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I need a gun for hunting

holstil

Silver $$ Contributor
I been thinkin bout doing some hunting again. I bought a few things to put together and now I'm trying to have one gun for all my hunting.
I think I'll be aiming at yotes, deer and maybe other animals. Don't know if I'm really up to killing again. I really just miss taking my gun for a walk, stalking game and generally being out in the woods.

I have about 300 acres of family property to hunt (all wooded) and now my buddy has invited me to hunt on his 1900 acre mixed terrain lot. Shots could range to whatever.

I put together a Remington ss 5r 308 12tw barrel on a trued 700 with a kiff bolt in a hogue stock (stock on order). It might come together a bit heavy for luggin great distances but my thinking is I can shoot a 175 or so for the deer and 125 or so for the yotes and if I ever want to just blow rounds down range the barrel ought to hold up.

What do ya think do I need another gun? ::) Maybe I should ask, if you only had one gun for huntin what would it be?

Jim
 
Jim, I think the .308 will be okay for now at least, sounds like you may have reservations on taking game for whatever reasons so I see no reason to buy a rifle special for hunting just to find out it's not for you ( I hope it is ) I suggest you find one bullet for all, it takes to much time and bullets to constantly be re sighting it in for one bullet or the other, I probably would opt for a bullet in the 155-165 range. After some time has past and your enjoying yourself and have took some game you will know more about what you will be looking for in a true hunting rifle, my $.02 worth anyway.Happy hunting to you and may it all come together for you.
Wayne.
 
Shortly after the wife and I were married and she loved shooting with me, I wanted to get her a rifle of her own. I also looked for the one that would allow her to take whatever she wanted. Her first deer was with a 270 but it wasn't hers. After considerable thinking on it, we went with a 257 WTHBY MAG. I load 85, 100, and 115gr rounds depending on what the hunt is and can go heaver if needed. I load them down for small game and plinking and faster for larger game. Just my thoughts.

Wayne is correct, the 308 is a good choice and it makes sense to use what you got for now. The 1900 acres would be awesome. Good luck Jim.
 
Put together a smaller 6MM Rem, 243 or 257 Roberts. All will do what you want and there's the added bonus of "neat & sporty" compared to a boring old 308.

Enjoy your carry and welcome back to the hunting side.
 
holstil said:
Maybe I should ask, if you only had one gun for huntin what would it be?
Unless some specific animals like elk, moose, etc were going to be regularly on the menu, it would be hard to go wrong with a 7mm-08 and 140gr bullets
 
All good things to consider. I have a few reamers from building my bench guns. I have a 7-08 reamer, I thought that would be a good second choice. I bought the 308 barrel before I put much thought in to it. I don't have a 257 reamer though another good choice. That's not to say I can't go buy another barrel or reamer.

I thought a 308 would be enough up to and including Elk. I thought all but the big bears and moose.
What is the limit game wise with the 308? I assume the other calibers mentioned would be restricted as well.

Jim
 
my 2c worth, the 308 is a graater cartridge but more recoil I built 7-08 AI on 700 trued action hart bbl #3 fluted, and hitech stock - the weight with scope is 7 1/3 #, a great walker and very capable of anything you want south of Alaska big stuff.

I know many elk taken with std 7-08 and would in your case go with the std case not AI- the stock and bbl are key to getting the walking gun weight where you want it in the 71/2# or less area with scope.

140s for game, 120-130 varmint

Bob
 
holstil said:
I been thinkin bout doing some hunting again. I bought a few things to put together and now I'm trying to have one gun for all my hunting.
I think I'll be aiming at yotes, deer and maybe other animals. Don't know if I'm really up to killing again. I really just miss taking my gun for a walk, stalking game and generally being out in the woods.

I have about 300 acres of family property to hunt (all wooded) and now my buddy has invited me to hunt on his 1900 acre mixed terrain lot. Shots could range to whatever.

I put together a Remington ss 5r 308 12tw barrel on a trued 700 with a kiff bolt in a hogue stock (stock on order). It might come together a bit heavy for luggin great distances but my thinking is I can shoot a 175 or so for the deer and 125 or so for the yotes and if I ever want to just blow rounds down range the barrel ought to hold up.

What do ya think do I need another gun? ::) Maybe I should ask, if you only had one gun for huntin what would it be?

