Many times, as an outfitter, I am asked “What caliber gun should I bring?” This is a legitimate question for someone who has never hunted the west.
As a guide for mule deer and pronghorn antelope, and having hunted moose, elk, roe deer, fallow deer, muntjac as well as deer and antelope, I have had experience with several calibers.
For deer and pronghorn hunting, you need a caliber that will do the job, but you don’t need an elephant gun. In my humble opinion, the best calibers are a .30-30, .243, a .25 or a .30.06 or a .270.
My personal favorite is good, flat shooting .270. It has good knockdown power, very little kick, and a fast bullet depending on the load. Plus, if you only have one rifle, opt for a .,270, it will give you enough gun to take down anything from pronghorn to elk.
Although I feel a 30-30 is a little light for elk, my uncle one time was in elk camp with his .30-30 and was getting razzed by the other members of the hunting party. At that time, in the mid-50’s, it was, if not exactly legal for one hunter to fill all the tags available, it was accepted. Tired of the razzing, my uncle left the camp early in the morning, and when he returned he told everyone to, “go out there an tag one of those five elk I shot with that .30-30.”
Someone once said that after the civil war, “More outlaws, Indians, wild game and, later, white men, were killed by a ..30-30 than any other gun.” However, there are a lot of choices out there, so make sure you have enough gun, but not too much. A lot depends on the terrain and the distance to the target. Any big game caliber has sufficient knock-down power to drop a deer, antelope or elk at 100 yards with good shot placement, but how about 400? My clients usually ask what distance they will be shooting at the game, and this is an important factor when chosing a gun.
Some of my hunters do bring the larger calibers, but they are not really needed, and they add weight and more kick than the lighter calibers.
However, if I plan to take a bear or a moose, I would opt for a something like a .308, a .338, or a .300. Once, while hunting moose in Wyoming with my ex-husband, I was shooting a .270. I shot the moose three times right in the lungs, and he hardly flinched. My husband dropped him with one shot through the neck with his .300 Weatherby Magnum, definately enough gun, but too much recoil for me to want to use it exclusively.
The problem with the larger calibers is weight, if you’re going to be hiking a lot that makes a big difference at the end of the day, and recoil, which can make for very sore shoulders when sighting in the gun, and can cause the hunter to flinch in anticipation of the recoil, which is not good.
So, get enough gun, but you don’t need too much. Best is to try out several calibers, starting with a .25-06, and see which one fits the style of hunting you plan to do. If you only have one rifle, and want to hunt a variety of game, I would suggest a 7mm, a 308, or a 338. They give you knock down power, speed, and not too much recoil. Depending on shot placement, they should down any large or trophy game, with the exception of perhaps a grizzly or bison, for which I would choose a .300 or similar caliber.
