Hunters: I need your opinions on what caliber rifle I should buy
- Thread starter SWThomas
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.640 Nitro Express. It means nver having to say you are sorry. If you miss the animal, the shock wave from the bullet passing by will kill it.
Find a GOOD chiropractor first, she does kick a mite. And it helps if you weigh more than 250lbs, otherwise you are going to get knocked down. Be sure to lean into it like crazy, even if you are above 250lbs. And the bullet tumbles like mad over 50 yards. And they're $25.00/round.
A rifle that does not kick is no fun.
Jim Snover
Find a GOOD chiropractor first, she does kick a mite. And it helps if you weigh more than 250lbs, otherwise you are going to get knocked down. Be sure to lean into it like crazy, even if you are above 250lbs. And the bullet tumbles like mad over 50 yards. And they're $25.00/round.
A rifle that does not kick is no fun.
Jim Snover
Get a shotgun. They have these 3.5-inch 12-guage .177-sabot rounds that top out at 9,000fps. They kick a bit, too. And the muzzle flash will often start a gass fire. These are things you can work around, though.
Jim Snover
Jim Snover
And for every guy with a 7mm Mag who claims making 350+ yard shots, maybe 1 out of 10 can actually do it.
Jim Snover
Jim Snover
Those who worry excessively about "flat shooting" just haven't learned to compensate for range and bullet drop. Of course, getting a flat-shooting rifle won't help you learn to compensate for wind drift or shooting uphill/downhill, either.
Identify the biggest game you want to hunt, and pick a caliber that will push a bullet heavy enough to take that game humanely at the distance you can shoot, with the recoil you can tolerate. There's no one "best" answer. Another consideration is if you are shooting in open country or in brushy terrain. Personally, I like stalking the animal up close in dense cover, not ambushing it from 300 yards. So a lever action rifle or single shot pistol in .45-70 works well for me. I have used .30-06, 7mm mag, and .300WSM as well, depending on the circumstances. For coyotes I use a 6mm PPC or 7mm TCU scoped pistol.
Identify the biggest game you want to hunt, and pick a caliber that will push a bullet heavy enough to take that game humanely at the distance you can shoot, with the recoil you can tolerate. There's no one "best" answer. Another consideration is if you are shooting in open country or in brushy terrain. Personally, I like stalking the animal up close in dense cover, not ambushing it from 300 yards. So a lever action rifle or single shot pistol in .45-70 works well for me. I have used .30-06, 7mm mag, and .300WSM as well, depending on the circumstances. For coyotes I use a 6mm PPC or 7mm TCU scoped pistol.
Im in the market for one as well. I'm thinking about a .308 or a 30-06. Not sure which it will be yet. Good post.
i shoot a weatherby 270 and i love it. never let me down
Dont get the 770. IMO it is a pos, and there are much better guns for the money. You really need to decide what you are going to hunt, and how big they are. They .30-06 will take down anything on this continent save maybe a bear. Look at the tikas, and see how much you can get it for. I don't know how big the deer are where you hunt, but in CA, the magnum calibers are complete overkill. Friend used a .270 weatherby mag and completely destroyed half the deer. Pointless, I don't know about you, but I hunt for the experience as well as the meat, not just to kill something.
My opinion, don't get the rebadged 710. Get a 700 or a tika in .30-06 and a used scope. What scope depends on the budget. What exactly is your budget?
My opinion, don't get the rebadged 710. Get a 700 or a tika in .30-06 and a used scope. What scope depends on the budget. What exactly is your budget?
what kind of ammo he shoot? 30-06 should have more knockdown then a 270 same ammo type. i shoot 130grain corelocks and it does put a nice hole in the back side of the deer but much meat there anyway.
model 700 .30-06 with a 165 gain is my favorite deer combo
I've gotten many deer with a 270...never had a problem. It's light and easy to carry around. Although my gun of choice for white tail deer is my Savage .308. I would recommend the .300 Win Mag! A little overkill for for deer hunting but great for bigger game.
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No clue, but i saw what remained of the deer, and half was not salvagable. Seen plenty of deer shot with 165 grain .30-06 and they don't get nearly as messed up. I'm not up to speed on the weatherby mags, so don't even know what is the normal bullet.
The .270 is perfect for deer, but you may want just a little extra when you go after something bigger.