Jim
Jim,
Since you already have a gun in the making, just waiting for the stock as I understood, chambered in one of America's favorite cartridges the .308. You want to take animals from coyotes through elk, if your able to kill again. In the beginning of the 20th century the 7x57 Mauser was the preferred elephant rifle, I think the .308 can handle anything you want to take with the proper bullet and bullet placement, I personally don't believe it's the preferred elk cartridge but it will do the job. No I don't think you need another rifle at this stage. I own over 300 firearms, my favorite at the moment and for the past year has been a factory Tikka T3 lite chambered in 7mm-08, its a true 600 yard deer and under stopper and I wouldn't hesitate on shooting a elk out to maybe 200-300 yards if necessary with it. If I could only have one for all, out of all that I own 22 hornet-50bmg it would be a .300wm, mine are extremely accurate, with my Quarter Minute Magnum and 210 Bergers it will hold under 1/2 min at 1000 yards and 1/4 minute out to 600 yards if I want to shoot 110 v-max for coyotes as a matter of a fact every bullet I have tried in it has shot extremely well so it is quite versatile, however there are trade offs it weighs 10lbs. 11oz without bi-pod and sling. I still suggest trying the rifle you have and if you end up loving the hunt build one to suit your needs, I guess ultimately the choice is yours, best of luck to you.
Wayne.
 
Its really hard to beat a 30 cal with the wide variety of bullet choices availible. If you didnt already have a 308 I would personally suggest a 30 '06 for availibilty of components and being able to go about anywhere and buy a box of ammunition if needed. The trade off of course is the recoil as this is a issue with alot of people.
 
If I was going to have only one gun for hunting varmints and deer I'd choose the 243 in a Tikka. There are better caliber choices for each of these animals but for one gun with the proper high quality ammo it might be ideal for the situation you descirbed. Mild recoil, ammo readily available everywhere, capable of excellent accuracy, and effective on varmints and deer size game. It fact, the 243 was created as a dual purpose cartridge.

Others I'd consider are the 260 Remington and 7mm-08 if you're purpose is more deer hunting than varmint.

More importantly, I chose a rifle brand with a reputation for "out of the box" accuracy and whatever you do, don't put a cheap scope on it.
 
K22 said:
If I was going to have only one gun for hunting varmints and deer I'd choose the 243 in a Tikka. There are better caliber choices for each of these animals but for one gun with the proper high quality ammo it might be ideal for the situation you descirbed. Mild recoil, ammo readily available everywhere, capable of excellent accuracy, and effective on varmints and deer size game. It fact, the 243 was created as a dual purpose cartridge.

Others I'd consider are the 260 Remington and 7mm-08 if you're purpose is more deer hunting than varmint.

More importantly, I chose a rifle brand with a reputation for "out of the box" accuracy and whatever you do, don't put a cheap scope on it.
K22,
If I weren't such a avid elk hunter I would have chose the same cartridge and definitely the same rifle as you did, if I was given to much time to think about it I might change my mind and go with the .243 anyway ;)
Wayne.
 
I am going with most everyone else....6mm Rem, .243 Win, .260 Rem or the 7mm-08. I see one of these in my future as I get older and my goal at deer camp leans more toward food and beverage and less toward tagging out.
 
You can not go wrong with the 308. You can take any North American game out there. And many have done it using the 308 for many a year. As long as you are not shooting Coyote to keep the pelt then the 308 in a 165-180 would be fine. If you want the pelt the 308 may not be your best choice. the 308 will take everything up to moose, bear, elk and so on. But it also does well on ground hogs. Lost of fun. I have used my 308 for coyote for years and it drops em where they stand. (as long as I do my part correctly) You could load up some 110-125 Varminters and go for Coyote or you could load up a mid range gameking or pro hunter in the 150 range as mentioned above and that would handle most anything. If you wanted to specifically go for something on the larger end of the spectrum you could load up some gamekings in the 180 range. There are plenty of other good bullets out there. But I mainly loaded Sierras so that is all I can personally speak on. The 308 is a very versatile cartridge. It is my favorite because there is nothing in these United States that I can not take with this single cartridge! In my Rem 700 with a 1;12 twist I loaded 175's Sierras using Lapua brass with Varget powder and had a very accurate and very deadly load and I used it for everything!

I recently heard on some hunting show that more large game has been taken with the 308 then any other cartridge in the world. So it is absolutely a well proven cartridge.
 
