bullet size ????

[camokid]

hi all im thinking of sorting some stalking out in the new year and wanted to buy my own gun to do it with. what i want to know is what all round bullet size is best and will give a clean kill . the deer will go up to reds i have a 223 for munty so really its roe and above. thanks for any info

[steve_b_wales]

Get yourself a .308.

[Dunkield]

Get yourself a 6.5x55

[Colster]

Get yourself a 6.5x55

 

 

Never tried .243 on Reds but a number of stalker friends say its a bit marginal for Red and the Swede is a better option... or maybe .270 and take Wild Boar too.

[mikee]

Get yourself a .308.

 

plus 1

 

mikee

[Dunkield]

..6.5 can take down boar as well

[Lez325]

My choice would be a 308 too & 165 grain soft point ammo- will stop anything!

 

Les

Edited October 5, 2010 by Lez325

[Mr_Logic]

308, does the job on anything, ammo is plentiful.

[garyb]

308Win all day long.

 

Ammo is easy to obtain and cheap (unlike those Sweedish things )... Theres not a deer in the UK that won't fall to a 150grn out of a .308

[camokid]

its starting to sway to a 308 to be honest i was looking at that cal.. :hmm:

[garyb]

Let's hope your FEO agrees

[camokid]

yes lets hope. so how do i go about getting it i have open ticket with 17 and 223 on it . but how do i get say a 308 it will only be used on paid stalking trips around the country will i have to get a permission to get it passed on or is stalking enough

[Dunkield]

I wouldn't buy one without shooting it first, and then talk to people who actually use them, not those who do all their stalking on the internet.

 

There isn't a deer in the UK that wouldn't fall to 50 cal, but that doesn't mean you need one of those does it

 

You can justify a deer calibre if you only book bought days satlking, plenty of people do that.

[henry d]

Agree with the above, 6.5/.270/308 and my soft spot is the 6.5x55 as it is soft on the shoulder and very capable for roe, fallow and on up.

 

Be wary of using the word "only" as you could miss out on getting stalking ground near you if that is a condition

[gixer1]

What will be the percentages of each the rifle is used on? if its 80% roe 20% red you may be better with .243 - common, cheaper and more than capable on a red....

[camokid]

i see your point its just i read a lot on the 243 and some say (not my words) that for the bigger deer its not up to the job. the last thing i want is a deer on thr run with a wound from a rifle that is not the right cal

[blindeye]

i see your point its just i read a lot on the 243 and some say (not my words) that for the bigger deer its not up to the job. the last thing i want is a deer on thr run with a wound from a rifle that is not the right cal

it all depends on the feo really but i think a 308 for deer is a bit extream . (personal choice ) . you will have more of a chance of getting 243 6.5 270 and is more than sutable for deer . a correct bullet placement will bring anything down without fear of wounding . you can wound with any calibre . good luck tho and hope it works out .

[camokid]

i tend to buy the meat so really a 308 will be to much meat loss i think. i hit a muntjak with a 243 and i could only save half the meat thats why i went for a 223.. do not want to waste the meat

[Dunkield]

Someone is bound to quote the numbers, but thousands of reds will be shot with .243 every year.

As for wounding it has already been said, hit them right and they will go down, larger calibres are just buying you a margin for error.

 

If I were you...

I would book some red stalking - assuming you haven't already - and get out there and see what it is all about.

I went on a few stalks and shot 3 or 4 rifles before I even decided I which calibre I wanted, but having made my choice I have never changed my mind.

[camokid]

andy your choice was 6.5x55

[Dunkield]

It was.

I also shot a .243 .308 and 7x57

There are hundreds of calibres out there, just weigh up the pros and cons befoe you decide.

After all, we don't all drive Ford Modeo's do we...

 

[and don't call me andy ]

[henry d]

Someone is bound to quote the numbers, but thousands of reds will be shot with .243 every year......

 

Why stop there, the 22-250 was "the" calibre for a long time, totally illegally, for hill reds and it took many, many `000`s, but there is no way a stalker would let you use that calibre now.

You have a good calibre for small deer(.223) the .243 is a good fox and small deer rifle but may be marginal on big reds and sika stags, so again the 6.5/270/308`s will be a better choice IMHO. They shoot 140+ gns and give a higher margin of error for a bullet that doesn`t hit true.

[the running man]

30-06 does fox,munty,roe,sika,fallow,red,boar and many african game. The most versatile hunting round,as it says in cartridges of the world,page 59,11th edition. Case closed.

[Beardo]

the gentleman's choice.... 6.5x55

[al4x]

i tend to buy the meat so really a 308 will be to much meat loss i think. i hit a muntjak with a 243 and i could only save half the meat thats why i went for a 223.. do not want to waste the meat

 

 

the issue here is bullet type and speed of the bullet, .243 is pretty fast so can do damage with certain bullets going bigger gives you more leeway for error but then you need another gun another scope and you won't use it much. Reds seem to be taken as the be all and end all of Deer that everyone seems to have to cover base wise yet on my time on here only a handful of people have ever actually shot a big red stag and posted about it. This leads me to think there is a lot more theory than action.

I've just put in for a .243 on renewal and know my pocket is unlikely to be deep enough for big reds so were I to come into the money and go for one I'd either use the .243 or if the estate preferred use an estate rifle. However where I think I will gain is the .243 will be my main fox gun so I will have used it a lot and generally I feel I'm more accurate with a gun I use regularly rather than just pulling out a stalking gun a few times a year.