A .243 is junk lol. Not really saying it's "junk" but sooner or later you'll make a shot and with basically any other rifle would drop the same animal in its tracks. I loved mine and shot it for years. Had to trail the deer I shot with it but really not that far. Then I had a shot at a very small (70 lbs) doe at about 100 yards quartering straight at me. I shot her in between both shoulders and that damn thing went for over 500 yards before I finished her off.
Here's my thinking. If you hunt and hunt seriously or even just halfway then why get a gun that is questionable at killing something on a marginal shot? I know if I'm going to sit there all day when I shoot I want my animal dead and I mean dead now! I've shot deer pretty much all over with a 7 mag and if it doesn't flat out kill them believe me you won't be trailing them far. Then if I meat hunt I just shoot two and shoot them in the head. I also have a .300 Ultra Mag that I use for deer. If you hit a Buck with that thing he's toast or he's not going far!
Not trying to sound like a Redneck but that my .02.:thumbsup:
Both my brother and I can shoot 400yards easily with our rifles. This is also with stock "Winchester Supreme Ammo" in Ballistic Silvertips. Pretty much 3" groups at 300 yards. I've got the record like I've said at 415+ on a doe but he's got the record with his 30/06 at 376 yards in the head on one. Also yes that's where he was aiming:bowdown:. Want pic's?:lol: My 7 mag has a 6 (maybe 6.5) x 20 Leupold VarX III on it. If you want to shoot farther than normal then please do not get a 3 x 9!!! Get at least a 4 x 14.
We sight them in about 5 inches high at 100 yards. Then at 400 you're still in the kill zone on where you aim. What's amazing is the people that have a high powered rifle in their hands and think that since the rifle can shoot that far then they'll kill what they're aiming at. Every one needs to learn how to properly shoot. When that gun goes off it needs to surprise you! I mean just barely pull that trigger back until it finally goes off. If you can't do that then you have no business shooting at anything over 200 yards. Probably less than that and more like 150yards. Also our tree stands are set up for long distance shots. A place for the gun and that arm then another board you slide around to rest your other arm on. If you don't have 3 points to rest on then it better not be a far shot.
My take on this
30-06 or 7.62X63mm<--in Europe best all around non mag cal.
308 or 7.62X51 NATO just a shorten 30-06 and almost as good just a few hundred feet less velocity
a round I like is the 7mm STW basicly a necked down 8mm Rem Mag. has about a 300 FT/sec more vel over the 7mm rem mag and probably another 150 more yard rang as well.
30-06 or 7.62X63mm<--in Europe best all around non mag cal.
308 or 7.62X51 NATO just a shorten 30-06 and almost as good just a few hundred feet less velocity
a round I like is the 7mm STW basicly a necked down 8mm Rem Mag. has about a 300 FT/sec more vel over the 7mm rem mag and probably another 150 more yard rang as well.
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Nitro express rounds are a waste of money.
I hope you arent talking about muzzle velocity. I dont think a shotgun can even produce 9,000ft pounds of energy?
Since a 7mm is good out until 1000 yards I hope it can hit a target at 350 yards. I bet most guys here with some rifle marksmenship can hit a 350 yard target with iron sights.
Well back to the question at hand.
I would recommend a Remington 700 series rifle.
Rifle:
Remington 700 sps
700 XCR
Or if you like semi automatics maybe the Remington R-25.
Or even go with a tactical version of one of the 700 series (SPS tac, 700PSS, or XCR tac) they are more expensive but can be found for great prices. They have their advantages. They have shorter barrels which makes them lighter, easier to carry without much lose of muzzle velocity.
Caliber:
30-06
.308
7mm
All of which are great rounds for hunting and all pretty much the same round.
Some are recommending the .300 win mag, a great round but barrel life is shortened. The 7mm doesn't kick as much but it shoots lighter bullets then the .300, which allows for quicker bleed off of energy, and greater suseptability to wind drift at longer ranges. With the right ammo, the 0-600 meter ballistics are VERY impressive.
The 7mm is easily capable of 1000 meter shooting, but it falls short of the .300, while steadily outpacing the .308 (Which really shouldn't surprise anyone). The 7mm kicks a bunch more then the .308, so be careful you dont develope a flinch.
I would go with a .308 round, its has great take down potential, has good range (800 to 1000 meters), it also has great barrel life with a couple thousand rounds.
Optic:
Dont go cheap on an optic. I would recommend Leupold or nightforce.
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