Hunting & Fishing In Need of Some Help on caliber decision

[Estes640]

I’ve got a deer hunting trip coming up leaving Saturday and my rifle is in pieces. I’ve got a couple decisions to make based on the answers to some questions. For reference, I’ve got a load with 107 smk and h4895 shooting about 2885

1. Anyone hunt deer with a 6br or variant?

2. Any concerns with a 107 smk vs 108 eldm or 105 hybrid

3. Should I snag a takeoff lite barrel in a harder hitting caliber and just roll with that?

max distance is 300 yds. deer are similar to the ones in the pics. In fact I’m hunting the big boy in thesecond pic hopefully.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Out to 300 yards almost anything with a super sonic expanding bullet will work fine.

 

[Estes640]

Out to 300 yards almost anything with a super sonic expanding bullet will work fine.

that’s what I’m guessing should be decent for the application. Not perfect, but good enough to knock em dead. Thanks for the input. I added another question on the 107 smk. I know a bunch of people use the 108 eldm or 105 hybrid but haven’t seen many people use 107 smks.

 

[WeiserBucks]

I don't care for the SMK in a hunting application personally, however many people use them with great results. Your shot placement will be way more valuable than my opinion!

 

[Tucker301]

Shot placement is indeed key.
I like the high center shoulder shot. Break that tripod holding the front end together and they go nowhere.
I don't like looking for double lunged deer that just drew their last breath and decided to see how far they could go after I punched them.
Lose a should, get a deer.

 

[msstate56]

Folks have been killing deer with .243 Win since it’s invention. 6mm bullets will be fine at 300. I’d lean towards the ELDM personally

 

[sodakhunter]

Ive shot lots of deer and antelope with 115 gr DTACs out of a .243 with no issues out to 450. I used a 16” Fix in 6.5 CM this year for something different and would say I prefer the .243 DTACs, but they are moving a bit faster.

Inside 300 you shouldn’t have a problem, provided you have good shot placement.

 

[Snuby642]

Match bullets are not known to expand much are they? Eldx type would be my choice or sst.

I do use non expanding for 50-100 yd head and neck shots under ideal conditions and no pressure to harvest a trophy (culling).

" trophy " hunts and non expanding bullets, not my best choice.

 

[264win]

I would much rather use the 105 Berger or the 108 Hornady than the smk.

 

[brianf]

As said before 6mm is just fine.

But use a real “hunting” bullet not a smk.

A 6mm anything inside 3-400 is hitting vitals accuracy wise.

you dont need to sacrifice a clean kill Is you hit bone etc for that last but if accuracy

 

[kurt]

sweet another use a real fucking hunting bullets type deal. Search smk kill thread and tell me those dont kill along with scenars amax and what ever other non real hunting bullets. shoot what ever you pick put holes in lungs or break shoulders or disconnect the central nervous system. shit dies its simple.

 

[Toomz]

I agree with tucker and kurt.. Make the right shot and stuff will die.. Plenty of deer have been taken with a .22 short... so I hear..

 

[brianf]

ive done enough hunting and freezer filling to know there is a difference.

come back when a client hits wolf in -30 and the match bullet makes a pin hole.

the pin hole a match bullet makes was just big enough to let the blood freeze and clot in the fur.

now, go track it while snowing and no blood trail.

not everybody hunts from a tree stand, with a tripod in open terrain in nice weather.


YMMV

 

[kurt]

ive done enough hunting and freezer filling to know there is a difference.

come back when a client hits wolf in -30 and the match bullet makes a pin hole.

the pin hole a match bullet makes was just big enough to let the blood freeze and clot in the fur.

now, go track it while snowing and no blood trail.

not everybody hunts from a tree stand, with a tripod in open terrain in nice weather.


YMMV

Never sat in a tree stand a day in my life. so you have one instance i have one time a sst out of a 6mm exploded on a shoulder of a deer and it ran off that does that make all so called hunting bullets bad..... they all fail if you hunt enough or talk to enough people. this is a horse that has been beat to fuck time and time again and again and again.

 

[Toomz]

Brian.... Did you get the wolf?

 

[brianf]

Not that time...best hunts I’ve been on.

