Deer rifle suggestions

[Younggun]

I've had great results using Remington Cor-lokt. Very accurate and reliable expansion. Always through and through with heart shots and not a lot of shrapnel spray damaging meat.

 

[TX69]

243 is great in Texas. Also look at the 260 and 7mm08.

Why limit yourself to just Texas? 20 years ago I bought a deer rifle in 30.O6 which is good for most everything in North America so there are few limitations other than smoking something with too much rifle. My wife is a small woman at 5'2" 120lbs and shoots my 30;O6 with no problems. Actually, she is quite good with rifles in this platform. Take her out to shoot a rifle in 308/30.O6 and see what she thinks. I would choose 30.O6 over 308 for two reasons. The 308 has disappeared during panics b/c it is used in semi-auto rifles and the customer base is much larger. Also the 30.O6 is offered in many many more bullet weights from 110 to 220 where the 308 is not. The ballistics of the 308/30.O6 are a hairs difference. Then look for a nice bolt action rifle intended for large game using glass. Go to a store that has rifles and glass out for handling and go at off peak hours. See if you can find an employee that knows what they are talking about otherwise I would avoid them. If they seem glued to one brand dump them quick. As for glass I am a fan of Leupold since they have a large offering and I believe their quality to be good. I have found that a 3x9x40 will do well depending upon your eyes out to 200-250yds but I have taken a deer at longer distances with it. I did find that I wanted more glass ( 50mm ) when wanting to stay out as long as I could legally. Heavily wooded areas (Georgia) became extremely dark before the legal hunting hours ended and the extra glass made the evening a lot brighter.

 

[leVieux]

Remington model 7 in .243 or a new upper in 300 or 6.8.

We have used the Mod. 7's in .243 exclusively for whitetail since ~ 1992; no regrets, no complaints. The shorter version of the Mod. 700 handles so darn well !

I bought three of them from McBride's way back when, both boys and I just luv 'em.

leVieux

 

[dee]

Why limit yourself to just Texas? 20 years ago I bought a deer rifle in 30.O6 which is good for most everything in North America so there are few limitations other than smoking something with too much rifle. My wife is a small woman at 5'2" 120lbs and shoots my 30;O6 with no problems. Actually, she is quite good with rifles in this platform. Take her out to shoot a rifle in 308/30.O6 and see what she thinks. I would choose 30.O6 over 308 for two reasons. The 308 has disappeared during panics b/c it is used in semi-auto rifles and the customer base is much larger. Also the 30.O6 is offered in many many more bullet weights from 110 to 220 where the 308 is not. The ballistics of the 308/30.O6 are a hairs difference. Then look for a nice bolt action rifle intended for large game using glass. Go to a store that has rifles and glass out for handling and go at off peak hours. See if you can find an employee that knows what they are talking about otherwise I would avoid them. If they seem glued to one brand dump them quick. As for glass I am a fan of Leupold since they have a large offering and I believe their quality to be good. I have found that a 3x9x40 will do well depending upon your eyes out to 200-250yds but I have taken a deer at longer distances with it. I did find that I wanted more glass ( 50mm ) when wanting to stay out as long as I could legally. Heavily wooded areas (Georgia) became extremely dark before the legal hunting hours ended and the extra glass made the evening a lot brighter.

It's not that I meant it's only good in Texas but when your biggest game animals don't often top 200 lbs, besides the occasional pig, it is pretty good round. That being said if I had bigger animals as potential targets it's not my first choice but would work if need be.

 

[TX69]

It's not that I meant it's only good in Texas but when your biggest game animals don't often top 200 lbs, besides the occasional pig, it is pretty good round. That being said if I had bigger animals as potential targets it's not my first choice but would work if need be.

What do you do if you want to travel to a state that has larger game? Buy another rifle? I have hunted in Texas, Georgia, Iowa and Illinois over the years bagging game in each.

 

[Younggun]

There's always one.....lol.

Yes, if you want one rifle for everything 30.06 can be a good choice. But that's not what the OP asked for.

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

Who is this mythical guy that only wants one gun?

 

[Younggun]

Who is this mythical guy that only wants one gun?

TX69

 

[dee]

What do you do if you want to travel to a state that has larger game? Buy another rifle? I have hunted in Texas, Georgia, Iowa and Illinois over the years bagging game in each.

Sure I have a 223, 22-250, 243, 25-06, 7mm-08AI, 30-06 and a 7mm Rem mag all can serve certain roles but some do a better job than others depending. All have taken game here in Texas easily if I were headed up to the big country or Alaska I can promise you that the choice will be on the big end.

 

[TX69]

There's always one.....lol.

Yes, if you want one rifle for everything 30.06 can be a good choice. But that's not what the OP asked for.

