Which rifle is best?

Question:  For say, deer hunting today, which rifle do you prefer?  Which is best?

Probably the .308 m-14 marc has lol

For hunting anything...

Which cartridge do you guys prefer for deer hunting?  .30-06 Springfield?  .300 Winchester?  Something else?  I grew up with the .30-06, but I don't know a lot about penetrating power and velocity and all that stuff.

Also do you prefer semi-automatic or bolt or lever action?

Semi auto. Id never need the precision of a bolt action. Out to 1-200 yards, and your not going to be able to see anything anyway round here. Plus you gotta have that quick follow up shot, without taking your eyes off the sights

Sir Pun wrote:Probably the .308 m-14 marc has lol

I don't have it yet. Gonna take about 10 months.

Depends. I was using a Winchester 1892 in .44 mag for woods hunting hog and deer, but have recently started using my wife's Mini 30 for that. The Mini 30 is almost perfect for the south east woods.

Hunting in Texas or over bean fields or anywhere my shots will be over 200 yards, I use my AR-10. It is a heavy rifle so I ordered that M14 Tanker. That tanker will hopefully fill the role of both stalking and deer stand rifle.

Out west I use a falling block single shot in .300 Win Mag.

Marconius wrote:Depends. I was using a Winchester 1892 in .44 mag for woods hunting hog and deer, but have recently started using my wife's Mini 30 for that. The Mini 30 is almost perfect for the south east woods.

Hunting in Texas or over bean fields or anywhere my shots will be over 200 yards, I use my AR-10. It is a heavy rifle so I ordered that M14 Tanker. That tanker will hopefully fill the role of both stalking and deer stand rifle.

Out west I use a falling block single shot in .300 Win Mag.

Where did you hunt out west?

As someone who known nothing about hunting or rifles, what types of conditions give one rifle an advantage over another?

Bryant wrote:

Marconius wrote:Depends. I was using a Winchester 1892 in .44 mag for woods hunting hog and deer, but have recently started using my wife's Mini 30 for that. The Mini 30 is almost perfect for the south east woods.

Hunting in Texas or over bean fields or anywhere my shots will be over 200 yards, I use my AR-10. It is a heavy rifle so I ordered that M14 Tanker. That tanker will hopefully fill the role of both stalking and deer stand rifle.

Out west I use a falling block single shot in .300 Win Mag.

Where did you hunt out west?

As someone who known nothing about hunting or rifles, what types of conditions give one rifle an advantage over another?

I used to go to Colorado every year for an elk hunt. Ever since they became firearm unfriendly, I booked a trip to New Mexico for later this year. Bigger elk in NM anyway.

The 300 Win Mag is what they call "a belted magnum". It is prolly the most docile of the magnum rounds, but is good enough for anything in the lower 48 and I am not into overkill. It propels the same .30 cal bullet as a .308 or 30-06, but has a lot more powder behind it therefor it carries more energy and flys farther and has a flatter trajectory. A .308 is capable of dropping large animals, but range becomes limited and they will most likely not drop on the spot. With that magnum, I can hit large game like elk, moose, bison or even those exotics in Texas and drop them quickly.......even out to 600 yards. I try to limit my shots to 300 yards or less. The US military has started using the .300 Win Mag as a sniper round between the power of a 7.62 NATO(.308) and the .50 BMG. For humans, it is letal out to 1000-1200 yards whereas the .308 is about 800 yards and the 5.56 is good for about 400 yards. Remember humans are much easier to drop than animals of the same size and weight.

As far as hunting in thick woods, shots are very rarely over 100 yards and light bullets are easily deflected by twigs and such so a slower, heavier bullet is needed. That is where the .44 magnum fired from a carbine shines. Smaller, slighly faster bullets, like the Russian 7.62X39, work well 'cause it mimics the old 30-30, but can be fired from a semiauto. The 7.62X39 is what the AK47 and SKS fires. The last 20 years has seen US companies make hunting rifles, like the Mini30, that take advantage of the 39's good performance for hunting medium game, like deer and hog, out to 200 yards.

