So many rifles which one should i choose?

Question

I would use it for deer and hogs. You know small to mid sized game.

Answer 1

Well, that's up to you. Not anybody else.

Answer 2

I would narrow it down to three choices:
.270 Winchester
30-06 Springfield
.300 Winchester Mag.

The .270, at one point or another, has been used to take every game animal in North America, though it is not the best choice. Though, it will take any deer or hog out there today. Use the 150 grains and it will give you that extra edge in power and penetration when it comes to the thick hog hides.

The .30-06, has killed every animal in North America, and it needs no intro. to the hunting world. It is still the most popular choice in the U.S. Definately can not go wrong with it. Use the 180 grains for hogs, and the 150-165 grains for deer.

As for the big .300 Winchester Mag., it is the most popular .30 caliber magnum in the world. It might be overkill for most hog and deer hunting situations, but, if you ever have to take a long range shot on a deer or hog, it will give you a good punch out to about the 400 yard mark, and gives you an extra edge in power and trajectory. Chose the 150 grain for deer and 180 grain for hog.

Answer 3

Great question, and one that led me to own a double handful of rifles for the purpose. If you have to pick only one, you're in a tough spot.
Where I hunt the hogs tend to stay in or near the thick stuff most of the time, so something short and handy is an advantage. Deer can be at longer ranges, though, so I only carry the lever guns if I know I'm staying in the thick areas.
If I had to get rid of everything but one, I'd stay with a Remington 700 Mountain as a good compromise, and since they don't chamber my 7x57 any more, I'd choose 7mm08, which is the combo I bought my father back about 15 years ago. His had a Leupold 3-9 on top, and if I had it to do over, I'd change that to their 2-7 and call that the perfect rig.
7mm08 is ballistically superior to its parent 308, and pushes heavier bullets almost as flat as 270 with a lot more efficiency, and from a short action.
(Actually, for hogs, the best I ever had or saw was 8x57 JRS side-by-side, and I intend to get another some day, but the price of pork in that case is mighty high!)

Answer 4

If you want something for deer AND hogs I would look at a Remington 870 with slug barrel; it comes with rifle sights, can be scoped for deer hunting, and will definitely stop a wild hog. It would be not too expensive and last forever and a day. It could also be considered the ultimate home defense weapon as with 5 shot no innocent neighbor could be injured by shooting through three walls or something.

Answer 5

Hard to beat the 30-06. There are probably more styles and weights of bullets for this old timer than any other round. Use a light weight bullet and go after coyotes. Up the weight a bit and take a antelope. A bit more bullet for deer. The heavy weights for Elk.

Savage probably makes the best for the money.

Answer 6

I would suggest 270 it`s a great multi-purpose caliber, plenty of knock down power without destroying the meat, 30-06 and 308 tremendous knock down power but destroy a lot of meat and is`nt meat what you want from hunting deer and hog?

Answer 7

There is quite an array, so choosing is difficult. it depends upon what action-type you like and how much recoil you can tolerate. You do not need an elephant gun for hogs and whitetail deer. I'd say anything from 6.5 to 7.62 mm should be fine for you.

Answer 8

Honestly gun choice is tough because there is a lot however the easist way to choose is think what you need it for, what range and then think what excites you the most about the gun?

Since that is as an important aspect of the hunt as the hunt itself.

So breaking ii down the calibres generally designed around game that size start with the 243 winchester, through the 6mm and 6.5mm guns, up through the .257 calibres to the 270 cals and 300cals with a couple missed but that's thye general idea.


Generally most of the are very high velocity cartridges, using pointed aero dynamic, expanding bullets, which can take that game closely or at long range as well. They therefore have good trajectory so you don;t have to aim off much if the range is unknown.


The 243's and 6mms are generally considered too small on the biggest deer species, but they can also double as really long cartrdiges on stuff like prair dogs, rabbits, ground hogs etc.

The bigger the calibres get, the lower the velocity tends to be and the more they are tailored for bigger game. For example the light 243's and 257's absolutely scream along well over 3000fps where as most of the general 270's and 300's are operating at 3000 or less.


In the same way the 270's and 300's are a little less practical for extreme range on very small game, but better if you ever decide one day to use them on a moose say.


Also if you want more range in the big stuff (and more recoil and a bigger price tag) you can choose a 'magnum' that is something someone has made with a bigger case for more power. Like a 300 winchester magnum. A famous magnum name is weatherby. Any cartrdige with weatherby after the name has generally been made with maximum range in mind.

Realisitcally most 'normal' cartrdiges will do as well as the 'magnums' in the field. A magnum is for the guy who maybe wants to take an occasional shot at really extreme ranges, or just wants to have THE BIGGEST gun in his calibre. So if you want to pay a bit more and have the ferrari on the block that''s when you get the magnum.



So choose what makes you feel good. You want the small gun to do the job or are you a big gun sort of guy?


Second are the gun types. The ,main ones are semi-autos, lever actions(like cowboys used), single shots, pump actions and the most common the bolt actions. What do you see yourself doing? Most commonly 'hunters' are bolt action guys and the above cartrdiges I mentioned are mostly the bolt action cartridges.

the bolt action is the most common action, is made in the most different types of calibre, suits use with a scope the best, is easiest to reload for, and is considered the truest hunting style action these days.

However some come in semi-auto style, the advantage f the semi-auto is you can shoot as fast as you can pull the trigger. The disadvantages is it is generally a bit heavier, more complicated, needs more cleaning, and may cost more as well. Also you need to check laws as to whether you can hunt with one.

Next is the pump action rifle which combines good points of both the bolt action and the semi-auto. Its almost as fast as a semi, much less complicated, not quite as simple or accurate as a bolt action, but still very good. Remington and browning I think still make the best pumps, for a cheap price.

Next are the very popular Lever actions which mostly come in the old cowboy cartrdiges, some of which are still great for hunting. Like the 30-30, 45-70 and big modern pistol rounds. They are a bit slower than a pump, still faster to load than a bolt action but generally used for closer range, since those rounds I mentioned are less capacity for calibre than similar bolt action calibres. Also they usually cannot use pointy bullets since they might set off the bullet in front of them in the tubular magazine. Some lever actions use removabale magazines which can also use high velocity bolt action cartridges but generally you get a lever action as a close range high capacity thumper. A marlin guide gun in 444 or 45-70 is a real thumper and great fun on big hogs at close quarters.

Single shots, as the name says. One bullet. One kill. Very accurate and simple mechanisms with nothing to go wrong since there are few moving parts. They come in everyhting from bolt action high velocity to old wild west calibres. They are something you generally own if you like the historical aspect of using what the old timers used to. Ruger makes a great no.1 single shot in heavy calibres.

So you have to ask yourself what you see yourself using on hogs and deer?

Will you be picking long range shots like a sniper, doing it old style with one bullet at a time with a single shot, or thumping things up close with a light and handy lever action and its hard hiitting flat nose bullets?

Or do you just want the easist choice to handle most of the above with a generally made bolt action in a regular calibre.

My choice being a bolt action guy for simplicity would be any major manufacturer brand in something like 270 winchester with good mid range scope all up for about $1000.

Answer 9

30-06 no doubt, but the brand of rifle depends on how much you want to spend. Lower end price Winchester model 70, on the higher end, anything Whetherby makes wuld be well worth it.

Answer 10

.308 caliber would be fine for this type of hunting. I use an old Remington 750, it's a great rifle.

Answer 11

That all depends on how far of shot you'll be taking? Is it brush country or is it open? Which type of action you prefer? And what kind of recoil can you handle? My advise is to see What kind of rifle your buddies have and ask to take a couple of shots.