Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

First of all, I'm new to the site, and I love it! I've posted a couple of times about opinions on left handed bolt action rifles and calibers.
I think I've picked which rifle I'm going to go with(L.H. Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker).
Now comes the fun part. There are several calibers that I'm sure would work just as well for deer hunting as the other. Here's the one variable....hogs.
Where I hunt, we have lots of LARGE wild hogs. I'm looking for the best caliber for a deer/hog combo gun.
For the deer, I tend to lean towards the .270 or .30-06. For the hogs, something bigger sure wouldn't go to waste.
I've almost decided on the 7mm. Rem. Mag as the caliber that not too much for whitetails and gives just a tad more "umph" than the .270 or 06'.
I would REALLY appreciate any help with this. It's a pretty large investment.
Any opinions, personal experience with calibers vs. large boars, pictures,.......anything.
Thanks in advance,
Schoolcraft
P.S. Thanks again for welcoming a new member.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

I think the 7mm Rem. Mag. would be a good choice. Good luck.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

.300 Win Mag or Handi Rifle in 45-70 or 500 S&W.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

7mm rem mag has served me well antelope to moose. Lots of ammo offerings to choose fromto chase multiple species. Good ballistics/performance with tolerable recoil for most, more than the 06 or 270 but not filling loosening IMO.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

The 270 or the 30-06 will handle anything the 7MM will equally well. We have alot of hogs on our land and I routinely use a 257 Roberts. There are a plethora of controlled expansion bullets on the market for the 270 & 06 that only up there level of penetration. The 7 Mag is a good round and if you don't mind the extra recoil have at it. I've been hunting and shooting for quite a while and I don't really believe you need to go the magnum route until you get to the large bears. Most folks don't shoot a magnum as well as they do a standard caliber. Personally, I would buy the 270 and shoot Federal Premiums with a controlled expansion bullet. Some of your available choices are the 150 gr. Nosler Partition, 130 gr. & 150 gr. Fusion, 130 gr. Triple Shock X, 140 gr. Trophy Bonded, 140 gr. Nosler Accubond. There are others but this pretty well cover the spectrum.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

The 7mmremmag would be my choice.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Like Superpig said, it doesn't take a magnum to kill a hog. I've killed a bunch this year with some handloads from my .223. Pop them in the head and they'll go down.;)

Of the three, my choice would be the .270. Nice, flat shooting caliber with out a lot of recoil, and a wide selection of ammo available almost anywhere. Plenty of gun for a hog or a deer.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

take a look at the 270 WSM.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Well the Swedes have been killing Moose with Norma "Alaska" 156gr ammo, since it was introduced in 1940.
They also won one of the Olympics with the 6.5mm!

I took my Moose in Canada with 6.5mmSwede (1995)and numerous deer in the states with it.

Before then I shot and killed White TailDeer,Elk and Mule Deer with Win.270/Fed 130gr and 150gr NPfor many years.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

You can do the job, and do it well, with anything rom a 7mm-08, all the way up to the 7mm mag. But Brutal Attack has already hit on what I was going to suggest. Look at the available calibers are for that model of gun, and see if it has any of the new short magnums available. A 25wssm, .270 short mag. , 7mm short mag. Those are very effective, and can handle a lot of game.

Just a thought of other options, that might work better for you. Take a look at their specs and compare them to the standard rounds. You will see some difference.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

I'd go for the 7mm Rem Mag. I have an A-Bolt Stalker in 7mm and the recoil is nill in that gun. My brothers 115lb gf shoots the gun and it doesn't bother her one bit.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

.280 remington. very under-rated, and still fairly user friendly.

