Looking for Ideal Hog and Deer Rifle

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Jfreer22

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Hey guys I'm fairly new into hunting and looking into buying a new rifle to hunt hogs and deer. Looking to spend about 1000$. I have a chance to buy a Remington 7mm would that be too big for deer?
 
.30-30. take down most everything in florida with it, but we don't have very big deer from what i've heard...
 
I have a Ruger 7mm rem mag and it will kill a deer just fine.Just choose your shots and you won't ruin any meat,but then again if you hit a shoulder you've lost a pound or two of meat.
 
No a 7mm mag is not too big for deer, just use a light load and you will be fine. Matter of fact use a heavy load and you will be fine as well.
 
get yourself a remington model 7 in 7mm-08 recoil is not bad very accurate
does a great job on medium size game(deer/hog)you could have the rifle and a decent scope for $1000
 
You can get a lot of gun for $1000 and the calibers that will handle those animals are endless. However, a 7 Mag will more than do the job.
 
For deer it will be perfectly fine. How do you plan on hunting the hogs? If you are hunting with dogs, or stalking, you will probably have a time when you will REALLY wish for a faster followup than you can get from a bolt action. I would MUCH rather have a 30-30 for hunting hogs, unless I am hunting from a stand. Even a Marlin .44 mag leveraction would be great.

Another problem with the 7MM if you are hunting hogs with dogs. Round or flat nose bullets (like the .44 mag, 30-30, etc...) reduce the chance of overpenetration that can injure the dogs.
 
I like the .308 Winchester.
Of course, a .30-30 isn't a bad suggestion either.

You could go for an AK or SKS, if you would like a semi-auto that is similar to the .30-30 in power.
 
I think that an AR-15 chambered in 6.8SPC is the best hog/deer gun, followed by the same rifle platform chambered in 7.62x39.

I'd rather buy a rifle that I can shoot a lot without getting beaten up and still use on game rather than buy a rifle chambered in an overly-powerful chambering that's no fun to shoot.

Practice is important.
 
A 7 mag is not what I would recommend for an inexperienced shooter. Recoil is getting harsh enough that it won't be exactly fun shooting at a bench, and practice makes perfect. A .243, .260, 7mm-08, 7x57, 270/.280 are all perfectly adequate for deer size game and they are enjoyable to practice with.
 
The hogs are out of control around here. I started carrying a rifle instead of handgun out in the woods because confrontations are very common. I was going to use a AK variant but decided on a FAL. Mine doesn't have it, but one of the DSA's with the rail on the top would be a great platform with a scope on it. Pretty accurate, lots of punch, a little heavy. I decided that if I was going to shoot a hog, I wanted to stop him in his tracks. With optics, would make a very servicable deer rifle. Shots are short around here, though.
 
new or used rem/ win/ savage/ tikka/ruger in .308/30-06/270/ 7-08, stainless synthetic for any environment, a leupold vxII or VXIII 3-9 or 2-8, and spend the rest on quality ammo and range time. some will even say .243 or .25-06 or .280 or .260 i do like the new .338 fed and i like .358 win all the above will be fine for deer/ pigs/ yotes/ etc. if i had to do it all over again i wish i would have bought a nice stainless synthetic rem 700 in 30-06 or .308 and been done with it.

if your hard on a lever gun, a marlin in .30-30 .35rem .444 or or 45.70 and get a 1.5-6 or so scope and you will be fine for either pigs or deer. if you can find one, get a lever gun with a stacked magazine such as win 88 or sav 99 or Browning BLR as you can use spire tipped ammo and they will available in any caliber you can imagine.

then go shoot your rifle and learn your scope and find the load it likes and learn bullet drop and wind doping. and come back and show us pics of you trophys!

lessons learned here:

1) get a quality rifle in a 'common' caliber
2) you dont need a magnum
3) dont scrimp on glass, you will end up buying quality later.
4) spend money and time on ammo and range time.
 
I'd say that the 7mm-08 is about the finest choice for low recoil and hard hitting long range accuracy. Great for a first gun, excellent for an all around choice long term.

If you want, a 30-06 is a ubiquitous caliber and another perennial favorite with numerous loads available at reasonable cost.


People love the .270, the .260 is sweet with its 6.5mm bullet in a .necked down .308 case.

7mm might just be a bit much in the recoil department for a beginning shooter and the cost of rounds isn't too easy on the wallet, but if that's not a problem for you, then the 7mm is a tried and true performer and will do the work you request of it.

Why don't you try a few different calibers before you settle on one?
 
The 30-30 is just fine for shots up to 100 yards (in my experience). I have shot javalina and medium size deer with it. The lever action is excellent for follow up shot, especially for javalina which are know to attack.
 
Like said above, a 7mm would be a good Caliber for Deer but I'm not too sure about it being good for hunting a 300lb. Hog. For hunting Hog in the brush you might want a Carbine. A Marlin 1895 Lever in 45/70 Gov't is probably a better choice to take a angry 300lb Hog that's looking to do you harm. (they are nasty SOB's for sure! LOL)
 
Remington 700, is a tried and true platform. The 7.62 NATO will do fine on all sized boars and deer. The weapon is solid and accurate enough, with good optics, you can pick the shot and kill very quickly.

The M-24 Sniper Weapon System is the same gun and I have shot it many times. You cannot go wrong and even though it is a bolt gun, the animal will be down and the rate of fire becomes unimportant.

good Luck
 
A Browning BLR lever-action in .243 or 7mm/08 would be a teriffic choice. A .270 would be Ok.
If you don't expect to be shooting more than about 200 yards the Marlin 336 in 30/30 will be just fine.
The 7mm Rem Mag. can be fun to shoot once in a while but for what you speak of it is ludicrous overkill and ludicrous over-expense and ludicrous over-blast and ludicrous over-recoil.

:cool:
 
Where do you plan to hunt and how long would your average shot be?

If you are going to be hunting in the woods, then I would go with some type of levergun.

If you are sort of in the woods and some open land I would go with a compact bolt gun like the Remington Model Seven or the Ruger Frontier.

If you are hunting open hill country like Central CA, then I would suggest a tradition length bolt gun like the Remington 700, Ruger M77, Win Model 70 (when they are available), Savage 110, Howa 1500.

I would stick with a mild cartridge if this is your first rifle. Rifles that kick are no fun to shoot and if you don't shoot a lot you won't be accurate. The 7-08 sounds like a great choice to me. For a levergun round I like the .45/70. It doesn't kick too much with standard factory rounds and can be loaded up to take just about anything as you build confidence with the rifle.

Again, don't fall into the magnum mind set. I took lots of hogs and deer with the 6mm Remington, basically a .243.

Be sure to attach a good scope to the rifle; I like Leupold VXIII's. Don't spend a ton of money on the rifle then throw on a cheap scope.

Hope this help you out,

Matt
 
I would say that for $1000, you get get 2 rifles, one for each critter. For hogs, I do like the semi-auto concept - I've used a .270 BAR, M1A, and my old Win Model 100 in .308Win with great success on Porky's there in Osceola Co. I've also used muzzleloaders, cap & ball revolvers, 20GA shotgun, and a .357Mag pistol on them as well - all work well. It really doesn't take a whole lot to kill those FLA ferral hogs if you make decent shots.
Any of the above or an AK or SKS derivative, or .30-06 of any type, even something like a Beretta CX-4 Storm carbine in .45ACP would be a marvelous choice.

For deer I would go with just about any decent rifle of .243 cal or bigger. I'm a big .308 guy, but that's just me. Savage offers a lot of nice shooting rifles at reasonable prices and that is probably the route I would go if in your shoes.
 
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