When fall time comes around here in Missouri, you can hear the residents in my county sighting in their deer rifles for the upcoming season. Some people prefer to use a large caliber rifle to kill a deer effectively and without having to walk very far to find it, however a person may have to compensate with a lot of bloodshot meat with this method. Whatever terrain you may find yourself hunting in, there are quite a few different rounds that can definitely prove themselves to be effective at harvesting a deer. Here are a list of my favorite rounds.
1. The 308. This military round is what snipers use and I personally stand by it as being more than enough for dropping a deer.
2. The 30-06. This is one of the most popular rounds for hunting deer. It has plenty of knock down power as well as velocity.
3. The 270. With a slightly smaller bullet than the 30-06, this round will shoot flat at very long distances, even a little more than the 308 and the 30-06, while the first two rounds will have a little more knock down power.
4. The 44 magnum. This round is not very accurate after 100 yards or so, but it has a tremendous amount of knock down power. One shot in the kill zone with a 44, and you should have no doubt about whether or not you will be eating dear meat the coming winter!
5. The 300 magnum. This monster round will be very accurate at long distances and will have more than enough power to knock down a big deer, however it may have too much recoil for a person to comfortably sight their gun in.
6. The 7mm magnum. As with the 300 magnum, this is a very powerful, accurate round that will be loud and have a lot of kick. If you are o.k. with perhaps a little over-kill to make sure you kill the deer, then either one of these rounds would be great. You could take them elk or moose hunting with you as well!
7. The 243. This is a high velocity round that is accurate and has enough thump to it to knock down a deer, however I don’t recommend using a caliber much smaller than this for deer.
8. The 12gauge/20 gauge slug. If you don’t plan on having to shoot very far, 1 shotgun slug will do the trick. You may want to get plenty of practice in with your gun, though, especially if it doesn’t have a rifled bore, which will give you a fair amount of accuracy up to 100 yards.
9. The 7.62*39, or SKS round. This is a fairly high velocity round, with a bullet about the size of a 308 and a shell about a third of the size. It’s pretty accurate up to 100 yards or more.
10. The 30-30. This is another one of the more popular rounds. As for the 7.62*39, it is an ideal round for kids and young teens to shoot because it doesn’t have much recoil, but it is definitely powerful enough to kill a deer effectively.
Good luck finding the deer hunting rifle that is right for you and ask around to see what other people like to use in your area.
