On this episode, Seth is joined in the studio by fellow marketeer, Preston Lentfer, and project engineers, Miles Neville and Ryan Damman. With the coolness of fall in the air, the crew is debating what the ideal whitetail cartridge is. The discussion covers caliber and cartridge preferences along with how bullet performance relates to caliber and cartridge selection. We hope you enjoy this potentially controversial episode!
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Thanks for all your answers! If you haven't, let us know your favorite deer cartridge and where you are in the world!
Why don't you guys add ballistic gel pictures to the bullet pages? I'd like to see more specifics on your bullets also. I like your products, but data can be difficult to find. Having views of fired bullets in gel with specifics of the velocity etc, would be nice to see the details. 8) Recommended twist rates & expansion velocity recommendations should be there also. I have quickload, but many don't and it is nice to have the information. For me it's .45 Colt with a 240 gr. XTP Magnum and a Ruger load of Bullseye. I took a doe last year and all I could see was her head and I shot her in the nose at 50 yards. Let's just say she didn't move. I am trying the 175 gr. Hornady Sub-X this year in my .308 with a can for the first time and that may be my favorite if it works good. I forgot to say I'm in Central Michigan. Most deer I take are under 100 yards, so my Henry Lever and Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt are my favs so far.
Any cartridge from the 06 family for central PA deer would be just fine with me. It doesn't matter which one.
In Kentucky. I have mostly hunted bean and corn fields, some woods. Browning Abolt medallion 25-06 with 120 Nosler solid base. Old bullet discontinued. Never had one take a step. Also used 270 wsm. I have a kimber 280 ai I need to get out there.
I've recently invested in the 6mm ARC for TX gulf coast whitetails. Planning to use 80gr or 90gr CX. On paper it seems perfect out to a rare maximum range of 300 yards. I'm excited to start my handloading.
I’m leaving for Colorado for elk and Miley’s in 4 days with my custom 6.5 &300 PRC’s
Love your podcasts. Some of the best whitetails in the nation are located in straight-wall cartridge states (IL, IA, OH). I would have liked some more in-depth discussion regarding different straight wall cartridge pros/cons (350 legend, 450 bushmaster, 45-70, 44 mag, 357 mag, etc..). Just my critique from my own situation/preference and appreciate all you guys do.
I wish you 🙂 had given two cartridge choices to get around the obvious favor of Hornady for the 6.5 Creedmore.
In our family the four of us all shoot 7mm -08 and we live in Nebraska. We've tried 308win 270win 30-06 338win 243 and all agree when you consider recoil mag capacity shooting distances bullet weight 7mm-08 is the way to go.
Maine here. Hand loaded 7mm-08 with a TTSX or Ballistic Tip (sorry) 120 is a family favorite because they both work every single time from 10yds to 250. Realistically, we never shoot farther than that. 30-30 150s and 32spl 170s are also proven winners 100x over, just with the caveat that you know you're limited to much shorter range.
243 or 6mm Creedmoor on whitetail.
I’ve shot many of deer with many different calibers and the 24 calibers are the best for quick kills and not losing meat.
I’m in NC . First 2 deer was with a 110 gr Barnes black tip hand load… in 300 blk. For those 100-200 yd shots it can handle that easily. But I use a bolt gun these days and .308 would be my go to for diversity of projectiles especially when working with subsonic stuff with my nomad .30.
25-06 117gr interlock
I think the 270 and 7mm-08 are both awesome deer rounds, but if I had to pick between the two I'd probably take the 270.
300 Savage 150 gr SST.
The fist rifle I ever bought, and I still have it. Winchester Big Bore 94 in 375 Winchester!!! I grew up in western Washington State. It’s all rain forest. Now I live in northern Arizona, all desert. Right now for Deer/Elk I have a 308 & my 7.7 Arisaka. Still working on getting my dream rifle, a Weatherby Mark V in 300 Weatherby. It does EVERYTHING well! From Varmint (100-110gr), Antelope (125-140),Deer (140-155), Elk/Black Bear (160-180), Moose/Brown Bear (190-up). I don’t mind recoil and a suppressor will help with that anyway. Mmmmmm, back straps.
Where I hunt it’s still shotgun slugs only.
