Mr. Longbeard

300 WSM for the last rifle. If you like to buy guns get the 7mm

thndrchiken

6.5x55 isn't just for deer, it's the 30-06 of Europe. Of what you listed the 06 hands down. Better factory ammo selection and price.

stubblejumper

I said that .308" bullets were not necessary for deer not that they didn't work.I know people that do all of their deer hunting with a 338win mag which is certainly much larger than required but they do kill deer just as dead.That said,I would personally never use the 30-30,300savage,308win or 30-06 for deer because I prefer other cartridges.

BarnesX.308

There are a ton of good choices and few bad ones these days. I would also base my decision on what calibers you already had. If you have a .308 I would say there's not enough difference that and an 06 to spend the money on a new rifle. If you don't already have a magnum in your line-up and you want one, get the 7mm. If you have a 243 or a 30/30, the 06 is a good step up. Either cartridge will work fine. Since I reload, I would chose the 7mm. I could load it hot and fast or use heavy bullets. With the bigger case, I have a lot of possibilities. Tell us what you already have and we'll better advise you on another caliber to round out your gun cabinet.

oldelkhunter

I like both calibers a lot . I like the 7 WSM a lot more then I did all my 7 rem mags and the 7 Rem mag and the 06 comparism is always made. Can't go wrong with either.

ELKampMaster

An old thread from a year ago, kicked up to the top by someone --- perhaps folks are starting to search a little bit. Well, its a bit late but my only thought on the matter is.....

God bless ya turkeyreaper! At least you are asking about two competent rounds instead of inquiring what we think if you go out and pursue deer with your Red Rider BB gun.

Much better, refreshing....

EKM

liquidorange

i love any caliber you can walk into a k-mart or corner store and know they will have the ammo far away from home.

Steven Ashe

I have been up and down the spectrum of what has been offered over the past 45 years. Deer are not bullet proof. Every rifle that I have owned will cleanly kill deer. This ranging form .243Win up to and including a 300RUM. If well hit, deer die quickly. If not well hit they run off, sometimes to not be found, resulting in wasted meat and unnecessary suffering. That said, decide which caliber/rifle combo you like and after you acquire same, shoot it a lot. Shoot from different positions and at different ranges. Shoot at targets depicting deer.
A one rifle man who may have a chance to hunt anything in N. America would be well served by choosing 30-06 as his one and only cartridge. Like someone already has said, 30-06 is not new or "sexy", it has simply been around, cleanly taking game animals for nearly 100 years. In 1906 most sportsmen considered the 30-06 too powerful a cartridge with which to take game and that the 30-06 would waste too much meat! Since then, the 30-06 has become the premiere cartridge for taking game in N. America. I recently bought a M70 Ultimate Shadow in 7mmWSM. But then, I like to work up loads for new cartridges. If you held me down and made me keep one rifle out of my battery, I'd keep the old M70 in 30-06.

James B

06 !!!

MinnFinn

It depends upon the average distances you'll likely be shooting deer at. For anything out to 150 yds, I'd favor .30-06. There are many different loads and slug types you can buy off the shelf and it definitely has the knock down power for deer.

I think the super mags are a bit much for shooting deer personally. I'd go for a .270 or maybe ..308, 7mm Mag at the most.

Also, if you're considering a Sako. I recommend you first take a good hard look at a Tikka T3. I have one in .300 WM I used last year on Elk. It's a tremendous rifle, very well designed and quality built. I bought mine the first year (2003) the T3 came out for $400 in a wood stock and blued. You'll pay a little more for synthetic and/or SS and the price may have gone up a little. You won't find a better, more accurate rifle for the money out of the box, in my opinion. And it has the same free floating Sako barrel along with numerous other features.