Recommendations for deer hunting caliber/rifle for White River; elk caliber/rifle in Grissly Units?

[DeanMk]

Having grown up hunting in the thick woods on the south end of the Hood Canal, I still feel that 2X is a wee bit much for deep woods hunting.
I was a big fan of 1.5-6X scopes, but they're hard to find anymore. 2X will work, and 2-7X is quite prevalent, still, but I would consider it more compromise than optimal.
...JMHO.

 

[bbbass]

Take boomstick for deer. Any boomstick. Make deer go bye bye. Elk takes a bit more bang, but I'd agree with those that say two guns is unnecessary. Maybe two scopes... get two with those twist on mounts or whatever. One for more open areas, and one for brushy areas.

 

[DeanMk]

...maybe put hinge on scope mount. When deer in front of boomstick, flip scope out of way. Now can see deer to make go bye-bye.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Geeze and some folks think that Powder , patch and ball is complicated...
Andy

 

[bbbass]

...maybe put hinge on scope mount. When deer in front of boomstick, flip scope out of way. Now can see deer to make go bye-bye.

Good stuff!!

Or

Use one of those 3" tall mounts with the ICU peek-a-boom mounts.

 

[DeanMk]

...ICU...

 

[DeanMk]

Geeze and some folks think that Powder , patch and ball is complicated...
Andy

...uh, ball, powder...no wait...patch....what?

 

[bbbass]

...uh, ball, powder...no wait...patch....what?

Gold Bond works for me!!!

 

[oremike]

Ok, silly me but why not go for a drive about and see for yourself, heck you might even call it scouting. That being said all I have as far as a high power hunting rifle is a 300 Win Mag. I load a 200 gr Nosler Partition to just under 3000 fps and zero 4" high at 200 yds. That should give me a point blank range of about 350 yds. If I'm hunting in the brush most likely I'll just handgun hunt with my 44 Mag.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

I hunt the white river unit. It varies drastically, depending on where you go. The unit is fairly big and you'll likely be hunting NF, if you don't know someone with land there. I'd always suggest a good 30-06 rifle. A good bullet ranging from 165 to 200 grains always works if you put it in the boiler room. Now having said that, I have buddies that shoot deer with their .223's and 22-250's. I also have a lot of buddies that use .338wm for elk. I'll agree my 338wm is a hammer on elk, but so is my 30-06 loaded with 200gr Nosler partitions.... Good luck on your hunt and practice your field shooting positions. As long as you know your limitations and use good bullets, caliber/cartridge is the least of your concerns.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

This. I would be less interested in caliber and more interested in how well the rifle carried and shot.

Amen brother!!!

 

[pharmseller]

300 Win Mag for deer, holy crap!

Come to think of it, 300 Win Mag for elk is overkill, too!



P

 

[The Heretic]

300 Win Mag for deer, holy crap!

Come to think of it, 300 Win Mag for elk is overkill, too!



P

Depends on the distance.

 

[oremike]

300 Win Mag for deer, holy crap!

Come to think of it, 300 Win Mag for elk is overkill, too!



P

For me what I have for rifles is the 300 win Mag, 44 Mag Rossi carbine, and a CVA single shot 45-70. So if I'm looking at shots over 100 yds I'm using the 300. Question, how do you over kill something and isn't that better than under-killing it?

 

[bbbass]

Depends on the distance.

264, 270, 7mmMag, 6.5CM are all good options at distance... small boolitts going fast have just as much terminal energy, yes?

For me what I have for rifles is the 300 win Mag, 44 Mag Rossi carbine, and a CVA single shot 45-70. So if I'm looking at shots over 100 yds I'm using the 300. Question, how do you over kill something and isn't that better than under-killing it?

Depends on the bullet used. In the bad old days, a close in shot would splatter and either be ineffective or ruin a lot of meat. Heavier bullets would pass thru with little tissue destruction so a lung shot would not be immediately fatal and a lot of tracking could be the result. And a shoulder shot ruined an entire quarter. Today... IDK.

 

[The Heretic]

264, 270, 7mmMag, 6.5CM are all good options at distance... small boolitts going fast have just as much terminal energy, yes?

Yes, but not as much penetration - especially with heavy bone or muscle.

I was thinking more along the lines that most people don't think that .308 or .30-06 are overkill for elk at short distances (say, 10 yards), and that at some distance (say 250 yards) the .300 win mag has the same velocity with the same weight bullet as the .30-06 or .308 has from the muzzle, so at that given distance, the .300 win mag can't be overkill if the .30-06 or .308 isn't overkill at the muzzle. A 250 yard shot isn't out of the question for elk.

 

[No_Regerts]

Yes, but not as much penetration - especially with heavy bone or muscle.

I was thinking more along the lines that most people don't think that .308 or .30-06 are overkill for elk at short distances (say, 10 yards), and that at some distance (say 250 yards) the .300 win mag has the same velocity with the same weight bullet as the .30-06 or .308 has from the muzzle, so at that given distance, the .300 win mag can't be overkill if the .30-06 or .308 isn't overkill at the muzzle. A 250 yard shot isn't out of the question for elk.

Its the same the other way around. Ive had people tell me a 308 isnt enough gun for elk, but a 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge. When I explain that if a 300 is a 500 yard gun, then a 308 is an easy 350 yard gun, they look at me with skepticism...

 

[bbbass]

A 250 yard shot isn't out of the question for elk.

Or high country or plains deer.

It was my understanding that the smaller dimension calibers, while perhaps not as good at breaking bones, penetrate most tissue just as well because they are narrower profile going faster. Think of a fast jab with a hypo vs a slower push with a pencil. IDK, I actually agree with the side that says size doesn't matter!

 

[No_Regerts]

300 Win Mag for deer, holy crap!

Come to think of it, 300 Win Mag for elk is overkill, too!



P

I've never made a deer or elk too dead before.

 

[No_Regerts]

Or high country or plains deer.

It was my understanding that the smaller dimension calibers, while perhaps not as good at breaking bones, penetrate most tissue just as well because they are narrower profile going faster. Think of a fast jab with a hypo vs a slower push with a pencil. IDK, I actually agree with the side that says size doesn't matter!

Sectional density and bullet construction is what matters when it comes to penetration. A 140gr .264 bullet and a 180gr .308 bullet of similar construction and velocity will penetrate similarly.