My preference is the 243. In western Pennsylvania with proper bullet selection, and shot placement from ground hog to black bear it works.
Grew up hunting in Wisconsin, now live in Texas. .270 Winchester always works perfectly for me. Fast flat shooting, reasonable recoil, ample terminal performance, ammo availability. I do a lot of research on cartridges and still never saw the need to change. Going to try the CX this year.
(Now as for bigger game I gotta agree the 7 PRC looks phenomenal.)
P.S. I have a 6 ARC and love it too. I do my part to talk it up out here so help me out guys and keep the ammo coming. With the popularity of the AR 15 platform and the ballistics of the 6 ARC it should easily become a top 10 cartridge.
Kentucky. One cartridge and one bullet, have to go with 6.5 grendel and 123gr SST.
6.5 creedmore 120 cx from Florida
Southeast PA, .308 Winchester is almost perfect. I’ll admit it could be a little much recoil for some younger/smaller shooters but I would have no issue using the .243 Winchester, the 7mm-08 or the 6.5 Creedmoor. They are all great. For bullets, Interlock, SST, ELD-X. The CX would be great if you want to make sure you get the best penetration possible on a tough angle shot or biggest whitetail. I am getting very interested in the 6 ARC. It seems very promising for a lightweight build and on close to medium range Whitetail.
Christensen arms mesa 7mm-08 likes sst139 gr my Winchester 270 featherweight model 70 like130sst – Southern Arizona
7mm-08 running 162’s.
So many great choices but the venerable 270 Winchester gets the nod for me from Tennessee,it may have a little more muscle than necessary but if you need to reach out there a little your in good hands,not too much punishment on the shoulder either
@hornadypodcast,
I’m deep in the Missouri Ozarks and I have very few good shots above 150yds
I’ve found that my Ruger American Ranch 7.62×39 with the hornady 123sst (black) has been the best deer gun for me now. Last three years my shot has been under 60 yds. Preforms great!
First rifle was Remington 7400 243 hand me down from my dad.
If I had to pick one round for ever for everything, I’d say 6.5cm and preferably the 95gr v-max for varmints and deer.
.44 Mag Levergun for the thick stuff, 265 gr SP with a full case of H110, good to 150. 6.5 Creed for longer range. This year I'm hunting a Shotgun/Muzzleloader control hunt with my 12 gauge Stoeger M3500 Waterfowl, rifled barrel and American Whitetail 325gr, because it groups about 2.5 inch at 100 yards. Originally from Muskoka, now across the border from Detroit.
From Utah. Loving the 6.5PRC 143 ELDX.
Everyone agreed the Creedmoor is IT for deer, all within the first 5 minutes? Are you kidding me?
I recently built a 24" 7mm Saw shooting 162 eldm at 2800 fps.
Thanks for the great content you guys put out. I use a 7mm-08 Ruger American with 139 gr. GMX (and now CX) for whitetail deer in Kentucky. I hunt both fields and woods. I like to both shoot on the shoulders and get an exit. I may get shots from 10-250 yards. I like the security that the projectile will hold together at close ranges. Between my son and I, we have taken 10 whitetails with this combination. We get fast kills and good blood trails when we do not get an immediate drop. I originally got this caliber for my son for his first centerfire rifle. I have found that I end up taking it hunting in lieu of my 30-06 when my son is not using it.
My cynical side says that this was a corporate answer dictated to these guys to push a backlog of Creedmore inventory. I really hope these guys didn't participate in such theatre and truly were expressing their 100% honest best Whitetail caliber. Of course even if I were going with that answer it would be pronounced 260 Remington in a Terminus action pushed to equal pressure to outpace and better the Creedmore. But I honestly do not understand why I wouldn't just go either 308 or 243 depending on whether trajectory or diameter were more important to me (and I would take either over the Creedmore. The 243 is perfect in that it drives its heavy bullets to their hunting speed limit and neither short of it nor beyond it which would make it anemic or over-bore). As such the PRCs are likewise perfectly designed to put the heaviest bullets right into the best efficiency for hunting and long range shooting. But given difficulties with cost and availability I'm still not sure the 6.5PRC is worth the added expense and difficulty over the perfectly designed 243 Winchester (the 308 is anemic, heck the 30-06 is anemic until necked down to at least 6.5mm).
