Thread: Deer Caliber + Ammo Cost

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

While that's good advice the title of the thread is deer cal and ammo cost.
And if wanting to shoot alot barrel life should be considered.

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Well If Mposkitt can wear a barrel out on deer with a common Cal he is the man and must take me to his spot!!

Doesnt take much range time and goat shooting to wear out a 243 or 25/06. Also chuck hawke is a biased idiot.

Ok Barrel life is important but who wore out there first new centerfire before they sold it for another i bet not many.

I agree with pretty much every reply. For what you are looking at then I'd aim for 308, 708 or 270, any will do. The main thing is something that fits. Flat shooting is not really that important for me, if you want just add a rangefinder to the kit and figure out where pill will land at various ranges. Oh, and you don't have to spend a fortune to get a really good accurate rifle.

Reloading costs me about 95c a round for the 243 or 308, and about 40-45c a round for the 223. I find the reloading quite quick. I'll load up a couple of hundred when I do it, but do most of the case prep in stages. If you want to find out about reloading the Gun City do the reloading course for the handloaders club, but anyone can do it. A good way to see what it's all about.

Originally Posted by username

Ok Barrel life is important but who wore out there first new centerfire before they sold it for another i bet not many.

+1 despite what you read on here, there are very few people in Nz who stuff a barrel out hunting.

Originally Posted by BRADS

+1 despite what you read on here, there are very few people in Nz who stuff a barrel out hunting.

True but he said he would like to shoot off a hundred or so rounds a trip to the range gettin in practice.
That's only 10 trips to the range and a 1000 rounds down the tube.
Which is why i brought up barrel life.

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100 or so rounds a range trip an a hunting rifle don't go in same sentence you will go away been ripped with your groupings all over the place form heat in the barrel and will teach you nothing, that or you will be there the whole day to do its right and keep it cool.

Get what ever cal takes your fancy been magnum or standard site it in shoot dozen or so then practice while you are there with your 22 you said you have, you will get to know your centre fire better be way cheaper and leave feeling happy with more controlled groups them blasting away

Barrel life is irrelevant you will get over that cal an your first gun and move on to the next before its half rooted

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I agree with everyone
but seriously you will need a .22 or 2 or 3 of them .17 .223.243 6.5x55 270 308 300 Win mag and a few shoties as well to be truly happy ..

Then you will need some variations or super duper versions of the above so some doubling up will occur.

Buy a blimmin big safe as its about to start ....

Bugger forgot doesn't everyone need an AK or AR as well ??

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

True but he said he would like to shoot off a hundred or so rounds a trip to the range gettin in practice.
That's only 10 trips to the range and a 1000 rounds down the tube.
Which is why i brought up barrel life.

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Yep your right tui sums it up well thow 100 rounds down a hunting tube per range trip? The accuracy will be outstanding
I'll say it once VC he
Probably needs a 308 there done.

Matt I was in position a year or so ago although with potentially a bit more shooting experience (in the field) than you. I lucked out as I didn't have to do the choosing, other people did it for me

In terms of what I do for reloading, I have recently upped my stock to 100 Laupa cases and that is plenty, I'm only reloading 25 rounds at a time and only when I need them. I consider time away with my rifle as valuable experience (not just time at the range.) This last trip for example - I felt very comfortable carrying, manipulating and taking up aim with my rifle on all different slopes, terrain and situations. That was a huge success for me. I know I can shoot, I know my marksmanship principles. I stopped by the NZDA range in Taupo on the way home to blast off a whopping three rounds and I put that down to the pent up frustration of the trip! What I am trying to say though is that empty cases doesn't necessarily mean experience. So what if you can shoot the bullseye ten times in a row at the range from a nice cushy bench - can you take up aim quickly and accurately when in the field, faced with stress and environmental factors? Think about the flash 4x4 that's never seen mud but has 300,00km of road use. I think I've put 50 rounds through my rifle since I've had it and that is with developing a second load as well. I think if you are planning on just visiting the range with your hunting rifle once a month you might be surprised at how quickly you get bored of just shooting paper and listening to the *cha-ching!* each ejected case makes!

Anyway what happened to me when I got my first rifle is that I went out tested a lot of different stuff through friends, retailers and private sellers. I'm big on the whole return it in a better condition than you were giving it so I've never had any problems there. Some people say that I've had those situations because I have tits but hey maybe it's also because I have the balls to ask for things! The helpful sods on here put together a great .260 for me and I was incredibly happy and relieved to find that the weight, stock and feel of her suit me perfectly. I hope you can find the same thing.


...sorry for rambling, I am just happy and content having finished my brunch of eggs on toast with back steaks

Dougie is right that in the field you will need to be ready to shoot quickly and in a variety of uncomfortable positions

A 270 is a good calibre - keep some dollars in ya budget to suppress it if the kick gives you a flinch. Check factory ammo prices for 270 vs 308 if the price diff is a problem then consider a 308 or an AK47 shortie round - they're cheap as.

A mate I shoot with has a 270 and at the end of the day the calibre used is one small factor. I think that the biggest factor is the operator's familiarity with their own gear, the terrain and the animals they're after.

Originally Posted by 308

I think that the biggest factor is the operator's familiarity with their own gear, the terrain and the animals they're after.

Boosh, that's what I was trying to say

Matt - don't read my novel, just read that!

Thanks all for all of the advice. 308 is coming through pretty strongly and if it's all much of a muchness then i'll go with the cheaper ammo so that sounds good.

Would anyone care to compare Tikka T3's and Browning X-Bolts ? May be a bit controversial i'm sure. Are most using T3's?

Gadgetman - thanks for that reloading cost comparison!

Originally Posted by mposkitt

Thanks all for all of the advice. 308 is coming through pretty strongly and if it's all much of a muchness then i'll go with the cheaper ammo so that sounds good.

Would anyone care to compare Tikka T3's and Browning X-Bolts ? May be a bit controversial i'm sure. Are most using T3's?

Gadgetman - thanks for that reloading cost comparison!

Tikka 308 done boom end of thread
Should be a few of the around

Originally Posted by BRADS

Tikka 308 done boom end of thread
Should be a few of the around

Solid, cant go wrong!