What makes a caliber a "Whitetail Caliber"?

When it comes to big game hunting in North America one animal stands head and shoulders above the rest in popularity. The whitetail deer is by far the undisputed king of the forest. He’s also king of the mountains, prairies, high deserts, swamps, and just about every other ecosystem that exists on this continent. A 2022 study conducted by the National Deer Association showed that American deer hunters spend $23 billion annually on deer hunting. They spend another $50 billion annually on related economic expenses. Where does this money go? It is spent on licenses, equipment, trips and lodging, meals and travel, guide fees, land leases and land management, conservation fees, and a host of other places. So, it’s no wonder you often hear hunters refer to the ammunition they use as “whitetail ammo”. But why is that? What makes a caliber a “whitetail caliber”?

When I was a new hunter, back in the late 80’s, and especially when my father was a novice 20 years before that, hunters going afield for deer often carried calibers such as .243 Win, 30-30, .270 Win, .308 Win, 7mm-08 Rem, 7mm Rem Mag, .25-06 Rem, or God’s caliber, the .30-06 Sprg. Every once in a while, you would hear about someone using a .300 Win Mag or one of the Weatherby 7’s.

This is still a good list, but over the past 30 years it has grown to include more modern cartridges such as the 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 6.5 Weatherby RPM, 26 Nosler, .280 Ackley Improved, several WSM’s, and most recently the 7mm PRC. I’ve also known hunters, myself included, who have used what I like to call “Big Boy” calibers for deer. These would be the RUM’s, 28 Nosler, .300 Weatherby, 300 PRC, and other calibers that are more commonly used when hunting elk, moose, grizzlies, and other western big game.

Why such a wide variety of options? Well, one answer is there is an equally wide variety of whitetails. A whitetail found in the pines of Georgia or Alabama can be a couple hundred pounds smaller than one harvested in the agricultural fields of Alberta or Saskatchewan. Exactly how many subspecies of whitetail there are is widely debated and the answer usually depends on where you look. The Whitetail Slam organization, who awards honors and recognition for the harvesting of multiple subspecies, recognizes 8 subspecies across North America. Those subspecies include the Seminole, Dakota, South-Central Plains, Northwestern, Northern Woodlands, Southeastern, Gulf Coast, and Desert Whitetail. Other organizations put the number as high as 30. It is a debate that is constantly discussed and evolving.

Another reason there are so many calibers used to take down whitetail is that different hunters want different things from the caliber they use. One hunter may want pure knockdown power while another wants increased range. A hunter of slighter stature, such as a youth or female, may be looking for a caliber that has less recoil. And others may be searching for a caliber that produces greater ballistic performance or accuracy.

So, again, what makes a caliber a “whitetail caliber”? The person choosing to use it for that purpose. Hunters like to tinker. I will argue with anyone, anywhere, that this is a universal truth. In the 40 plus years I’ve been going to hunting camps, gun shops, outdoor shows, and shooting competitions I have never met a single hunter or shooter that didn’t look at a new gun, caliber, or piece of equipment and wonder, “Will this make me better than I am now?”. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just who we are as a group. So, as long as it’s ethically capable, grab your favorite caliber and go catch you a deer!

Good luck and happy hunting!