Best round for deer hunting.

[302Xplorer]

I am about to buy a bolt action rifle for deer hunting and need some advice. In my state the smallest round you can hunt deer w/ is a .223. Personaly I think that might not be the best round for the job. I want a round that will put down deer and can be used for 50+ rds of target pratice w/o beating the heck out of you, maybe something lie a .243 or a .308.

Any advice would be helpful.

[Tailgunner]

Personaly I wouldn't go smaller than a 7mm-08, or larger than a 30-06 as a "first time" deer banger. The 243Win works, but it takes a steady hand and good aim to avoid losing the game.
How long to you plan to shoot at a time? Barrel overheating is not condusive to accuracy or throat life, and the cartridges your looking at will warm up a barrel after 3 rounds.
As far as getting "beat up" during target practice, you need to improve your shooting technique. Borrow something with a little authority, 375 H&H up to the 416 Rigby (avoid the real kickers at this stage IE 458 Win Mag and up), and learn how to properly hold a (real) rifle. Once you can handle putting a box of ammo through one of those, the smaller cartridges are easy.

[FatDaddy]

I like the 270 or 30-06 personally. Plenty of gun without being too much.
Good recoil pad=:) !

[bubbagump]

.270 and .30-06 are both good choices. the 30-30 is another good caliber if you hunt in heavy wooded area. the .303 and 7.62X54 are good if you want to use a mil-surp rifle. the 30-06 and 30-30 are classic deer rounds.

[Rugermann]

I own deer rifles in .270 and 7mm-08. Both are extremely accurate and don't punish the shoulder much. Especially the 7mm-08, only about 2/3 of the .270 recoil and seems to be just as accurate.
Both of these calibers will handle deer up to and including Elk. That is as long as you keep the shots at Elk under 300 yards or so.
Jeff

[Der Verge]

I am old school...............
You can take almost anything with a 30-30. Don't believe me, get out an American History book........ :D

[garza1290]

My step father swore that .308 was the perfect deer round. That's all he ever used for deer and thats what I've used in the past. Good all around.

[ryan_kalani]

How are the 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel for taking out deer or wild boar?

[HighDesertWolf]

Id go with any of these a 243 win , 260 rem , or 308 win. I personally would favor the 308 but any of those IMO are great deer calibers. The 260 is an awesome one and I feel would be the ultimate deer caliber but its just not very popular and ammo is hard to find and even harder to find at mom and pop shops out in the country. I always see 243 and 308 on the shelves at gas stations and general stores and markets in the little hick towns in every state ive hunted.

[Metalhead]

I hunted with a 30-30, .308 and 30-06 in the wooded catskill mts. of NY. I think my favorite is probably .308

[hm2 clark]

I like the 6.5x55 Mauser for deer and pigs. My (10 year old) daughter does well with the 6.5 Grendel on pigs-no luck with a deer yet. We don't shoot over 300 yards but both cartridges are deadly out past 500.

[Marlin 45 carbine]

.270 is great if you can have another rifle for bigger game if not get an '06. premium loads are at .300 Win. mag levels just have a built-to-take-it rifle (Ruger)