Hunting with "little" cartridges...

[Railroader]

Let's talk "little bullets" for shooting deer...

I was raised on the .308 and .30-'06. Went thru my own "magnum" phase, with a 7RM, and .300 WSM. I have .44 mag and .444 rifles. .30-.30s too.

Most of the time, I am carrying some kind of .308 or '06 to the woods.

Lately I have developed an interest in "little" deer cartridges. It started with the .350 Legend I bought for the Grandboys.

There is zero doubt that the .350 is the real deal. My grandson is racking up the kills very nicely. I even killed one myself with "their" little Savage Axis .350.

Years ago, I shot a few deer and hogs with 7.62x39 Core Lokts, and Russian soft points, just to prove the hype at the time for myself.

Performance was fine, in my Ruger boat paddle M77.

I traded into a Remington Mod7 AAC Rifle, in the little .300 Blackout. I have not killed anything with it yet, but it's ready to go, with Barnes 120gr sumpin or others...

I am pretty sure they will work well too.

And now I just gotta have me a Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel. It's on the way, and will be outfitted by me and The Grands for this coming deer season.

Gonna start that one off with Hornady 123gr SSTs.

I am really intrigued by these little rounds that punch above their weight, and do so with less noise, less blast, less recoil, and smaller rifles...



Was that BIG OL '06 on the right ever really necessary???

 

[NCHillbilly]

Let's talk "little bullets" for shooting deer...

I was raised on the .308 and .30-'06. Went thru my own "magnum" phase, with a 7RM, and .300 WSM. I have .44 mag and .444 rifles. .30-.30s too.

Most of the time, I am carrying some kind of .308 or '06 to the woods.

Lately I have developed an interest in "little" deer cartridges. It started with the .350 Legend I bought for the Grandboys.

There is zero doubt that the .350 is the real deal. My grandson is racking up the kills very nicely. I even killed one myself with "their" little Savage Axis .350.

Years ago, I shot a few deer and hogs with 7.62x39 Core Lokts, and Russian soft points, just to prove the hype at the time for myself.

Performance was fine, in my Ruger boat paddle M77.

I traded into a Remington Mod7 AAC Rifle, in the little .300 Blackout. I have not killed anything with it yet, but it's ready to go, with Barnes 120gr sumpin or others...

I am pretty sure they will work well too.

And now I just gotta have me a Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel. It's on the way, and will be outfitted by me and The Grands for this coming deer season.

Gonna start that one off with Hornady 123gr SSTs.

I am really intrigued by these little rounds that punch above their weight, and do so with less noise, less blast, less recoil, and smaller rifles...

View attachment 1230865

Was that BIG OL '06 on the right ever really necessary???

I've killed a deer with a .22LR (legal here,) but I still like my .300WM.

 

[Mars]

I've enjoyed my 10.5in AR in 300blk. 90% of the places I hunt have a max distance of 50ish yards and it does great at that range. It's lightweight and compact.

I'll get out the 308 if I'm going to hunt over a field or large food plot.

 

[furtaker]

Deer hunting with little rounds is not for me. I killed several with a 243 when I was a kid and the 243 is a killer with good bullets.

But I'll take a hard pass on the 22 calibers.

I've hunted with my AR 7.62x39 a few times just for fun but it doesn't give me the confidence that my bolt rifles do.

 

[SC Hunter]

I'm still young at a mere 33 years old but I've come to really enjoy not getting abused as bad. I've got a 6.5 creedmoor, 308, a few 223's, a 243 and a 30-06 that I don't even shoot much. My creedmoor is a joy to shoot suppressed with zero recoil and its quiet and just an overall joy to shoot. I have had the 300's, 7mm Rem Mag, a 338 win mag, 7mm STW and they were fun to shoot but man that recoil was brutal! I just don't feel like I need to be beat down anymore but my little baby guns sure do kill stuff good.

I'd be perfectly comfortable shooting deer within 75 yards or so with a 22 mag or 17 hmr any day of the week. I had a 22 Hornet that was also alot of fun to shoot but got bored with shooting it sent it down the road after I shot all the ammo up.

 

[sea trout]

Railroader I too bought a 350 legend I think it's awesome!!!!

I don't have a 6.5 Grendel but I think it's a great design!!! I'd like one!

I'm still usin 30-30 for woods deer, still usin 30-06 for longer shot deer and elks n moose. I'm an if it aint broke don't fix it. But I think the 6 five Grendel is gotta be a SWEEEEEEET deer round!!!!

 

[NCHillbilly]

Deer hunting with little rounds is not for me. I killed several with a 243 when I was a kid and the 243 is a killer with good bullets.

But I'll take a hard pass on the 22 calibers.

I've hunted with my AR 7.62x39 a few times just for fun but it doesn't give me the confidence that my bolt rifles do.

I've killed a pile with that AR in 7.62x39. Never had to track one yet. I consider it a hundred yard woods rifle, though.

