Which rifle is best for deer hunting in Texas?

Question

My husband wants to go deer hunting when the season begins. This would be his first time hunting. We don't know what rifle to get. Is 30-30 a good choice? Or any other rifles that would be best for deer hunting?

Answer 1

Look into a 308 or 270, sorry I am not much of a 30-30 or 30-06 fan.

Answer 2

Best Hunting Rifle For Deer

Answer 3

Best Deer Hunting Rifle

Answer 4

The 30-30 is a fine choice for woods hunting. If his opportunities are going to be largely in the woods of east TX, you could hardly ask for a handier rifle.
If he's going to be hunting from a stand in more open country, a scoped bolt-action rifle will be more useful. As another poster said, Leupold makes some great glass at reasonable prices. Here I have to put in a little sacrilege: 308 and 30-06 are extremely popular, but they are not the best choices for deer. Americans have had a love affair with the thirty calibers since the 30-30 was introduced in 1895, but the 308 and 30-06 are over-powered for deer and those cases necked down to smaller calibers, like 260 Remington and 7mm08, both smaller-caliber versions of the 308, outperform it on deer, as do the 270 Winchester and 280 Remington, both smaller-caliber versions of the 30-06. There's nothing wrong with being over-gunned, but there's no need for it, either. If you decide on a bolt-action, you'll again have to choose what kind, and again that's going to depend on what kind of hunt is planned. With Remington, for instance, the 700 VS recommended elsewhere is a varmint rifle which is designed for shooting from a stand, and not a good choice for carrying about. The BDL and CDL series are standard, the Mountain version a bit lighter, giving up a little steadiness for easier portability should he anticipate a lot of walking, and the little Model 7 smallest of all, and most portable, but probably the poorest choice for hunting from a stand. Other manufacturers have similar options, and you'll have to compromise someplace.

Answer 5

Hunting deer in Texas means a little more wide open hunting with less brush. 30-30 is a great choice for hunting heavy cover and taking shots less than 100 yards.
Many shots in Texas are more than 100 yards. The best choices for Texas whitetail are 30-06, 270, & 308. These shoot much flatter than the 30-30 and are much better "all-around" calibers than the 30-30.

Answer 6

I use a Marlin 30/30 myself, but I hunt in the
North East where brush hunting and shots at
under 100 Yd.s are the rule.
in Texas where there's a lot of open country,
you want something with more velocity for the
longer range shots.
A 270, 7mm. 08, or 308 in an nice bolt action,
(Ruger 77 etc.), would probably be a better
choice for him.

Answer 7

The best two (2)* choices for your purpose & area he will be hunting is the 30-06 or 308 caliber Rifle.* Buy Remington or Savage Brand Rifle.* I prefer the 30-06 myself because it has a large variety of bullet weights to choose from.*

Answer 8

The .30-30 is a fiie round and has been used to take more deer than any other round. However, it is a bit limited in that it is best for shots under about 50 yards. If I were going to pick a gun for Texas deer, I would choose the .308. As for a make of gun, my chlice would be either the Remington 700 VS or one of the Savage bolt action guns. I have a Remington 700 VS chambered for the .308 round and can tell you that it is a tack driver. Becasue of the design of the barrel, it shoots many different bullet weights well but is at its best with either a 150 grain bullet or a 165 grain bullet. My peersonal recommendation for a scope would be something like a Leupold 3x 9. If you are feeling rich I would recommend a Swarovski 3 X 9 scope. Very pricy but its as good as you can get... the Rolls Royce of scopes. Whatever you do, DO NOT buy a cheap scope. If you do, you will be wasting your money. A proper scope is goling to cost you about as much as the rifle. You can expect to pay around $500 to $700 for a decent scope. A Swarovski will run you a bit over $1,000. As for mounts and rings for the scope, I think ConeTrol is top of the line. Others are quite good and may cost a bit less but I still prefer ConeTrol. If you buy all new stuff, you can expect to be spending around $2,000 for the rifle, scope and mounts. If that is too rich for your blood, try asking your gun dealer about used rifles. Many dealers take guns in trade when someone wants to buy another gun so he will have a selection on hand and you can save some money that way. Just be sure that the gun is in good sound condition and that it has a decent scope... no junk. I have seen cases where a dealere will take a gun in trade that has a veery good scope on it and then he would take off the good scope and put a lesser scope on it to resell and then sell the good scope separately. It's not dishonest, it's just a way to increase the money that he can get in return for the gun that he took in trade.

If you go the used gun route, you can consider other calibers as well as the .308. The .30-06 is a very popular chambering and you will be able to find plenty of them for sale. The .30-06 is a good round although it is a bit more than he will need for Texas White Tail deer. Still, it is worth considering. Another round that is quite good for Texas deer is the .270. Lke the .30-06 it is more than needed but still a good round. The .243 is also a good round and the least powerful of those that I have listed but is a good round for Texas deer. I wouldn't consider anything smaller than the .243, though. Try to stay away from the higher powered rounds such as the 7 mm Remington. They are way more than you need for Texas deer, they have more recoil and are a lot louder when fired. Too much gun for Texas deer. There is no use having to put up with more noise and recoil than you need. My son thought he just had to have a 7mm Ultra Mag for deer hunting. NOw that he has invested his money in it and hunted with it a few times, he has come to realize that it is WAY too much gun for deer. It tears up the meat so badly that he has to throw away a lot of ruined meat. That wouldn't happen with a more reasonable round such as those that I have recommended.

I hope this has been a help in selecting a gun for your husband's deer hunting. Hope he brings home some venison.

Answer 9

The .30-30 is okay but may be harder to find now that Winchester closed its doors. For deer hunting in Texas I like the .25-06 Remington. Really, anything .243 Winchester or bigger will do.

Best.

H

Answer 10

As a Dealer and Hunter I would recommend your husband look at a Marlin 336 Lever Action 30-30 Winchester Caliber Rifle. They are affordable and incredibly popular Deer rifles that are as popular today as they were 25+ years ago. The 30-30 caliber bullet is responsible for more Deer kills, and is the most popular caliber in U.S. history.(Seriously) The Marlin 336 is side ejecting, easy to handle and shoot accurately and the perfect first rifle for a beginner who is just starting to hunt. You can see the Marlin's for yourself at Cabelas, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops, Sports Authority and at pretty much any local Gun Shop in the area where you live. You can find them on sale now with the upcoming Deer Hunting season for about $325, and sometimes less if you shop around.....I sell a bunch of these each year this time for new hunters, Christmas presents,and to hunters who are getting their kids involved in the sport of hunting. I honestly can't think of a better choice than this for your husband. Do yourself and your husband a favor and go in person to see these rifles. You will see for yourself exactly why I praise them so much.Good Luck with whatever you choose.......