The Best Caliber for Every Big Game Animal in North America

The right caliber depends on the animal. Not the internet. Not what your buddy shoots. The animal. For whitetail deer: the .308 Winchester has been the answer for over 70 years. The .243 Winchester is the secret caliber that experienced hunters recommend and new hunters underestimate. The 6.5 Creedmoor is outstanding at distance. But for most eastern timber hunters taking shots under 150 yards — any of these kills deer cleanly. For elk: the minimum is 1,500 foot-pounds at impact distance — not at the muzzle. The 6.5 Creedmoor delivers roughly 1,200 foot-pounds at 400 yards. Below the minimum. It has killed elk. It has also wounded elk that required extended tracking. The .300 Win Mag is what professional elk guides most frequently recommend. For grizzly and brown bear: the .375 H&H Magnum is the most widely cited minimum among Alaskan guides. But the best available science on the topic has one conclusion — bear spray beats bullets as a defensive tool against bear attacks. And one hunter in Alaska's high Arctic in 1990 used his grandfather's .30-06 with 180-grain handloads to take caribou, Dall sheep, moose, grizzly bear, and — with 220-grain handloads — a man-eating polar bear. The .30-06 Springfield has been the honest answer for one-rifle North American hunting for over 100 years. It still is. 00:00 Introduction 00:34 White-Tailed Deer 03:35 Mule Deer 05:43 Elk 08:29 Moose 10:02 Black Bear 11:12 Grizzly and Brown Bear 12:48 Pronghorn 14:38 Wild Boar 16:14 Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat 18:05 Caribou and Alaskan Moose Subscribe to Hunting Lab for the science, biology, and mechanics of hunting — new videos every week. #BestHuntingCaliber #HuntingCaliberGuide #HuntingLab #ElkHunting #DeerHunting #308Winchester #30-06Springfield #300WinMag #375HH #BigGameHunting