What one calibre for hunting all species of deer

[Small Fry]

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of trying to figure out what calibre to get for an all round hunting outfit... Some background, I will mostly be hunting Fallow deer in my local area but would like to be able to target Sambar/Reds etc. when the opportunity arises. I am in the mind of spending on one good rifle/scope etc. rather than having to split the funds between two possibly lesser/heavier outfits.

I am also mindful of meat damage, I don't want to destroy a Fallow doe, meat recovery is important but also need to put the brakes on a Sambar stag. I realise there is compromises with any choice and shot placement etc. will all play a role. I guess I am trying to find what calibre ticks most of the boxes, i.e.one calibre to rule them all for Aussie hunting.

I am open minded and happy to learn from others, currently I am leaning towards a 30-06. The reason being that it is versatile - Many people say with heavier loads at slower velocity the 30-06 causes less damage on small deer compared to a faster moving projectile, like from a 243... The 30-06 also undoubtedly will have no issues stopping pretty much anything else in Australia at typical hunting ranges.

Help me convince myself this is a good calibre choice or open my mind to other good options? Any opinions/advise would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[SCJ429]

Yes a 30/06 will do the job, so will a 308 or a 7mm08. Why not consider something a little more interesting like a 7mm WSM or 300 WSM. So many options for you but a 243 isn’t one of them.

[bladeracer]

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of trying to figure out what calibre to get for an all round hunting outfit... Some background, I will mostly be hunting Fallow deer in my local area but would like to be able to target Sambar/Reds etc. when the opportunity arises. I am in the mind of spending on one good rifle/scope etc. rather than having to split the funds between two possibly lesser/heavier outfits.

I am also mindful of meat damage, I don't want to destroy a Fallow doe, meat recovery is important but also need to put the brakes on a Sambar stag. I realise there is compromises with any choice and shot placement etc. will all play a role. I guess I am trying to find what calibre ticks most of the boxes, i.e.one calibre to rule them all for Aussie hunting.

I am open minded and happy to learn from others, currently I am leaning towards a 30-06. The reason being that it is versatile - Many people say with heavier loads at slower velocity the 30-06 causes less damage on small deer compared to a faster moving projectile, like from a 243... The 30-06 also undoubtedly will have no issues stopping pretty much anything else in Australia at typical hunting ranges.

Help me convince myself this is a good calibre choice or open my mind to other good options? Any opinions/advise would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Do you load your own ammo or are you stuck with factory offerings?
If you load your own ammo my preference is 7mm-08, if you have to use factory then .308, or .30-30 if you prefer a lever-action. .30-06 is a great cartridge, but it requires a long-action, which is unnecessary nowadays. If you think you'll want to hunt even bigger beasts, like donkeys, horses or camels then something bigger than the .30-06 might be better. It's also possible you might have to choose from a limited range of chamberings offered in a rifle you particularly prefer. But if you load your own ammo then you can load any obscure cartridge so the chambering is no longer an issue.

A rifle that comes with iron sights can be a bonus when you're hunting in wet weather, optics suck when they're wet.

If you want to maximise meat then practice head or cervical spine shots.

[No1Mk3]

A 308 will cover all your needs, use light pills on Fallow, heavier on Reds and Sambar.

[deye243]

270W thank me later .
Don't believe all the internet bs on the 270 I have seen a factory winchester 150 power point go from front to the opposite hind quarter at 70 yards plenty of Penetration.
And there are plenty of hunters using 110 pills in a 270 on fallow
But as you know they are very small so if meat recovery is a factor you better learn to head and neck shoot .

[Tassiebloke]

i have to nominate the 30-06. if you do your part it'll do sambar out to 400+
saying that, there are many, many cartridges that can do the same job. 280 rem, 270 win, 7mm rem mag, 7x57, 7-08, 308 and the list goes on and on and on.
i'd stick with a 30-06 with a 2-10 or 3-9 power scope.

[Billo]

308W handles all the deer up to Reds easily and with the right projectile choice and range a Sambar is doable.

[Jorlcrin]

I'd vote .308, myself.

Much more availability of ammo (and brass for reloading), and there are very few animals who walk away from a well-placed .308 round (of the right projectile weight /type).
I'd also be surprised if you cant load a .308 to be as bitey or as mild as you need for the hunting of anything found in Australia.
The 7mm-08 would likely be my next suggestion, but the .308 still wins out for projectile range, and ammo availability (though 7mm-08 ammo IS getting more common).

IF I already HAD a .30-06, then it would be a no-brainer.
But if I was buying a rifle new, then the versatility of the .308, as well as the consumables/supplies available to support the caliber, it's hard to pass up.
I just dont know what you get for the extra case capacity(30-06 vs 308), IF you are buying a new rifle.

AND; the options to re-barrel a .308 into something else, are huge.
7mm-08, .260 Rem, .243 Win are all popular cartridges in their own right, and are based on that same bolt-face and approx. cartridge length.

There are many similar rounds based on the .30-06 case directly, but ammo availability is much more limited.

6 months back, I walked into the gun store and picked up 200 of the Federal 130Gn Hp factory rounds.
I walked into the gun store again the other day, bought a can of 480 rounds of ADI 165Gn GameKings, and a box of 200 Federal 150Gn PowerPoints.
I'd be lucky if the local gun store stocks more than a couple of 20-round boxes of .30-06, and my projectiles options will be non-existant.
(Though this also partly reflects what game is available locally - sod-all deer..)

So, as much as a .30-06 is a fantastic trooper in it's own right, for the needs stated by the OP, I'd be suggesting a .308.

[bigpete]

308

[Oldbloke]

This Qn comes up often.

Your in tassie, but in Vic there are minimum requirements. Therefore:
308
30.06
270

They are popular for a reason.
Very available.
Legal all species
Cheap components for reloading.
But there are other options as previously mentioned.
For fallow, load a lighter bullet if your worried.

Min Deer Cartridges New.JPG (78.3 KiB) Viewed 1071 times

[Die Judicii]

At the end of the day you'll most likely discover that trying to stick to just one rifle/caliber is not gonna be entirely favorable.

However,, that being said,, if I were to hypothetically stick to just one rifle/caliber it would be as the majority here have already indicated.
>>>>>>>>> .308

But,,,,,, have you thought about considering an Under/Over combination,,,,, ie: 12g/308 or 12g/30-06 (if that particular combo is made)