10 Great Modern Deer Hunting Cartridges

New hunting cartridges often face an uphill battle. They’re going head-to-head against classic and established rounds like the .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester, and .270 Winchester. Deer aren’t getting any tougher, so new hunting cartridges have a lot to prove before they’re adopted by dedicated deer hunters.

This Illinois buck was taken with the Remington .360 BuckHammer, one of several new straight-wall rifle cartridges introduced in the past few years. Image by Justin Moore / Danger Soup

But over the last 20 years several new rounds have broken into the mainstream and become popular with whitetail hunters. Some utilize heavy-for-caliber bullets and efficient case designs to maximize performance in short actions. Others have taken advantage of new laws that have allowed straight-walled rifle cartridges in what were shotgun slug-only areas. However, all the cartridges on this list are effective for taking deer, and each has earned its place as one of the best new deer cartridges of the last 20 years.

6.5 Creedmoor:

The 6.5 Creedmoor was cooked up by ballisticians Dave Emary and Dennis DeMille and brought to market by Hornady in 2007. At the time of its release, the Creedmoor didn’t seem like it was going to set the world afire. It had a funny name, and it was based on a cartridge that was never popular (the .30 T/C). Odds were certainly stacked against the Creedmoor’s favor, but over time the round’s ballistic brilliance showed through. Original chamber dimensions were tight and it used heavy-for-caliber bullets that bucked wind effectively so the round was inherently accurate. Combine that with mild recoil, and the 6.5 Creedmoor became the face of modern hunting cartridges. Its ballistics aren’t mind blowing — it’ll push a 143-grain bullet at 2,700 fps from a 24-inch barrel —but the Creedmoor is an ideal whitetail round that most shooters can handle effectively.

Now nearly 20 years old, the 6.5 Creedmoor with its blend of low recoil and on-game performance has become the preferred round of countless deer hunters across the country. Image courtesy of Remington

.22 Creedmoor:

To be clear, deer hunting with .22 centerfires is only legal in certain states, but where it is legal the .22 Creedmoor is a superb option. With a standard twist rate of 1:8, the smallest of the Creedmoor clan is capable of firing heavy-for-caliber bullets like Hornady’s 80-grain ELD-X at velocities nearing 3,300 feet per second, and that round’s high ballistic coefficient (BC) means it’ll carry energy effectively for longer distances than lighter .22s. Derrick Ratliff, the founder of Horizon Arms, was the .22’s biggest champion and he has shot numerous deer and even aoudad with that round in his home state of Texas with great results. The .22 Creedmoor offers mild recoil, flat trajectory, and it doubles as a coyote and long-range target cartridge when you aren’t in the deer woods.

.300 HAM’R:

For years hunters had to choose between AR-15 rifles chambered in .300 Blackout, which offered marginal performance on whitetails, and heavier AR-10 rifles chambered for rounds like the venerable .308 Winchester. Bill Wilson made the choice simpler when he developed the .300 HAM’R. The HAM’R case holds considerably more powder than the Blackout case and reaches pressures near 55,000 psi, which leads to outstanding terminal performance. The HAM’R will push a 110-grain Barnes TTSX at 2,550 from an 18-inch AR barrel, which generates 1,589 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. That’s at least 200 more foot-pounds than you’ll get from a 110-grain Blackout load without having to step up to a larger, heavier AR-10 platform rifle. As the name suggests, the .300 HAM’R was designed for shooting hogs, and I took two large hogs on his Texas ranch with this cartridge. Bot those pigs weighed over 200 pounds, and both dropped with the first shot from the .300 HAM’R. If you’re a fan of hunting with AR rifles this is certainly a great option, and since NULA is adding the cartridge to their list of available chamberings there’s a bolt-action option, too.

For fans of the AR-15 rifle platform, the .300 HAM’R offers a noticeable improvement in power over the .300 Blackout. Image by Warren Metcalf

6mm ARC:

The 6mm ARC (Advanced Rifle Cartridge) was released in June, 2020, right in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, when the world had little time to pay attention to this cool little 6mm cartridge. That’s a shame, but now the 6mm ARC is getting the attention it deserves. Like the HAM’R, it’s designed to operate effectively in AR-15 rifles and offers far better ballistics than .223/5.56 cartridges. The ARC fires a 103-grain ELD-X bullet at 2,800 fps from a 24-inch barrel and stirs up 1,793 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. It’s a true 300-yard deer cartridge in AR platform rifles and it’s also wonderfully suited to micro bolt-actions so it’s perfect for light, short-barrel custom builds. The cartridge is also very accurate; I don’t think I’ve ever tested an ARC that shot average groups of over an inch. It’s also a very mild-recoiling cartridge that’s perfect for new shooters.

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6.8 Western:

The 6.8 Western also suffered from being released during the height of the 2020 pandemic madness, and it too never got the initial attention it deserved. That’s changing, though. Browning and Winchester launched the 6.8 Western and offer rifles and ammunition for it, and Seekins Precision and Christensen Arms also offer 6.8 Western bolt guns. If you’re wondering about the name, 6.8mm is equivalent to .277-inches, so the Western is effectively a modernized .270 Winchester. The case is shorter and is designed around heavy-for-caliber bullets (155 to 175-grains), and energy levels hover around 3,000 foot-pounds. Long-range ballistics are very impressive: When zeroed at 200 yards the 6.8 Western with 165-grain AccuBond LR bullets drops just 18 inches at 400 yards, four inches less than a .30-06 178-grain ELD-X zeroed at the same distance. The 6.8 Western carries almost 300 more foot-pounds of energy than the ’06 at 400 yards, yet it actually produces less felt recoil than the Springfield cartridge. The 6.8 Western is suitable for big stuff like elk (I shot a bull with it in New Mexico last year), but it’s not grossly overpowered for whitetail. The flat-shooting, low-recoiling 6.8 Western is one of the best cartridges to arrive on the scene in the last 20 years and it’s finally starting to get the attention it deserves.

