It is going to be a long list.

I have a .270, a 45-70, a .224 Weatherby, and a .300 Weatherby that can take deer. I have a .357 rifle that could work too, if you kept range short.

I own .243, .25 Gibbs, .270, .300 Win Mag, and .35 Rem. If I were starting from scratch, I'd buy a 6.5 Creed and eliminate all of them except for the .35 Rem, which is a short, handy brush gun.

I have a marlin lever 30-30 that i love and a buddy gave to me. However, if I end now, I would take my 30-06 browning. My only reasoning is why not?

I have used bolt action .270 and a 30/30 TC Contender with a ten inch barrel as well as a 50 cal muzzle loader using a 44 xtp sabot pistol bullet. My new choice is an AR pistol with a 8.5 inch barrel, in a 300 Blk out (basically similar to a 30/30). My shots are under 100 yards in thick Jack pines.

ANY non-varmit caliber rifle cartridge shooting a non-varmit only bullet will do fine for deer. Also ANY shotugn slug or buckshot will do fine as well. The KEY is the shooter and his ability, the expected range, the types of shots likely to be taken or rejected by the shooter himself limited by ability or personal choice, etc. So the caliber question itself is purely academic given these other factors, at least for a new hunter. If the hunter already has any centerfile rifle, he may already have the "right" caliber. BUT, this topic IS a great one to chew on around the virtual campfilre.

6.5 Creedmoor. Darn caliber just shoots so damn straight and true. I thought .270WIN was good but 6.5 takes it to another level. And relatively light on recoil to boot.

A hunter I know took down a bull elk with his 6.5 last fall. Wasn't a too herculean shot (450 yds slight uphill, 10-12mph crosswind), but the round found its mark.

Well, I have a number available to me but come opening morning, I always grab my Savage 110 in 30.06.

Every one of my many deer were taken with a 270 or 3006 Remington 721. All very clean shots

When I started hunting deer as a teenager, I was handed a 30 Carbine loaded with soft points, which in the dense woods of Michigan, was perfectly adequate even on the Midwestern Whitetail deer, which run larger than Mule deer. The longest shot would be around 50 yards. My Dad used a 300 Savage, which was more than enough. My older brother used a 308. I've used a 30-06, but now use a 6.5 Creedmoor, as it is lighter and recoils less.

I guess it depends on not just what you are hunting, but where and, of course local laws.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
If you're trying to keep it simple, .243, .308, and .30-06 seem to be the "big three" American hunting calibers. (At least as far as bolt action rifles go.)

Exactly this, the vast majority of my friends that hunt use one of those calibers, throw in a .270 here and there and thats about it.

My new sweetheart is the 6.5x55 Swede. Minimal recoil, great accuracy with most rounds, and extremely effective on small/medium game.

I've shot deer between 2 yards to well beyond 700 with these calibers:

30/30 Win.
7mm Remington Mag.
300 Win Mag.
30-06
12 Gauge slug and Buckshot
270 WSM
270 Winchester
6.5 Creedmoor
6.5x55 Swede
50 Caliber muzzle loader

Sure I am missing a few too, but it isn't a hard thing to kill a deer with good shot placement.

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
My new sweetheart is the 6.5x55 Swede. Minimal recoil, great accuracy with most rounds, and extremely effective on small/medium game.

It's a great round. It's a popular hunting cartridge in Europe, but only has a smaller cult following here in the states.

Polar opposites but I use either a 257 Weatherby or a 45/70.

Terrain determines the appropriate rifle, that rifle determined the appropriate chambering. Weatherby Vanguard Backcountry and Marlin 1895 I’ve scoped both 3.5-10 on the Weatherby and 1.5-5 on the Marlin. I’m the first to admit I like to be a bit different.

I now hunt with .224 and I have no problem with killing deer with one shot. Very accurate round.

Hmm.. I've hunted deer with:

243 Win
6mm Creedmoor
6.5 TCU
6.5 Grendell
6.5x57R
300/221 (aka 300Blackout, 300Whisper, etc etc)
30-30 Win
.30-40 Krag
.309 JDJ
.308 Win
.30-06
.303 British
.32 Remington
.357 Mag
.35 Remington
.357/44 Bain and Davis
.358 JDJ
.38-40
10mm
.450/400
41 Magnum
44 Magnum
45 Colt
454
.45-70
.45-90
577/450
475 Linebaugh
500 Linebaugh
.50-90
20 ga slug
12 ga slug
.50, .54 & .58 muzzle loaders.

Far from successful with most of them. lol Granted, much of my list will be of no use to you. lmao I always say for me it's more about the guns than the deer.
I've also technically shot two deer with a .38S&W revolver, finishing them off.

Other types game would be another odd annoying list.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
I own .243, .25 Gibbs, .270, .300 Win Mag, and .35 Rem. If I were starting from scratch, I'd buy a 6.5 Creed and eliminate all of them except for the .35 Rem, which is a short, handy brush gun.

I agree with the above. 6.5 Creed for deer and moderate size pigs. Then a more powerful gun depending on where you are. For out west, a 300 WSM would be the other gun.

I go with 30.06 due to it's availability. The 308 is fine but I have seen shortages.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:It's a great round. It's a popular hunting cartridge in Europe, but only has a smaller cult following here in the states.

Actually, it is a favourite in Scandinavia, where it has been used as a Moose slayer since 1895. Europeans have their own plethora of other metric calibres to use, but nothing in Europe comes near the bulk of the Northern Elk or moose.

I had a new shooter/new hunter show up with a new rifle he had just purchased from a big box store for our club's sight-in service. It was a 26" Savage 110 .338 Lapua with a NightForce scope. He wanted it sighted in for 100 yards to hunt small whitetail deer in the Oregon Coast Range.

Oof. Someone get that man a .243 with a 1-4x, stat!