[Prorebel]

Any thoughts?

[mountainman13]

I prefer my .45 cal hawken

[SSGN_Doc]

given those choices I prefer a rifle. But it depends a lot on where you are hunting.

[SSGN_Doc]

Originally Posted by mountainman13

I prefer my .45 cal hawken

A Hawken is a fine rifle.

[ineverFTF]

It depends a lot on gauge, caliber, location, conditions.

I personally prefer rifles, but in a sub 100 yard thick brush environment a 12ga slug might be your best bet.

[7.62 Man]

If hunting reg allow rifles I would go with a rifles because you will get a better knock down with a high power round. Less chance of lost deer.

[hardluk1]

For me it depends on what season is open I use them all. But would never use a slug gun or muzzle loader over a centerfire rifle. Even hunting thick wooded bottoms Pick a shoot nothing is brush deflection proof.

[TLuker]

Originally Posted by hardluk1

For me it depends on what season is open I use them all. But would never use a slug gun or muzzle loader over a centerfire rifle. Even hunting thick wooded bottoms Pick a shoot nothing is brush deflection proof.

Ditto what hardluk 1 said.

[superc]

Originally Posted by ineverFTF

It depends a lot on gauge, caliber, location, conditions.

I personally prefer rifles, but in a sub 100 yard thick brush environment a 12ga slug might be your best bet.

I have to agree. I allowed really thick brush on where I hunt, the kind where you sometimes have to get on your hands and knees to get through it. Deer love it. I have tried them all. Usually the shots are well under 50 yards. I am disappointed at the strange lack of knockdown from a .50 black powder. They look surprised then they run 100 yards. Unacceptable. I get similar performance from the .308. Only difference is now the hole is on both sides. Equally unacceptable. A brain shot from a 1911 or a 1917 .45 drops them right there. Occasionally I get such performance on a torso shot with a 12 gauge slug. Brennekes which throw parts in different directions inside the animal perform better than the common american hollow slug. The hourglass shaped slugs also sometimes become two projectiles inside the animal and give good knockdown, but the path of the fragmenting projectiles is less predictable and sometimes the fragment goes into the abdominal cavity.

For myself thus far I have been getting 100% instant knockdown with a hand loaded (hot, read Elmer Keith then go up just a little, scary loads) .45 Colt from a modified Winchester 94AE Trapper and 30 yard shots. I drive the Hornady 250 gr. XTP at a much higher velocity than the Hornady recommends. Although I have yet to have the bullet exit from the animal, I also have yet to find/recover a bullet. Everything inside the animal's chest is all goo that can just be poured out but the diaphragm is usually intact. On more than one occasion they just topple over sideways or back flip and plop.

[JonM]

Ive used 308 458socom and 458winmag on deer. Socom goes out with a 350grn softpoint at 2000fps the winmag same bullet at 2500. Never had a deer go more than it can move in a single leap with either round.

308 ive had a runner or two.

Never used a shotgun. The least meat damage is surprisingly the 458 winchester magnum two neat holes vaporized heart and lungs. Socom some meat damage on the exit. 308 i tend to lose quite a bit of meat on the exit side.

Ill prolly just use my winchester model 70 again this year as ive had the most success with it. As in zero failure to one shot stop with no tracking and the least meat loss.