# Cheapest Deer Cartridge?



## Greegen (Aug 24, 2007)

I'm new to all of this so if i come off as naive, please bear with me. I'm looking for a common rifle cartridge that is fairly cheap per round. I usually shoot a mosin nagant and the ammo is roughly 18-25 cents per round. Anything remotely similar to this price range would be best. Flat trajectory is a plus. Looking for something with the oomph to take down deer and maybe something a little bigger. Would .308 be a good choice for this? Ammo is getting expensive for that though...


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

I'd stick with your Russian gun if you want the most "oomph" for cheap. I'm guessing the round you're shooting is the 7.62x54, which I think has a bigger case than the .308 win. If I remember right, the 7.62x54 is comparable to a 30-06. Both rounds will easily take down a deer. In fact, both would probably be able to take down pretty much anything on this continent.


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## nmubowyer (Sep 11, 2007)

from the info ive seen 7.62x54 is right between a .308 and 30-06


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## nmubowyer (Sep 11, 2007)

as far as power not pop


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## Greegen (Aug 24, 2007)

i was looking into a more accurate rifle. I love the nagant but it isnt as accurate as some modern rifles are. And i need an excuse to build on my gun collection.


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## nmubowyer (Sep 11, 2007)

i would think the surplus ammo for a .308 would be the cheapest


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## dd6 (Dec 2, 2007)

308 = 7.62x51, 30-06 = 7.62 x 63, as in 63 milimeters case length. As far as cheapest ammo for just shooting, you can use the military surplus, but for deer the ball ammo (full metal jacket) is not the way to go.
The 308 or 06 would be a great choice for accuracy and oomph, about as cheap as you can find, both milsurp and hunting ammo. Check walmart or sportsmans guide, then hunt any animal in NA.


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

IMO cheap is not really a good way to go. You will likely end up wounding and losing game. But if you are dead set on cheap, you can grind or file off the tips from the military ammo until the core starts to show. Then the bullet will open up more. That's assuming it is a lead core, and not a steel core. I know someone who was using the ball ammo and shot several deer and lost them. When I found out what he was doing, I wanted to slap him, but refrained. He ground off the tips of a few of the rounds he was using and killed his next deer as a bang-flop.


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## Greegen (Aug 24, 2007)

I would not consider hunting with FMJ. I only hunt with hollow point or softpoint.


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## hogcaller (Dec 13, 2007)

30-30 is pretty cheap!


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

The ol' turty-turty isn't as accurate at long ranges and the bullets drop like basketballs.


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## sdeprie (May 1, 2004)

Reloading is the way to go, for enjoyement as well as cheap. It really is not as complicated as many people think, not as expensive as they think and you are able to tailor your loads as you want them. Having said that, I'm curious why you are worried about cheap if you are getting ready to shell out bucks for a new rifle, or perhaps you have to have cheap ammo for an expensive rifle. I have a Winchester 100 in 308, and I can't shoot my reloads in it because they won't fit the chanber. (For those who have to know the details, I neck size only, so I don't get the case body back down to a original size.) I found some surplus 308's loaded with 147 gr soft points. They were pretty cheap and I can use them for hunting. But I have to clean the rifle right right away as they use corrosive primers. Also, I haven't spent enough time at the bench to know how accurate they are. Otherwise, make a lot of trips to gun stores and watch for sales. I picked several boxes of 243 (CHEAP) when the store was closing out its guns and ammo. BTW, that Mosin is what the USSR used for its target competition team. They have the potential of being just as accurate as many "modern" rifles out of the box. You might want to check things like the ammo you are using.............


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