Calibre choice for deer ARRRRRR!

[bigfellascott]

The 204's good enough for my needs.

[Vati]

Then work up loads that are slow for fallow, say about 2300fps and faster for everything else, say about 2600fps. That should cover all your needs provided the groups are reasonable. Only catch is the change of zero.

Easy enough to work around with a few clicks up/down once you figure it out though.

[Sleepy_Hunter]

I just recently purchased a Sauer 101 in 9.3x62 so hopefully i can get out soon and test it on sambar, I have heard many good things about the calibre.

[bladeracer]

The 204's good enough for my needs.

Which states allow deer shooting with .204?

Possibly with a monolithic bullet it'd be fairly reliable but why wouldn't you buy a more effective caliber to do the job?

[stockliman]

I just recently purchased a Sauer 101 in 9.3x62 so hopefully i can get out soon and test it on sambar, I have heard many good things about the calibre.

I'd be interested in how you fine it. I'm looking at a sauer 202 or 404 in .270 . I onlu have smaller deer here. I'll probably only ever own 4 guns (famous last words ) and three are already accounted for. The first two are family heirlooms,the 3rd a beretta o/u and I want to make the 4th count. As it is the last I don't mind a 6-7k price tag. It can be the kids inheritance. I'm spending the rest.

[Gun-nut]

There are a lot of options out there in terms of loads etc. For the .308 so that would be my choice.

[Goshawk]

I went 308w. Seems to work...

[franc]

The 204's good enough for my needs.

Which states allow deer shooting with .204?

Possibly with a monolithic bullet it'd be fairly reliable but why wouldn't you buy a more effective caliber to do the job?

Pretty sure none, but I think you'll find BFS is just out for varmints.

(If so not sure why the comment ended up here but anyway)

[southeast varmiter]

A 150g bullet from a .308 will probably be doing somewhere around 2600 to 2700 fps so yes its going to damage a lot of meat. A 180g bullet will be traveling at around 2250 to 2300 fps so the meat damage will be significantly less.
Think of it like this.
Open a heavy strongroom door, then clench your fist and slowly make contact with the door while pushing it closed.
Then
Open the door, clench your fist wind back and strike the door as hard and as fast as you can.
going slowly leaves your hand in perfect condition, going fast..................
Its the same as bullet performance on tissue and bone.
One of my favorite bush-veld rifle is a .458 Win Mag with synthetic stock, 20" barrel and a 4-12 x 40 Lynx scope. The reason I like this caliber is because it launches a 500g bullet at a nice slow 1950fps, and on small animals like Bushbuck and Impala, (Fallow and Chital deer) you can take a shoulder shot and end up throwing away next to no meat. You can also take big animals like Eland and Sambar and the bullet will give you more than 1.5m penetration on a frontal chest shot. However its a short range rifle with max distance of around 150m.

To sum it up, light for caliber bullets are great for long range hunting but make mince at close range, heavy for caliber bullets are great for close range work, but drop off considerably at longer ranges.

You need to learn about sectional density

[franc]

Don't go out of your way to explain it to him or anything

[Medic]

Barret 99 in .416