hunting rifles...

[WhiteyMacD]

Try them and then you choose. You need to go with whatever caliber you can consistently hit the kill spotat the maximum range you would ever want to shoot. Other than that, its all preference.

People constantly say the same thing about good rifle hunters doing poorly with the 7mmRM. I, myself, have killed several deer out past 500yrds, through heart everytime. I like the ballistics of the round, and I dont mind the massive recoil. Just reiterating that the caliber is going to be something personal to you, not a consensus of hunters on a forum.

 

[criticalbass]

get a 30-30.

For deer in brush the 30-30 is great. Short and quick to handle, and enough in the woods. For open country hunting you need more range.

For hogs, really big ones can soak up shots in the shoulder from the 30-30 and not die soon enough (sometimes not at all).

The 30-30 has its place, but not as an all around one rifle.

The 30-06 would be my choice. Infinite choices af ammo, ammo available even in Podunk, and adequate for anything except the big bears in North America. Also, since they are currently sort of out of fashion, they are available for reasonable prices. CB

 

[1shott]

Between the two calibers, I would go .308

Now if you are open to other calibers, look at the .243, seriously the best performing round I have found for varmint, whitetail and the unlucky wild pig to cross my path.

 

[okie362]

As many have said it is going to be a personal preference but will also depend on the terrain you hunt. Small fast bullets aren't that good in the brush and larger heavy bullets may not give you enough range if you are hunting open terrain. That being said I have used everthing from a .45LC to a 7MM Reminton mag. I would really like a .44Mag for a brush gun. Then again I can ALWAYS think of something I want.

 

[dennishoddy]

308 will work and the barrel will live longer than the 300. .

You would have to shoot more that 3000 rounds to have any problem wearing the barrel out. Most hunters will not shoot more than 1K in their lifetime. Not to say that some hunters will shoot more.

 

[nephets0]

thanks for the info guys, i'm thinking the .308 will be my choice soon.

 

[hd_rider13]

I just went from a Browning Auto in 30-06 to a Remington Sps Tactical in a .308. I shot one inch groups with the Browning at 100 yards, and killed 13 or 14 (can't remember) deer with it over the last 18 years.

Yesterday was my first day at the range with the Remington. I used the same scope I had on the brownng, and HOLY CRAP!!!!!!! I shot a dime size shot group at 100 yards, with the first three rounds out of the gun!! Now I have to admit that the load that did that was a 150 gr Hornady SPBT with 40.8 grains of IMR 3031 behind it, so it was only moving about 2500 fps.

I shot some hotter loads after that, and they spread out a little, but there was only one three shot group that was over .92 minutes.

Not to mention that the Remington handled the recoil much better than the browning.

I'm not knocking the browning, but i wish I had bought this gun years ago.

My last six rounds at the range, I shot at a 175 yard target
with the hottest loads. They grouped at 1.45 inches and were about 1 inch high. Again, I LOVE this gun. Now I just need a nicer scope and I will never need another deer rifle.

Check out Bud's Gun shop online if you want one. He has the bes price I found and has free shipping.

Oh, and if you don't reload, buy the book called "the ABCs of reloading" and the Lee reloading manual. Get a basic single
stage press kit, some powder, primers, and bullets, and you will be amazed at what reloads can do for your shot groups AND your wallet. (it costs me about 8 bucks to reload 20 .308 rounds).

 

[338Shooter]

One of my friends bought a 300WM and sold it within a few months. Now he bought a .223 bolt gun. What a panzy. :dodgy:

 

[BadKarma]

I have a 700 SPS Tactical and it's amazing how accurate it is. I used some 165 Nosler BT that I had for my hunting rifle and with 45 grains of Varget it will do a dime at 100 yards as long as you want to sit there and shoot it. I don't have a chrony so I'm not sure what velocity I'm getting. 168 SMK's and 4064 works good to at about 43.5 grains. Mine has the Falcon 10X42 on it.

 

[Tampabucs]

Yeah, I would go 308 over the 300 win mag. I bought a nice savage 300 win mag, but realized it was too much gun for just plain ole deer/hog hunting. I'm more accurate with the 308. You might consider the 270 it's also a really nice cartridge with available ammo.

However, I plan on hunting elk soon and then I will bust out the 300 for that.