New Texas hunting rifle

[GT98SVO]

My Rem. 7mm magnum is a shoulder buster.

I need something I can shoot all day at coyotes, pigs and deer.

I was thinking a 243. But this may be a little small on hog.

Having to carry 2 rifles is no bueno.

What's the biggest caliber you can shoot all day?

[DOHCTR]

I would get a 308



Easy on the shoulder, and not to bad on the wallet

[ALLAN]

45-70 :D

5.56/.223 is plenty for hogs unless you are a terrible shot.

[Pro Trash]

My Rem. 7mm magnum is a shoulder buster.

I need something I can shoot all day at coyotes, pigs and deer.

I was thinking a 243. But this may be a little small on hog.

Having to carry 2 rifles is no bueno.

What's the biggest caliber you can shoot all day?

If you want something that is great for Hogg, pigs and deer look at DPMS, they have several calibers in the AR style rifle. Get away from the bolt actions so you're not the recoil mechanism for each shot. Check out this website, if these are to expensive an SKS would be good as they are 7.62x39 and have aftermarket stocks that are scope friendly, etc.

[GT98SVO]

yea, all the 308 Win. family are a possible.

.243, .260, 7mm-08.

Even a 257 Roberts Improved. Sure it's not .308 Win based, but close as possible in .25 caliber.

But never shot these, so not sure on comfort level of 20+ rounds a day.

Maybe a Rem. 750 Woodsmaster.

[srt-4_i_swear]

.243 or .308 surplus ammo for the .308 is cheap and they have match grade if you want to cut small holes in paper.


.243 is plenty for hogs with any sort of shot. And has a bit more range than the .308 if you want to shoot yotes at say 1000 yards.

[Juiceweezl]

My Rem. 7mm magnum is a shoulder buster.

I need something I can shoot all day at coyotes, pigs and deer.

I was thinking a 243. But this may be a little small on hog.

Having to carry 2 rifles is no bueno.

What's the biggest caliber you can shoot all day?
Put a pachmayr pad on it and quit being a girl.

[srt-4_i_swear]

i'd drop down in caliber just for the price factor unless you can get 7mm mag cheap somewhere.

[GT98SVO]

We have an SKS, those aren't very good past 150 yards. 7.62x39 engineering is for < 150yards.

Has to deal with 'yotes.

AR-style gun would prolly work. Not sure how easy to maneuver the 20-24in barrel version in/out stands, etc.

latest AR Carbines have pretty good accuracy, but not sure if they can hit 350yards with a 2-stage trigger.

[GT98SVO]

I reload. :)

My dad's premium ammo for 375H&H is 80-120$.

Winchester white box of 7mm Mag 150gr is 20$ at Wally World. Accurate stuff.

I think my rifle reload's are about 30$ for 100cnt. Most of that is bullet cost.

[Jimi G]

Put a pachmayr pad on it and quit being a girl.

Oh snap the weezl has spoken, basically quit being a Girly Boy and man up nukka.

[Pewter Y2K Z28]

I hunt with a Winchster model 70 .243. I bagged my African animals with it, numerous Whitetail, exotics, pigs, etc with it. Great all around gun and it's pretty light if your out in the field for extended amounts of time.

[GT98SVO]

It's got a decent pad and Bell & Carlson stock.

Muzzle Brake and Dead Mule inserts might help.

[Yale]

7mm-08 is badass medecine for anything in Texas.

[JESmith]

.243 has been a Texas tradition for anything from whitetail on down. A certified freezer filler since heck was a pup. It's perfect for hogs and yotes too. You could probably go to a much lighter rifle and still handle the recoil. It is an excellent medium game/ medium range rifle. I would not go for a mulie at 600yds, but then that's what the 7mag is for.

Also don't rule out the .223 for just plinker fun. I bought a sindgle shot Handi-rifle real cheap to shoot "dogs". Super small, super light and you will run out of ammo before your shoulder gets sore.

[Shoot To Kill]

i love my .243

to me it's the best all around.

if you want a bit more power, without the shoulder wear, get a .270 with the lower recoil round.

edit: the .243 isn't bad for hog either. i dropped the hog i killed at about 120 yds with a ballistic tip reload.

[Treadhead]

Browning BAR MkII w/muzzle brake. I have one in 30.06 and have have run thru a whole box of ammo with no soreness at all. It's loud as hell though.

[jims93lx]

I've got a Ruger M77 .270 that is probably the smoothest gun I have ever shot. I've knocked down everything I have shot except for one deer that I just completely missed, thanks to a bump from a my buddies son right as I pulled the trigger. I've also got a Savage 110 30.06 that is a shoulder buster of the highest order. I've put a recoil pad on it, just made it worse. I've always been told that a .270 is the best all around gun for hunting anything in Texas.

[Fox466]

Just picked up a Remington 700 in .270 today. Now to get out to the range this weekend... :cool:

[Cmarsh93z]

Just picked up a Remington 700 in .270 today. Now to get out to the range this weekend... :cool:

Good choice! .270 was my first real rifle....one of the best all around calibers out there.

[Cmarsh93z]

Which range are you going to btw?

[1badford]

I shot a 7 mag forever. Bought a remington 22-250 vls and shoot 55 grain federal trophy bonded bear claw bullets. Shot big hogs and big deer in shoulder and dropped all in their tracks so far. The gun groups great from the factory, all I did was trigger adjustment.

[GT98SVO]

I shot a 7 mag forever. Bought a remington 22-250 vls and shoot 55 grain federal trophy bonded bear claw bullets. Shot big hogs and big deer in shoulder and dropped all in their tracks so far. The gun groups great from the factory, all I did was trigger adjustment.

yea, my dad dropped a buck last season with 700 VLS .22-250 with 50gr Hornady V-max. 90 yard shot. I was looking at it at ~325yards through my scope on my 7mm Mag. He was closer, so I let him take it. I ended up with bupkiss for the season except for a pig in a live trap. This year, first come, first served.

He plans on using his model 70 375H&H with my 220gr reloads this year. It's a lighter rifle than the 700.

I think the Remington 700 is the best varmint bolt action on the market. Yep, the factory 5lb pull is not that great. But supposedly, they are the easiest to adjust. He got his done for 20$ I think.

[Fox466]

Which range are you going to btw?

Probably Pleasant Valley in Garland. You gonna be around? Need to sight it and the 30-06 in...

[1badford]

You can adjust trigger on remington 700's yourself. All you have to do is take it out of stock and there are 2 screws beside trigger. One for trigger travel and one for pull. Be careful because you can get too light of pull real easy. You have to sight your rifle in again, but you can get your trigger just the way you want it.

[Fox466]

You can adjust trigger on remington 700's yourself. All you have to do is take it out of stock and there are 2 screws beside trigger. One for trigger travel and one for pull. Be careful because you can get too light of pull real easy. You have to sight your rifle in again, but you can get your trigger just the way you want it.

Thanks! :cool:


What are the rules on dry firing? Is it all rifles, shotguns, pistols?

[Yale]

Just buy some snap caps, they're cheap.

[1badford]

They say not to dry fire, but doing it a couple of times to get your trigger set is not going to hurt. I have done it on all my guns and never suffered any problems. Just don't make it a habit.