Well what caliber do you think is the smallest you would hunt with? I think a .223 is the smallest I would use on nothing over 100 yards

Lot of factors determine what I shot on what game. I have killed deer with a .223 at 200 yrds with high point of the shoulder shots. But it is not my go to gun for deer. .270 has been for many years. The smaller the caliber the better the bullet needs to be and the better shot I need to be.

I have shot 2 deer with a .223. One at about 150 yrds. The other at about 75 yrds. I dont know if I will do it again, prob .243 as the smallest on a nice buck!

I've killed them with a .17rem.. smallest I would find myself taking to a stand now with a buck tag left is a 25-06

I like to lay em down where they're hit...so 308 the smallest I shoot. I'd use my 45/70 but it tears up too much meat.

Love the 22-250 for west texas whitetails. Smallest I'll shoot due to respect for the animal!

I used to only use a 270. Now that I only meat hunt I use a 223.

This sums things up for me I don't like to stretch a guns capability, I tend to consider possible live weight of the animal, and choose accordingly. I'm no longer in TX, I'm in MN, so with WT capable of exceeding 300lbs live weight, my smallest would be a 257 Roberts.

I wouldnt hesitate shooting my 22-250 at my place now because shots will be under 75 yards and if I did I would sight it dead on at that range so I could place bullet perfect. .243 is smallest I let my son shoot because it has a bigger margin for error.

6.5mm or 270 the little guns work but why you only get so many shots a year why would you risk it? 308 is realy about perfect it shoots good ammo is readily available and fairlyvcheap. Yea i hqve killed deer and hog with a 223 but when why not just be able to shoot and not even think about it

I've killed deer with a .222, .223's, 22-250's, and .243, among many much larger calibers.

When I go to the field I don't want to feel limited by the caliber I chose. If a shooter walks out at 400 yards I want the ability to reach out and deliver a clean kill.

My choice is the .270 Win, however anything bigger than the .243 will get it done.

I get a lot of shooting every year. I have found that I am a lot more accurate with my 223 than the 270. Accuracy to me has always been more important that the size of the bullet. I have had to trail more wounded deer for hunters that shot big guns than those that shot smaller calibers. It seemed to me that most of the hunters I had did not do much shooting during the year. They went to the range right before season and shot a few rounds. A lot of them had large caliber weapons and it kicked the hell out of them and thus caused them to flinch. A bad shot on an animal does not matter if it is a 223 or a 300RUM. You are going to have to try to track it and hope you are successful.

I love my .243....big enough to putM down and small enough that I can watch it all from the scope without being kicked out of view.

I'll shoot what I got if its legal. I'll only take a shot if I can make a good shot though. Say I was using a 204 or 17 centerfire the bullet would be right behind the ear. But if it's legal and all I got I'll use it.

X2

.223

.243 is marginal for whitetail in my book and then I would use a 100 gr Nosler Partition.

I've used .22-250 and did not like the lack of penetration and distance traveled. I know there have been lots of deer killed with a .22 LR (even shorts?) both legal before restrictions and illegally but that does not make them adequate and tales of central nervous system one shot drop kills with .223 or Hornet or what ever do nothing to to erase those less than acceptable performances I've experienced with smaller calibers.

So no .22 anything for me and prefer 6.5 or larger. My go to centerfire is the .30-06 but if I had a .308 or .270 instead would not slow down. My son's 6.5-06 with 125 gr Partitions is a lightning bolt!

For traditional MLs, I've use the .40 with a roundball but will likely always use a .50 or bigger with a roundball from now on.
TC

Killed a small buck with my 223 Thompson Pistol last year. Would not have dreamed of shooting it behind the shoulder, I hit it at the base of the head. Obviously did fine. That said, given a Nosler Partition in 223 I think it would get it done okay. I shot an MLD Doe Sunday evening with my first use of Sierra Game King Soft Point. 165 gr 308 Win. I am MORE than impressed with the carnage from that bullet. If you want to be sure they drop, that bullet does the trick! 80 yards, behind the shoulder in, through the shoulder going out, 6" wide holes on entrance and exit in the rib cages, busted up the far shoulder, exited with extreme spreading of the deers internals. Better than Nosler Ballistic Tip, which I have used successfully for years.

My son kills deer every year with a .223. He has a .243 but prefers the .223. He's more accurate with the smaller caliber because of less recoil, so I don't argue.

I need to post up a couple pics of my sons buck last year with his .243 for all the people that havent shot a deer with one and think its underpowered. Turned the front shoulder to jello and never touched it. Nasty hole on both sides. I think for Texas whitetails at 100 yards it really overkill not underpowered.

.222

Ive used some little guns to shoot deer. 223 rem works really well with right boolits and shot placement.

I think its more of shot placement over caliber size. I have shot deer with .222, .223, .243, .270 and my trusty 30- 06. I usually carry 2 or 3 rifles with me to the deer lease. Depending on weather , stand i will be hunting etc determines what rifle goes into the field. My son has shot several deer with his .223 but i had him at the range for 2 years practicing before i let him take a deer. To me its shot placement. Some guys are better shots than others. If you are accurate with a .222 then use it. That being said my grand pa is probably the best shot i have ever seen and the man is 73 still carrying his trusty Rem 700 BDL 30-06 that he got in the 60's. He refuses to hunt with any gun but that one.

Best caliber for west or south texas deer hunting is a 30-30. If the shot is going to be under 150 yards. You will never go wrong with the 30-30