Caliber reccomendation for hunting Canadian Whitetails

[texag93]

I have no experience with the bigger northern whitetails, but I would imagine anything north of a .270 should be adequate

My thoughts exactly. Northern white tails can be north of 300lbs.

[ElGatoBandito]

If you reload... I would get a .260 remington. It is basically a .308 necked down to 6.5mm.

[LHPanther]

My dad goes up to Canada every year for whitetails and mule deer. He has always used his .300 wby mag. Many of his bucks have exceeded 300 lbs

[ItsLeo]

I've been to Saskachewan hunting whitetails twice.

The body size difference between the Saskachewan deer and Texas deer is significant. A shooter buck up there will weigh at least 200lbs on the hoof. My biggest bodied one weighed 260lbs. My buddy killed one while I was there that was 320lbs.

First trip I took a 308win shooting 180gr bullets. It got the job done with zero drama. My hunting partner shot his with a 6.5 Swedish mauser. Broadside in the boiler room. They had to track it quite a ways. Long miserable tracking job. At the time he could have bought another tag and taken another buck. I told him he had a good chance at a second buck since he killed his buck first day. Instead he sat at the cabin the rest of the week wishing he had brought a bigger gun. I wasn't with him when they were tracking his but it pretty much ruined him physically and mentally for the rest of the trip.

Second trip, I took a 300 Weatherby. Shot the deer right in the pump with a 165gr Partition. The buck still ran 80yards (talk about tough!). My roomate in the cabin shot one in the neck with his 308. The deer got back up and ran off. They never found it. He was devastated. Lesson learned, don't get cute with neck shots up there.

These deer are big and tough. Once you experience where they live you'll know why they have to be.

Would I use a 308 up there again? Sure I would! But I'd rather have the 300 Weatherby.

[dclifton]

This may sound crazy but prolly one of the best options is a wood master on 30-06 270 or 280 etc.
short easy gun to get in the blind and u got an extra quick round incase he doesn't go down.

I've shot lots of stuff with one and they'll do everything necessary.

My go to guns are remington 700s in 22-250 308 and 300 and they would be plenty. But there kinda a pain getting in and out of blinds since there all bull barrels.

But I might dig the ole wood master out for that situation. Top it with good optics and roll.
Other than that a 700 bdl in 7mm or 300 or 3006 would be a good choice

[ItsLeo]

Whatever gun you decide to take get it de-greased and dry lubed before you take it.

Any grease or oil in the bolt will freeze on you and prevent the gun from firing. There were 8 guys on my second trip up there. 4 of them had their firing pins freeze up on them. All on the same day! It cost them shots at good bucks. We were taking bolts apart at the cabin and getting all the grease out of them that night.

[Tom]

it is a just a whitetail. a .308 or 30-06 can kill an Alaskan Moose. I am sure you will be fine with either....and several other smaller calibers as well

[canny]

Yes the deer up there weigh more than those down here but they sre still thin skinned game. Your typical 308, 270, 30-06 will do the job just fine. If your guide says that the shots will be under 100yds then my choice would be 308. The slower bullet will more likely expend more energy upon impact than a magnum round at that close range.

[randal]

.270, 7mm, 7mm rum

[Capt.Bryan]

270, 280, 308, 7mm rem mag would be my choice for the bigger bod died Whitetails. Only reason I wouldn't go smaller is due to chance of crossing path with bear or wolf.

[sniper steve]

Any whitetail caliber will do just fine, especially at closer ranges. I shoot deer every year that exceed 300 lbs. Took a 275 pound doe with a .223 last season, she went 15 yards.

Just put the round where it needs to go.

And as has been mentioned, degrease your rifle, paying special attention to the firing pin assembly. Leave your rifle in the cold at night, or condensation will build and you'll be drying out your rifle every morning.

[Smitty]

Great information guys. Thanks alot

[hweissert]

I have been looking at a .264 win mag and a 280 AI but having a hard time making a decision.

Go with the 6.5x284. Mines a custom gun but there are a couple commercially available. I've had and still have some 264 WM's and it's always been my go to for anything....until I got my 6.5x284. Those 140 gr Berger VLD's are devastating. I shot a buck this year that was 218 on the hoof. Hit him right in the shoulder quartering to a bit and you'd of thought I stuck a grenade up his ***. DRT

[Smitty]

Thanks

Go with the 6.5x284. Mines a custom gun but there are a couple commercially available. I've had and still have some 264 WM's and it's always been my go to for anything....until I got my 6.5x284. Those 140 gr Berger VLD's are devastating. I shot a buck this year that was 218 on the hoof. Hit him right in the shoulder quartering to a bit and you'd of thought I stuck a grenade up his ***. DRT

I will definitely check them out.

[ItsLeo]

Even though you need a hard case to get your rifle there on the plane. Make sure you bring a soft rifle case with you. You'll need it for lugging the rifle around in vehicles once you get there. I also would just leave my rifle in the soft case in cold storage overnight. That way it's ready to go first thing in the morning.