Best for South Alabama

Im in for a new rifle but cant settle on a caliber. I thought a 7mm mag was my favorite, great trajectory small bullet good ballistics but shoot an 80lb doe at 50yds and 400yds later you will find her with a pencil hole going in and out. I switched to ballistic tips and would tear up half of the deer with trama and ruin the meat. I pulled the trigger on a deer twice with my new .243 and had two dead deer but I am not that confident in it yet.. Here in South Alabama where your biggest deer would be 190lbs and most you shoot for the table around 100lbs, what is the perfect caliber for this area???

I thought about a .260 but a very knowledgeable gunsmith told me its hard to find a good accurate factory round for them and most people reload. What about a 25-06? All signs point to a .308 though.

.308

30/06

I love my 308 and 7mm-08

308 or 7mm-08

7mm 08. Love this round.

I like a 7mm-08. That's all I hunted with this past season and I killed 3 hogs, and 5 deer. It's just like any other caliber though, you have to hit them in the right spot.

Short action - .308 or 7mm 08
Long Action - 30-06 or 270

308

257 weatherby

308 3006 are my favorites. Throw those blister tips in the trash where they belong and get some barns ttsx. It separates them from their soul really fast.

is 257 weatherby much different than a 25-06?

30-06

I love my 25-06 however your deer will run if you don't hit them in the shoulder. My favorite is my .308.

A few hundred fps faster. I don't have a 25-06 but I'd like one.

30-06. I've never had a deer get away. Plus you'll always have enough gun for shooting distance. Most shots at our camp were 200 or much less. That changed when they clear cut the property this year.

I'd look more at the terrain you'll be hunting rather than the size of the deer.

Hard to do better than the .308 for most hunting conditions, especially if you load your own.

308

165 gr ammo

Can't get no deader than dead.

25-06
243
30-30

.30-06 for one reason. I inherited one and am comfortable with them since that is what I have shot most of my life. One other reason, when I go somewhere and leave my ammo at home, or run out at the end of the year, anyplace that sells ammo will have some. That should be a consideration, not to the extreme like I say, but ease of finding ammo and a variety of loads, bullet types, etc. is something to keep in mind. Plus, if you ever go out west for large game, it will work fine there too.

I love a .25-06 and those that have them haven't complained that I've heard.

My son killed more deer with a .243 than anything. If I found one that I really liked, I'd have no problem making it my go to.

Same here.

257 Roy.

It's good here and everywhere else.

Probably the most popular will be 7-08 or 308. And I'd have to agree.

243 has been working well for me but if you get into either shoulder you probably won't get a pass through very often. The internal damage is significant though.

25-06 or 308 is my favorite.

308

.308 and Barnes TTSX. I hand load 130 grains bullets for mine but their factory loads are great also.

Tikka T3 stainless in .243

Might just stick with it.

I must disagree with this gunsmith. We shoot the nosler 130 gr ABs and it will cut its own hole.

Shot those exact same bullets in a tikka .260 and could barely get 1.5" shot a Winchester power point in the same gun and got under 1" so its pretty subjective but I have heard others that own 260's say the same thing that the guns are picky.

Same here. We picked up a Ruger Predator .260rem not to long ago and haven't found a factory load it won't shoot. I'll probably reload for it as well since it is so much fun to shoot.

25/06 or .270 I have both. 270 DRT. 25/06 big deer run 50 yds if you shoot behind the shoulder...in the neck not so much!

.270 best all around caliber. I shoot 30/30, 308, 7mm, 243, 223, 257and my .270 is the best for green patches. I use the 30/30 in the woods in my climber, 7mm for powerlines and clearcuts with long shots.

270 and 3006 are my favorites

30-06 has been my go-to since I started hunting and has never failed me for anything within 400 yards. I have done most of my hunting with a 300blk AR the last few years and it has done everything asked of it within 200 yards and I haven't had to look for an animal yet. I used a 25-06 for a few years but the 100gr corelokts it shot to 3/4moa just would not reliably exit. I never could find a heavier factory round that would group in that rifle.
Honestly, unless you are going to regularly hunt powerlines and cottonfields there are few chamberings that aren't as good, in practical use with appropriate ammo, as any other non-magnum load. If I were to start again the short action 308 would likely be my top choice.

