Favorite White tail caliber

[Dphariss]

Out here in the far Pacific NW my favorite caliber for hunting is a .54 caliber (deer, elk, bear, feral hogs etc..) We don't have very many white tail deer in Oregon but they are expanding their range in my state but mostly we have mule deer and black tail deer. I have always found (no matter who built it or who's barrel it has) a .40 is the most accurate caliber and is legal in Oregon. What is your favorite caliber for hunting white tail deer, load you use and why?
I know I will get a dozen different reasons but am trying to expand my knowledge. Jealous of you who can buy a tag over the counter and shoot more than one deer. Except for some areas west of the Cascades you have to put in for a lottery for the single unit you want to hunt and it is limited to one deer due to the mismanagement of our wildlife and the forests of my state.
Whit tail hunters let's hear from you.
Thanks,
"Muskrat" Mike

There are many choices. I would not hunt deer with anything smaller that 50. So far as accuracy. 40 cal is not going to be any better than anything else. I have a 54 Douglas barrel that has shoot 5 shots into 6” at 200 yards off a lawn chair and a pickup tailgate. I have another that Jim Mclemore told, after his testing before shipping it to me, it will cut the same hole at 100 with 120 gr of FFF and a teflon patch.  But he tested them with a percussion act with a scope. I did shoot a 10 shot string  4.087” at Cody one year in the wind. But when he was making barrels he was far more particular than most  ML barrel makers.
This a composite I made up from the real targets. I think I was using a tang sight in that match but cannot remember.

[Levy]

I mostly squirrel hunt, but the deer and hogs that I've taken have been with .45 (65 grs 3fff) and .50 (80 grs 2ff).  I do have a nice .62 flintlock that I'd like to try out.  The shots are usually 50 yds or less for me here in Florida.  I have taken a deer and a hog with a .30 ML, which is legal here in Florida.  The minimum caliber a couple of years ago for muzzleloaders was .40, but the FWC approved .30 air guns, so also approved .30 ML's.  James Levy

[Prairie dog shooter]

I hunted Texas whitetails.  They had no caliber restrictions but I used a .50 cal.  60 grains of 3-f always gave total  pass through.  Now I chase mule deer and elk and carry a .54 loaded with 90 grains.

[wolf]

a 45 is all you need, shot placement is everything. and if you don't take a 45, a 40 will work like this one does,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[wolf]

45 does the same,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[bob in the woods]

The end result might be the same , but bigger usually does it faster 

[wolf]

really? i killed two 8 point bucks 2024 with the 40, they were both at 80yds, the first one you see in the photo dropped stone dead, the other with the 40 was hit in the heart and ran about 5 jumps and folded. the second deer you see in the photo was shot with a 45 Kibler SMR at the same spot, 80yds, he dropped just where you see him. it don't get much quicker than that Bob,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[smylee grouch]

Just curious Mr. Wolf,  where you were hunting and what those bullets did performance wise and any other particulars on the performance of your load. What was the approx weight of those deer ?

[bob in the woods]

80 yard run here could very well = a lost deer.  A lot depends on were you hunt. My property was 40 acres, now 20 acres since I severed and built our wee 950 sq ft retirement house. One neighbour has a bad habit of lining the fence line of the woods with his friends. If the see me, they wave, but , I'm not impressed. Most of my shots are taken at less than 50 yards due to the woods density. Actually, 35 yards would be more likely.This is why I do most of my hunting with a smoothbore , either my 20 or 10 bore. Most deer don't make it but a few steps. Same with black bears or moose. I know that smaller calibers are indeed lethal. I've probably shot more deer with a .50 than anything else, and as said, they usually didn't;t get far after the shot, however the bigger the hole, the faster the boat sinks...usually 

[P.W.Berkuta]

Growing up in NJ they required that your rifle had to be .45 caliber or bigger. Most of the common commercial rifles at that time were either .45 or .50 caliber. Rarely did you see a commercial made rifle in .54 or even .58 other than a Civil War musket, Charleville or Brown Bess.

The .54 caliber Hawken style rifle started to gain ground in the early to mid 70's in my neck of the woods. I built my first .54 caliber Hawken in 1970 or 71. Up until then I shot a .45 caliber rifle for every game animal in the state that was huntable by law - ground hogs were shot anytime.

[wolf]

80 yard run here could very well = a lost deer.  A lot depends on were you hunt. My property was 40 acres, now 20 acres since I severed and built our wee 950 sq ft retirement house. One neighbour has a bad habit of lining the fence line of the woods with his friends. If the see me, they wave, but , I'm not impressed. Most of my shots are taken at less than 50 yards due to the woods density. Actually, 35 yards would be more likely.This is why I do most of my hunting with a smoothbore , either my 20 or 10 bore. Most deer don't make it but a few steps. Same with black bears or moose. I know that smaller calibers are indeed lethal. I've probably shot more deer with a .50 than anything else, and as said, they usually didn't;t get far after the shot, however the bigger the hole, the faster the boat sinks...usually 

no mr. Bob, the distance of the shot was 80yds. the deer only made it about 40 or 50yds. i have shot them with a 54 and had them run 75 yds or so.

