100 Guides, One Question: What’s the Best Cartridge for Mule Deer? Here’s the Verdict

If you’ve spent any time around a campfire, you know a cartridge debate can go longer than the coals.

Hunting YouTuber Steven Lines decided to cut through the chatter by asking more than 100 mule deer guides what they actually recommend and see work in the field. His findings weren’t just interesting – they were clarifying.

And yes, a few results surprised him, too.

How The Survey Was Done

Lines explains that he circulated the question across Facebook groups, Instagram, and hunting forums, targeting guides specifically.

That’s important. Guides see dozens of tags get punched (and blown) every season. Their views tend to be less about internet hype and more about what clients can hit – and what puts deer on the ground.

He tallied the responses and built a ranked list of the top five mule deer cartridges, adding a couple of honorable mentions that missed the podium by a nose.

I love this approach. It’s democratic, field-driven, and it elevates practical experience over ballistics charts posted at kitchen tables.

Honorable Mentions: Light, Flat, And Proven

Before the top five, Lines flags two classics that guides praised but didn’t quite make the final cut: .243 Winchester and .25-06 Remington.

Both are flat-shooting, mild-recoiling, and absolutely lethal on deer with sane shot placement. Out West, their speed and forgiving trajectories make them perennial favorites for hunters who practice and know their limits.

If you’re recoil-sensitive or setting up a youth hunter, it’s hard to argue against either – so long as you pick good bullets and keep distances realistic.

#5 (Tie): 6.5 Creedmoor & .30-06 Springfield

Lines says the fifth slot finished in a dead heat – and the pair couldn’t be more different on paper.

On one side is 6.5 Creedmoor, the internet’s favorite lightning rod. Guides in Lines’ survey highlighted its low recoil, easy availability, and predictable accuracy. 

Lines notes he’s “killed quite a few deer” with it and that his own son is carrying a Creedmoor this year. That’s a strong vote of confidence.

On the other side is .30-06 Springfield, the workhorse that helped define American big game hunting. Lines admits he’s long thought of it as more of an elk cartridge, but many guides like it for dual-species versatility. 

If a client may bump into elk or simply wants one rifle to do most Western jobs, the ’06 still earns its keep.

My take: the tie makes sense. Creedmoor helps more hunters shoot well – and confident, repeatable hits matter most. The ’06, loaded with modern bullets, offers a bigger safety margin on angle and bone. Pick the one you’ll practice with all year.

#4: .308 Winchester

Fourth place belongs to .308 Win, and Lines emphasizes how consistently guides praised its reliability, cheap/easy ammo, and manageable recoil.

Is it the flattest option? No. But out to 300–400 yards – the range most clients should live in – it simply works. More importantly, Lines relays a theme he heard over and over: many guides would rather a client show up with a .308 they shoot well than a hard-kicking magnum they flinch behind.

I’m with them. Mule deer aren’t bulletproof. The cartridge that helps you place a controlled-expansion bullet through lungs and shoulder, on demand, is the cartridge that “hits above its weight.”

#3: 7mm-08 Remington

Third place is where Lines himself was surprised – and intrigued. He doesn’t own a 7mm-08 (yet), but the love it received from guides caught his attention.

Why do they like it? Think .308 benefits with less kick and flatter flight. It’s highly shootable, deadly with modern 140–150 grain bullets, and it feeds from short actions that handle beautifully in the field. Lines says several guides pointed to 7-08 as a top choice for women and youth hunters without giving up performance.

The cartridge’s steady popularity also means ammo is widely available, a non-trivial variable in remote towns the week before your hunt. If I were building a do-everything Western deer rifle for a new hunter today, 7-08 would be on the short list.

#2: 7mm Remington Magnum

Second place goes to a cartridge that, as Lines puts it, “kind of owns western hunting” – the 7mm Rem Mag.

Guides in his survey pointed to flat trajectories and excellent downrange energy out to 500 yards. That matters on big, open country mule deer where you might need to thread a shot across a canyon when the wind gives you one clean window.

Lines notes the 7RM’s added kick compared to the mid-bores, but he also stresses its two-tag utility: it can pull elk duty with confidence. 

Even with the splashy arrivals like 7 PRC (which did get plenty of mentions), guides haven’t abandoned the 7mm Rem Mag. It’s widespread, well understood, and devastating with today’s high-BC bullets.

My word of caution: only pick it if you’ll actually practice with it from real field positions. A braked, well-fit 7RM you can shoot smoothly beats an unbraked thumper you dread.

#1: .270 Winchester

At the top of the heap, Lines reports a winner that’s both timeless and, to him, a little surprising: .270 Winchester.

He admits he’s taken “the vast majority” of his deer with a .270, so he’s not shocked it ranked high – but #1 over newer flashier options? That raised an eyebrow even for him.

The logic is classic mule deer math: flat enough, mild enough, and everywhere. Lines underscores that there’s “nowhere you can’t buy a box of .270” in season. In the real world of last-minute resupplies and rural sporting goods shelves, that consistency is a feature, not a bug.

With quality 130–150 grain bullets, the .270 smokes through windshields of air and puts venison on the pole. It never stopped working; we just got distracted for a while.

The Theme Every Guide Repeated

Lines is crystal clear about the real #1: shot placement.

Across more than a hundred responses, the message was almost monotonous – trigger time and putting the bullet where it belongs trump cartridge sticker prestige. The same motif showed up when he polled elk guides earlier this year.

Do the newer cartridges work? Of course. Do the classics keep stacking deer because hunters actually hit with them? Also yes.

From my chair, the verdict doesn’t say “buy this exact chambering.” It says pick the heaviest rifle you’ll carry, the softest recoiling cartridge you’ll practice with, and load a modern controlled-expansion bullet. Confirm drops, learn wind, and shoot from your pack and tripod until it’s boring.

What This Means For Your Next Rifle

Here’s how I translate Steven Lines’ results into the field:

If you want a no-drama mule deer hammer with ammo in every ranch town, it’s hard to beat .270 Win.

If you’re recoil-averse or mentoring a new hunter, 7mm-08 is magic.

If you want elk overlap and wind forgiveness, 7mm Rem Mag remains a king – if you train with it.

If budget, ammo cost, and practice volume rule your life, .308 keeps winning.

If you love low recoil and precision and have good 6.5 ammo on hand, 6.5 Creedmoor is perfectly at home on mule deer.

And if you want one rifle that can do almost anything for the rest of your days, .30-06 still says “climb on.”

The cartridge matters – but not as much as many of us want it to. Lines’ guide poll just reminded us of a truth as old as walnut stocks: confidence and competence kill deer.

So pick your lane, buy a case of the load your rifle loves, and get to the range. The muleys won’t care what’s stamped on your barrel – only where that bullet lands.

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