you guys surprise me for the pigs, though. quite a few posts i've seen have mentioned some big calibres for pig hunting. whereasi'd have thought one of the quicker quarter bores would be sufficient. here in oz, even .243's are enough to take most of our boars. a roberts or 25-06 would certainly do the job. you guys must have some armour plated bacon over there.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Hello schoolcraft. You mentioned large hogs......large hogs to me are the 400 pound variety. That being the case, I would recommend the '06. The '06 gives the ability to shoot the 200-220 grain bullet that is real good medicine for large hogs .....then you can download with the 150/165's for deer and have the best of both worlds. Good luck and regards, Rick.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Scoolcraft, you will not find a hog that needs more killing than a 243 win or 260 rem has to offer. As a tough animal they are overrated. Just stay with a well constructed bullet and don't get sloppy with your shot placement. As for the short magnums I don't like the idea, the preformance is great but the short fat case isn't as friendly or reliable to chamber. No hog or deer will be able to tell the difference.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Exactly. Go to the Hog Hunting forum and take a look at the little piggies that Guess is killing with his .243. Maybe if you're talking about the 400-500 pounders, you might want something bigger, but for anything less, you just need to make a good shot with a good bullet.

Unless you're planning on some 300 yard+ shots, I really don't see that the increased cost of the rifle, the ammo and the additional recoil of a 7 Mag are worth it...

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

When I say "large hogs", I killed one bowhunting that tipped the scales at 563lbs. and one was trapped on our lease that weighed 602lbs.......so yeah, LARGE HOGS.
Does that change any opinions on caliber choice?

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Just go with the 30-06 and you will have a wide range of fodder choices to handle everything from ground hogs to your 600+ Lb hogs. Agazillion choices ofbullet weights & types if you reload andvery wide variety of factory ammo that is available almost anywhere if you don't.

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

I had a 7 mag as my first gun. It was a Browning SS also. I got rid of it a year later and bought a 280. The 7 mag is just too much gun for deer and not necessary for hogs. If your choices are 270 or 06 buy the 06. It will do everything you need and more. If your want more power buy the light mag loads from Hornady.

I don't know where you live but if it isn't out west where you will be hunting muleys, elk, or moose I wouldn't bother with the 7mag. That having been said if you do buy one go with the 140 grain Ballistic tips. Every Browning I have and I have a few was a tack driver with lighter grain Ballistics.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

schoolcraft, first buy the caliber you want, otherwise you will never be happy. I do believe the two calibers I mentioned eariler will do on a 600 lb hog, provided good bullets and correct shot placement are used. But just so you'll know , I'd use my 45-70 because I love to hunt with it.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Let me qualify my earlier statements while I have the chance. The 7 mag will do the same job as any of the other calibers mentioned and does not need to be limited to larger size game only. In my experience it just does the job on mid to larger size game better at longer ranges. If your are shooting over large fields then by all means go ahead and get the 7mag and be happy.

If not get the 06 or 270 and still do the job on the larger fields but carry a slightly lighter gun around in the woods.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

oh. well. in that case, i'd say you'd be looking at a .460 weatherby. minimum!;)

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

My first choice would be the 7 mm Rem. Mag. but if you would like something with a little less recoil try the 270 WSM. Good luck...

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

7RemMag all the way man!!!:DTHis was my first year hunting with a 7RemMag n i loved it.. I did my job so it did is!! So in that Case i dropped a 6x7 Mulie(will be posting pictures soon) mule deer and 208yrds 1 shot quartering away n i put him in his tracks never tryed to get up or move after being hit.. So after this year i'm very pleased with this rifle/cartridge and i think you would be too if you were to get a 7remMag!!!

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

The .338 Win Mag is also a good choice, I have dropped many hogs with a .338 and had to track none, most going less than 15 yards.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Get a 7MM-08. Its a gun that you can enjoy sitting down for a long shooting session. Good all around rifle without all the nasty recoil and muzzle blast. Probably less than 70 percent of hunters will ever need any more rifle than the 260, 6.5x55 or 7mm-08. However they would enjoy practice a lot more with these rifles and practice make all the difference.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

James, Your one of the few people on this forum who speaks in an unbiased and truthful manner, your right, people really don't need all these magnums, and people also don't need big guns like the 45-70 and 500 S&W. The .260 or 6.5x55 Swede will pretty much take any game the average hunters faces in NA.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

In my older age,I enjoy the shoulder friendly rifles that I can shoot a hundren rounds a day through and still move my arm;)I shoot the 45-70 at times but not from the bench and not for fun except with black powder loads. I gotta laugh when I see many of the guys out at the ranch who are scared to death of their rifle. I see many of them flinching ten tables down from me. The more they shoot, the more they flinch and then they need to shoot more trying to get sighted in with a cannon that twice what they need for job, wich 90 percent of the time is a 150 lb whitetail.