00Scot said:
You can not go wrong with the 308. You can take any North American game out there. And many have done it using the 308 for many a year. As long as you are not shooting Coyote to keep the pelt then the 308 in a 165-180 would be fine. If you want the pelt the 308 may not be your best choice. the 308 will take everything up to moose, bear, elk and so on. But it also does well on ground hogs. Lost of fun. I have used my 308 for coyote for years and it drops em where they stand. (as long as I do my part correctly) You could load up some 110-125 Varminters and go for Coyote or you could load up a mid range gameking or pro hunter in the 150 range as mentioned above and that would handle most anything. If you wanted to specifically go for something on the larger end of the spectrum you could load up some gamekings in the 180 range. There are plenty of other good bullets out there. But I mainly loaded Sierras so that is all I can personally speak on. The 308 is a very versatile cartridge. It is my favorite because there is nothing in these United States that I can not take with this single cartridge! In my Rem 700 with a 1;12 twist I loaded 175's Sierras using Lapua brass with Varget powder and had a very accurate and very deadly load and I used it for everything!

I recently heard on some hunting show that more large game has been taken with the 308 then any other cartridge in the world. So it is absolutely a well proven cartridge.
I have killed a lot of coyotes with minimal pelt damage, that is what full metal jackets are good for. Also I believe you heard that about a .308 but I would find it hard to believe the .308 has killed more animals then the 30-06 has, as a matter of a fact I would venture to say the 30-06 has stopped more heart beats then any other American made rifle, just my thoughts anyway ;)
Wayne.
 
I have shot and hunted with all the calibers mentioned. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a 308. If you will be really shooting smaller stuff a lot- predators etc, a smaller caliber would be more recoil friendly. If elk isn't realistically on the menu, a 243 or 6.5mm would make a lot of sense.

I have killed a few elk with a 7mm-08 and have let clients use it as well. It works quite well. All elk and all but one bear were felled using a 154 grain Hornady. One bear was shot using a 150 grain Partition. I shot over 200 coyotes with the 7mm-08 using 110 grain TnTs. I really tore them up!

I use a 260AI and 6.5-284 now. It has a little better reach and a little less recoil (108 Lapuas).
 
bozo699 said:
00Scot said:
You can not go wrong with the 308. You can take any North American game out there. And many have done it using the 308 for many a year. As long as you are not shooting Coyote to keep the pelt then the 308 in a 165-180 would be fine. If you want the pelt the 308 may not be your best choice. the 308 will take everything up to moose, bear, elk and so on. But it also does well on ground hogs. Lost of fun. I have used my 308 for coyote for years and it drops em where they stand. (as long as I do my part correctly) You could load up some 110-125 Varminters and go for Coyote or you could load up a mid range gameking or pro hunter in the 150 range as mentioned above and that would handle most anything. If you wanted to specifically go for something on the larger end of the spectrum you could load up some gamekings in the 180 range. There are plenty of other good bullets out there. But I mainly loaded Sierras so that is all I can personally speak on. The 308 is a very versatile cartridge. It is my favorite because there is nothing in these United States that I can not take with this single cartridge! In my Rem 700 with a 1;12 twist I loaded 175's Sierras using Lapua brass with Varget powder and had a very accurate and very deadly load and I used it for everything!

I recently heard on some hunting show that more large game has been taken with the 308 then any other cartridge in the world. So it is absolutely a well proven cartridge.
I have killed a lot of coyotes with minimal pelt damage, that is what full metal jackets are good for. Also I believe you heard that about a .308 but I would find it hard to believe the .308 has killed more animals then the 30-06 has, as a matter of a fact I would venture to say the 30-06 has stopped more heart beats then any other American made rifle, just my thoughts anyway ;)
Wayne.

yep, I didn't believe it either. But that's what the man said on that big glowing box the other night. ;) I woulda figured that some other caliber that was not common to North America but was popular in the rest of the world would have taken more game. Something in 6.5x55 or 303 Brit range. I would have thought something like that would have taken more throughout the world. But then again the info did come from the Boob Tube, so like the saying goes. You can't always believe what you see on TV. ;)
 
I know this subject has been talked about many times on many boards but it is still fun to see it spark an intrest.

I have been thinking a bit and as suggested I'll run with the 308 and see how it goes. I don't have one now but I have all the components for reloading from when I used to have one.

I will keep my eyes open for other hunting barrels to pop up. Cartridges for hunting that have my attn. are .243 .260 7-08 and 284.

At this point I'm really not interested in a big 30. Another friend of mine had me sight in his 6.5 lb Sako 300wsm, that was not what I call fun to shoot. I'm am still 40lbs off my regular weight of 190lbs recovering from cancer, so my bones are sticking out and it hurts a bit from the recoil.

I put a brake on the 308 barrel, I don't think my buddy will give me too much heat :-[ Can't wait for the stock.

Thanks, Jim
 

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