Versatile Caliber for Hunting

[KZCafe]

Hello,

I'm new to TX and gun ownership. I would also like to get my feet wet hunting. Reading over a lot of the regulatory information, but I'm also curious about hearing personal experience with different calibers.

I'm looking for something versatile: coyote up to elk (might be in Idaho in a few years). My initial thought is I'll need two rifles a .223/5.56 and maybe a 7.62. Also considering bolt action for the larger caliber. What do you think or recommend?

 

[Big Green]

12.7x108

 

[baboon]

.243 & .270 are might common in Texas for hunting. Hearing protection is more or less a personal choice. You want to protect your hearing yes you want to hear whats going on around you. That would make noise application / cancelation phone a great idea, but that can be very annoying to wear. I seldom ever wear hearing protection & my hearing is fairly decent.

 

[toddnjoyce]

Most versatile will be a .308 or .270 Winchester.

 

[TipBledsoe]

Howdy and welcome.

This is a subject with a VERY broad range of opinion.

Coyote to Elk is also quite a broad range too. I appreciate that you apparently realize the range is too great for just one caliber, and that you chose to request recommendations.

I applaud your choice of a Mini-14, but in my opinion 223/5.56 that is prone to disintegrate is not a hunting caliber for game, although it is very suitable for varmints such as Coyote and Taliban.

I recommend caliber choices such as .243 or .270 (calibers that use ammo specifically for hunting) against game animals that are not much larger than the size of Texas deer. For large animals such as Elk in Idaho I recommend a caliber such as .300 Win Mag or 7mm Rem Mag. A great excuse for a third caliber would be for the mid-range animals, and Taliban, such as .308... Maybe compliment your Mini-14 with a Mini-30?

 

[deemus]

For Texas I suggest a 6.5creedmoor. Just as effective as 308, but with less recoil. It will take down anything in Texas from whitetails to axis. And it has super light recoil for a large caliber. My daughter has taken a deer the past three seasons with one. We both shoot one around here. 223 can be too light for some larger animals. A well placed 243 or 270 will work too.


For Idaho, 30-06 or 7mm Mag or 300 Win Mag. I've taken critters from CO to WY with my 30-06.

All of those have numerous ammo options. You can cover it all with 2 guns. Then if you enjoy shooting you can add an AR later for fun shooting. They are fairly inexpensive.

 

[Lonesome Dove]

For an all in one from pigs up to Elk +
7mm mag

But a 308 with do the same for less.

 

[CavCop]

.308 gets my vote for most versatile in Texas.

 

[cycleguy2300]

I'd say 9.3x62 for self-serving interests...

Seriously 6.5 grendel is close to perfect. Onnthe fringes you have things like 300wm that do a particular thing better at the cost of noise and recoil, but from 5.56 to 308 can match them in an AR friendly OAL and with commonly avaliable parts for both guns and reloading.

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[zackmars]

40mm BOFORS

.338 LM

.416 cheytac

20x128mm

 

[msharley]

Welcome to TGT...

 

[Axxe55]

Hello,

I'm new to TX and gun ownership. I would also like to get my feet wet hunting. Reading over a lot of the regulatory information, but I'm also curious about hearing personal experience with different calibers.

I'm looking for something versatile: coyote up to elk (might be in Idaho in a few years). My initial thought is I'll need two rifles a .223/5.56 and maybe a 7.62. Also considering bolt action for the larger caliber. What do you think or recommend?

30 caliber or 7mm calibers work really well !

 

[vmax]

If you want to kill a coyote then just about any caliber mentioned here will work.
If you plan to do varmint hunts for competition then you'll want something more specific for that job like a .204 Ruger

Reason being is some of the animals are weighed at the check in and you don't want a bullet to take off 12 oz flesh and hide just to kill it.

Like @baboon said above
.243 and .270 would fill both roles nicely and you can have 2 guns instead of trying to make one do both jobs

 

[TXAZ]

12.7mmx99 NATO aka .50 BMG is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. And will drop any land based animal at 1000 yards.
Load up a Raufoss Mk211 round and engine blocks melt like putty. (If your into engine block season)
But for practical, .308 is an excellent compromise.

 

[skfullgun]

.308 for anything in Texas (deer, coyote, hog, etc), with the exception of exotics.

I’m basing that on availability, price, and performance.

 

[Maverick44]

6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, 308, 338 Fed, ect. Pretty much any of the short action cartridges do well in Texas.

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[paknheat]

Since you have .223 covered, I’d look at getting a .243 and then a 30-06 or maybe a .300 short mag.


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[Fishkiller]

Well since you want versatility and with the parameters mentioned go with .308. You can get the ammo most anywhere with a wide variety of cartridges. Two guns, then I would go with .223 or .243 or 22/250 for the varmints. Going big depends on you taste for recoil. A .308 or 30-06 will take down an Elk. However a .300WM will reliably take down an elk at 400 or even up to 600 yards, plus it gets you into the moose category. Then you get into ammo availability type calibers such as your Weatherby's (which are mucho expensive), the larger calibers like a .338 WM and most of the short magnum calibers.

 

[leVieux]

<>

Maybe,

or,

Yes, BUT:

Some Western States have banned use of anything less than .30Cal for “big game” (Elk, Mule Deer, Moose, Bear, etc.). This doesn’t make sense, yet it is their law.

AND,

In any “civil emergency”, ammo availability would be critical.

IOW, you need a .308Win.

Then, you may want others.

We switched to the .243Win. for TEXAS decades ago, and haven’t been sorry. If you shoot a big hog with the .243, try to hit the neck or head.

Most of us have at least one 5.56 rifle or carbine, too.

leVieux

<>

 

[benenglish]

What do you think or recommend?

I think the answers might change greatly if you're reloading. Does that figure in your future? If it does, you can buy something ridiculously overpowered just because it's fun then download it to duplicate one of the short-action cartridges mentioned thus far.

This course isn't for a beginner but it's something to keep in the back of your mind for the future.