Why does everyone need a magnum caliber?

[Cycloneb]

A lot of people use the power of the magnum calibers to compensate for lack of the ability to shoot (not everyone so calm down magnum guys) I am not a fan of magnums I like to push short case calibers and take them where people say you have to have a 300 win mag to shoot that plus ammo is cheaper and less recoil with short case. Everybody knows the guys who think you can’t kill a south Texas deer without a magnum at the feeder 75 yards away

[kkp005]

Why do folks that don’t even have a trailer drive f250 diesels?? Because they want to!
Never hurts to have a little to much gun. Lots of guys hunt stuff much bigger than whitetails so it’s pretty understandable to want a magnum in the safe..

I don’t ever have to shoot more than 300 yards and lots of people don’t have any business attempting shots any farther than that. Many deer have been wounded by unprepared hunters that think their 6.5creed is a laser beam. My preferred whitetail gun is boring old 308 that i shoot very well. The farthest I’ve ever had a deer run was a doe i shot right behind the should with a 270wsm and Accubonds. Zipped right through her and she ran like she had not even been hit

[88 Bound]

The only time I hear such things are from people hunting Nilgai or something similar. I have killed more deer with a 22-250 than anything larger. That being said, my magnums are just as fun. I disagree with you though - speed kills. I go with lighter bullets every time.

[BrianL]

Probably only need a 223 or 243, but there are many more larger rounds available. Magnums and non-magnums... But for the guy that wants only one gun that's deer to elk, a magnum would be a really good choice.

[tdwinklr]

What I’m saying is there a ton of hunters that think you simply cannot kill a deer or cannot kill on ethically without a magnum.

Most hunters also believe you can’t shoot past 300-400 yards without a magnum either!

Is mostly hype and someone placing the thought in their mind, or just another show of macho-ism. I personally believe you shouldn't be shooting at anything over 400 yds anyway but that's beside the point.
Aside from that, I don't get the point of paying for much higher priced ammo, the recoil is substantially more, usually the firearm is heavier, etc. etc. with the same result.

[Bucknaked]

Is mostly hype and someone placing the thought in their mind, or just another show of macho-ism. I personally believe you shouldn't be shooting at anything over 400 yds anyway but that's beside the point.
Aside from that, I don't get the point of paying for much higher priced ammo, the recoil is substantially more, usually the firearm is heavier, etc. etc. with the same result.

Recoil? I started off in magnums with a 7 mag( not really the recoil I just didn’t like the caliber,got rid of it really quickly! Purchased my first 300 wm in a ruger #1 and it would pulverize my neck and shoulder with 165’s even. Got rid of that and purchased a browning A bolt golden medallion but that too was very similar to the ruger. Got rid of that. Started shooting my 7-08 and absolutely loved it and still do. I love the .300 cartridge so I started reading up on Bergara’s amongst many others and was seeing that shooters were talking about much less felt recoil even shooting 180s or 195’s. I thought I would purchase one and try it out ( the barrel is threaded for a brake but I didn’t want a stinking brake) . I receive the rifle, went ahead and shot a progressive 35 round break in and the recoil is similar to my 7-08! I love this rifle and caliber combo even though it is a bit heavy. Yes, I use to plow them with my .22 hornet, .243, 6mm, 22-250, .220 swift, 5.56 , 270 and .300 savage but shot head and neck! Shoulder shooting just plain waste meat and can turn into gut shooting real quickly! I’ll stick with my .300 Bergara but it’s locked up in my safe because like I said before, I have been blessed to be able to start shooting my bow again!

[trophy8]

Why do folks that don’t even have a trailer drive f250 diesels?? Because they want to!
Never hurts to have a little to much gun. Lots of guys hunt stuff much bigger than whitetails so it’s pretty understandable to want a magnum in the safe..

I don’t ever have to shoot more than 300 yards and lots of people don’t have any business attempting shots any farther than that. Many deer have been wounded by unprepared hunters that think their 6.5creed is a laser beam. My preferred whitetail gun is boring old 308 that i shoot very well. The farthest I’ve ever had a deer run was a doe i shot right behind the should with a 270wsm and Accubonds. Zipped right through her and she ran like she had not even been hit

Your last sentence is why some guys think magnums are bad. Those Bullet’s designed for heavy penetration, when shot through a thin skinned animal without hitting any major bone, will almost always pencil through. This narrows your margin or error substantially. And creates a lot less shock.

