The Best Rifle Caliber to Hunt Big Game With

This has been a debate for many years and will continue to be a debate among hunters for all eternity. There's many different calibers of rifles to choose from. The most popular being the.270 and 30.06. More recently the 7mm and.300 have started to become mainstream rifles to take big game hunting. Most will agree it all depends on what type of animal you're hunting. Obviously using a.270 with a low grain cartridge for a full grown bull moose is not the best option. While some will argue it's ok if your shot placement is spot on.
5 months before my first big game hunt my father bought me my first Remington.270 bolt action. I loved that Remington.270 cause it was the rifle I shot and killed my first mule deer with, a beautiful 4-point buck. However when I started hunting elk I upgraded to a Remington 30.06 bolt action on my father's recommendation. I can still remember him saying "elk are very strong animals and are very hard to put down." That statement has stuck with me for many years and always comes to my mind when I'm elk hunting.
I can still remember the first elk I shot and killed. The area I hunt is spike only so that makes my options easy. I spotted him 2 days into the hunt about 450 yards away from my position. He was a big majestic spike. He had to be two years old due to the size of his body and his antlers or his father was a great big bull. Anyway the first shot that hit him went straight through his vitals, which didn't stop him from moving downhill and I proceeded to put two more rounds into him finally bringing him down. I was in awe at the shear strength and power that these animals have. My father was definitely right.
My father uses a.300 semi-auto Browning which is a beautiful rifle and has a lot of knock down power. I sighted the scope in for him and ended up with a big ole bruise on my shoulder the next day.
For the last 10 years I've been using my Remington 30.06 to hunt mule deer and elk and that caliber seems to be the best for me.
When it comes to which rifle to use I recommend bigger is better and using the highest grain cartridge possible. The worst thing for a hunter is wounding an animal and not being able to find it. A lot of us can relate a story or two regarding that. Nothing makes a hunter feel worse than that. I make sure when I hit an animal it's going down. Another recommendation is to make sure you're practicing all year with your rifle, it is very true that a well placed shot from almost any rifle will put down a big game animal.
May all your hunting trips be good ones.

Can Wind Affect Deer Rifle Accuracy?

According to the “Sierra Bullet Reloading Manual,” a 180-grain 30-06 pointed bullet leaving the muzzle at 2700 feet per second with a 20 mile per hour crosswind will blow 6 inches off course at 200 yards. That same bullet with the same 20 mile per hour crosswind will blow 14 inches off course at 300 yards.
Regardless of wind speed, bullet drift can occur if the wind is hitting your gun barrel at certain angles.
On the other hand, if you are shooting into the wind or the wind is directly behind you, wind will have little effect on your bullet’s path.
Study ballistic charts to see how your bullet will fly and how wind speed can affect your bullet trajectory. Learn the bullet drop of your load at different distances.
Before you head out to the deer hunting woods, make sure you listen to the local weather report, specifically wind speed and direction.
With a little research and some perfect practice, you could be zeroed in on a big buck at any range under any circumstances.

Top 5 Ways to Miss Your Deer

1.) Forgetting to sight-in and clean scopes. Sights and scopes can get bumped while cleaning, handling or transferring from gun cabinet to deer hunting woods and back again.
2.) Using different ammunition than used to sight in with.
Different bullet weights and even various ammunition brands will shoot differently from the same rifle.
Make sure you stock up on the same brand and bullet weight of ammunition, the brand and weight you sighted in your rifle with, before you head to the deer hunting woods.
3.) Taking free hand shots.
Free hand shots are the least effective for deer hunting, because in many situations you are not rock solid when shooting.
If you don’t have a good rifle rest in your tree stand or blind when you are deer hunting, use your knee to steady your shot.
Another option is shooting from the prone position, but don’t try this from a tree stand.
Always try to use a solid rest before taking the shot.
4.) Not enough perfect practice.
There is more to shooting a rifle and becoming a good shot than just simply sighting in your rifle.
The more you can practice with different shooting scenarios, the better you will become at handling your deer rifle.
5.) Not knowing your shooting limitations.
This is really simple. If you don’t feel you can make a long range shot, don’t shoot.
At times, some deer hunters let their egos take over.
Only shoot the distance you have practiced for. This will keep you from wounding deer.
How can you avoid missing your deer the next time you go deer hunting?
• Sight in your deer rifle several times before deer season arrives.
• Remember to deer hunt use the same brand and bullet weight of ammo you used to sight in your deer rifle.
• Always use a solid rest when taking a shot.
• Perfect practice. Perfect practice. Perfect practice.
• Take shots only at distances you are comfortable shooting.

Is Your Deer Hunting Rifle Shooting Straight?

Image via Wikipedia
Remember back at the range when you fired the first bullet from your well cleaned gun?
You noticed it was the only bullet that was out of sync with the other rounds you shot. All of the bullets after that first shot hit perfectly.
Very few deer hunters clean rifle barrels between shots when at the rifle range. This means we are actually judging how well our guns shoot through “dirty” barrels.
In the scenario above shots fired after the very first shot seemed most accurate.  Test the shooting accuracy of your gun by shooting two 3 shot groups.
For one 3 shot group clean the barrel after each shot.

For the second group shoot three consecutive shots without cleaning in between rounds.
Pay close attention to the very first shot out of the clean barrel. Notice if it strikes the target differently than subsequent shots.

If it does, your rifle may perform better after a shot has been fired.  Remember, the first shot at a deer is usually the most important one and often times the only one you get.

If your gun performs better after a shot has been fired through the barrel, consider safely firing one shot through your barrel before you head out deer hunting.  Clean your gun after shooting, but remember the first shot out of your clean gun will be the least accurate.  Why clean your gun if it shoots poorly when clean?  A dirty barrel will shorten the life of your deer hunting rifle, perhaps causing rust and deterioration. If left extremely dirty, your gun may become dangerous to shoot.