Best caliber for Texas whitetail

[Otto_Mation]

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

I am in agreement with this also. When I was younger the .243 was viewed as a deer hunting caliber for kids and women and us real men carried 30-06 or 7mm magnum in the woods. I have had a .243 for years and used it mostly for hogs but I found that it was a fantastic round for deer. I no longer hunt but if I was to go on a deer hunt that is what I would carry.

 

[Maverick44]

There's no shortage of good deer cartridges. Most anything between .223 and 30-06 is pretty much good to go. Any less than that, and it gets a little iffy if your shot placement isn't perfect. Anything more than that just damages the meat unnecessarily. I tend to gravitate more towards the middle of that range. 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 Rem (Ballistic twin of 30-30), 30-40 Krag, ect. I'd really like to either get my hands on a Savage 99 in .250 Savage, or build a light weight bolt action in that chambering. I feel like it's darn near the perfect deer round for this part of the country.

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

.243 is just fine. My grandparents and great grandparents have taken a lot of deer with that round.

 

[BigRed]

Shot placement matters most.

 

[EZ-E]

I'll take a .308 any day. Great knock down power out to 400 yards & ammo is always available.

 

[Whalercohasset]

Never really picked a specific caliber,just went with the lightest rifles with the best glass. That normally means a .243 Husqvarna or a .270 Winchester Featherweight.

 

[baboon]

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.

I originally thought about retiring to Palestine. I have another friend with a family farm in Palestine. They burned down the old farmhouse & cleaned it up some, built a garage on the property and put ATV's, a welding machine on a trailer, and tools plus flatbed trailer. It all got stolen. As my old buddy Ralph says The damned outlaws are every where out here. Needless to say I stated away from Anderson County all together

 

[Mills]

.22 LR for hunting the Long Lease .

 

[Big Green]

338LM

 

[tedwitt]

In brush I use a .30/.30, open land, .308 or .30/.06.

 

[paknheat]

.358 Winchester.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[seeker_two]

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

With spotlight and thermal.....

 

[baboon]

With spotlight and thermal.....

A thermal should not require a spotlight unless it the worse chicom crap ever made.

 

[roadkill]

Most of the ones who prefer and use that caliber can’t afford the thermal. Spotlight yes.

 

[tedwitt]

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

Rimfire is illegal in Texas for big game.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

So is spotlighting and thermals.

 

[paknheat]

Rimfire is illegal in Texas for big game.

Poachers don’t care.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Vaquero]

.243, or any equivalent or better 6mm.

Read your reloading manuals and ballistic tables.

 

[leVieux]

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

<>

While living in Austin in 1990, we all switched to .243Win & are happy with them.

<>

 

[Lead Belly]

Rifle Ammunition: Bullets — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

tpwd.texas.gov

 

[roadkill]

Rimfire is illegal in Texas for big game.

so is hunting off a public road or out of season. Doesn’t change the fact that the 22 reigns supreme in that role and likely has killed more deer than the other calibers.