Best deer caliber

[Curly]

.280AI

(close to 7mm rem mag performance, without the recoil)

[300UltraMagShooter]

Any gun from .17 all the way up will "kill" a deer.  It is up to you to decide how quickly/humanely you put them down and what calibre for you that will allow you to find your deer. 

Me, I obviously think .30 is the smallest cal that will put them down right there without any worries ever.  .270 and bigger is where I draw the line on big holes and DRT, but that is just personal preference.

[Kowsrule30]

He already has a 338.. JMO but I doubt he's looking for another magnum or he'd just use the 338...       

[C-Money]

7mm-08, .270win, .280, 30-06 All great calibers. Take a good look at the 7mm-08, What a perfect little cartridge. Plenty of power and easy on the shoulder, and very accurate.

[birdwacker]

7mm-08, .270win, .280, 30-06 All great calibers. Take a good look at the 7mm-08, What a perfect little cartridge. Plenty of power and easy on the shoulder, and very accurate.

[MooseStock]

7MM Rem Mag is tough to beat for both deer and elk...............Les

[quadrafire]

I am a novice reloader as well!

I am in that same boat.
 I have always used a 30-06, but a couple of fun calibers for reloading and both respectable all around deer killers are the .260 Rem, and 7x57 mauser. I picked up one of these each for my kids, now I shoot them more than they do.

[300UltraMagShooter]

He already has a 338.. JMO but I doubt he's looking for another magnum or he'd just use the 338...   

Yep, and if he can shoot his 338, I'd just stick with that...  but then, maybe he needs a shoulder gun that can be shot off-hand easily?  Anyway, just depends on the situation.  I love my 300 rum though.  When I'm in the bush, I just take everything off and slip in some power level ammo.  Instand 30-06. 

[Holg3107]

Can of worms thread if I've ever seen one, but ill partake.

Since you have a magnum caliber for elk I would go smaller down to the .24-.27 calibers.

Something like a .243, .260, .270 ect... I'm a personal fan of the 6mm Remington (mainly because that's what I own and shoot). Maybe think about a .243 wsm or a .243 wssm in an AR platform. Really I would simply use this as an opportunity to do some research in the field and shoot some calibers you aren't familiar with. Good luck in your quest.

[upwind]

I like the 25-06 or 270 .

[Huntbear]

This ought to get interesting...and I don't want to hear anything about the .257 Roberts only being suitable for rabbits and squirrels!

 

[Gamblin Guy]

My daughter went 2 for 2 on does this year with the 6mm, one here and one in Montana, neither one went more than25 yards.  Everything mentioned so far will kill deer, really its just personal preference on the gun maker and caliber.

If you start looking at a 25WSSM, let me know, I've got a NIB unfired stainless Browning A-bolt I may be willing to part with, ballistically similar to a 25-06.

[Fl0und3rz]

Throws hat in for .270.

[tazman2800]

Can't beat the Browning A-bolt in 30.06

[BOWHUNTER45]

WELL ...Best throw my  in  in order  .270 / 25-06 / 7mm-08 / 243 .... No need to go any bigger in my book but some just have to have the magnum power