What is the best deer hunting cartridge is a common question in many deer camps and is also a question that is sure to start quite an argument. The truth is that the best deer hunting cartridge is the one that you can shoot well and place the bullet where it is needed. The ability to place the bullet where it is needed is by far the most important component of what makes the best deer hunting cartridge. While the .300 Winchester Magnum offers more than enough power for any deer hunting situation, if you cannot shoot it accurately all that power is worthless.
Once you have determined what determined what level of recoil you can handle (or learn to handle), here are some other considerations. Other considerations for what makes the best deer hunting cartridge include the ability to deliver sufficient energy at reasonable hunting distances, the availability of ammunition (or reloading components) at a reasonable price, and the cartridge being chambered in common rifles. The ability to deliver ‘sufficient’ energy is of course a relative matter. The generally accepted rule of thumb is that a deer hunting cartridge should provide 1000 foot pounds of energy at a given distance so I’ll go with this measurement. The availability of ammunition and reloading components is not a huge issue either, but in case you lose or forget something being able to buy what you need wherever you are can come in quite handy. The cartridge being chambered in common rifles is even of less importance, but a broken part on a Remington Model 700 is less of a problem than a broken part on a Remington Model 660 (which is a nifty little gun if you can find one!). Even with these considerations, the sky is still the limit. There are literally tons of great cartridges that might well be included in a list of the five best deer hunting cartridges. But if I had to make a list of 5, here would be my choices:
The 30-30 Winchester has to be included in any list of the 5 best deer hunting cartridges. There are millions of rifles on the market that have been made in 30-30 Winchester and ammunition can be purchased anywhere that ammo is sold. Though the effective range of the 30-30 Winchester is only 150 yards or a little more, the efficient and light recoiling round seems to kill out of all proportion to its ballistics.
The 30-06 Springfield is another no brainer on the 5 best deer hunting cartridges list. The 30-06 Springfield is the biggest kicker on my list of cartridges but anyone can learn to handle it with some practice. The 30-06’s big advantage over a host of other rounds is the fact that such a wide variety of factory ammunition and reloading components is readily available.
The .270 Winchester is yet another cartridge that has to be listed in a best deer hunting cartridge list. A little less kick and little more flat shooting than the 30-06 (though not enough to really get excited about) makes the .270 Winchester quite popular with deer hunters across the country.
Beyond these three things get complicated, but if I had to pick two more for the best deer hunting cartridge list I would pick the 7mm-08 Remington and the .308 Winchester. The .308 Winchester is of course the parent cartridge of the 7mm-08 Remington but both are widely available and effective deer hunting cartridges. Efficient and light kicking you can go with the slightly more killing power of the .308 (energy levels are about the same, but the .308 simply offers a bigger bullet) or the slightly flatter shooting 7mm-08.
Though the 30-30, .30-06, .270, .308, and 7mm-08 are all great deer hunting cartridges, there are dozens of cartridges from .243 Winchester to 45-70 Government that can send deer to the freezer just as well. What is the best deer hunting cartridge is largely a matter of opinion. Deer hunt with what you like (within reason) and with what you can shoot and you will have what is best for you.
