This is probably representative of Wisconsin- I started with a Glenfield lever action 30-30 back when I was 12, probably affordable for most families, I shoot a 30-06 today.

I typically carry something in 7mm to the deer woods. .284 Winchester has been my favorite over the past 40 years. Recently I started toting a 7mm-08 . Dandy cartridge both of them.

Looks like a solid list and order of contenders.

when I was a kid you needed 3 guns a 12ga a 30-06 and a 22lr that was the Wisconsin Trifecta of hunting every season.

there was of course always the guy who had to be different some metric this or that it was like a personality quirk .

I wasn't that guy ,bought a 30-06 and a 12ga when I was 14 (before 12 my dad has a 20ga he purchased for me to use for deer and bird)
my dad had a 22lr that I could use any time I wanted so I hadn't bought my own, my wife bought me a 10/22 our first Christmas.

Wildcats come and go...very few mm's stuck in the USA

How boring that would be. You could probably by ammo about anywhere you wanted to too. What fun would be? lol

yup every pay check I rode my bike down to the hardware store and bought a box or two of 30-06 till I had bough them out of every box of 30-06 they had

then they re-ordered and it was 12 dollars a box , this was a big jump from the 7.50 a box I had been paying

I wish I had kept buying it even at 12 a box , I have about 20 rounds of that ammo left 30 years later.

What is the most common hunting rifle cartridge?









Here are a few of the most popular.






. 30-30 Winchester. The . ...






. 30-06 Springfield (308) ...






. 270 Winchester. ...






. 243 Winchester. ...






. 223 Remington. ...






. 300 Winchester Magnum

I had a Remington Model 7 in 7mm-08. It was a nice little gun and I should have kept it. The Remington 742, 760 and Browning BAR in .308 or .30-06 were considered the ultimate deerslayer around here back in the day. Still plenty of them around.

i Think I'd like an Early BAR but then again they're heavy

Beautiful but heavy

And I like my Bolts

I had a BAR in .308, Scott. Beautiful gun I should have put different sights on. I bought the gun hastily and took it on a hunting trip. It was a chore to bury my face into the stock to pick up the sights, they were ridiculously low. Missed the biggest deer of my life with it. I missed it three times before my buddy hit it and knocked it down. It went 264# on one scale and 272# on another. Massive 10 pointer.

I've shot alot of bear,deer,elk and moose over the years and have yet to see anything the 30-06 can't or won't deal with.

Did you sell it

well that is just it if that is the first thing you own and your lean on money with a gaggle of kids your never going to justify another rifle.
well maybe if you can buy something more fur friendly with your fur check.

I was there for some years , then I um yeah 308 is hardly a branch out from 30-06 it is just M2 ball in a shorter case with less wasted space
because 70 fps with the same bullet is really just like whatever your shooting is 25 yards further away sun unless your pushing some serious range the animal on the other end will never know the difference.

decades of cheap but solid surplus rifles and ammo cemented the 30-06 in US use much like the 303brit in Canada

I've Never owned a .30 cal. Rifle

I'm interested in getting a .308 , what are the deer killing ranges

I also prefer light to caliber bullets ...what bullet is the lightest grain over the counter for the .308?

I agree 100% but oddly enough the least impressed I have been with any centerfire rifle kill I have made was with a game king and a 30/06 and a 50 yard shot. Deers vitals were covered by a big maple I shot as close as I could to the tree and hit it in tha aortic scak in the front of the heart. Not a great blood trail and the deer made it about 70 yards down hill. I 100% believe it was a bullet failure to expand based on the very litle internal damage and exit hole. Heck every deer I have seen or shot with a 243 and 7mm-08 and 270 and 223 had more damage.

It was a bullet failure not a reflection on the caliber. Went to Hornady bullets after that, traded the 06 off for a bible verse TA 31 tridom acog becuse I was in my want a be sniper stage and after 900 rounds decided that rifle was a 1.25 to 1.5" gun at best and I didn't need it. Got that rem 700 at a yard sale for 250. Worked the trigger, floated the barrel, and loaded and shot 900 rounds or more out of it and traded it off for a 1200$ optic.

I did.

I like 150s for deer. You can shoot from 110gr to 220gr in .30cal. 150 to 180 is the most comon sold ammo in 308.

I think Browning only made half a dozen BAR's ever. Because you can talk to a lot of folks and they all seem to have had one in the past. But ya never actually see one. Those six rifles must have gone through a lot of hands over the years

It seems like the crew I used to hunt with had all six.