The .308(or 7.62 NATO) is known as a do it all round. Like the older 30-06 (.308 was designed to take the 30-06 place) that round can hunt anything in the lower 48 and is a round every firearm owner should have. It just fits in a power sweet spot. Not too powerful.......just powerful enough.

Marconius wrote:As far as hunting in thick woods, shots are very rarely over 100 yards and light bullets are easily deflected by twigs and such so a slower, heavier bullet is needed. That is where the .44 magnum fired from a carbine shines. Smaller, slighly faster bullets, like the Russian 7.62X39, work well 'cause it mimics the old 30-30, but can be fired from a semiauto. The 7.62X39 is what the AK47 and SKS fires. The last 20 years has seen US companies make hunting rifles, like the Mini30, that take advantage of the 39's good performance for hunting medium game, like deer and hog, out to 200 yards.

The .308(or 7.62 NATO) is known as a do it all round. Like the older 30-06 (.308 was designed to take the 30-06 place) that round can hunt anything in the lower 48 and is a round every firearm owner should have. It just fits in a power sweet spot. Not too powerful.......just powerful enough.

What do you think about the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum?  I read that this round is too powerful for whitetail, but I wonder why this is?

Maybe over penetration?

Dennis324 wrote:

Marconius wrote:As far as hunting in thick woods, shots are very rarely over 100 yards and light bullets are easily deflected by twigs and such so a slower, heavier bullet is needed. That is where the .44 magnum fired from a carbine shines. Smaller, slighly faster bullets, like the Russian 7.62X39, work well 'cause it mimics the old 30-30, but can be fired from a semiauto. The 7.62X39 is what the AK47 and SKS fires. The last 20 years has seen US companies make hunting rifles, like the Mini30, that take advantage of the 39's good performance for hunting medium game, like deer and hog, out to 200 yards.

The .308(or 7.62 NATO) is known as a do it all round. Like the older 30-06 (.308 was designed to take the 30-06 place) that round can hunt anything in the lower 48 and is a round every firearm owner should have. It just fits in a power sweet spot. Not too powerful.......just powerful enough.

What do you think about the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum?  I read that this round is too powerful for whitetail, but I wonder why this is?

The .300 RUM and rounds like it are poster children for the recent drive towards overkill. Many younger hunters want rounds that "shoot on a rope" which means they have a super flat trajectory. Since they use the exact same .30 cal bullet as a 30-06, the powder charge behind the bullet is greatly increased. 300 RUM's push that bullet at such a velocity, it is close to shredding itself due to air friction alone. These high speed bullets destroy lots of meat due to cavitation. Cavitation is caused by the air forming an eddy current behind the bullet as it flys forward(without cavitation a 5.56 NATO woul d be worthless). This cavitation destroys too much meat for people like me. These weapons are also very uncomfortable to shoot. I am not recoil sensitive, but even I do not like shooting those rounds. If one wants to drop game quickly and not destroy meat, then use an old school heavy bullet that doesn't travel as fast. This year I am gonna bring my old school 9.3X74 single shot elk hunting. It is good for my ranges and can drop any animal that walks this planet.......and it doesn't cavitate like my .300 Win Mag does. I dropped a nalgi w

Friggin phone posting.

Anyway, I dropped a nalgi out in Texas with that old 9.3X74 last year. Almost 1000 lbs and he took 1 1/2 steps after he got hit.

The secret is to try and find a round that dumps all of its energy into whatever it is you are shooting instead of having that bullet pass all the way through.

Example:
For home defense, a 44 special is more deadly than a 44 magnum. Sure that magnum makes much more energy, but will only use half of it to pass through the target's body. Meanwhile that special will not penetrate through therefore all 800 lb/ft of energy stays in the perps body. That energy crushes and damages greatly and will drop a bad guy quickly.

If I remember correctly you need somewhere around 750 lb/ft of force to drop a human where he stands. A deer needs somewhere around 800 lb/ft. I may be off on that though so don't quote that.

