Further more I will also say that while getting the trophy antlers is a great challenge. And I have gotten my fair share. A young one tastes a whole lot better. I will always take the little guy!
This is a photo of this years little guy… Man dose he cook up real good!!!
Location Location Location! What they eat is what they taste like. So if they eat pine be aware they will not taste as good at the grain feed ones in the wide open fields!
photo of Judith Gap MT
[quote]TenashusReslushn wrote:
Further more I will also say that while getting the trophy antlers is a great challenge. And I have gotten my fair share. A young one tastes a whole lot better. I will always take the little guy!
[/quote]
As a kid when guys where bragging about big racks my grandad would always say “them antlers make for a mighty thin soup”.
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
As a kid when guys where bragging about big racks my grandad would always say “them antlers make for a mighty thin soup”.
[/quote]
Sounds like a very smart man 
[quote]TenashusReslushn wrote:
[quote]cwill1973 wrote:
I use a .270 for antelope, deer, and elk. Does the job on all three. If you are sticking strictly to whitetail 7mm-08 is a great caliber.[/quote]
Personally I took a lot of time in my youth to try a lot of different guns. (7mm, 30-30 with open sights, 243, 30.06, 308) Before I went in and special ordered exactly what I wanted. A lightweight Featherweight Remington 270. with scope and tripod. It is light enough for me to carry all day and easy enough to put everything down with the right bullet placement. I use a 130 grain Nosler partition for the Antelope and Deer and a larger 150 grain for Elk Hunting. I have had great success with and recommend getting use to your rifle as it becomes reflex when the game presents itself. You gain good habits and safety is an all time must!
I was fortunate enough in the year 2006 to bag an Elk, a Deer, and my Antelope in ONE day in Judith Gap MT! Using this gun alone. [/quote]
That must have been one hell of a day. Nice job. I shot my 1st antelope in WY with my 30-30 that I grew up hunting whitetails in PA with. Don’t remember what bullets I was using but both the entrance and exit hole were the same diameter. Damn thing never expanded at all. Luckily it cut a furrow on the top of the heart. Bought my .270 soon after that and have used it since.
[quote]pushharder wrote:
[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
…30-06 is overkill…
[/quote]
No offense to my totally awesome bud, Gab, but there is no such thing as overkill. You either kill 'em or you don’t. You cannot “overkill” a deer.
If your bullet is coming apart upon impact due to high velocity then you need to purchase different bullets - high quality bullets.
I hunt deer, elk, bear, coyotes, and moose all with a rifle (.378 Weatherby necked down to .338) that I could easily take to Africa and hunt anything there except rhinos and elephants (it is capable of rhino and elephant kills, it’s just some countries have legally mandated caliber minimums) and I never overkill a deer. I punch a nice neat hole in 'em and the bullet expands beautifully every single time.
My bullet killed last year’s buck with no more meat damage (none) than if I had killed it with a .243. In fact, I could argue that the lighter calibers typically used in deer hunting are more apt to excessively fragment causing even more meat damage than say a 30.06.
Also, if you’re shooting for and hitting the vital organs area as you should be you won’t be damaging any meat anyway.
A 30.06 cartridge loaded with any of the heavier bullets available is very adept, very appropriate, very humane even for taking whitetails anywhere in the US (legally).
[/quote]
No offense taken, and I don’t mean to quibble over words, but by “overkill” I obviously meant wasting meat. And if you shoot a deer at close ranges with a high powered rifle, as I did several times myself last year hydrostatic shock does ruin meat. One of the does I shot at fifty yards in the front shoulder (aiming for the lungs over open sights, not the best placement but she was walking) and the shoulder around the exit wound was wrecked from hydrostatic shock. The meat was red and black for at least 6 inches around the hole.
Now I don’t claim nearly as much experience hunting or shooting as yourself. My only comparison as far as tissue damage would be the two deer I shot with 585 grain .58 caliber soft lead Minne balls, and while that made some nasty holes there was no damage from hydrostatic shock, and the wasted meat was minimal.
Anyway sir, while I have your ear, and since you seem to know your rifle calibers, what do you think of the .25-06? I’ve got a few places to hunt this coming season where I can reach out, and I plan on investing in a good hunting rifle I can put a scope on.
