jasonthehunted

haha, yeah that should be an expereince. What have you looked at so far?

SC Swampbird

I shoot a Ruger M77 in .270 spitting Federal 130gr. BTSP (Sierra bullet) zeroed at 25yds and hold dead+center out to 300 yds. The trajectory of the BTSP will reach +3in./-3in. out to 300yds, with that zero. The kill zone of the average deer is 10in. (heart/lung area) so a dead+center hold will be in the vital area, regardless of the distance, out to 300 yds.
They are just as dead, in the SC beanfields, with a .270 as with the Mag. calibers.

Moose_Maximus

Jason, I've got a used Remington 742 carbine in .30-06 that I picked up recently. It shoots fine, and came equipped with a Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x40. Pretty old rifle, and has a muzzle blast that'll wake the dead for miles around, but it's really a hoot.

I was wondering whether it was too much gun for a small deer. Maybe I could try lighter loads (maybe those Remington reduced-recoil loads or something).

Ol Gutshot

I like my 7MAG. It was a hand me down from my old man, so it's not like I wnet out and chose to go big. Part of it is a macho thing, I suppose, but I can comfortably take this bad boy elk hunting, so it's versitile. And it knocks the snot out of whitetails.

Year before last, a guy I hunt with shot a buck with a .25-06 and caught the shot on video. Looked like a perfect lung shot and there was blood everywhere. We tracked that son of a gun for hours and never found him. The trail went about 500 yds and just ended. There were 5 of us tracking too! That is proabably an isolated incident, but right or wrong, I ain't taking no chances. If the Hammer comes out, there's something gonna die.

As far as hogs go, you never know if a monster boar is going to come to your stand where I hunt. I've seen a 300lb boar take .300 WINMAG with mild discomfort. Their skulls are like iron(like mine, my wife says)

jasonthehunted

naw moose, that 30-06 is fine, probably the most popular caliber in the US for deer hunting, Ive shot several with a 30-06. You ll be reall happy with that rifle,

Ryan Campbell

This topic is a huge can of worms but the caliber also depends on the skill of the hunter. I would use the largest caliber you are comfortable with in the .30 cal range. The reason is, a .243 etc is a capable gun in skilled hands but I have tracked many a deer shot in the shoulder with this caliber because it didn't do the trick. A .270 can also give a hunter false confidence, I've also tracked a lot of wounded deer shot with this caliber.
I recommend a .308 or a .30-06 at least. Once you become more skilled a smaller caliber is ok but the small calibers do not have the "knock down power" to correct an ill placed shot.

Ryan Campbell
http://www.hossfly.com

Fireblade545

That hog must have been made of iron. I have shot 250LB. + boars with a .243 right behind the ear and they hit the ground like a safe

jasonthehunted

shot placement is the key on any game. If your confident and capable, you can kill with almost any caliber. Doesnt matter what you use if you hit it in the butt, right?