I like the 308 myself. It does anything I ever need in a deer rifle. I hunt in La & Tn & have never had to use a second shot on a deer.I have a Browning lever action. Its a sweet rifle.

 

Not to hijack a thread, but since there are a lot of deer hunter's responding, here's a question from a non-hunter. Is it reasonable or even acceptable to take a 900 yard shot at a deer? I shoot target and metallic silhouette out to 1000 yards and I've just never heard my hunter friends talk about taking a shot that far out.

 

Its happened and I don't see why not? He target shoots at 1000 yards.

 

I would suggest a .243, 25-06, or 270. The two smaller are a better choice if you hunt varmints and want fur left. A .223, or 22-250 would be even better, if they are legal for deer in TX and you do not need too much of a long range gun. A 25-06 or 270 will work well for elk and long range shooting. I'd personally stay away from any magnum caliber. Their only advantage for deer is range, and you may not need, or be able to shoot deer at extremely long ranges anyway. Also, the shells about $1 a pop or more and the magnums love to tear up what little meat is on a deer.

I would take a look at a Tikka rifle. They are basically a cheaper version of a Sako. It sounds like they are a very good gun, and they cost about as much as a low end Winchester or Remington.

 

I have no doubt a deer could be hit at 900 yards. My question deals more with a few issues that pop to mind. 1. What is the likelihood of a first round kill shot at 900 yards, accuracy at that range is not the best, and I'm no ballistic expert, but the bullet has expended much of it's energy by 900 yards. 2. What happens if you need to fire a follow-up round, this thing is probably not going to sit still after being shot if you don't kill it or mortally wound it. 3. The hunter's I know are very concerned about not making an animal needlessly suffer and 900 yards seems a bit difficult to do that with any sense of assurance. Please don't take offense to the questions. Like I said I'm not a hunter, and I have absolutely nothing against hunting. If this is a touchy subject to hunter's please let me know.

 

i myself have an Interarms 30-06 bolt action with a bushnell sportview scope. paid 150 for the set up 5 years ago and loved it every since.(i bought it at a local shop that was going out of business)

Edit* its a Mark X model

 

I dont mean to be prude, but a deer at a little over a half mile (900 yards) is nearly impossible. First of all A .300 winchester mag drops 40 or so inches at 500 yards. Second, the energy is 33% at 500 yards, so by 900 yards how can you possibly successfully penetrate a deer's body. Im was a SWAT sniper and I know that you can probably hit a target at that range, as I did with a .308 day after day. All that we could do at 700 yards was put a little dent in metal about the thickness of a stop sign. Just my opinion but I dont see it possible.

 

A .30-378 weatherby I know shot an elk at 1000yrds (approx.) using a shepard scope adjusted out to 900yrds....thats using weatherbys specs for the load.

I have video of my friend shooting two himalain (sp.) tar in one shot (went trhough both) with hand loads in a 300wsm at 711 yrds using a brownig a-bolt with leupold tacticle scope.

Its absolutly possible if you know what your doing and know your loads...killing a deer that far would be no problem with the right gun, load, scope and most important the right shooter....I can't do it.

 

I should probably start another thread for this. jgc2521, I'm sorry I hijacked your thread.

 

oh, it doens't matter to me.. As long as it stay on some kinda hunting topic

 

I guess you're right bczolone, I guess Im just too used to shooting a .308, lol. If your scope is adjusted and will compensate for the drop, it is very possible, because the powder in a .308 is minuscle compared to a .300 mag. thats a big cartridge, (the .300).

P.S. Those short mags are something arent they?

 

Envirocon, if you follow P O Ackley, a world renown gunsmith and major destroyer of most every gun known, he states that for a RELIABLE kill in a vital area, a minumum of 1200 ft lbs of energy must be expended on the animal. None of the cartridges mentioned will ever get close to that at 900 yards. I'm not sure a 50 BMG has that much retained energy. Can an animal be hit at 900 yards? Yeah it can. But there are countless variables that make it a lucky shot at best. There can be little to no wind from the origin of the shooter but there can be wind gusts that will track a bullet off target. Paralax in a scope is a variable, load variations, temperature changes will effect bullet impact, on long range even humidity can play a role in bullet flight. The target shooter at the range has the advantage of knowing the temperature as he shoots. He knows the wind because there are flags down range. Any shooter that has shot in a traveling league knows that loads must be worked up for that location, for that day, for those conditions. Not likely that an animal is going to wait for you to custom taylor the loading data so you can kill him. Shooting at any animal at that distance is reckless and irresponsible at best regardless of the equipment. Can it be done- oh yeah. Can it be done EVERY shot- not in your lifetime.

 

If you're also going Elk hunting, I believe you would want at least a .30-06. A 7MM Rem Mag or .300 Win Mag would be better. If you reload you can always tailor your load to the game, though factory ammo in those three rounds gives you quite a few choices.

We have mostly California Blacktail where I hunt so I use my .243 and it's always put them down with one round. I used my .308 two years ago and it went right through the rib cage and the buck went about 30 yards before it went down. I used a Barnes X-bullet which was a mistake on deer out here. The deer here are usually no more than 150 pounds so the smaller cartridge works great.
My .308 hammers the hogs though!

 

FLASH, just thought you would like to know, cause you said you werent sure, the bmg has 1200 ft lbs in excess of 1500 yards, so its good for deer for 1500 yards. Ive shot those babys. They are good for 12,800 ftlbs at the muzzle. They actually leave a vapor trail in the right conditions. I totally agree with you on these smaller calibers, and its possible that they got deer at 900 yards but its a very, very very good shot, but i know my .308 cant do it.

 

jgc2521, in my opinion, a .270 or a .30-06 should be all you need around here, and its the most common, i think