TX69

What the OP asked for was suggestions. I gave one. In fact I think it was a good one since I have spent a lot of time with my wife shooting. Hopefully Ole Cowboy can take away some information from my post(s) so that he and his wife can enjoy the sport as much as we have. Care to share?

You need to go spend a little more time with the wife and kid or something rather than racking up 25k in random posts looking for a some e-friends with your odd humor. It just gets old after a while dude.

 

[Acera]

Who is this mythical guy that only wants one gun?

I would love to have that one gun that does it all................................mainly to add to my collection of other guns

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

We have used the Mod. 7's in .243 exclusively for whitetail since ~ 1992; no regrets, no complaints. The shorter version of the Mod. 700 handles so darn well !

I bought three of them from McBride's way back when, both boys and I just luv 'em.

leVieux

Yeah, the model 7s are great for walking and rattling, especially in thicker brush. Light and maneuverable.

 

[dee]

Yeah, the model 7s are great for walking and rattling, especially in thicker brush. Light and maneuverable.

The model 600 is awesome as well. My first rifle was a 600 Mohawk in 243 with a 18.5 " barrel, talk about a handy little package.

 

[TaylorS]

I took one a few weeks ago with the 300bo I've loaded some hotter stuff since then for it now I just gotta find that buck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rangerscott]

.243 is perfect and doesnt destroy the meat. I see guys shoit the biggest round and hate to see all a lot of the deer go to waste.


Im thinking about looking into a .243 AR upper.

 

[dee]

.243 is perfect and doesnt destroy the meat. I see guys shoit the biggest round and hate to see all a lot of the deer go to waste.


Im thinking about looking into a .243 AR upper.

I think it has more to do with impact velocity and bullet choice. High velocity coupled with soft c&c bullets are very damaging.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

What the OP asked for was suggestions. I gave one. In fact I think it was a good one since I have spent a lot of time with my wife shooting. Hopefully Ole Cowboy can take away some information from my post(s) so that he and his wife can enjoy the sport as much as we have. Care to share?

You need to go spend a little more time with the wife and kid or something rather than racking up 25k in random posts looking for a some e-friends with your odd humor. It just gets old after a while dude.

I certainly have and I appreciate your and the other valuable comments. Already I am ahead of the curve by discovering the .243, yet wondering why I have never found that in my gun rack in spite of knowing about it and having close friends shooting it???? Who knows but it only goes to show how we never reach the point of knowing it all. Yet I don't think I am totally alone....shot a .243 a few times back in the late 50's, just shooting some cans, not hunting, but it was my best friends hunting gun and he loved it. But in all the discussions over the 5.56 I have never heard a chorus of voices promoting the .243 and after running some ballistics on it vs the 5.56 I can only wonder why not? Is the .243 the red headed stepchild? Seems that way! Thanks for the enlightenment!

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

It's an Obama conspiracy!

 

[Younggun]

What the OP asked for was suggestions. I gave one. In fact I think it was a good one since I have spent a lot of time with my wife shooting. Hopefully Ole Cowboy can take away some information from my post(s) so that he and his wife can enjoy the sport as much as we have. Care to share?

You need to go spend a little more time with the wife and kid or something rather than racking up 25k in random posts looking for a some e-friends with your odd humor. It just gets old after a while dude.

You're a big meanie.

Not gonna address the remarks about how I handle my family time, I'm above that. Will say I have met my "E friends" in real life and consider them good friends. I'm glad I was able to meet them and it wouldn't have happened without this forum. I'm sorry if I offend you, but I imagine you wouldn't take it the same way if we had met before.

Or maybe not, I'm not gonna sweat it. Have a blessed day.

 

[57K]

I certainly have and I appreciate your and the other valuable comments. Already I am ahead of the curve by discovering the .243, yet wondering why I have never found that in my gun rack in spite of knowing about it and having close friends shooting it???? Who knows but it only goes to show how we never reach the point of knowing it all. Yet I don't think I am totally alone....shot a .243 a few times back in the late 50's, just shooting some cans, not hunting, but it was my best friends hunting gun and he loved it. But in all the discussions over the 5.56 I have never heard a chorus of voices promoting the .243 and after running some ballistics on it vs the 5.56 I can only wonder why not? Is the .243 the red headed stepchild? Seems that way! Thanks for the enlightenment!

OC, there is another AR option since you mention your wife isn't particularly recoil sensitive. In looking over handload data for the .30 AR, you don't give up much to .308 performance. Since the parent case is the .30 Remington like the 6.8 x 43mm Remongton SPC, you only give up a couple of rounds vs. .223/5.56mm NATO in AR rifles where it isn't necessary to go to an AR 10 platform like you'd have to do for .243 Win., .260 Rem. and .308 Win.