Big guns have their place but the ice age is over.:D Except for ND

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

James, I see the same thing at gun ranges around here, you'll get some hot shot 18-19 year old kid with his new super duper magnum, and the kid can't even keep his gun on the paper at 100 yards, and then they proceed to tell you that the gun doesn't kick too bad, yeah I guess not, thats why you couldn't even keep the damn thing on a 10x10" piece of paper at 100 yards.:D:D:D

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

I saw a kid and his dad at the range the other day. They set a carboard box about 20 inches square at 25 yards. The kid had a 7 Mag. He shot five times and hit the box once. His dad said " Hell thats good enough" and home they went. God I hope they are not hunting in my unit.[:@]Its true that some would do this kind of thing no matter what they shoot. However, at least with young kids, give them something fun to shoot. Develope some good habits young.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Thats a shame to hear that, I bet the ignorant father couldn't do any better, that kids gonna be ruined, guaranteed. 2 or 3 more seasons of that and he'll never be able to shoot good again, I've seen it again and again, saw a guy who made a 9 year old kid shoot a 450 marlin from the bench.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

7mm Rem. Mag.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Me too! But don't sell the old '06 short.! With premium 200 or 220 grain bullets, the .30/'06 has made 1-shot kills on game up to and including elephant. It will sure kill any hog that ever walked!

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

Man, that's a lot of pork! .30-06, .308, .270, .280, 7mm-08. Of course, I'm Magnum-Recoil averse. If you're not, the 7 Mag would be agood choice. Something relatively new to check out that would work really well, IMHO, is the .338 Federal.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

The .338 Federal, while a good cartridge, is only availible at this moment in the expensive Sako. I wish H&R would chamber the .338 Federal in their Handi Rifles.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

You need not be worried. The 270 or 30/06 will handle any hog in the US and any whitetail or smaller in the US. Even larger animals like Elk, but at shorter distances than the Whitetail. We shoot hogs with 44Mag rifles and 30/30...Very effective...I would select bonded or partition ammo for hogs or thicker skinned game

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

By asking the same question on this forum, I was steered toward the .270. Shot it for a year, got a deer and an elk,and just had to "upgrade" to .300 win mag, then to .300 wsm. Now I'm going back to the .270 because I just shoot it better finallyconvinced myself what they all tried to tell me -that shot placement is everything.

Plus I'm old.

You're right about the value of this forum - It's great. I can tell you your question has been asked over and over in this and the hunting forums, so you might want to do a search. (Not that anybody minds answering it again and again, from the looks of the answers)

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

go with the 7mm Rem Mag.

RE: Caliber decision....HELP!!!
 

i was at a ranch in west texas where a guy shot a 590-600 pound hog(don't remember the exact number as it was years ago). he put it down in it's tracks with 1 shot. take a guess what the beast of a gun he was shooting was.

a 25-06. personally, my favorite deer/hog gun of all time is a 243. i now shoot a 270 because we gave the 243 to one of my stepsisters. i would chose the 30-06 or 270. one thing you should concern yourself with is the fit of the gun. for instance, i have shot all kinds of guns up to a 7mag and my 270 recoils worse than any of them. why? because it doesn't fit me very well. but, i don't get to hunt that much so i've never had a need to get it fixed. now, i am out of college and starting to hunt regularly again. i am thinking of either buying a new 270 or buying a stock that fits me better.

so take it for what it's worth.