Should have listened to the guide who told me bring a 30 cal with a partition...”you need to anchor them”

I have every time since

 

[brianf]

Never sat in a tree stand a day in my life. so you have one instance i have one time a sst out of a 6mm exploded on a shoulder of a deer and it ran off that does that make all so called hunting bullets bad..... they all fail if you hunt enough or talk to enough people. this is a horse that has been beat to fuck time and time again and again and again.

Not exploded...passed right through like a pin but didn’t do enough immediate damage.

Saw blood on the snow on the far side.

 

[Healy]

Run what you got take out the lungs/heart or blow the spine out with a neck shot. Doesn’t take much for deer, killed most of them with a 22 250

 

[Toomz]

Not that time...best hunts I’ve been on.

Should have listened to the guide who told me bring a 30 cal with a partition...”you need to anchor them”

I have every time since

That's too bad.. Sounds like fun tho.. And you learned something that works.. Anyway, point of the thread.. Use what YOU feel will get the job done for YOUR situation..

 

[msstate56]

Wait... you’re saying you need a .30 cal and partitions to kill a wolf? They weigh what, 80-90 pounds? ?

 

[Snuby642]

They look bigger, my son has a 90lb labrador.

Oh, and they look mean.

 

[Estes640]

Thanks for all the help everyone. I’m going to try and find a load real quick for the 108 eldms. If I can’t I’m going to shoulder punch with the 107 smks.

 

[clark33]

I killed an antelope at 90 yards and a big bodied mule deer at 475 yards this year with a 6 creed 108eldm, they worked well.

 

[brianf]

Wait... you’re saying you need a .30 cal and partitions to kill a wolf? They weigh what, 80-90 pounds? ?

every animal will die sooner or later, its the finding them that can be a issue in certain climates and averse conditions

 

[Tucker301]

I killed most of my deer with a 243 / 70 gr SMK.

 

[Estes640]

I killed most of my deer with a 243 / 70 gr SMK.

were you shoulder shooting or lung shots/heart shots?

 

[Tucker301]

Most of those were lung / heart. The entire cavity turned to jelly. I did do a couple high center shoulder as well. I think the farthest one went was 40 yards. These were all still or stand hunting and either standing or walking. Most were in open old growth timber.

 

[Tucker301]

Those were Virginia deer.
Average buck live weight 150-170

 

[Estes640]

Those were Virginia deer.
Average buck live weight 150-170

Exit holes or did you find the bullets inside? If you found them did they expand pencil?

 

[XTREM HTR16]

105 hybrid kills deer easy. Ask @psinclair

 

[clark33]

Recovered 108 ELDM from 475yd shot on mule deer. Was stuck in the off side hide. 6 creedmoor

 

[Estes640]

Thanks for all the help guys! Stacked a nice big bodied deer the other night. Not the biggest rack I’ve killed, but a solid deer nonetheless. My uncle wacked a couple does as well for management

 

[msstate56]

So... what load did you decide on??

 

[bschneiderheinze]

You can come tell the 200’ whitetail on my wall that smk’s don’t work and the stack of other antlers between 150”-170”. I watch all these hunting shows and the deer run out of the field I can’t ever remember not dropping a deer in it’s tracks with the 308 always the using 168 or 175 smk. May not be right but it works. The only disadvantage to the 107 is they closed the nose to raise the bc but I’m sure it would still do the job. I hunted with the exact same combo last year.

 

[Estes640]

So... what load did you decide on??

mpeason on here came through on a 6.5 barrel overnighted to me. All the headache for nothing, haha.

 

[bschneiderheinze]

Thanks for all the help guys! Stacked a nice big bodied deer the other night. Not the biggest rack I’ve killed, but a solid deer nonetheless. My uncle wacked a couple does as well for management

Nice deer

 

[lr123]

You can come tell the 200’ whitetail on my wall that smk’s don’t work and the stack of other antlers between 150”-170”. I watch all these hunting shows and the deer run out of the field I can’t ever remember not dropping a deer in it’s tracks with the 308 always the using 168 or 175 smk. May not be right but it works. The only disadvantage to the 107 is they closed the nose to raise the bc but I’m sure it would still do the job. I hunted with the exact same combo last year.

I shot two antelope with 175 SMK’s this fall at 300 and 350 yards. Neither were drt but neither one went more than 50 yards either. Both were shot in the lungs.