Best caliber for short to medium range woods hunting?

[sbhooper]

The question was as to which caliber is the best. That being the question, I would say in general, it is one of the many 30 calibers, but then again there are the 45 calibers, 25 calibers, 26 calibers, 27 calibers, 28 calibers, etc. As to cartridge and not caliber, is depends on how much recoil that you want to deal with. They all work well at close to moderate distances. Some start getting weeded out, when the ranges extend.

 

[Ben Lamb]

But now you have to find the right scope to match...

While modern optics are far superior, it just seems that a VX5 on top Mdl 88 would look like curtains in an outhouse.

Redfield Widefield (TV view) 2x-7x?
Leupold MX8 in 4x?

Mine (Pre-64 .308) has a Leupold 2-7, w/ a heavy german post. Most importantly, it has that beautiful plum/purple color phase patina. To me, it just looks right.

Fixed 4 on a tip over mount so you can use irons.

 

[morley.tyler]

Fixed 4 on a tip over mount so you can use irons.

Tip-Off Mount! Damn, that's good. Ugly, yes, but classic. Nice call!

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Any centerfire will do.

 

[SticksMcKinley]

A pre-64 88 in 358 Win would be the ultimate eastern woods gun.

That's a great suggestion and I thought I was over my .358 crush. Now I'll be looking for one again...

 

[rjthehunter]

338 wm, I use it from the forest of the midwest to the mountains in Idaho, big enough to kill anything in North America effectively, but not overkill for deer. That being said, if I hunted specifically thick timber and couldn't use my 338 for some reason, I'd probably pick up a nice 30-30

 

[SticksMcKinley]

I think almost any centerfire will do from .223 on up, but it's more important to have a handy rifle and scope package. I have a Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308 with a 16.5" barrel and a Leupold 1.75-6x scope on it. That's a good one for the whitetail woods. I've used .300 BLK successfully, but it's ballistically very similar to .30-30. It's perfect with a suppressor, though. I wouldn't overlook the Steyr Scout. They're very accurate and handy. If I were to design a package for you - I'd go with a 6-7 lb rifle with a 16-20 inch barrel and a low powered optic with an illuminated reticle, like a 1-6x24 type with a magnification ring that moves easily. Almost anything will do cartridge-wise, but you couldn't go wrong with a .243, 6.5 CM, 7-08, .308, etc. I'd stick with a short action to keep the weight down a little unless you pick a Tikka. Just some ideas for you.

I'll add one more thing. I've found that calibers and blood trails aren't always, or maybe even often, relative. I've had great blood trails with a 6mm Remington and terrible blood trails with a .308. There are a lot of variables there.

 

[tikkaman]

308 with 20 inch barrel is what I use and 150 grain fusion in dense woods .

 

[morley.tyler]

Never, ever, ever, buy a 30-06. Never. if this isn't clear, call me. 503-668-3006.

By the way, on an old-timey touchtone phone, that spells 503-NOT-3006.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

I'd say just about any hunting round would work fine. Not sure why it has to be anything special.

 

[bluespruce]

The ol' .30-30 is a classic for a reason. Seems to work better than its "stats" say it should. Honestly, for woods whitetail hunting where a long shot is what, 75-80 yards, I don't think something like a .30-06 is a significant upgrade over a .30-30.

Of course, if you want a new rifle, then by all means.

 

[sbhooper]

The ol' .30-30 is a classic for a reason. Seems to work better than its "stats" say it should. Honestly, for woods whitetail hunting where a long shot is what, 75-80 yards, I don't think something like a .30-06 is a significant upgrade over a .30-30.

Of course, if you want a new rifle, then by all means.

Yep. I purchased a Henry, single-shot 30-30 awhile back. A couple weeks ago, I shot two big mulie does with it. One was at 153 yards and the other was a bit closer. Neither bullet was recovered. One went through both shoulder blades and the other was a lung shot. I was using factory seconds, 150-grain round nose at 2256 fps. It doesn't take anything special, at reasonable ranges.

 

[ShadowFast1]

If you like the rifle you have but want a bump in power another option would be to have your .30-30 Ackley Improved. You can potentially gain a couple hundred feet per second depending on the bullet, powder, etc. I'm not a huge fan of improved chamberings because while they do give you a performance gain it doesn't really mean more effective. But if you feel the need to do SOMETHING that would be an option.

 

[TN2shot07]

The one Henry single shot I’ve seen was a sweet looking gun, regret not picking that one up!

 

[88man]

A pre-64 88 in 358 Win would be the ultimate eastern woods gun.

My dad has an 88 in 308, its killed lots of game.

 

[88man]

Very hard to beat a 308 in Remington model 7 with an 18in barrel wide FOW extra relief low power scope. I throw 150 or 180 partitions out of mine. I also have one in 260rem for my daughter

 

[Buffs35]

.243, .270, 30-.30, .30-06, .308, whatever is on sale and fits your shoulder. I lean towards .30-06 and .270 because every place that sells ammo sells those two calibers. Just my 2 cents.

 

[greatwhitebuffalo]

7.62?

 

[thusby]

I have a .444 marlin Handi-rifle single shot for the deep woods. 22" barrel with a red-dot. Great for swinging on deer in thick cover.

 

[greatwhitebuffalo]

I like my .444 a lot. My 2¢ - stay away from the Leverevolutions for anything close range; way too much meat damage. Regular Core-Lokt type rounds will do just fine.