6mm Creedmoor:

Shortly after the 6.5 Creedmoor came to pass, Outdoor Life’s John Snow began a project to build a wildcat cartridge. He and the team at Hornady used the Creedmoor as their base and necked it down to 6mm to form the 6mm Hornady Outdoor Life Express. The cartridge was eventually renamed the 6mm Creedmoor and was released by Hornady in 2017.

I own a 6mm Creedmoor rifle, I shoot it a lot, and I dearly love it. It has accounted for coyotes and whitetails including my heaviest deer, which I killed in Saskatchewan using a 103-grain ELD-X. That’s the same bullet Hornady loads in their 6mm ARC, but the Creedmoor pushes it to 3,050 feet per second, which is about 250 fps faster than the ARC. Both are fine deer cartridges, but the Creedmoor shoots flatter and it more suited to open country. If you’re making long shots the Creedmoor also carries energy well: at 400 yards the ELD-X bullet carries over 1,250 foot-pounds of energy.

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.350 Legend:

In the mid 2010s several states (including my native Ohio) began allowing hunters to use rifles chambered for straight-wall cartridges while deer hunting. This was a major advancement over the slug-loaded shotguns we were required to use prior to the rule change, and Winchester saw an opportunity to create a new cartridge specifically for straight wall-only states. First came the .350 Legend which debuted in 2019. It featured a case with a rim diameter of .378-inches, the same as the 5.56, so it operated in AR-15 rifles as well as bolt guns. The .350 Legend drives a 150-grain Deer Season XP bullet at 2,325 feet per second from the barrel and generates 1,800-foot pounds of energy at the muzzle, yet recoil is far milder than the .450 Bushmaster or .45-70 straight-wall rounds.

.400 Legend:

In 2023 Winchester complemented the .350’s success with the .400 Legend, another straight-wall cartridge designed specifically for deer hunters. It fires a .4005-caliber bullet at 2,250 fps and produces 25% percent more energy than the .350 Legend. Recoil is a step up from the .350, but the .400 still produces 20% less recoil than a .450 Bushmaster and a whopping 55% less recoil than a 12-gauge slug.

Winchester introduced the .400 Legend in 2023 as an alternative for those hunters in straight-wall states who were looking for more power than the .350. Author image

Which legend is right for you? That depends. The .350 will accomplish most of what the .400 can do with less recoil, but if you’re hunting big hogs or black bear with your whitetail gun the .400 has an edge. Neither cartridge is a long-range round, but both work very well when kept within their limits.

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6.5 PRC:

Despite the 6.5 Creedmoor’s meteoric rise in popularity, some hunters felt it was underpowered for long shots at big game, so Hornady created a case with a similar design but greater capacity. The new case held 68.8 grains of water, compared to 52.5 grains for the Creedmoor, and Hornady dubbed it the 6.5 Precision Rifle Cartridge (PRC) and released it in 2018. The PRC utilizes the same .264-inch bullets as the Creedmoor but pushes these aerodynamic pills considerably faster. While the Creedmoor’s 143 ELD-X bullet manages 2,700 fps the PRC manages 2,960 fps with that same bullet, and that accounts for a flatter trajectory and more energy. I killed a big Montana whitetail in 2017 with the PRC before it was released and was impressed by the round’s performance. The buck was hit broadside at 364 yards, took four or five steps, then crumpled.

Pushing the same bullets as the 6.5 Creedmoor at a much higher velocity, the 6.5 PRC is the answer for hunters looking for more power. Image courtesy of Federal Ammunition

The 6.5 Creedmoor/6.5 PRC argument is shades of the .350 vs .400 Legend conflict. If you want less recoil and muzzle report, then stick with the Creedmoor. If you want to stretch things out a bit or use your deer rifle for larger game, then the PRC is your bag. Both are great cartridges with manageable recoil and superb accuracy reputations.

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.360 Buckhammer:

The Buckhammer, which Remington launched in 2023, is a straight wall cartridge like the .350 and .400 Legends, but that’s about where the similarities end. Unlike the Legends, the Buckhammer sports a rim, and so it is designed for use in single-shot and lever-action rifles. The Buckhammer fires a 180-grain bullet at 2,400 fps, and based on my experience it hits noticeably harder than the .350 Legend and is closer in performance on game to the .400. I shot a very big Ohio whitetail with Real McCoy Outfitters with a .360 Buckhammer at last light on a cold December evening and the deer piled up in his tracks. The shot distance was almost 100 yards.

Remington’s answer to states requiring straight-walled cartridges is the .360 Buckhammer pushing a 180-grain bullet at 2400 fps. Image courtesy of Will Brantley

Still, the Buckhammer is no long-range round, and is best suited for ranges inside 200 yards. But that’s plenty for most eastern whitetail hunting. The cartridge is also very effective for black bears, with manageable recoil. Henry, Rossi, and Traditions all offer rifles chambered for the round so there are plenty of firearm options, and with Federal and Remington offering loads there are plenty of ammo choices for this exciting cartridge.

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