Dad used to kill a lot of deer with the Winchester .243 he had.  (Mine now).  Is that a good rifle and round?

Dennis324 wrote:Dad used to kill a lot of deer with the Winchester .243 he had.  (Mine now).  Is that a good rifle and round?

People mistakenly call the .243 a kids round. I would say it is almost perfect for whitetail and hogs in the Gulf South area. It shoots flat, has very little recoil, and is inherently very accurate. My first deer rifle was a .243 Remington bolt action. That rifle has killed almost 50 deer and several hogs and now sits in my son's gun safe at his house. He plans on giving it to his son.

The lack of recoil helps accuracy. You don't develop a flinch with it. The .243 is also inherently more accurate than a .30 cal due to what is known as ballistic coefficient(a good coefficient means It retains its energy downrange).

As long as those red stag stay on private lands, there is no need for a larger caliber in your area. Enjoy it and pass it down.

The "perfect" bullet is a 6.5 mm(265 cal). It is as close to a perfect ballistic coefficient as you can find. You get the same if you jump to .338 cal, but only Federal makes a good, usable .338. All others are way overkill.

I shot a .300 mag of some sort before. Wanna say it was a remmy. And hell yeah, lots of kick, even compared to a shotgun.

Marconius wrote:

Dennis324 wrote:Dad used to kill a lot of deer with the Winchester .243 he had.  (Mine now).  Is that a good rifle and round?

People mistakenly call the .243 a kids round. I would say it is almost perfect for whitetail and hogs in the Gulf South area. It shoots flat, has very little recoil, and is inherently very accurate. My first deer rifle was a .243 Remington bolt action. That rifle has killed almost 50 deer and several hogs and now sits in my son's gun safe at his house. He plans on giving it to his son.

The lack of recoil helps accuracy. You don't develop a flinch with it. The .243 is also inherently more accurate than a .30 cal due to what is known as ballistic coefficient(a good coefficient means It retains its energy downrange).

As long as those red stag stay on private lands, there is no need for a larger caliber in your area. Enjoy it and pass it down.

 Sounds like a winner.  I'm gonna have to get it out of the gun cabinet and start firing it.  Is it hard to zero in a scope?

Speaking of federal bullets, I have a box of Federal Hydra-shocks in 9mm.  (135 grain) hollow points.  I've never really fired anything except those luger practice rounds though, but I keep a clip of the hydra-shocks with me all the time for protection. 

9mm on the right.
 
Is that a good round for personal defense in 9mm or should I look at using something else?
 
I like the 9mm because it lets me center on the target quicker after firing for the next round, but as I've said I really want a .357 revolver and would also like a .38 special revolver too with about a 2 inch barrel. My shooting buddy here says the .38 isn't powerful enough to bother with, but I don't understand.  While I know the 357 or 44 or 40 or 45 pack more punch, the 38 special was used for an awful long time and honestly has killed a buttload of people.  Plus it seems like the pistol itself would be smaller and more compact.  Should I give up on the 38 spc?

Anything close enough to hit with any of those pistols, is close enough to kill. I believe the .38 special was the last of the service revolvers wasnt it?

Yeah, and If you find one of those service revolvers, in good condition, you have a fairly expensive weapon.

Dennis324 wrote:

Marconius wrote:

Dennis324 wrote:Dad used to kill a lot of deer with the Winchester .243 he had.  (Mine now).  Is that a good rifle and round?

People mistakenly call the .243 a kids round. I would say it is almost perfect for whitetail and hogs in the Gulf South area. It shoots flat, has very little recoil, and is inherently very accurate. My first deer rifle was a .243 Remington bolt action. That rifle has killed almost 50 deer and several hogs and now sits in my son's gun safe at his house. He plans on giving it to his son.

The lack of recoil helps accuracy. You don't develop a flinch with it. The .243 is also inherently more accurate than a .30 cal due to what is known as ballistic coefficient(a good coefficient means It retains its energy downrange).

As long as those red stag stay on private lands, there is no need for a larger caliber in your area. Enjoy it and pass it down.

