What calibre for deer???

will be used for shooting mostly roe, as there are plenty on the farm. Have a couple of farming friends up in Perthshire and the highlands so will have the opportunity to shoot the odd red. At present I have a .22 and .223.
what calibre should I apply for?
 
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For roe I'd stick with the .223 , if reds are on the menu , 6.5 , 7-08 , 308 , 270 etc will all do the job admirably
 
I have both 6.5x55 and 222, if I was restricted to one rifle it would be 6.5, great for all deer species in the UK and on roe doesn't do any more damage than the 222.
 
.308 - will cope with all UK deer species as well as boar which, being in the borders, you may be able to get a chance at without travelling too far. I used a 308 on roe for years and never noticed it being too much gun.
 
Not quite the answer I was looking for.
Was thinking .25-06 .270 or .308.
was thinking the .308 might have to much punch for roe.
is a .25-06 suitable for red?
The .308 is fine for roe. I shoot them fairly regularly with one and carcass damage is no worse (in fact probably better) than when I used to use my .243.
 
Or, in a rifle of modern manufacture and as it is nowadays, in it's standardised form, the 6.5x55 Scan. Always an excellent choice on deer.
 
ammo supply local to you is pivotal if you don't reload, and if you would like one gun for roe/red that's comfortable to shoot yet has enough power, then look at 6.5x55, 25-06, 7-08, 260, 7x57, .270, .308, 30-06. Personally, if your local gun shop has a steady supply of quality ammo variations, I would opt for a 7mm (ie. 7x57). 6.5x55 can be a bi*ch to find ammo for, so can 7-08. .270 can to some seem overly heavy on the recoil front and 30-06 is maybe a tad overkill for a gun used primarily for roe, as is .308 IMHO. 25-06 and 260 are good calibres, again, sometimes (but not always) limited from ammo supply, and have limitations in how heavy you can go on the bullet front for big stags.

.243 would not be a bad choice at all, but whilst works fine, is on the marginal side of things from a red deer perspective..that said, I've taken more reds with .243 than any other calibre, and the .243 is simply a phenomenal roe deer round. There are also tons for sale in the 2nd hand market.

You also need to consider the gun itself, will you be buying new and having plenty of choice, or will you be picking something up used..if used then don't go for something which is hard on barrel life as you could easily risk buying something which needs expensive remedial work. Also ensure if buying 2nd hand that you pick a calibre in which there is plenty of choice in the market, so have a look at guntrader and gunstar and look at your budget range and what's available in decent guns that again, match with the ammo availability in your local shop(s), and which is neither marginal nor overkill...

if buying new, I woud go for a 7x57 in a classic configutation, without hesitation if your local shop carries good ammo, but there's few of them in the 2nd hand market as people who own them love them and don't let go of them.

Whatever you do, don't get caught up in magnumtitis and buy a cannon for a roe gun!!! ammo, budget for gun, availability, desire for comfort in the rifle (design and recoil0, all very important..any calibre will kill roe cleanly and swiftly with the right ammunition choice, so in essence, apart from recoil considerations, 'that' should be the last deciding factor in your equation..
 
Not quite the answer I was looking for.
Was thinking .25-06 .270 or .308.
was thinking the .308 might have to much punch for roe.
is a .25-06 suitable for red?


:D well before you edited it to mention red the .223 was all you needed

Anything available and easy to feed will do the job

get something far enough away from the .223 and keep that for roe, its perfect.

.243 is too close to .223 imo
6.5x55 would be the lowest I would recommend to fill the next step up
.308 or .270 would be my personal choice
 
Don't leave out the 270. Cheap to buy because its out of fashion and easy to load plus ammo off the shelf up here. Good luck.
 
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