[quote]pushharder wrote:
[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
…30-06 is overkill…
[/quote]
My bullet killed last year’s buck with no more meat damage (none) than if I had killed it with a .243. In fact, I could argue that the lighter calibers typically used in deer hunting are more apt to excessively fragment causing even more meat damage than say a 30.06.
[/quote]
I agree with you there dude. The first deer I killed was with a 95 grain balistic tip out of a .243. It was like someone stuck a hand grenade in the vitals. I now use a .308(mostly sierra gamekings) for deer and it seems to chew the insides up less. It is pretty academic though i guess. dead is dead.
I shot a yearling this year with my 30-30 lever action Marlin…The deer did a back-flip on impact and tasted incredible!. I love that gun. I also have mt .454 in case I need to kill bigfoot.
[quote]pushharder wrote:
I understand what you mean. Your remarks about hydrostatic shock are dead-on.
I think the .25-06 is a great cartridge for deer. I’ve never shot one but the ballistics are great.
I shoot a 6mm at times myself (‘course it’s a 6mm sittin’ in a .300 Weatherby case - ha! Drop dead gorgeous ballistics on that lil girl).[/quote]
One of my gunsmith friends is trying like hell to sell me a 6mm. It’s a great shooter, but I ain’t got money for everything. I haven’t quite decided between the .25-06, a .308, or a .30-06. Right now I’ve got my eyes on a .25-06 in a stock made by hand by a master gunsmith. It’s a beautiful rifle and it looks like I’m going to get it for cheap. If not that I’m leaning towards a .308, as I do subscribe to the one rifle for everything theory. It makes more sense for the economically challenged like myself.
Good discussion.
I hunt in western NE and need to be able to make longer than average shots in open pastures. Where I hunt, there’s not much tree cover. The deer hide in draws and tall brush.
I use a Tikka T3 Lite in .243. I have absolute confidence in that rifle. The trigger pull is the best I’ve ever had. It has a Sako trigger group, which is great for a rifle that cost $650.00. Took a doe at 277 yards this season without any hesitation. Rifle zeroed at 200 yards. I used a soft-tipped 110 grain round. Hit 3 inches to the right of where I was aiming on account of some uncorrected windage.
A .243 is nice because you have a lot of options with ballistics and ammo is relatively cheap. You can get pretty much everything (hollow point, jacketed, soft-tipped) from 55 grain up to 110 grain. Not much kick to it either. The trajectory leaves something to be desired beyond 300, but up to 300, almost all shots are doable.
I might switch to a .243 WSSM (Winchester Super Short Magnum) to have the ability to make longer shots. The higher muzzle velocity has a tendency to burn out barrels, but I wouldn’t put more than 10 rounds through it per year anyway. .243 WSSM is the flattest shooting rifle that I know of for less than $1000.
I usually take does. Killing a doe has a bigger impact on population control and I don’t care about trophies much. I just want the meat. Doe meat (in my experience) is a little tastier and cooks up a little better on account of a higher fat content. I can usually get plenty of meat from a 200lb doe to last me and mine the year. I got 70lbs off the one I shot this year.
If you are going to get the deer processed, make sure you get a referral for a butcher. A good butcher key. No sense in paying for the meat if it is going to taste like shit. I used to use a guy that made great jerky, then he died. Guy I used this year made terrible jerky. Steaks were alright, but it is hard to fuck that up. Switching next year.
Also, if you are hunting for meat, kill the deer on the first shot. If they run, then die, they tend to have lactic acid buildup in the muscles which ruins the taste. Wait for a good shot where you know you can kill the deer where it stands, or the meat might taste like garbage.
Check out this stuff:
http://www.buckcommander.com/ Good resource and great recipes.
Winchester Ammunition | Premium Ammo | Winchester Ammunition Excellent free ballistics calculator, if you find yourself beyond comfortable range.
If I don’t get a .243 WSSM, I might get a Remington 700 with an Accuracy International Chassis Upgrade. The Rem 700 is essentially a civilian version of the Army’s standard sniper system, and the AI Chassis has the bells and whistles for a serious shooter, ie adjustable cheek piece and butt plate, etc. If I do that, I’ll get the rifle in .300 Win Mag or .338 Lapua Mag. No sense in getting a rifle like that in a standard caliber if a little extra cash can get you out to 1000 yards. . .