That’s the big issue with the trackers thoughts on the 7 mag IMO. Hunters using light for caliber projectiles and taking lung shots on deer that just simply don’t need a magnum. Example a 140 accubond out of a 7 mag is smoking fast. That speed certainly helps the expansion. Put it in the lungs or make a marginal shot away from the heavy bones and that deer is gonna run. Put that same combo square in the shoulder and that animal drops dead right there 99% of the time.

It’s like anything else. Know your equipment and your ballistics. That and guys flinch bad LOL. I’ve been guilty of it myself and I have put a LOT of rounds down range at critters and targets with a 7 rem mag and 300 win mag. I take my 6mm for deer mostly. But will take one of my bigger guns just cuz on occasion.

[Shane]

Several years ago I asked Quattro Hindes, while he was tracking a bow shot deer, what caliber does he get called to track the most with his dogs. He said 7mm Mag without hesitation.

Last winter I asked his father, Roy, while he was tracking a bow shot deer what caliber gets him the most business. He replied "it used to be the 7mm mag but now it's the 6.5 Creedmore."

I found that pretty interesting.

It is interesting you mention this, because the property owner where I hunt in Colorado states the same thing about the 7mm mag when it comes to killing elk.

The most commonly used caliber is going to be involved in the most bad shots (and good shots). Trackers aren't going to get a lot of calls to track gut shot deer from hunters who are carrying obscure wildcat cartridges or Russian cartridges. It's not that those common cartridges are inferior. There's just more of them in the woods, so when people make a bad shot there's a higher probability that those popular rounds are going to be involved.

[Shane]

I think they both instill “over confidence”, for different reasons. Either way, the cartridge is not to blame.

I despise the 30-30 to this day, though I’ve never owned one. Seemed like when I was a kid, every time we had to go track a deer after dinner, it was shot with a 30-30. Also not likely the cartridges fault….still hate to see one in camp.

It's harder to make a perfect shot with a short, lightweight gun with open sights.

[M16]

Shoulder shooting just plain waste meat and can turn into gut shooting real quickly!

WTH? If you hit the gut while aiming for the shoulder quit hunting until you learn how to shoot.

[SabreKiller]

I own two magnums, a Browning 1885 in 7RM and a Remington 700 Ti in 7mm RSUAM. The Browning is just too pretty to take to a deer lease and ride around in a UTV and too heavy for a stalking rifle so I bought the Ti right after they came out because I like to spot and stalk.

I hunted with the Ti exclusively for at least 10 years whether it was whitetails, axis, or my favorite west Texas muleys and aoudad. Loaded with 140 grain Barnes TTSX's at 3050 FPS nothing has taken more than a step out to a little over 400 yards. The one year I took the 1885 out west I killed a good muley at 603 yards with 160 grain Grand slams. DRT. That's why I shot a magnum. I wouldn't have taken that shot with anything less.

I have found that since I'm getting older I have reverted back to calibers that I used to shoot as a kid or younger man. I bought a Barret Fieldcraft in 6.5 Swede a couple of years ago and with 130 grain Accubonds, it kills with authority. Just not way out there!

I'm finding that I like killing them close to the road or where they are easily retrieved.

[Shane]

Your last sentence is why some guys think magnums are bad. Those Bullet’s designed for heavy penetration, when shot through a thin skinned animal without hitting any major bone, will almost always pencil through. This narrows your margin or error substantially. And creates a lot less shock.

That’s the big issue with the trackers thoughts on the 7 mag IMO. Hunters using light for caliber projectiles and taking lung shots on deer that just simply don’t need a magnum. Example a 140 accubond out of a 7 mag is smoking fast. That speed certainly helps the expansion. Put it in the lungs or make a marginal shot away from the heavy bones and that deer is gonna run. Put that same combo square in the shoulder and that animal drops dead right there 99% of the time.

It’s like anything else. Know your equipment and your ballistics. That and guys flinch bad LOL. I’ve been guilty of it myself and I have put a LOT of rounds down range at critters and targets with a 7 rem mag and 300 win mag. I take my 6mm for deer mostly. But will take one of my bigger guns just cuz on occasion.

Spot on. A tough, penetrating bullet at high velocity shouldn't be placed behind the shoulder through the lungs, in my opinion. Sure, the deer will die. But you'll have a tracking job similar to what you'd have if you shot the deer with an arrow. If you like tracking, then it's fine. I don't mind blood trailing a deer when I'm bow hunting. But, for me, a rifle is a tool to put a deer down in his tracks so I don't have to track him. I don't mind sacrificing some shoulder meat, if necessary. I always have more burger and sausage in my freezer than I can eat. I run out of steak and backstrap pretty fast though. I don't like to risk losing a pair of backstraps.