I have used the .260 Remington for the last 2 years and the cartridge has done an excellent job.
26:34 Seth, you say the 6.5 PRC is too much for white tail, but look at those The Saskatchewan white tail up in Canada. I know we're talking American white tail, but we still get some big white tail here in the states. I would not at all say the 6.5 PRC is on the edge of being too big. And up until 2 years ago, I used a 243 win to shoot white tail. Now I use a 6.5 creedmoor
.270 Winchester. Oregon and Montana.
Make a modern 284 Winchester using a 7mm and 6.5 prc case. I have no need or want for modern magnums. But do like the 270/280 performance but in a short action.
For the most part I think bullet selection is more important than caliber.
42:12 my ideal white tail cartridge would be the 6.5 prc with a copper bullet.
7mm08 with a copper bullet would be a great choice too
From Idaho, hunt white tail in south Dakota
You are correct. The complaints that I’ve had about EDX or SST’s I realized was how they were designed Over multiple podcast you have basically said it. Horn today seems to like bullets that reliably expanded distance. And doing so that means they violently expand close up. With the exclusion of the interlock and the CX, I’m a Southeast hunter and rarely take a shot over 200 yards. I want to be able to drop a deer have blood tracks and penetration. I’ve learned so much from these podcasts And I appreciate all the information. I think generally speaking, it boils down to expectations and what someone is looking for in a bullet.
I honestly don't have a favorite whitetail bullet or rifle. I use the ammo each rifle shoots best and usually take the rifle that handles best in the expected conditions. It could mean taking an open-sighted 30-30 when hunting thick brush, or a 6.5 CM or 25-06 when hunting open pastures. However, I will easily say that all of my rifles shoot ELD-X loads extremely well.
6 ARC with the 90 or 103 ELD-X or even the 95 SST. When getting youth into hunting something that is light recoiling, light weight, and suppressed makes the expereince more enjoyable. Taking youth out of the equation, it still makes sense. Hunting in KY & WV.
Iowa, we were a straight wall state but for reasons I don't know we dropped the "straight wall" requirement but kept all other regulations relating to a straight wall, including the .350" bore minimum. So no 308 or 243 allowed. So for legal reasons I'm deer hunting with a 375 chey tac. 😂
308Win ELD-X 178gr (Europe)
270 Win, 257 Roberts and 6.8 SPC are my favorites. I'll be trying out a 6.5 CM this year.
I’ve got 3 boxes of Precision Hunter with a batch of bad primers. Avg. 1 of 4 or 5 wouldn’t fire. Hornady basically told me it wasn’t the ammo and that the problem was my rifle. Best whitetail cartridge, Federal Premium Terminal Ascent, bonded, 175 grain, .30-06. Mississippi. I even offered to send the remaining ammo back for test and evaluation, nobody wanted to look into it. Still love the show, informative, keep it up. Customer service, step it up.
I’m in the Ozark’s and I need them to drop so I whitetail hunt with the 308 shooting the 150 SST. My son started using my 35rem with the 200 FTX and they drop with it.
Here in Louisiana a 350 legend crack barrel meets the requirements for a primitive rifle, I used to shoot an old 35 whelen for primitive but the recoil was just too much what the ranges where it was worth it. I also shoot a 300 wsm with 165 Cx – gmx and shoot out to about 500 on deer and the power is well worth the going to a bigger cartridge. I’m not a perfect shot and I shot a hard quartering away 15 point buck (he weighed 262) at 260 yards last and the bullet went about 3 foot through the deer and stopped under the skin after breaking the left shoulder. The 6.5 creed is great I shoot hogs with a 6.5 ar10 and shot a hog in the head and had the bullet stopped in the head he weighed at 300. If I had to pick the perfect deer cartridge would be 6.5 prc or the creed even at 150 yards, the more gun is just more forgiving and marginal shot placement and human error can be mitigated a bit by a cartridge and rifle that will kill the deer quickly even if you just scrape the back of the lungs or only hits one. The creed will work every time with good broadside shots, but you as a hunter are much more capable if you can shoot through the vitals at any angle at every distance you shoot.