which rifle

[Battis]

I don't hunt, but I got into a hunting rifle discussion.
So...which caliber would be good for deer in wide open country (longer shots)? Or, just in general deer hunting.
.30-06
.30-30
6.5 Creedmore

[Ozark mike]

Of those 3 30-06

My preference
for long range 8mm mag.
For brush 45-70.
For less than 100 yards in the open 44wcf

[Battis]

So, would the 30-30 be 100 yds or less?

[Ozark mike]

3030 will reach further than 100 yds it depends on your skill to how far ya will want to shoot something with it. What do you consider long range. Ive known people here to take antelope at 8-900 yards with 7mm stw. But thats stretching it a little

[Shawlerbrook]

Your question was “ good for deer in wide open country( longer shots)”. Most would assume you are talking 200-300+ yards when you say longer rifle shots. Both the ‘06 and Creedmore would fit the bill, although I prefer the ‘06. The 30 30 would be good for 200 and less, but so would be the others. With questions like this I always answer....whichever you shoot best.

[metricmonkeywrench]

30-06 load it up, load it down....

https://www.grantcunningham.com/2012...-around-30-06/

[Battis]

It's for hunting in North Dakota. He has a Winchester .30-30 without a scope. He's talking about the 6.5 Creedmore. I've always thought that a .30-06 would be good. I was reading about the 6.5 Creedmore - isn't it more of a long range target caliber?

[TNsailorman]

My first love and still is--.30-06. An 06 with a l65 grain to 180 grain bullet will reach out there as far as the shooter has the skill to shoot at that range. 90% of hunters are not really qualified to shoot beyond 200 yards or so. The problem that I see at the range is that shooters tend to shoot at 100 yards and from a bench rest, which is not going to make a long range game shooter out of them. I see very few offhand shooters of ability these days. If you cannot put 4 of 5 shots into a 6 inch pie plate at any distance, you shouldn't be shooting game at that distance. The 30-30 will kill deer at 300 yards or more if the shooter can put his bullet in the boiler room at that distance. Very, very few can do that with repeatable accuracy. My 70 years experience shooting and hunting and may be different than others, james

[Ozark mike]

I agree with tn totally

[Tripplebeards]

The 30-06 is my favorite all around one stop stop caliber. Loaded with a 150 to 180 grain core loct will drop deer as far as you can shoot accurately. Teddy Roosevelt shot just about everything on the planet with one. Think my farthest shot was a littler over 600 yards with a 180 grain core loct. Both deer dropped in their tracks.

[Kevinakaq]

30-06 of course, ha. A proven killer over long distance on both four and two legged creatures. 6.5 is a great round, and enjoy it immensely, but I see zero advantage over the 30 cal round at practical and responsible hunting distances. Punching paper at long range I would lean toward the 6.5. Admittedly either will do the job without issue.

[Wayne Smith]

For a hunting rifle choose the 30-06 simply because of the universality of ammo availability. Very few places in the US can you go and not find 30-06 hunting ammo. 30-30 is similar but not really the long range round you want for the west. If you are providing all your own ammo - reloading - then it would be a tossup between the 6.5 and the 30-06.

[cwtebay]

Long range deer hunting in NoDak? A little better definition may be in order. I've seen guys around Medora that thought 300 yards is a long poke, and folks from Pettibone that think 700 is a chip shot. I think the caliber argument is moot. Tons will say 30wcf, 30-06, 270, 300wm, etc. Out of those tons - a very small percentage are capable of taking killing shots at greater than 200 yards under field conditions whether they admit it or not.
Get skills, pick your rifle and caliber and be responsible.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[rking22]

Well, I have a couple or more, 30-06 hunting rifles and love the do anything versatility. I also can be found making fun of the “NEW” 6.5 C, cause it’s really just a makeover of the 250-3000AI from early last century.

But, fact is the 6.5 is a good deer round and will have substantially less recoil than the 06. That means most people will shoot it better. The problem is that most 6.5C ammo I see on shelves carries target bullets not hunting bullets. Exactly the opposite with the 06, most factory loads are a decent hunting bullet. If I was inclined to get one, which I’m not (see below) a Kimber Classic would be a nice rifle.

The 06 is a MUCH better cast shooter than the 6.5C can ever hope to be. Not saying it can’t be made to work, but will take a good bit more effort and knowledge. And, it is still a bit light for deer when shooting cast.

Just proves, I can argue with myself....


Oh, no comment on long range hunting, it’s been said above very well. They never talk about the number fired on vs the number eaten! Oh, well no More comment, sorry.

[Mk42gunner]

There is a reason the .30-06 is the standard that every other cartridge is compared to. It flat works. It can be used on any game on the North American continent, might be a little light for large bears in Alaska, but it competent hands it will work.

My personal last day of the season rifle is a Mauser 98a in .30-06, for use when the last tag needs filling. It helps that I have had this particular rifle for well over thirty years and have put I don't know how many rounds downrange with it.

With that said, I think the .30-06 is too much gun for most occasional shooters, especially with the trends these days for light rifles. I also don't think the deer will notice the difference between anything from the .25-06 to .30-06 within 400 yards, with appropriate ammo, whitetail aren't all that hard to kill if you hit them in the right spot the first time.

Robert

[Norske]

Where in ND? I spent most of my life there, and still own the family farm there.
Back in the days of super abundant deer, I shot over half mine with a 257 Roberts. That was simply because if I was going to walk any distance, it was the lightest weight game rifle I owned. I pulled its trigger 43 times and got 43 whitetails. So, the Creedmoor would be adequate with 129 or better a 140 gr bullet. The 30-06 with a 150 or 165 gr bullet will be more forgiving of a slightly less than perfect shot. But if flinching is likely with the '06's heavier recoil, remember that gut shot is gut shot.

[trails4u]

The 30-06 is my favorite all around one stop stop caliber. Loaded with a 150 to 180 grain core loct will drop deer as far as you can shoot accurately. Teddy Roosevelt shot just about everything on the planet with one. Think my farthest shot was a littler over 600 yards with a 180 grain core loct. Both deer dropped in their tracks.

Wow! That's somewhere between 60-70 inches of bullet drop assuming somewhere around 2,950fps. Heck of a shot!

[country gent]

I will add in another aspect to this thats often overlooked. Of the calibers mentioned or most for that matter look at some trajectory tables realistically. Yes caliber and cartridge are important but, being able to judge distances accurately, reading the wind and knowing the actual trajectory of the bullet in its trip is also very important as is the time of flight for the distance. (a 30 cal bullet traveling 2700 fps at 1000 yds from trigger pull to hitting the target is over 1 3/4 second).A 308 with 168 grn sierra matvch kings come up is 3 mins from 200-300 yds or 9"

I would opt for the 30-06 or 308. next the 6.5 creedmore.

Te lowly 45-70 in the right hands can be a eye opener at long ranges in the right hands.

[Ozark mike]

That last line is no joke ive accomplished some pretty amazing shots with a few of mine

[Battis]

I'm not sure where he'll be hunting in ND. I've only been there twice. He also considered a .308. I said .30-06 because I have one, and all the fixins to reload. A friend of mine used to hunt in Utah with a .30-06, and did well with it.