 

[specialk]

My sons first few deer was with TC .41 mag....then went to a .223 ruger #1....smallest ive used was 6mm Rem.....

 

[Railroader]

Couple of qualifiers I forgot to mention...

All these small rounds are for 100 yard use in my mind, despite claims of more distance capability.

I am also a hard pass on any .22 caliber for deer, but that's my guideline, for me and mine. Hence it's exclusion from my line-up.

Carry on!

 

[furtaker]

I've killed a pile with that AR in 7.62x39. Never had to track one yet. I consider it a hundred yard woods rifle, though.

Yeah when I hunted with mine I used it in a place where I couldn't shoot over about 50yds.

 

[transfixer]

Let's talk "little bullets" for shooting deer...

I was raised on the .308 and .30-'06. Went thru my own "magnum" phase, with a 7RM, and .300 WSM. I have .44 mag and .444 rifles. .30-.30s too.

Most of the time, I am carrying some kind of .308 or '06 to the woods.

Lately I have developed an interest in "little" deer cartridges. It started with the .350 Legend I bought for the Grandboys.

There is zero doubt that the .350 is the real deal. My grandson is racking up the kills very nicely. I even killed one myself with "their" little Savage Axis .350.

Years ago, I shot a few deer and hogs with 7.62x39 Core Lokts, and Russian soft points, just to prove the hype at the time for myself.

Performance was fine, in my Ruger boat paddle M77.

I traded into a Remington Mod7 AAC Rifle, in the little .300 Blackout. I have not killed anything with it yet, but it's ready to go, with Barnes 120gr sumpin or others...

I am pretty sure they will work well too.

And now I just gotta have me a Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel. It's on the way, and will be outfitted by me and The Grands for this coming deer season.

Gonna start that one off with Hornady 123gr SSTs.

I am really intrigued by these little rounds that punch above their weight, and do so with less noise, less blast, less recoil, and smaller rifles...

View attachment 1230865

Was that BIG OL '06 on the right ever really necessary???

You'll have no problem with the .300bo , I'd just try to keep the bullet weights in the 110-125 range, for the velocity, I've only taken one with a .300bo, using 125gr ballistic tips, one of the few deer I didn't try a high shoulder shot on, opting for center lungs instead, as I wasn't sure how the bullet would hold up, it dumped him within about 40yds,

The Grendel should be a fine choice, its a good bit faster than the 300bo, bullet weights about the same, I would have bought one a few years back but ammo wasn't real easy to find then, not sure about now ?

 

[Blackston]

Sighted in lil mans 7mm 08 today with hornady light ammo ….. is this a lil cartridge?
It is to me ….. I’m still in love with Maggie ( 7mm rem mag ) I’m hoping lil man kills a PILE with this new rifle

 

[Nicodemus]

I`ll stick with this old single shot rifle till they put me in the grave. It`s heavy, it`s old, it`s so far out of date it`s not even funny, but it fits me, and it fits my style of hunting.

 

[transfixer]

I`ll stick with this old single shot rifle till they put me in the grave. It`s heavy, it`s old, it`s so far out of date it`s not even funny, but it fits me, and it fits my style of hunting.



View attachment 1230880

One of my Dad's favorite sayings was " if it ain't broke, don't fix it ! " if it works , no need to try changing

 

[Railroader]

I`ll stick with this old single shot rifle till they put me in the grave. It`s heavy, it`s old, it`s so far out of date it`s not even funny, but it fits me, and it fits my style of hunting.



View attachment 1230880

I'm STILL gonna own one of them one day...Maybe in one of these "little" cartridges!!

 

[01Foreman400]

I still hunt with magnums and muzzleloaders most of the time. When shooting does I do drop down to a 308 or 7mm-08.

 

[sghoghunter]

My first deer rifle was a rem 700 7 mag that I bought back around 91 or 92. I hunted with it for a few years till I got a 243 for Christmas one year and that lil bullet ruint me. I now own five or so and have killed a truckload of deer anywhere from 80lb doe’s to 235lb bucks with no problems. Five yrs or so ago I built my first AR in 300 blackout that has since then killed a train car load of hogs. I also have a ruger ranch rifle in 300 blackout that I shot a decent 8pt last year with 110 gr Barnes bullets. I also have a grendal in a AR that’s killed a few hogs too. I would buy another grendal in a bolt gun if Browning made one

 

[1eyefishing]

Will one a them kill a kestrel that tried ta eat my shin when a chipmunk darted for safety between my legs?

 

[furtaker]

Popular deer rifles and cartridges go through phases. Years ago belted magnums were the thing. Then short, fat magnums were cool. Now smaller cartridges and 6.5s in ARs and lightweight bolt rifles are the fad. It will be something else before long.

 

[Nicodemus]

Will one a them kill a kestrel that tried ta eat my shin when a chipmunk darted for safety between my legs?

That single shot rifle I just posted will.


But, you better be still.....