Here We Go Again! I need to build a Mule Deer Rifle

[FullCurl8]

A friend of mine uses and used that cartridge on all of his elk kills. He limited himself to 400 yards. The barrel was either a 16.5 ir 18.5"?

400 yards is not a short poke, and a 16 1/2" barrel you'd need a calendar not a Chrono to check the speed at target. Kidding. Problem with hunting forums is we rarely get 100% honesty. All of our shots are not perfect and small calibers have less margin for error. The OP has a medical issue so that's different. But there are a lot of proponents here advocating small energy producing calibers for one of the toughest animals in North America.

 

[VarmintBob]

.284 Winchester. That's what I'm building on a Husqvarna 3000 crown action I found in a pawn shop. The idea of the 284 Win was to imitate the 270 win and 280 rem in a short action. It's a rebated rim. This was essentially the first "short magnum" before that term was coined.

 

[4thefunofit]

The 277 Sig Fury will do the job for you. https://www.sigsauer.com/277-sig-fury-130gr-venari-soft-point-hunting.html

 

[436]

S/A... .300 RSAUM. hands down in my book. Cheers

 

[Allen Lone wolf]

Just a question, wouldn't shouldering a doe at 400, or any range, be hard on meat?

Last day of a 10 day hunt 14 mule deer in this herd only small bucks and have not had an opportunity at a trophy buck. Deer are staying bunched up been waiting for the right opportunity to take the largest doe in the herd. Finally a clear shot about an hour before dark. It's quartering to. I take a high shoulder shot bullet exits center of the deer on the offside. Drt. Before you question my shot placement and motives or someone else's think again. What would you do?

 

[Littlehud]

I am 65 yrs. old and hunted all my life for mule deer and elk. From my experience, and that of countless others, for muley's, I would not use anything less than a .25 cal. Yes, a .243 will kill deer, but we have lost more deer hit with a ,243 than any other caliber. A .257 Roberts does a good job because the wound channel is larger even though the energy is not substantially more. The .270 Winchester has always been a winner. A 7mm Mag is a lot for most and is quite the meat waster. I have also seen many times where a 7mm mag will blast through a deer so fast it doesn't expand well and just punches a hole.
Since you are looking for less recoil, I think you could not go wrong with a 7-08. The energy is not as high as some of the others, but with the .30 cal. bullet it would do excellent on muley's, and if you ever hunt elk, it would work well if you keep the range to 400 yds. MAX. Elk are very tough animals so shot placement is important but shouldn't be a problem with the low recoil of the 7-08, Muley's are also tougher than most people give them credit for. A large buck can be almost as tough as elk. I have seen them hit hard and still go a long way. I would use a 150 gr. boattail bullet in the 7-08 and you should be good to go.
FYI, For the .270 I have found the 140 gr boattail hornady works fabulously. Not much more recoil than the 130's, but seem to hit a lot harder.

 

[Boatninja]

Where is this mulie hunt? I can't believe someone would consider the 6 Creedmoor too small for deer and find it strange everyone brought magnums if shots are inside 400 yards. Maybe you could convince me for the giant whitetails of Saskatchewan, but mulies… come on.

I appreciate your comment, reinforces my opinion. My 6cr shoots better than I can and I'm not bad.
In Colorado, but nearest town is Baggs Wyoming. It was a last minute invite and my first ever trip inland and I believe these guys were looking for long range more than anything. A couple of them were trophy Mulie hunting and also cow elk. I just got invited back again unexpectedly or I would have been working on this for a year.
I have shot a gazillion whitetails with a .220 swift and a strong believer in bullet placement over brute force.

 

[wilkup]

400 yards is not a short poke, and a 16 1/2" barrel you'd need a calendar not a Chrono to check the speed at target. Kidding. Problem with hunting forums is we rarely get 100% honesty. All of our shots are not perfect and small calibers have less margin for error. The OP has a medical issue so that's different. But there are a lot of proponents here advocating small energy producing calibers for one of the toughest animals in North America.

Of the mule deer I've shot, I wouldn't consider it one of the toughest animals in NA…

 

[Allen Lone wolf]

I appreciate your comment, reinforces my opinion. My 6cr shoots better than I can and I'm not bad.
In Colorado, but nearest town is Baggs Wyoming. It was a last minute invite and my first ever trip inland and I believe these guys were looking for long range more than anything. A couple of them were trophy Mulie hunting and also cow elk. I just got invited back again unexpectedly or I would have been working on this for a year.
I have shot a gazillion whitetails with a .220 swift and a strong believer in bullet placement over brute force.

Went on a hunt in the mid 90's and stayed the night in a little mom and pop motel in Baggs.

 

[Jim’s Hunt]

30-06 or 7mm rem mag. Good ammo availability

 

[Kimber7man]

Elk with a 7 odd 8? Better be dead on in the engine room Every Single time with that caliber or you will be searching for a lot of wounded elk.

Uh oh, where's Buzz????

 

[CrankyYankee]

Did the outfitter give a preference on what calibers they prefer???

 

[SmokinCrow]

An eld out of a 7mag is a fine choice, probably even an STW, but a 7-08 for elk? Not sure it would have the energy elk need. Some folks mention .22 caliber projectiles but where I am in the West you can't big game hunt with under a .243 dia bullet.

I killed my first elk at 500 yards with a 243. Stood for a second or two and fell. I killed one more with the .243 at 200 yards. Is it ideal no, but it words within its limits. The manbun has killed elk as well. Not ideal, but it works within its limits as well. 7-08 will work just fine for elk within its limits. But the op asked for mule deer medicine, and it'll do a fantastic job there with 162 pills or lighter especially within the limits stated.

 

[choprzrul]

Browning X-Bolt Speed in 270 WSM weighing in at 6.5 lbs with factory muzzle brake https://www.browning.com/products/firearms/rifles/x-bolt/x-bolt-speed.html .....or build your action just as light?

Hammer 122gr HHT moving along at about 3400 fps https://hammerbullets.com/product/277-cal-122gr-hammer-hht/

Rifle + scope + bipod + sling should be ~9 lbs. JBM recoil calculator is telling me 19.5 pounds of recoil.....minus whatever benefit you get from the brake. A lightweight scope and no bipod will lighten your load, but increase the felt recoil....

JBM simple ballistics calculator is telling me the above combo should be fine on mule deer to 800 yards.

Just one way to go about it....

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