Big deer hunt - help me pick the cartridge

You b
Pro2A said:
Hunting 3800 acres in extreme Northern Missouri for 40+ years with lodge walls full of great hangers, we've never seen a whitetail over 250lbs true scale. Yeah, and, the older we get the faster we were, and the bigger and tougher the deer were. Average deer kill in Missouri is well under 50yds, many say 18yds.. Everyone wants to stretch that out today for bragging. There usually are around 200,000 killed annually. Tens of thousands over the years have been killed with the old .30-30, 30-06, .270, .308, and .243.....even many with 5.56......legal in Missouri. Whitetails aren't very tough to put down with any reasonable shot placement.....we shoot 'em in the neck/head......lights out....no tracking.....virtually no meat loss....skin and quarter (hide saved for Veterans rehab program), take the back straps......finally, open body cavity to pull the loins....place in large plastic trash bag, appropriately labeled, under ice in coolers for trip home to self process. A lot of younger fellows tend toward the big boomer magnums....7mmRM, 300WM, 300RUM, 338RUM, fast Weatherbys, 338Win, etc.....just because they can. Everyone has to have a 6.5CM today. Some 7mm-08s come through camp. 110-150gr soft point bullets (no FMJs) are plenty, if you are just planning to kill it DRT......dead right there. Boomers don't kill them any deader., definitely ruin more meat. There are no wrong selections.....except because your friends just want to rag on you in deer camp. You've got to be thicker skinned than whitetails to survive deer camp.......friends, can't live without 'em; can't live with 'em.
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You need a hunting partner? 3800 acres we could keep our distance lol
 
That Sounds great!!! I am also going on a Big White Tail hunt in Kentucky in November. I am taking my Favorite Deer Rifle. My Weatherby Ultralight , in .270 Win. I will use my usual White tail deer Load. 59.5 Grns. H 4831 with a Nosler 130 Grn Ballistic tip. I know the rifle and the load , and have had many one shot kills on whitetails. I did take off the Leupold 2.5X to 8 X ,VX 3, and put on a Leupold 4.5X to 14 X , VX 3 for this upcoming hunt. I will zero the rifle for a 200 yard Zero, and be comfortable in the 100 to 300 yards range. I wish you great success, Lenny
 
Maybe it's been mentioned but I'd definitely go with whichever rifle is a more natural pointing gun for you. Not necessarily the lightest, just the sweetest balance and quickest to shoot accurately enough.

A lot of whitetail shots are fleeting moments and a rifle that feels like an extension of yourself is critical. Especially if your tracking them for hours and finally catch him, chasing a doe, fleeting glimpses thru the timber , light is low and grey..you get the idea...low power scopes are your friend in these scenarios also. Cartridge? Yes. A handful please.
The eldx should be fine but it's a long range specialist. Nothing wrong with an accubond or partition or core lokt or hammer. I've had Barnes work fine on a handful of deer from a 270. Just a harder bullet than I usually prefer now tho.
 
Either will clean out a deer without problem if you place your shot.

My buddy and I both killed cow elk last year with 6.5x55 which is basically the same ballistics as the Creedmoor. 180 yard shots and they both went down. They were probably 450+ on the hoof so they are quite a bit larger than the deer you may encounter.
 
Something to think about 4x is about all the scope I need for shots in the woods. I have one with 6.5x minimum and hate it in the woods!!!
 
NeedForSpeed said:
Going to Missouri in Nov for for my second annual deer hunt. I hear the white tail there are really big with bucks over 250-300 lbs. Im told that most shots would be within 10-150 yds on the property we are hunting with nothing more than 200 yds. Last year I shot my first deer with my 6.5 Creedmoor and a Hornady ELDX 143 gn projectile. Im contemplating whether I should shoot the Creedmoor with that round or a Barnes 127 gn projectile to ensure an exit hole.
The other option would be a 300 win mag with a 180 gn Barnes or 165 gn Ballistic tip but my friends tell me that those are overkill for a soft animal like a white tail. Im also working on a load for a 215 gn Berger Hybrid target but that seems like a lot more than the energy required. Looking for some experienced input in making the decision. Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
Use a 270 Winchester
 
Stevenstl86 said:
You b


You need a hunting partner? 3800 acres we could keep our distance lol
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer. Get a lot of those. 20 bunks in the lodge; 15-18 guys that have hunted together for ~40+ years. Unfortunately, they kept having kids, and those kids started having kids. It's getting crowded. May need traffic lights on some of the trails soon. Good friends, but a few a little slow on the uptake on some subjects. Should have had a "come to Jesus" meeting to level with them earlier what was causing that. The old farts are too stubborn to give up and die off. May have to start using some younguns as bait to thin the herd a little. :) :) :)
 
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