Calibers I and my children have takes deer with over the past 42years:
12 gauge slugs
.44 magnum(Ruger revolver)
.45 colt (Ruger revolver)
.35 Remington
.45-70 (overkill but if you place your round right no meat damaged )
.30-06
.30-30
.357 (S&W revolver)
At close range eastern brush country, where I hunt, most anything will take down a whitetail.
We go out like grand-pappy did; we take nothing but a knife and a rope...
8^)
BFL
That's right, a spear!
Quote (From the Dept of Fish and Game):
Hunting Weapons and Ammunition That are Legal in Alabama
Rifles using centerfire, mushrooming ammunition.
Air powered guns, .30 caliber or larger.
Shotguns, 10 gauge or smaller using buckshot, slugs, or single round ball.
Muzzleloaders and Black Powder Handguns: .40 caliber or larger, during the special muzzleloader season.
Long bows, compound bows, or crossbows in conformance with regulation 220-2-.03.
Handguns or pistols using centerfire, mushrooming ammunition.
Hunting with fully automatic firearms is prohibited.
Hand thrown spear in conformance with regulation 220-2-.03.
Note: Legal hunting hours for deer: 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset.
Thanks for the article.
Never hunted but being we now live in WV where there are probably more deer than people, I’d be interested in learning.
But it’s a pretty overwhelming endeavor for someone who hasn’t done it before. Weapons/ammunition is just scratching the surface. I’m reasonably confident with a bit of advice, I could probably kill a deer, but killing it is the easy part. All the things that happen from kill to table are just as, if not more, important and that all has to be arranged beforehand. At least that’s my perspective as a noob.
Ran the trash out last night for pickup.
There were two deer, two does, or maybe a doe and fawn, standing right across the road.
Nice list but does not apply to Massatuskey. No legal way to hunt deer with a rifle. Has to be 12ga. shotgun using slugs.
My Colt Sauer 22-250 has never left me down, went 2 years in a row got an 8pt & 9pt and never went again. Memories............
For newby deer hunters, what caliber to use is basically irrelevant. It would be better to spend time with some learning how to hunt! Deer are quite easy to kill, far and away the best caliber for a beginner would be something in the .243 area.
Hunting liberals from Bloom County
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