Hunting rifle

[Coffee357]

My interests/needs have traditionally been tactical in nature. Due
to this, my firearm collection now has one glaring element missing.
I need a hunting rifle. Something I can use on hog and Texas
deer. Because of my prior percieved needs, I find that my knowlege
of hunting calibers are somewhat limited. The following are some
of the questions and issues I'm trying to address in my selection:

1) Rifle will definitely be a bolt action of some type - cost is an
issue (need money for my tactical wares ). Looking at
Savage, Winchester, and Remington.

2) Need to decide between a hinged floorplate, removable magazine,
or closed mag well.

3) Long or short action. Should this make enough of a difference
that I let it determine the caliber or should I pick the caliber
and just buy the action it fits in?

4) What cartridge? The local deer are not huge animals. 130 pounds
seem to be a large deer and 175 would be a monster. Not
a big fan of unnecessary recoil. Would .243 be enough or
do I really need to stretch for that .308? Would the .270 be
a good compromise? 300 yards would be a long shot for me.
Would like to stick with common ammunition both for
availability and cost.

I consider myself very well informed on handguns, decently knowledgable on combat rifles and shotguns, and totally out
of my league on hunting rifles. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,

Coffee

[Nosferatu]

A Rem 700 or Savage 116 will work perfectly for you.

Do you already own a "tactical" bolt gun? Use it and simply apply a different tactic. Take off that goofy variable 15-110x700mm scope and put on something more reasonable. VOILA! Instant hunting rifle!

.270, .308 or 30-06 would work fine on smaller deer. Hogs you would probably want a 30-06 to get through that tough hide.

For optics, it depends on where you are hunting. I have a Rem 700 with factory iron sights. These work perfect for the dense wooded areas I hunt in AZ. If you are taking shots greater than 150 yards and have plenty of time to setup your shot, a fixed power scope at 4x would be good. Spend more money on optics than your rifle, that is if you decide to go with something other than iron sights.

[454c]

1:Get the one that feels the most comfortable to you.They all make good rifles.

2:Myself,I prefer the hinged floorplate for fast unloading,but this also depends on your choice since you are the one going to be using the gun.

3:Pick the cartridge.

4:25-06.Whatever cartridge you pick the main thing is to pick the proper bullet for the game you are hunting.

[Brian Williams]

What guns and calibers do you own now? That will help if a similar caliber will work.

[TargetShooter2]

Greetings

Here is one of my Deer Rifles
TS2

Remmy LTR 308 DM model .

Scope Sightron 4X16X42 mildot w/ Bultercreek flipups .
Mounts & Rings
Mounting Solution Plus Precision Reflex Rings 4140 steel
Leupold M4 1 pc Base
Timney Trigger set @ 2 3/4 lbs.
Harris Bipod BR
M14 sling
shell holders

[Mike Irwin]

Given your criteria and what you'll be hunting, I'd pick a Remington 700 BDL, caliber would be .243, .250 Sav., or .308, topped with a Leupold 3x9 scope.

[GD]

I have gotten deer with all sorts of calibres. Short range rifles that use calibres like 7.62x39 or 30-30 and longer range rifles that use 30-06 or 8mm. The most common calibre amongst the hunters I hunt with is .270 (here in Kansas). It has a nice flat trajectory. Probably the minimum I would hunt with is a .243. My altime favorite though is 30-06. It is an all around great cartridge. Will take care of smaller game like coyotes and will also do with larger game like elk. As long as you use soft point bullets, you can't go wrong with any calibre over .243 for deer.

[ms1200]

savage, winchester& remingtoon all make great rifles.
for the type of game you mentioned,take a look at the 7mm-08.

[Coltdriver]

I bought my first and only serious game rifle last year. After a lot of homework I decided on a 30.06.

Found a 30.06 Winchester Model 70 made in 1949 for $450. You can get the new ones for less.

I have not fired a wide variety of game rifles. But I do know this, they all kick.

For common, cheap ammo, and capable of anything in North America except really large bears a 30.06 is hard to beat. You can use a lighter grained bullet for small deer and the recoil will be reduced. You can get 30.06 in as small a bullet as 120 grains and if you are shooting large elk I think you can go up to around 250 grains of bullet. (someone more knowledgable chime in here)

There is an automatic tendacy to scope everything, however, for 100 yards even up to 150 yards the sights work just fine. If you do scope it, you will have to figure out your point of impact for different distances and that means a lot of range work (ie pain from recoil!)

After you start with the 30.06 you can go up and down in caliber and ballistics but you will be pretty much in the middle of both with a 30.06.