Also, I typically aim where the neck joins the front of the shoulder when I'm carrying a rifle. That drops the deer in its track, no matter what gun I'm shooting. And it doesn't ruin the shoulders. I don't mind sacrificing neck meat either.

A shot through the lungs doesn't destroy much meat, so for a guy that prefers that shot placement for that reason it's fine. There's just gonna be some tracking to do, most likely - no matter what gun/caliber/bullet you use. You also increase the risk of a gut shot when you start aiming "back".

Shot placement is the biggest determining factor. It's the same with bows and broadheads. Everybody gets wrapped up in draw weight, FPS, broadhead choice, etc..... but if you put any broadhead through 2 lungs and/or the heart, the deer is gonna die. It doesn't matter how fast it was traveling when it got there. Speed and sharp points increase the odds of a passthrough, which increases the odds of a good blood trail. So that stuff does matter in recovery more than lethality, and that's important.

With rifles, for me, speed increases accuracy. I grew up hunting the canyons in the Panhandle where long shots were the norm. Range finders hadn't been invented yet. Trying to judge distance accurately enough to calculate the right hold over before you lob a slow round across the canyon at a deer can be pretty darn difficult. A magnum caliber's velocity takes some of that guess work out and gives you a better chance of hitting your target. That's the main reason I prefer magnum calibers. I've had a RUM and a .300, and I've shot bigger magnums than those. Since I'm not hunting dangerous game in Africa, I don't own any of those cannons anymore. I don't like the recoil. I can kill everything I hunt with my 7mag and below guns. But I still want the fastest cartridge in each caliber/bullet combination for my hunting needs. Assuming you're using the right type of bullet for each cartridge you're shooting, more speed is never a disadvantage. Less speed can be.

[Bucknaked]

WTH? If you hit the gut while aiming for the shoulder quit hunting until you learn how to shoot.

That’s not ME lol! Like I said , for me it’s head and neck!

[kkp005]

Your last sentence is why some guys think magnums are bad. Those Bullet’s designed for heavy penetration, when shot through a thin skinned animal without hitting any major bone, will almost always pencil through. This narrows your margin or error substantially. And creates a lot less shock.

That’s the big issue with the trackers thoughts on the 7 mag IMO. Hunters using light for caliber projectiles and taking lung shots on deer that just simply don’t need a magnum. Example a 140 accubond out of a 7 mag is smoking fast. That speed certainly helps the expansion. Put it in the lungs or make a marginal shot away from the heavy bones and that deer is gonna run. Put that same combo square in the shoulder and that animal drops dead right there 99% of the time.

It’s like anything else. Know your equipment and your ballistics. That and guys flinch bad LOL. I’ve been guilty of it myself and I have put a LOT of rounds down range at critters and targets with a 7 rem mag and 300 win mag. I take my 6mm for deer mostly. But will take one of my bigger guns just cuz on occasion.

Exactly.. There’s not a perfect caliber / bullet combo that fits all the bills. Magnum calibers shooting bonded bullets aren’t the best choice for Texas deer. . Had I been shooting a “softer” bullet I’m pretty sure I would have spent a lot less time plowing through that thicket looking for her. I honestly don’t know how she made it as far as she did.. Angled away, put it right in crease behind her shoulder and the bullet came out the middle of her opposite shoulder with bone hanging out.

[kwarw]

The most commonly used caliber is going to be involved in the most bad shots (and good shots). Trackers aren't going to get a lot of calls to track gut shot deer from hunters who are carrying obscure wildcat cartridges or Russian cartridges. It's not that those common cartridges are inferior. There's just more of them in the woods, so when people make a bad shot there's a higher probability that those popular rounds are going to be involved.

Very true, If you go fishing and only use a white jig all day you will only catch fish with a white jig!

I think we are all guilty of not shooting as much as we should,whether it's from lack of time a place to do it,whatever. Knowing your weapon and it's limitations are the key to success and clean kills. In addition you build confidence with practice. There is nothing WRONG with a magnum and it has it's place. If I was going to be in a situation that I had to reach way out there on a large animal. I would head straight to the range with my 30-06 and SEE how it held up at long range. Get it dialed in, create a sheet with my drop and wind drift for quick reference in the field. If it did good I would go look at the ballistics and see if it had adequate energy. I think it should be okay. Then I might be the problem. Maybe my poor habits might show up at longer distances. My point is if you are confident it's just a chip shot. Most folks are rusty and don't get to or take the time to practice enough.

Kinda like a golfer. They don't sit home for a month then jump in the truck an jump into a PGA tournament. No they practice all the time,that's why they are good at what they do. Do you shoot dove on opening day as good as the last week of the season? Probably not.