 Sounds like a winner.  I'm gonna have to get it out of the gun cabinet and start firing it.  Is it hard to zero in a scope?

I have a little red laser that looks like a bullet. They can be found for around $10. You load up the laser like you would a live round(turn the laser on first). Look through your scope and line up the crosshairs with the red dot. Fine adjustments may have to be made at the range, but it should be close. Of course this assumes that the scope has already been mounted properly with bubble levels and such.

While making fine adjustments you need to know how much one click moves the crosshairs. Most scopes are 1/2 MOA(minute of angle). One MOA=one inch @ 100 yards. My scopes are 1/4 MOA. This means if you have a target at 100 yards, one click of the scope dial equals either 1/2" or 1/4" of movement depending on what your MOA adjustment is.

Great thing about adjusting your scope is that you get to practice firing the rifle. Practice good firearm safety and practice breathing and good triggers squeeze.

Let me know when you want to get into MPBR or maximum point blank range. That is a method to maximize your shooting distance without dialing in adjustments for distance. Offhand I would say a .243 would be very close to 300 yard MPBR.

Dennis324 wrote:Speaking of federal bullets, I have a box of Federal Hydra-shocks in 9mm.  (135 grain) hollow points.  I've never really fired anything except those luger practice rounds though, but I keep a clip of the hydra-shocks with me all the time for protection. 

9mm on the right.
 
Is that a good round for personal defense in 9mm or should I look at using something else?
 
I like the 9mm because it lets me center on the target quicker after firing for the next round, but as I've said I really want a .357 revolver and would also like a .38 special revolver too with about a 2 inch barrel. My shooting buddy here says the .38 isn't powerful enough to bother with, but I don't understand.  While I know the 357 or 44 or 40 or 45 pack more punch, the 38 special was used for an awful long time and honestly has killed a buttload of people.  Plus it seems like the pistol itself would be smaller and more compact.  Should I give up on the 38 spc?

Hydro-shocks are all you need for protection. There are equivalent from other companies, but are really no better or worse. If I were you, I would do most of my practice with cheapie American Eagle. These are actually factory reloads done by Federal and are good for punching paper. I would also buy one box of good stuff from different manufacturers and spend the day finding out which brand your pistol shoots best(I do this with all my firearms). Believe it or not, but all firearms have "favorite" loads. These are loads that tend to be more accurate in the individual firearm. Since the cost could get kinda high, I wouldn't rush to do this, but I would definately do a comparison.

Don't waste money on a 38 spc. Get a .357 mag. Reason is, all .357's can fire a .38. With one pistol you can have both. I would use the specials if I were gonna use the gun indoors for home protection. Less penetration of walls and less of a chance to hit someone innocent behind those walls. Same with a .44 mag. You can load up .44 spc into them for a milder, safer gun. BesidesI would rather shoot a perp with the specials. The magnums go right through while the specials dump all their energy right into them thereby taking them down quicker. We are far too old to play Dirty Harry (little secret....in Maximum Force Harry admits to using .44 specials in his .44 magnum.....watch the scene where he is going through the firing range with the young cops).

You're the 2nd shooter to tell me not to waste time with the .38 special so I'm gonna take your advice.  I always wanted a .357 mag anyway.  Lol!  The .44 Mags are more bullet than I like (I always get a headache when I shoot them for some reason).  But don't be surprised if one day I wind up buying a 44 mag.  I still love those guns.

Dennis324 wrote:You're the 2nd shooter to tell me not to waste time with the .38 special so I'm gonna take your advice.  I always wanted a .357 mag anyway.  Lol!  The .44 Mags are more bullet than I like (I always get a headache when I shoot them for some reason).  But don't be surprised if one day I wind up buying a 44 mag.  I still love those guns.

Yep, .357 in the barrel you want, then load it up with .38 specials when you want a milder round. That way you can enjoy two calibers in the same pistol and not have to spend the extra cash!!!

Another benefit is that most modern 38's are 5 shot revolvers while all 357's are 6 shot!!!