Best caliber for Texas whitetail

[GMann1]

In your opinion what is the most effective cartridge for deer hunting in Texas ? Mine is the old 250 Savage with 87 grain bullets traveling at 3000 fps.It has harvested many deer by myself and others thru the yeas .

 

[oldag]

30-30 had harvested many a white tail in East Texas. Not so good for West Texas, with longer ranges.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

How much more effective is killing it dead?

 

[usmcpmi]

I've only used 2 rifles to take deer. 30.06 and .45/70.
While they both deliver 1 shot kills, the 45/70 made a bigger mess of the meat.
Most all shots have been under 300 yards so head shots are the usual. No loss of meat or having to track wounded animals.
YMMV.

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[roadkill]

I bet a 22 has killed more whitetails than any other caliber.

 

[DestroyerTDS]

I’ve always used a .22-250 fast and flat shooting round, small enough to not ruin all the meat accurate out to long yardage for head shots. Pure dropping power I use the .270 leaves a lot bigger hole

 

[Lonesome Dove]

Amount of meat a bullet can ruin adds up to maybe 1/4 pound if the bullet blows up or tumbles. I just want the animal down and dead.
I can buy a 1/4 pounder on the way home for $4.

 

[Eli]

I've only used 2 rifles to take deer. 30.06 and .45/70.
While they both deliver 1 shot kills, the 45/70 made a bigger mess of the meat.
Most all shots have been under 300 yards so head shots are the usual. No loss of meat or having to track wounded animals.
YMMV.

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My father shot a Whitetail buck with a .45-70, as you can imagine it went down instantly. What he wasn't expecting was the doe a dozen yards behind him that he also took out!

Eli

 

[usmcpmi]

Amount of meat a bullet can ruin adds up to maybe 1/4 pound if the bullet blows up or tumbles. I just want the animal down and dead.
I can buy a 1/4 pounder on the way home for $4.

While I can agree that the amount of meat is small, in my opinion, the extra work to clean up the mess. Especially with a shoulder or neck shot. I'll continue to concentrate on shot placement. Just forward of the ear.

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[baboon]

I bet a 22 has killed more whitetails than any other caliber.

This the tool of the backwoods putting venison on the table poacher.

 

[usmcpmi]

This the tool of the backwoods putting venison on the table poacher.

I agree. Had to call the Game warden last year about a button buck found on my place with what appeared to be a .22 wound in his upper leg/shoulder, had hit the bone. The deer died before the game warden got here. He asked if I had any suspicion on where it might have happened. I pointed over the fence to the "neighborhood" and said "take your pick"

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[baboon]

I agree. Had to call the Game warden last year about a button buck found on my place with what appeared to be a .22 wound in his upper leg/shoulder, had hit the bone. The deer died before the game warden got here. He asked if I had any suspicion on where it might have happened. I pointed over the fence to the "neighborhood" and said "take your pick"

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One of my best friends lives on 350 acres in Palestine. He alway said if you see a dog shoot it as they use them to chase the deer to them. Over the 35 years that I have known him I can’t even remember the amount of badly shot deer that are seen or found on the place. One had its front leg shot off. Deer that had arrows sticking out of them in stupid place are common as well.

Seeing deer carcasses dumped in various means of been cut on is also common around his place. I wanted land for most of my life, but seeing the methbilly problems that he has felt with is huge.

 

[jmohme]

One of my best friends lives on 350 acres in Palestine. He alway said if you see a dog shoot it as they use them to chase the deer to them. Over the 35 years that I have known him I can’t even remember the amount of badly shot deer that are seen or found on the place. One had its front leg shot off. Deer that had arrows sticking out of them in stupid place are common as well.

Seeing deer carcasses dumped in various means of been cut on is also common around his place. I wanted land for most of my life, but seeing the methbilly problems that he has felt with is huge.

My Father in law and his brother lived up there. They both passed a few years back and I had to get the properties in shape to sell.
You are right about the methbillies and the crap they create.

 

[Texasjack]

The bullet you can reliably put in a critical area is the best one for you to shoot.

The .30-30 was the #1 LEGAL deer cartridge for years, but it has an arc like a rainbow that makes it difficult over 100-150 yards. So many .30-30s are lever actions, and for many years that meant open sites, so that the range limitation was built into the rifle and cartridge combo. (Yes, poachers with .22's have probably shot more deer than everyone else combined. And, yes, I've hunted around neighbors like that.) The venerable .30-'06 will take any game in Texas with ease, as will it's smaller step-child, the .308. When I was young, the .270 (necked down from a .30-'06) was touted as a flatter shooting replacement for the '06, and women and kids were started off with the .243, which necked down from a .308. Of course, there was always that guy in the deer camp with a 7x57 Swiss or a surplus .30-40 Krag. Once we had a guy trying to shoot turkeys with an 8 mm Mauser originally built for Kaiser Bill! Then the "hot" thing was the 7 mm Remington Magnum, basically a super powered version of the .270. And, again, that meant someone had to bring out the .300 Win Mag so we could all hear the roar when he took that early morning shot! Some years ago, the short magnums became the theme for every hunting magazine writer, and I thought that was pretty ridiculous. Then I went hunting with a friend who was shooting one and couldn't help but admire how accurate it was and how well it dropped game. We're on the wave right now of the 6.5 and 6.8 mm cartridges, and there are more of them than I can keep track of. I know a couple of guys shooting them, and they can be super accurate.

I didn't mention 5.56/.223 or the 7.62x39 or the .30 carbine. Good cartridges that have, collectively and individually, killed millions of people. They don't have the really good game stopper bullets that so many other cartridges have. Deer are not humans; you can put a lethal hit on one and it may still run 100 yards and disappear in a thicket to never be found. I'm not saying people haven't successfully used them for deer, but there are many better options.

Practice improves accuracy, and if your cartridges are too expensive, too hard to find, or too powerful (magnums), chances are you won't shoot enough to reach the accuracy level that is desirable. Reloading can help, but in the past few years shortages have put a real damper on reloading.

Having an accurate rifle, loaded with a good, modern hunting bullet, and having quality optics is a premium formula for taking game. All of that means nothing if you don't practice and get to a point where you can use it effectively. And even having spent the time and money to do all that won't mean much if you don't know basic hunting techniques. These days, with hunting leases at a premium, you need at least 3 jobs or a really good inheritance to put yourself in a stand within range of a nice deer.

Being an old fossil on a fixed income means that I spend a few moments every so often looking at my hunting gear and wondering when I'm going to give up and sell my stuff off. The last thing I want is to kick the bucket and have my wife sell off my guns for what I told her I paid for them.

 

[pbratton]

Oh my gosh! You're going to get a listing of every known and unknown caliber in history here...

 

[GMann1]

Oh my gosh! You're going to get a listing of every known and unknown caliber in history here...

That was the idea......................

 

[DaBull]

Regarding the .243...I know there are more powerful cartridges out there, but is it sufficient for harvesting deer in TX?

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Regarding the .243...I know there are more powerful cartridges out there, but is it sufficient for harvesting deer in TX?

Worked for me.
As did 22-250, and my first deer at 8 with a .222.


ETA: And all dropped where shot, after being shot in the neck.

 

[Younggun]

In before the bad shots claims (X) cartridge isn’t good enough to drop a whitetail.

 

[usmcpmi]

Regarding the .243...I know there are more powerful cartridges out there, but is it sufficient for harvesting deer in TX?

Absolutely sufficient! But I don't have one. So I can't provide accurate info.
Also don't have...
.222
25-06
6mm
6.5
6.8
7mm
30 super carry....

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