Your Pig/Deer Hunting Rifle(s), Caliber/bullet weight, > Range you would shoot?

[Garandimal]

Well...

It's the start of College Football and that means Hunting Season is coming up.

What are Your Medium-to-Large Game Hunting Rifle(s):
- More than One?
- Caliber/bullet weight?
- > Range you would shoot?


- Have a 2-7X scoped RUGER 77/357/180 gr XTP/140 gr. Barnes XPB.

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For the camp and woods, good for ~150 yards but 75-100 is more useful on pigs and deer.


- Prime is an old 3-9X scoped REM 700 BDL .270 WIN/150 gr. Nosler Partition/140 gr. Pierce TSX/130 gr. Federal TC.

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Did a bedding job and cut an inch off and installed a recoil pad on this rifle eons ago. It still shoots cloverleafs w/ handloads and <1.5 MOA with the factory ammo from field positions. Have taken game at 350+ (based on the ballistics), but those were usually special shots through sight-lines in the woods or across meadows. Still hunting usually produces <300 yards shots and generally <150 yards.

- Alternate is a SPRINGFIELD M1 Garand/168 gr. Federal TSX/165 gr. PPU.

​

This rifle shoots <2.5 MOA from field positions and while mainly a woods rifle would be fine for a 300 yard shot on a deer or big hog as well.


Those are mine.

What are yours?




GR

 

[troy fairweather]

ill use any thing legal to hunt deer but by ruger 77 tang. in 7x57 gets the most time. in tight spots i use my marlins in 44 mag or 35 rem.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Savage 99E wearing a Weaver K4.
.243
100gr up to 200YD for deer and 'yotes.
58gr out to 400 for 'chucks and such, (but not with this scope, lol).

 

[Legionnaire]

I have posted this many times. My go-to deer hunting rifle for many years has been a Remington Model 7 in .308 with a Leupold 2-7X compact in Leupold rings. It's in an HS Precision sporter stock. Primary load has been 150 grain Remington CoreLokts. I have never taken game beyond 150 yards with it, and most shots were well under 100. But I'm pretty confident of my ability with it out to 300. There are others in the safe, but this is the primary.

 

[LoonWulf]

What ever I feel like carrying that day.
Lately I've been using my heavy 7 (162 amax at 3k), and my .375 Ruger (270speer btsp, 2650-2800) the most.
My .250AIs (115 berger vld, 3100) been getting taken alot also, but haven't shot anything I'm a month or two with it. I tore it apart last week and coated the barrel and action, so it's down rill I resight it.

95+% of my shooting is under 200yds, but I'm comfortable with any of my larger rifles to 250-300ish, and 4ish (if I can get a good rf hit) with the ones I shoot offten.
My SKS is getting a scope, and my 6x47 is waiting on it's scope to come back from Leupold, those are my only "shorter" range guns.
The SKS is launching 150s at 2300 so basically a .30-30. 200is a longish shot for that gun.
The 6x47 drives an 87 to 2800. I'm comfortable with the 6x47 to 300ish just due to performance. I don't feel it delivers enough energy farther than that.

 

[Newtosavage]

I like to have a goal of taking one deer with each of my hunting rifles each season, just so they all get some exercise and none of them get jealous.

So this year, it will be 1) Stainless Tikka 7mm-08, 2) Winchester 94ae 3) Ruger 77-50 Muzzleloader and new this year - my Howa 1500 Mini in 7.62x39

That is of course, after I take the one buck of the year with my bow.

 

[Newtosavage]

I have posted this many times. My go-to deer hunting rifle for many years has been a Remington Model 7 in .308 with a Leupold 2-7X compact in Leupold rings. It's in an HS Precision sporter stock. Primary load has been 150 grain Remington CoreLokts. I have never taken game beyond 150 yards with it, and most shots were well under 100. But I'm pretty confident of my ability with it out to 300. There are others in the safe, but this is the primary.

Nice rifle. Hard to 2nd guess that choice for whitetails.

 

[troy fairweather]

I like to have a goal of taking one deer with each of my hunting rifles each season, just so they all get some exercise and none of them get jealous.

So this year, it will be 1) Stainless Tikka 7mm-08, 2) Winchester 94ae 3) Ruger 77-50 Muzzleloader and new this year - my Howa 1500 Mini in 7.62x39

That is of course, after I take the one buck of the year with my bow.

how u like hat howa mini.

 

[Newtosavage]

how u like hat howa mini.

Gimme a week and I'll tell ya' Stock will be here on Thurs.

 

[LoonWulf]

Gimme a week and I'll tell ya' Stock will be here on Thurs.

What stock u using? I keep looking at the barreled actions but haven't bit

 

[troy fairweather]

u got one of the 219 ones with they did the sale after i found some work lol

 

[Robert]

My only hunting rifle is my Winchester Safari Express 375 H&H.

 

[Garandimal]

My only hunting rifle is my Winchester Safari Express 375 H&H.

So, you scare Bambi to death?
(must really save on meat destruction)






GR

 

[ECVMatt]

I have been mostly using a Winchester Model 70 in 30-06 for the last thirty years or so. Here is a picture from about 1993 after a good hunt up in the Sierras. I have changed the stock to an HS Precision and upgraded the scope, but the rest is pretty much how it came out of the box. It's a great rifle and does it all for me.

 

[Robert]

So, you scare Bambi to death?
(must really save on meat destruction)






GR

Loaded correctly the 375 does very little damage to meat. Less than the 300 and 338 mags.

 

[troy fairweather]

the 375s are nice on deer with light loads little meat damage. if i had one id us it.

 

[Newtosavage]

What stock u using? I keep looking at the barreled actions but haven't bit

After calling Hogue and discovering they don't actually make the stocks for the mini, I finally broke down and bought a Boyd's classic in the Forest camo. Planning on drilling out a lot of the wood in the buttstock to lighten it up.

 

[Newtosavage]

Loaded correctly the 375 does very little damage to meat. Less than the 300 and 338 mags.

I believe it. My .45 caliber bullets in sabots, fired from my muzzleloader, do very little damage. It's all about bullet construction, velocity and distance.

 

[LoonWulf]

Loaded correctly the 375 does very little damage to meat. Less than the 300 and 338 mags.

I'd add the hotter .270-30-06 loads to that list.
.375s the least destructive rifle I own.

 

[troy fairweather]

need a 375 socom

 

[Garandimal]

Shoot 158 gr. Federal semi-jacketed soft point out of the 77/357 on small to medium game. very clean.




GR

 

[LoonWulf]

need a 375 socom

It's on the list if I get an scr lower.

 

[Garandimal]

I'd add the hotter .270-30-06 loads to that list.
.375s the least destructive rifle I own.

As for the .270 WIN - Both the 150 gr. Partition and 140 gr. TSX are pretty clean if you keep them away from the shoulders.

On the other hand, you drive either one of them into the off shoulder? They will take down monsters.




GR

 

[LoonWulf]

Shoot 158 gr. Federal semi-jacketed soft point out of the 77/357 on small to medium game. very clean.




GR

I used 180xtps in my Rossi 92. Never shot anything with it unfortunately. I need a scope to be comfortable hunting with a gun it seems.

 

[Garandimal]

I used 180xtps in my Rossi 92. Never shot anything with it unfortunately. I need a scope to be comfortable hunting with a gun it seems.

180 gr. XTP's are very useful for hogs and deer.

The 140 gr. Barnes XPB's really surprised me on a "lead-free" hunt. Carbine Bbls really move them along.




GR