.270win with 130grn pills all factory ammo I have used has done the biz on kiwi deer all sizes. have taken fallow whitetail sika reds pigs goats cattle wallaby possoms rabbits and a mouse silly enough to sit in camp with this rifle.

Welcome Elvis...grab a Steinlager mate, pull up a stump and sit awhile. Good to see another KIWI aboard.

Ok...the deer, pigs, goats, cattle?, wallaby I can understand...but a possum, rabbit...and bloody mouse....whoa....maybe a tad of overkill there mate. Who am I tryin' to kid...no such thing as overkill...dead is dead...carry on mate.

Cheers, Vince

I had to actually tally up the different calibers I've used for deer. As near as I can remember, they range from .243 Winchester, .257 Roberts, .257 Weatherby, 6.5 Swede, .280 Remington, .30-06 Springfield to .45-70 and 12-gauge slugs in long guns, with the hands-down favorite being my .280. In handguns, I've used 7mm BR Remington, .35 Remington and .44 Magnums. Only one of them required a second shot (12-gauge) and none ran more than 50 yards at the most. These have all been whitetail deer running anywhere from 120 to 180 pounds, with one notable exception weighing 237 pounds dressed...a true monster for this area.

I admit that I have been somewhat lucky with my results, but since I much prefer to hunt with single-shots I am pretty careful of what shots I take.

I like 12 Gauge Remington Sluggers ...wish I could do a 30-06 though ...But fortunately a shotgun is good to 150 Yards.

Welcome aboard Elvis...Must be a recruiting poster down under for this site...Gelandangan...You put up a bill board with www.huntingnut.com along one of those dirt roads to nowhere?

Taken deer with .30-30, .30-06 and .357 magnum...All Blacktails...Short list I know...

30-30 6mm rem 243 win 257 bob 270 win 308 win 3006 8 mm mauser 300 win mag. 44 mag ruger 12 ga slug 50 cal ml gee i didn't think it was THAT many. 'course this is over 60 years of huntin. don't think i forgot any but i may have. you know memory's second thing to go. diesel

Second thing? What's the first thing? I forgot.

welcome aboard Elvis i will be over in your neck of the woods in about 14 days to do some hunting and fly fishing in the main land only (North Island).
Great place NZ
phil

Hiya Elvis!

I've taken deer with my crossbow, 303, 270, 250-3000 and my 7mm Rem mag. I have to say without a shadow of doubt, the 303 British is still my favorite caliber for both Moose and deer out to 300 yards. I use 174 grain Sierra HPBT driven by 47 grains of IMR4831, goes out in the neighborhood of 2450 fps. It has more the sufficient down range power and is also good in close. I do love my old tire iron. (The name my hunting buddies have given to all 303's... ...silly lads)

As so many of us have stated before, where that bullet lands is far more important the what size it is and what gun it came from.

Cattle, I can understand. I shot a 3 year old wild steer right between the eyes with a 270, 130 grain core-lock. That brought immense pleasure for me. He stampeded my cows one too many times. I gave all my neighbors all the hamburger meat they could use for a year. (Of course I don't have many neighbors).

The mouse I don't understand.

I caught a lease hunter shooting grasshoppers with a 12 gauge shotgun one time and ran his butt off. It's not that I believe in preserving grasshoppers from extinction, I just don't like trigger-happy crazies running around the ranch. I've got a hunch that he's the one that put a bullet hole in the wall of my welding shop.

Cary

Two of the biggest mulies I've shot this past decade fell to the 220 Swift, a Ruger No1B. I've used the same rifle on antelope and the results have been the same, one shot in all cases, electric results, mostly lung or heart shots. Over the decades I have used a number of different chamberings for deer, mostly big mulie bucks, including the 6mm, 257 AI, 257 Wby, 270, 06 and 35 Whelen. Decently placed shots get decent results.

I like the Nosler 60gr Partition for the Swift as well as the Barnes 53gr, the latter @ 3,872 fps. The mulies were taken at 215 and 180 yards, the antelope at 245.

I customized another Swift for my grandson for his first hunt. It was based on a Remington Classic, shortened stock. The first mulie he took was a 145 lb small four point at 130 yards. It was quartering away and the shot was placed behind the rib cage and exited on the off shoulder. My daughter used the same rifle for her Coues deer at 110 yards. It was a head on shot, the bullet exiting on the right rear quarter. Meat damage was minimal in all cases, less than with some of the other rounds.

PO Ackley considered the Swift as the best choice for feral burros and that was at a time when some of the heavier jacket bullets were not developed. He killed a lot of them with the Swift and reported less wounded animals requiring followup shots.

Centerfire 22s have been authorized for big game in many states, including Arizona. That move was challenged by many, but, the results have born out the potency of well placed fast moving bullets. Using enough gun is good advice, defining enough gun is more controversial.

ok the mouse... we were out for a hunt above the bush line and got caugyt by nasty weather. we ended up spending the night under a log very cold and nearly hypothermic .the mouse was in where we were going to sleep and i didnt want to share my bed with it. cheered the lads up no end. and we have never gone out unprepaired for bad weather again leson learnt.

Take that 300 WM and place a high shoulder shot and your tracking days are done.

My personal favorite for Oregon Mule deer has always been the .257 Roberts, same for white tail in Idaho. Used a 7mm Mag too, but the .257 has always had enough power for me. never had a deer take more than 2 steps, most just fall where they were hit. Usually use the 7 mag for elk, with great sucess. neat thing about those two though, with 117 grain nosler ballistic tips and 34 gr or IMR 4320, a .257 has nearly the same flight path as the 7 mag shooting 150 grain ballistic tips with 60 grains of IMR 4381. within an inch or so well past 400 yards.

I've only ever shot 3 deer in 22 yrs....(bit of down time, but I'm back into it now) Got 2 with my SKS using Federal SP 139(?)gr bullets, and they both were runners. The other with a 1913 6.5x55 Swedish mauser with Yugoslav 123gr SP bullets. The 6.5 deer snuck up on me and when I saw her she was only 15 yrds away. shot through the shoulder and out the opposite ribs...she just sighed and laid down and died.
This year I picked up a Norinco M-14 new from Marstar. ($400 ) Can't wait to see how well a .308 150gr federal power point will take care of business.