions what would ye consider the best caliber for deer stalking on this island

this should be a good thread .25.06 is the best caliber end of story ,flat shooting. fast good in wind ,easy on the shoulder,accurate. 100 gr ideal for necking hinds and i have yet to see a stag go any distance when shoulder/chest shot with it .3100 fps + whack .. also the sako 117 gr soft points shoot match accuracy in my 75 .failing that 270 or 243 ...6.5 x 55 is a fine cal if you want to train the dog .i have seen more **** ups with it than any other cal .most lads use n the wrong bullet gr too heavy . 125 B tip is best in this slow round

ivanthehunter

Can you lads also state why you would recommend such a cal, ie accuracy, shock power, price, damage to meat, and any other info you can think of..

John Griffin

jwshooter wrote: »

this should be a good thread .25.06 is the best caliber end of story ,flat shooting. fast good in wind ,easy on the shoulder,accurate. 100 gr ideal for necking hinds and i have yet to see a stag go any distance when shoulder/chest shot with it .3100 fps + whack .. also the sako 117 gr soft points shoot match accuracy in my 75 .failing that 270 or 243 ...6.5 x 55 is a fine cal if you want to train the dog .i have seen more **** ups with it than any other cal .most lads use n the wrong bullet gr too heavy . 125 B tip is best in this slow round

Fully agree on the .25-06, best by far! Second and third place .270 and .243. Don't like the 6.5x 55 either, drops like a brick, not suitable for hill stalking.

Grizzly 45

Kind of like asking what is better a saw or hammer? 270 and 25.06 are great if you have long open areas to shoot on. And you are Arnold Schwarzenegger to carry this around up hill ,down dale.If you are of small er statue recoil and weight might be an issue.go for a 243 and get in closer.If you are shooing semi forested areas like me,I prefer the 243,but sure as Hell wouldnt like this for big Reds.There minimum is IMO a 308.
The 6.5 well the Swedes have been knocking Moose with it for a 100 odd years,but then it is shot placement that counts.
Somone once said the best rifle for a job is the one you shoot best,know what it will and wont do and allows you to hit the target all the time.
IOW find a cal that suits you,practise with it alot and you will then have the best deer calibre for you.

Sika_Stalker

out of all the calibers mentioned here ive used them all.
308- good for down range power
270- flat shooting/good down range power/ not bad when in close either
6.5x55- drops like a stone when down range
25-06- flat shooting/ good for long ranges (best wildcat ever produced)
243- flat shooting but a bit too much meat damage
I would also like to try the 7mm08 but havent goten thee chance to yet but it does seem to look like a good caliber on paper.
if anyone has any experience with it please post :rolleyes:

CJhaughey

Sika_Stalker wrote: »

out of all the calibers mentioned here ive used them all.
308- good for down range power
270- flat shooting/good down range power/ not bad when in close either
6.5x55- drops like a stone when down range
25-06- flat shooting/ good for long ranges (best wildcat ever produced)
243- flat shooting but a bit too much meat damage

I am curious as to how you rate the .243 as having more meat damage then the 25-06 considering the .243 is based on the .308 case and the 25-06 is based on the 30-06 case with a considerably greater powder volume and a correspondingly greater velocity and energy for a given projectile.

macnas

What kind of ranges are you guys shooting deer at?

Sika_Stalker

CJhaughey wrote: »

I am curious as to how you rate the .243 as having more meat damage then the 25-06 considering the .243 is based on the .308 case and the 25-06 is based on the 30-06 case with a considerably greater powder volume and a correspondingly greater velocity and energy for a given projectile.

to be honest i dont know why it happens but even with good bullet choice the 243 has always caused more meat damage then the 25-06. ive only ever had 1 incident where the 25-06 has caused more damage then the 243.
bullets used 100gr partition 243
100gr ballistic tip 25-06
could just be my own experience but the 243 has always caused more damage:o

foxshooter243

Sika_Stalker wrote: »

to be honest i dont know why it happens but even with good bullet choice the 243 has always caused more meat damage then the 25-06. ive only ever had 1 incident where the 25-06 has caused more damage then the 243.
bullets used 100gr partition 243
100gr ballistic tip 25-06
could just be my own experience but the 243 has always caused more damage:o

The reason that this is possible is that the 25 o6 is considered an "overbore" cartridge in that it uses a lot of powder do obtain velocities that other more efficient calibres do with less-the greater volume of powder doesnt translate into more muzzle velocity because of the bore size-the 243 is a far more efficient round than the 25 o6 as it can easily achieve the same muzzle velocity with twenty percent less powder of a
given type-so you could be using 100 grain bullets in both but the 243 may have more oomph depending on the load ,and on your rifle, cos you could buy 2 rifles of the shelf same make calibre etc and one will chronograph faster than the other with the same load.
The 25 06 was losing ground big time in the US when winchester introduced the 243 but when companies like hornady introduced the heavier bullets for the 06 then that trend stopped.its the 120 grain bullet that really seperates the 2 as a deer round.
imo the 25 06 is the better deer calibre but if you were reloading for both the 243 would be much easier on the pocket..thats my 2 cents worth

jwshooter

foxshooter243 wrote: »

The reason that this is possible is that the 25 o6 is considered an "overbore" cartridge in that it uses a lot of powder do obtain velocities that other more efficient calibres do with less-the greater volume of powder doesnt translate into more muzzle velocity because of the bore size-the 243 is a far more efficient round than the 25 o6 as it can easily achieve the same muzzle velocity with twenty percent less powder of a
given type-so you could be using 100 grain bullets in both but the 243 may have more oomph depending on the load ,and on your rifle, cos you could buy 2 rifles of the shelf same make calibre etc and one will chronograph faster than the other with the same load.
The 25 06 was losing ground big time in the US when winchester introduced the 243 but when companies like hornady introduced the heavier bullets for the 06 then that trend stopped.its the 120 grain bullet that really seperates the 2 as a deer round.
imo the 25 06 is the better deer calibre but if you were reloading for both the 243 would be much easier on the pocket..thats my 2 cents worth

the 243 is a precision tool i mostly neck shoot with it using 75 gr or 95 gr federal B tips .for this type of shooting the 75 gr are only savage , on hinds n calf keeping ranger under or close to 100 meters .The 95 gr B tip in 243 against the 25.06 100 gr B tip no competition the 25 wins hands down . the kill s are more instant with the 25 the round has every thing we want ..we regularly shoot ballons on the range out to 500 yards with 270,25.06,243 .its good crack and all three cals drop about the same in wind not much in it also

Tac

i have a sako 75 varmint in 6.5x55se. i really rate this calibre.
1) wide variety of ammo
2) very smooth to shoot
3) accurate
4) not too much damage either, depending on shot placement and bullet selection, of course.

jwshooter

Tac wrote: »

i have a sako 75 varmint in 6.5x55se. i really rate this calibre.
1) wide variety of ammo
2) very smooth to shoot
3) accurate
4) not too much damage either, depending on shot placement and bullet selection, of course.

if it works for you thats is all that matters .what gr bullet you using .

foxshooter243

Tac wrote: »

i have a sako 75 varmint in 6.5x55se. i really rate this calibre.
1) wide variety of ammo
2) very smooth to shoot
3) accurate
4) not too much damage either, depending on shot placement and bullet selection, of course.

sako 75 ..the "riflemans rifle"