I have been an avid deer hunter for a few decades, and have been fortunate to harvest several really nice bucks and much venison. I have always used a "traditional" bolt action hunting rifle on all my hunts - either a Remington 600 or 700.

A few years ago, I started collecting military surplus firearms. As I began cataloging, I realized that the cartridges for these weapons would be more than suitable for the type of deer hunting that I do. Here's a list:

7.5x54 French
7.5x55 Swiss
8x57 Mauser
7x57 Mauser
6.5x55 Swede
303 British
8x56R Hungarian

Question: How many of you hunt with milsurps, what game do you hunt, and what load do you use?

I have all the calibers you listed plus the .30-06 in 1903 and 1903-A3 Springfields and the U.S. 1917 Enfield. My first deer rifle back in 1958 was a .303 No. I Mark III that I bought for $15.88. I also use the 7mm and 8mm Mauser and the .30/40 Krag. Take care...
Oberndorf

Effective hunting rounds? 205gr 8x56r, 203gr 7.62x65r, 140 & 160 6.5x55, 175 & 200gr 8x57, 174gr .303, 150 & 165gr 7.5x55, 150, 165, 168gr. 7.62x51 & .308. JP

Same cartridges and bullet weights as jpattersonnh related with same bullet weights for 30-06 as 308, 300 gr GCL in 45-70, 125 gr 7.62x39 and 55 gr 5.56x45. If shooter did his job the cartridges proformed as expected. All were used on east river SD white tailed deer.

Most of my deer hunting has been with Milsurps.I just posted a picture of my favorite one today. It's a 1894 Krag.
Frank

I reload and deer/hog hunt with the following:

Restored 7.5x55 Swiss with 165 SGKs
Sporterized 7.7x58 Jap with 174 Hornady RNs
Sporterized 8x57 Mauser With 200 Speer HCs

I don't hunt with milsurp as I don't hunt anymore. But my brother-in-law found that when he hunts he uses his K98 or Mosin-Nagant (M44) he is better off taking milsurp cartridges and pulls the military ball ammo and replaces them with the actual bullet he wants. He says that he doesn't even change the powder charge and reuses them with no problem. He has reloading equipment but found this the cheapest way to go. He hunts for anything found in the Maine from moose to woodchucks!

I find my M48 to be a good hog hunting rifle.

Fullmetaljacket ammo is illegal in Oregon for hunting game mamles.
The only restriction on riffles is that semi autos maynot hold more than 5 rounds, and there are some caliber size issues for each animal.

7.62x54R
8x57
.303 (before, not currently)

I've used 8mmx57, 7x57, 6.5x55, 303 British, 6.5x54, .30-06 (.45/70, and .223 not in mil. surplus) in my hunting plus various pistols and revolvers for different types of game.

Some work a little better than others, but most do a good job on deer if you have proper bullets, loads and hit 'em right. What I'd really like to try is a Tiger Dragonov in 7.62x 54R for deer and a .220 Russian for varmints. I've got lots more on the wish list, but that will have to do for now.

Regards,
Gene

You know, I was thinking the other day that a 303 Brit with 150 gr soft points would actually be a better round for a young person to hunt deer with than, say, an 90 gr 243 Win. The recoil is about the same, and the bullet is heavy enough to get decent penetration without breaking up when it hits a bone.

Possibly if it were chambered in a rifle other than the Brit Enfield. Most young folks have a struggle trying to chamber a round with the "cock-on-closing" system. My 8 year old grandson is progressing quite nicely with the customized Swede 6.5x55 that I made for him, but the cock on closing bolt still makes him work to close it. And, he's a pretty strong kid. Should have installed a Dayton-Traister conversion on the bolt, but had already installed a Timney trigger and didn't want to waste it.

Good point. I had not considered that. You could get a Stevens 200, and for $40, have Sharpshooter Supply open up the bolt face for either the Swede or the Brit. Or, since you have to rebarrel, buy another bolt head and have a switch barrel setup.

The 91/30 is not bad on weight but a little bit weildy with the long barrels. a 91/30 sniper with a 3.5X is not a bad start for a scoped Milsurp but you have to use/know how to adjuct your scope to map to the loads you will be shooting, most map to 150 grain bullets in the 2600-2700 FPS range and that should not be that hard to duplicate in a handload.

Accuracy should be 1.5-2.0 MOA possibly less depending on barrel condition.

I hunt with a Finn M39 in a custom scope setup I design/make but it is a heavy crew served weapon to have to lug around by myself. M39 sniper may be in the works very soon.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL149/8996569/16572797/257906927.jpg
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL149/8996569/16572797/257906910.jpg

My first 5 deer hunts were with an original 1903 Springfield (dated Dec, 1912) in original military configuration. My grandfather taught me how to callibrate the elevation sight at the range and then use it in the field. That gun has served my quite well. I have had clean kills on 4 deer at ranges between 150 and 200 yards. The last year I hunted with it I didn't even see a deer the entire season...

I took a dear with my Turkish Mauser at about 310 yards.
Yes, 310 yards.
I was using old Turkish 1945 military surplus the blast a 154gr FMJ at 3100 FPS out of this rifle.
I hit him broadside about 6 inches high at 2’oclock from the heart.
The round hit him hard. I could her it smack from was I was sitting.
He ran about 20 yards and feel head first to the ground.
The round absolutely made pudding out of his thoracic cavity and some bone fragments exited the other side.
The bullet had some deformation but was relatively intact. It was just under the skin on the other side.
Massive blood loss.