Your 7mm will do what you want for it to. Id say if your getting a pencil whole its the ammo. That being said my main deer gun is a 25-06

.270

30-06 end of story

Personal preference bud. I carry a 308 Warbird from time to time, and folks say it's overkill but I don't give a chit Have a friend who hunts south mobile county and he hunts with his exclusively..

.308 in Baldwin county. Is it more than I need? Maybe. But I'd rather have it an not need it than need it and not have it. Plus it works on wild bacon pretty well.

All calibers mentioned will suffice. Placement, ammo choices, and determining which shoots best in your particular gun is where its at. I'm a .270 guy though, its withstood the test of time, will not let you down.

7-08 is mostly what I tote. I will grab the 300wsm if I'm on a bean field or clear cut........maybe. I won't hesitate to shoot some of the 225lb south Alabama bucks that people don't believe we have with my 7-08

.270- 140 grain
.308-150 grain

no perfect caliber, onlly perfect shots.

0.270
150 grain SP core lokt

.270WSM

I usually miss all my deer with a .270. On the off chance I do hit one, he won't go far. I know a lot of folks that use a 30-06 and loves em.

Got a 7mm as a Christmas present when I was 13 years old. Hunted with it exclusively ever since. Haven't actually gone out and bought a new box of ammo in a very long time. Every year I just dig through the center console of my truck and pray I find enough shells to hunt with. I have yet to get to the woods and not have bullets, but I guess that could change.

375H&H with lead bullets

.270

Model 70 Winchester chambered in 257 Weatherby....40-400 yds DOA...neck shot does the deal, and you must have good glass...my glass costs as much as my rifle...nothing is better than Weatherby ammo....I hunt both Alabama and Texas with this combination...I have same rifle in 300 Weatherby for real long shots...plus 600 yds...

What barrel length is you 257

308

My barrel 26 inches....I use Norma ammo numbered boxes..Noslar Partition BST...Hart MAtch Grade Barrel....HK rifles in Selma built mine.... I think he has retired...best rifle I have ever owned

Have shot most all a 30 Cal. will leave the best blood trail.berger bullets seem to be working well for me. After losing several deer I found a deal on a a custom 300 rum seems to drop them in there tracks. Even seems to be forgiving if you make an poorly placed shot. A lot of overkill since finding the Berger's I'm going to down size try some berger 180 vld's in your 7 mag. If you don't reload you can buy some ham ammo.

That's hsm ammo needs velosity to work best. The larger gun shops carry it or get it online

Before I left Alabama my .270 rifles accounted for about 350 whitetails in Baldwin and Bullock counties. I also used a .243 for about 20 in Dale county. Whatever caliber you pick isn't nearly as important as shot placement. Once you are sighted in, leave the bench and play with your rifle under hunting conditions. Get some life-sized deer silhouette targets and shoot them at all distances you might encounter in the field.

I use 7mm-08 in the woods and 257 or 270 Wby in sets with longer range opportunities

30/06

what bullet was you using in the 7mag . i don't find mine that way . i use horaday 154 custums

I've always been a 270 and then 30-06 guy. I have an AR10 now in .308 that I've been carrying for the last year. I like it but not sure its any better than the other 2. I just like the platform.

7mm-08 or .308

Good suggestions here.

My go to is the 25-06. If I know I'll be in thicker woods, then the 30-06 comes with me.

308, 25-06, 30-06 ,270 7/08 , take your pic can't do wrong don't forget 30-30

let you in on a little secret it aint so much the gun as it is the shooter .

to me most rifles are as useless as tit's on a boar hog but aint it nice to have so many choices .

right now i'm liking in rifles are 7mag for longer range , 35 whelen for mid range and 357 mag for closer range .