[Dan Morris]

Any of the above will work well on Texas Whitetails n...I presume you are talking a Javalina......
Dan

[Coffee357]

Thanks for the input folks! Glad to know all the rifles will .243
and up will work (Guess I'm still just as confused, though...)

Perfessr, right now I have long guns in:
20 ga.
12 ga.
.357 mag
.44 mag
.223
7.62 x 39
and, of course .22 LR

Nothing is scoped.

I'm getting opinions on 4x and 3x9 scopes. Due I give up any
durability on the 3x9's and is there any reticle drift as you change
magnification? Is the 4x scope too much if targets are close?
Last hog hunt I got a boar at about 15 meters, second shot was
closer to 25 meters. I have a good idea on the ballistics of the
military calibers and the 25-06 I'm sure shoots flatter than the
30-06 (makes sense - same case - same load - smaller projectile).
I don't have a clue on .243, .270, and others.

I plan to keep open sights on this rifle as a back-up in the event
of scope failure. Any downsides to this?

Thanks again,

Coffee

[J Scott]

Remington 700 BDL, .308 or .06, Leupold 3-9x40.

J Scott

[cratz2]

Little Texas deer... lots of folks swear by the 22-250 and 220 Swift down there. Don't know if I could recommend either of those without knowing for sure that you are a very good shooter and really know the anatomy of a deer - no offense intended.

But I could certainly recommend the 243. Low noise, low recoil, good intermediate range (300 yards or so) and almost everywhere that sells ammo should have a few boxes. Ideal for your needs. A 4x or 6x scope will serve most of your purposes or a 2-7x or 3-9x should be fine as well.

If you think you might be looking at something bigger than local deer, you might consider a 25-06 or 270. A bit louder, a bit harder kicking but still an excellent all around cartridge and with a bit higher scope magnification, anything is in trouble way way out.

Personal preference is for hinged floor plates or closed well.

For hogs, I have no experience at all but think I'd prefer something a bit larger bore. Also longer distances might be less important. Ideally a 44 Mag or 45 Colt lever action.

[Mike Irwin]

With a good scope from a good maker, such as Leupold, you should have NO reticle drift when changing magnifications.

I've got a 6.5 to 18 Leupold, and it doesn't move at all when I dial it up.

[Gordon]

J Scott said it all:"700 rem 308' new varix2 3x9 leupold in 2 piece talley mounts. I'd go bdl stainless then you'd be tactical too.

[007]

Originally posted by TargetShooter2
Greetings

Here is one of my Deer Rifles
TS2

Remmy LTR 308 DM model .

Scope Sightron 4X16X42 mildot w/ Bultercreek flipups .
Mounts & Rings
Mounting Solution Plus Precision Reflex Rings 4140 steel
Leupold M4 1 pc Base
Timney Trigger set @ 2 3/4 lbs.
Harris Bipod BR
M14 sling
shell holders

I would like to know how you like your artic cat?

i rode one at the memphis show and could tell a big differance over the competition.

How is it holding up?Have you had any major complaints?

[Brian Williams]

243 is a great round for Deer and 308 is a nice milsurp round
I recommend a Savage 100 combo in 308
or a Mod 70 Classic compact in 308 with a 2-7x 33 Luepold compact scope.

With a 308 you can shoot good factory loads for hunting and Milsurp for practice

the 243 is great for everything from Armadillo to whitetail

[Art Eatman]

Remember Texas deer vary notably in size, by the area they're in. Mostly, the Hill Country bucks run smaller, commonly dressing out under 100 pounds. West of San Antone, generally larger, dressing out to 140 and up. WesTex mulies can dress out above 200.

I've taken some 20 whitetails with my .243. Most dressed out under 120 pounds, and most of the hits were neck shots. I've taken a couple with heart shots, DRT.

Most of my other deer were with 150-grain '06. A few with a .270, long time back. I'm now toying with a 7mm08, mostly on account of the very light weight of the package.

For all practical purposes, there's no notable difference in trajectory to 300 yards for most any non-magnum, and omitting the "slow" stuff like .30-30. With a scope, sight in for two inches high at 100; that'll be right at dead on at 200, and roughly six inches low at 300. Or, as near as makes no difference. That's .243 through '06 and most anything in between.

A very good scope for almost all Texas hunting is a Leupold Vari-X II, 2x7. At 2X you're good for close stuff in thick brush; 2X to 4X for walking hunting. Occasionally even the 7X setting is useful, but not all that often--you lose too much field of view.

Nuff fer now,

Art