So it always comes down to reading the range and knowing your cartridge's trajectory. However, don’t overlook the 7mm-08, which is also an excellent all-around deer hunting cartridge. But why make things more difficult than necessary? It's too light and whippy for me, but it's just right for her. In open country I'll take a long barrel because it holds steady and offers a bit more velocity. |   But they kick a lot more, and in recent years I've come to believe they aren't essential for mule deer hunting. This results in even better performance at longer range than the .300 Win Mag, which is no slouch itself. Back when I was a young and aspiring writer, a story idea that was sure to sell was a piece on mule deer rifles or "western" deer rifles. ← Older Post 243 Winchester (L) vs 7mm-08 Remington vs .308 Winchester (R). The new Hammerli TAC R1 22 C, an AR-15 style .22 rimfire rifle, is the first product in the... For decades, things were quiet on the .22 centerfire front. His own favorite mule deer rifle is a Weatherby Mark V in .257 Weatherby Magnum. Descended from the legendary .30-06 Springfield, the wildcat cartridge that would eventually become the .25-06 Remington came on the scene in the 1920s. As I mentioned, I have been using a .264 a fair bit, but I've also done a lot of mule deer hunting with both the .270 Winchester and the .270 WSM. Do you need a thumping magnum to hunt mule deer? Four distinct hunting seasons define New Mexico mule deer hunting. The autumn air is crisp in the high country, and mule deer seasons across the west are about to open. Hunting. More Guns. So I find it interesting that all of my favorite mule deer fanatics choose smaller calibers. When it came time to take a 300-yard shot at a really great buck--on camera, with an unfamiliar rifle--I knew I hadn't chosen the perfect tool. Hello, I'm looking for a new scope for mule deer and elk. The author's Serengetti .264 is a great shooter and carries well — two important characteristics for any mule deer rifle. Tom Arthur became a Wyoming rancher in retirement because he loves mule deer and has hunted them from Mexico to Canada. So there is clearly a very broad range of suitability in rifle configuration--and a whole bunch of cartridges. However, the .270 Winchester performed much closer to full potential with the powders available in the 1920s than the .25-06 and was thus a much bigger commercial success from the start. It’s methodical, physically punishing, and beyond exciting once you find these western denizens. That performance comes at the expense of quite a bit more recoil and muzzle blast though. Nevadan Jim Jurad is another mule deer fanatic. While the mule deer rifle must be flat shooting and accurate, it still must be light enough to carry all day in tough country. With all that in mind, the .270 Winchester is arguably the best caliber for deer in North America. That said, they work wonderfully, and there is definitely no need for anything larger in caliber. Mind you, shooting at longer ranges is largely a state of mind. At the same time, the .25-06 has a trajectory similar to bigger magnum cartridges like the 7mm Remington Magnum and .300 Winchester Magnum, but with noticeably less recoil. He's tried a lot of different rifles and cartridges, but his favorite has boiled down to a .280 Ackley Improved. The 6.5 Creedmoor does not have extremely impressive ballistics on paper. As is the case with the .25-06, the .270 Winchester has a flatter trajectory and less recoil than the .30-06. First introduced back in 1925, the .270 Winchester is another famous rifle cartridge closely related to .30-06. In my (often unpopular) view the 7mm Remington Magnum is not as versatile as the .30-06, nor does it hit as hard. Essentially, if you sight in a 150- or 165-grain bullet to hit 2.5-3-inches high at 100 yards you can hold dead on any deer from one hiding just a few steps away to standing broadside at 300 yards, and hit the vital zone while generating more than our baseline of 1,000 ft./lbs. While even the biggest mule deer are quite a bit smaller than elk, they’re not exactly small animals either. Latest. Then, in early December, from a deer stand in Georgia, I shot my best whitetail in a decade. Which cartridge are you shooting? 30-30 shoots flatter, with less recoil, and has plenty for a mule deer. The .300 Weatherby Magnum, the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum, the .300 PRC, and to a lesser extent, the .300 Winchester Magnum, the 300 WSM, and the 7mm Remington Magnum have good longer range ballistics and are certainly worth considering as well. But the .30-06 is not an ideal long-range cartridge. With the new Hunter rifle, Ruger takes its popular Ruger American rifle line to the next level. This results in an even flatter trajectory, more resistance to wind drift, and more retained energy at longer range. With ballistics suitable for use at extended range and a mild recoil that facilitates good shot placement, the sweet-shooting, high velocity .270 Winchester is equally at home in the wide-open spaces out west, up in the mountains, and in the thicker timber east of the Mississippi. are more than capable for this work. Or A Meat Hunter... Why You Should Start Hunting With A Muzzleloader. Any of the classic general-purpose big game cartridges will work just fine on mulies. This is mule deer hunting. When using bullets like a 127 grain Barnes LRX, a 129 grain Hornady SST, a 135 grain Berger Classic Hunter, or a 143 grain Hornady ELD-X, the 6.5 Creedmoor is extremely effective on mule deer. I also don't know of any hunting situation where a long shot is an absolute certainty. We put 3 popular cartridges to a head-to-head-to-head test. Well, the .300 Remington Ultra Mag is a cartridge that certainly makes sense under certain conditions. It uses the same .308” diameter projectiles as the .300 Win Mag, but the .300 RUM can shoot same weight bullet about 300fps faster. Personally, I like 165 and 180 grain bullets for the .30-06, but the 150's will do the job on deer. Again, I stand on what I've written. I know overall that the hunting compared to a lot of other states is not great but I am sitting on 20 non res points. In those days there were a lot more mule deer in the West, but the whitetail population explosion was just beginning. The .30-06 … Joined Feb 12, 2020 Messages 9. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. My .264 with 26-inch barrel and 2.5-10X Leupold VX-7 weighs 10.5 pounds. Winchester Releases Wildcat 22 LR Rimfire Rifle, Ruger Launches New American Rifle Predator in 6.5 Grendel, Steyr Arms Announces Sniper Rifle in 6.5mm Creedmoor. 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