[wolf]

Just curious Mr. Wolf,  where you were hunting and what those bullets did performance wise and any other particulars on the performance of your load. What was the approx weight of those deer ?

i live in and hunt the woods of the low country of SC. the first deer was about 120lbs the second deer was around 150, the 40 will usually go to the off-skin side, the 45 will do the same . the 40 load i use is 62gr. of 3f goex the 45 is 75gr. of 3f goex just a side note, the 45 is just as accurate with 2f

[wolf]

here is a 100 pound doe i shot at 93 long paces with a 54, complete pass through. no blood at all! the deer ran 75yds or so, you see where she was hit. the small caliber with a faster ball and more shock usually puts them down faster, just my experience, yours may differ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Daryl]

Haven't shot a deer with it, but moose are just big deer. My .69 staggered them, then they walk a few steps and stop and my buddy's .75 drops them in their tracks.
Big balls matter on big deer. The bigger the better.

[alacran]

The Northern deer are much bigger than deer in the Southeastern Seaboard. I've shot does in Illinois that push 200 lbs. I have seen bucks that push 300 pounds.
Canada's deer in Alberta and Saskatchewan are brutes, if I were to hunt them, I would prefer a caliber that starts with a six.
I wouldn't hesitate to hunt SC sized deer with a .40, though I prefer a .45.

[Pukka Bundook]

Alacran,

Yes, big deer here in Alberta.
I Have shot a couple  of mule deer with a homemade barreled .44, but the rest with either a .54 loaded well, (120 grs) or the .58
Wasn't too comfortable with the .44 but it worked out.
Like the bigger calibres and never a problem with either.

[Daryl]

Local chap here, tried the 200gr. R.E.A.L. bullets in his .45 flinter on our mule deer. He found they killed no better, nor worse than the
round balls he normally used, so went back to round balls for them. He never had trouble that he let on about.

[bigsmoke]

I'm really not much into hunting, but I really would prefer a rifle in the .62 caliber range for deer.
For elk, I would much prefer my .72.
I did shoot a 1,700+ pound bull bison with my .72 a while back and at 104 yards, that just rolled it onto its back, all four feet up in the air.
I believe if you hit the critter, it should pick it up and slam it down.  That takes their desire to go any further away from it.

[wolf]

The Northern deer are much bigger than deer in the Southeastern Seaboard. I've shot does in Illinois that push 200 lbs. I have seen bucks that push 300 pounds.
Canada's deer in Alberta and Saskatchewan are brutes, if I were to hunt them, I would prefer a caliber that starts with a six.
I wouldn't hesitate to hunt SC sized deer with a .40, though I prefer a .45.

\\i here you, but it still all comes down to shot placement, as long as it reaches the vitals,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Darkhorse]

That first deer, the  one that dropped stone dead, was shot in the front of the neck a long way from the central nervous system, yet dropped stone dead. It doesn't normally happen that way. But I admit, though almost a miss, that artery is vital.
The other photo shows the shot just under the spine, did that one also drop on the spot? I shot one a couple of years ago in almost the same spot, it's not where I was aiming but I had a slight hangfire and that's where I hit. Even though shot with a .54 it went close to 100 yards before bleeding out. That's what I expect one to do.
All three of yours dropped basically on the spot. Very unusual.
At one time we could kill 12 deer a year per person. I had a wife and 2 boys hunting deer. I have seen an awful lot of deer killed with a variety of weapons of all calibers, mostly good shots in the heart, lung area, and I've learned to expect most of them to run some distance after the shot. Though it is nice when one drops dead to the shot, it's not something I expect to happen.
Since my .40 is not as deadly as yours I'll stick to my .54.

[rich pierce]

I figure a deer can run (bound) at least as fast as an Olympic runner. In 10 seconds they can cover 100 yards easy. Probably they can make 100 yards in 8 seconds. So a deer going 100 yards after being shot is no big deal. It can happen even with a very good shot, with whatever caliber and load from a muzzleloader, unless the central nervous system is impacted.

[bob in the woods]

The question was " what is your favourite whitetail cal. " ?   If someone has a favourite , I'm happy for them. I have mine and I listed a few reasons for my choice. There is a fellow out here who has gone to a .38 long rifle instead of his usual .40
He hunts from a stand in an old orchard, and it works for him.  I would use a .40 if that's what I had , but.... One thing I will mention is that over 30  ...more like 35 years ago. I gave up on bullets and switched to round balls for hunting with muzzleloaders , and haven't regretted it.

[rich pierce]

The question was " what is your favourite whitetail cal. " ?   If someone has a favourite , I'm happy for them. I have mine and I listed a few reasons for my choice. There is a fellow out here who has gone to a .38 long rifle instead of his usual .40
He hunts from a stand in an old orchard, and it works for him.  I would use a .40 if that's what I had , but.... One thing I will mention is that over 30  ...more like 35 years ago. I gave up on bullets and switched to round balls for hunting with muzzleloaders , and haven't regretted it.

I get it. I think that for me, I prefer favorite guns over favorite calibers, so don’t have too much to offer on the topic. The gun I know best is the best for me.

[Daryl]

One thing about a moose, is that if lung-ed, even just one lung, they'll lay down and bleed out inside 60yards, if you don't chase after them.
It's difficult for some people NOT to chase after them. Found most clients to be of that sort.
I've never seen this, but have heard that a whitetail in a field, especially of shot in the heart, will dash to the bush before dropping. Anyone?

[Robby]

I have taken them with .45, .50, .54, .58, .62. I don't see any substantial difference in their dying and always placed hunting and aiming skill's ahead of caliber anyway.
Daryl, that has been my observation as well. They are edge creatures and always head for the bush or woods when alarmed.
Robby