Both my M1A and Remington 700 are .308. I haven't shot a 30-06 so I don't have anything to compare to. But the .308 isn't much. The Remington is sporting a Bell and Carlson stock and new bottom metal so I can use an AI magazine. The gun is set up for long range competition shooting, which is pretty big around here. I can't compete with the big boys and their Accuracy International setups, but it is fun to shoot. Very heavy though. Not a real fun gun to trek up and down mountain sides with. The M1A on the other hand is way more fun to play with. Using iron sights it is pretty darn accurate up to 500 yards. And that is about all I want to shoot when taking a deer. I swap my scope back and forth between the two and it gets deadly accurate then. Didn't get out this year. Too many things rocking at work to get a chance to get away. Maybe next year. Been thinking about an AR in .308 (See the theme) in the near future. Maybe a Larue. WAY more $ than I want to spend though. Plus I am saving for a new 850 Can-am XMR. Mrs DB is looking at a new 650 XMR too. So there goes that idea. She is one up on me on handguns now. So we will see what happens there as well.

 

I don't hunt anymore but I used to carry a Para-Ordnance .45. 15 rounds of +Ps would be a good deterrent for anything I'm likely to come across. I like P-O pistols well enough to buy 3 of them. I have a couple of 20 round mags that I haven't tried out yet but the 15 round mags work great. I think my original 13+1 frame kit is 28 years old. It rattles like a maraca but the frame fits good on my Mech-Tech CCU. All that being said if I wanted a semi-auto for an area with a lot of bears I would get a 10mm Glock because I can't afford a .460 Rowland.

 

One thing I've decided is to not go for anything else that has a different cartridge. Just don't have room for another type of ammo. I got rid of a .380 for that reason and got a similar sized 9mm as I already had other guns in 9mm. I have liked the .308's I've shot. Nice cartridge. Just don't have much need for long range in the parts of New England I hunt. Now if I was out in Wyoming or someplace like that........

 

I coudn't agree more about not having room for more types of ammo haha. Between all my shot guns, rifles, and now pistols I'm running out of space quick.

 

As for using a .45 as a back up in the field. Ummm, I guess it would depend on what you think you may come across. I don't think I'd use one in bear country. It is a pretty slow round. Your bobcats, wolves etc OK, but a moose or something big like that and you are not going to do much other than make it bleed.

 

By Kurt Repanshek on May 31st, 2010
A grizzly bear that emerged from a thicket and charged two backpackers in the backcountry of Denali National Park and Preserve was shot and killed by one of the two who was carrying a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to park officials.

The killing Friday is believed to be the first instance of a hiker killing a grizzly in the park's wilderness. The killing occurred in the original Mount McKinley National Park portion of the Denali, which was expanded by two-thirds in 1980.

Until February, when Congress changed the rules, it was illegal to carry a loaded firearm in that portion of Denali. While the rule change now allows hikers to carry firearms in all areas of Denali, it still is illegal to discharge them, park officials said.

Park officials did not speculate whether the killing was justified. This is believed to be the first instance of a visitor to a national park killing an animal with a firearm since the gun regulations were changed.

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.or...d-preserve5943

 

Back to the OP.
I have a dozen or so rifles that are used for deer hunting. Everything from 30-06 to .223.
my favorite though is the .243 WSSM in the AR platform.
3450fps with a 100 grain Hornady BTSP handloads.
It's my at&t gun. Reaches out and touches them.
Last years buck was a gross B&C 163 7/8 shot in North West Ok at 550 yds. Net score was 158 7/8. Dropped him in his tracks. If you expand the top pic, you can see the blind I shot him from. Its a tiny dot between the two trees in the center of the pic.

 

You are a better hunter than I am. I would not have taken that shot. But that is because the eyes are not what they used to be. 500 would be my max and only if I was desperate. Lately I think shooting with a camera is just as much fun and I don't have to carry it out or field clean it. Leave it there for someone else to enjoy. I guess it is my version of catch and release. Still have not figured out a way to mount one though. Good luck this season. That is a very nice buck. How long did you have to wait for just the right animal to come along?

 

I shoot 3 gun occasionally. Targets out to 600 yds on occasion.
Lots of practice.
Conditions were perfect or the shot would not have been taken.
We don't have many trees in this part of Oklahoma so one has to take advantage of longer shots than a wooded area. Our rifle season is 16 days long on private ground. It was mid week sitting from daylight to dark waiting on him. I'd seen him before season
Keeping with the forum theme, I did haul it out of the field with my 85 250SX three wheeler.

 

I bought a Browning X Bolt in 6.5 Creedmoor caliber last year. Put a Vortex Viper 4x16 scope on it. Never shot a deer with a bolt action, yet. Shot most with a Savage 24V .222/20 GA , A bunch wit 12 ga buckshot, and some with this custom barreled Marlin 336C IN .358 Winchester, yup .358 Win, I stocked it myself. Trust me, they are a bitch to restock! That is the most accurate gun that I've ever shot, at least to 300 yards! With Hornaday 200 gr RN and 50 gr IMR 4064 it shoots 1/2 MOA at 300 yards. I'm hoping the Browning will come close with the right ammo. Some factory ammo shoots under 1 MOA , I don't have time or room to hand load anymore. BTW, I tried a Cabbelas scope = junk. Marlin now has a Leopold