New hunting rifle time..input wanted

[Bassics]

110 is a pretty big bullet for small varmints if you plan on mounting them...

Did this thread just veer off to college sports?

LOL

Don't downplay a TC with a black powder setup along with a centerfire setup.

[Chopped54]

I prefer the 270, 30.06 or the 308. All very good rifle calabers. You can load the shells at 110 grain and make them excelent varmit rifles.

110 is a pretty big bullet for small varmints if you plan on mounting them...

[BlackSnake]

I prefer the 270, 30.06 or the 308. All very good rifle calabers. You can load the shells at 110 grain and make them excelent varmit rifles.

[Chopped54]

Why, and what would you use?

.223 is a small round. In a round that small shot placement is key. There are two guys on our lease that are seasoned hunters and I still disagree with them using a .223. I can put bullets hole in hole with my 22-250, which is the same .224 bullet and I still will not hunt deer with it. It is not only a humanity issue, but I would not chance a once in a lifetime trophy on a small caliber.
Personally the smallest I would hunt deer with would be the .243....

[Nash B.]

If you have never hunted before I would not use a .223.

Why, and what would you use?

[Marss]

The thought process has actually changed and instead of a new rifle for me, this is turning into a hunting rifle for her. so that being said...

I think we are going to go with a .243 and see what kind of deal can find on a nikon prostaff....IS asking what manufacturer .243 like asking which is better ford versus chevy? or is there a sure shot winner?

.243 will be easier on her shoulder than some others. My sis-n-law who is 5' hunts with a 7-08 Ruger youth model. My wife hunts with a Remington with a shortened stock chambered in .257 Roberts. If your wife is small framed a youth model might fit her better. Take her and let her shoulder some rifles, work the actions, etc, and let her pick what feels best to her.

[Chopped54]

And for the OP I would look at the T/C Encores. You do not have to get the Pro Hunter and it will save you some money.
Another plus is you can change the barrels out and have multiple calibers on a single frame. You can have a deer setup then a varmint setup and even a shotgun all in one case...
I like the one piece base and rings for them, and have had no issues with them holding zero between changes.

[Chopped54]

7mm-08 is the perfect deer cartridge in my book

100000% agreed! I went from a .308 to the 7-08....

pardon my hunting newbness, but i've never hunted before and my friend has been trying to get me to go deer hunting with him. i might try next year so i can finally learn to respect the flesh on my plate.

he has a few rifles i can use but can i use an ar to hunt deer in tx? i figure a 223 should be fine.

If you have never hunted before I would not use a .223.

[dee]

I have the T/C Pro Hunter in 7-08 with a Nikon Monarch 2.5-10 on Talley One Piece bases.
Shot a 10 point opening day at about 50-75 yards and literally fell where he was standing.

7mm-08 is the perfect deer cartridge in my book, used my improved version last week and dropped a nice 8 at a lil over 250.

[Venom]

If you want a .243 go to Walmart and get a Savage. They are cheaper that anywhere I have found. I have one that I keep as a ranch gun on the 4 wheeler and that this is accurate as hell out of the box.

[momo]

pardon my hunting newbness, but i've never hunted before and my friend has been trying to get me to go deer hunting with him. i might try next year so i can finally learn to respect the flesh on my plate.

he has a few rifles i can use but can i use an ar to hunt deer in tx? i figure a 223 should be fine.

[slowyellow]

^^^ Probably not a bad choice at all sir.

[zachary]

The thought process has actually changed and instead of a new rifle for me, this is turning into a hunting rifle for her. so that being said...

I think we are going to go with a .243 and see what kind of deal can find on a nikon prostaff....IS asking what manufacturer .243 like asking which is better ford versus chevy? or is there a sure shot winner?

[ceyko]

Hunting calibers will never stop being debated. Personally for my own reasons I prefer in this order (for hunting, at 150ish yards)...

30-06
.308
6.8
.223

Understand I just hunt with 30-06 (deer). The other choices are either what I will use in the future or due to 1001 other reasons. I don't think anyone is going to argue .308 though. However, no real bad calibers mentioned here.

I second/third the Nikon Prostaff for 100-150 yard hunting. Used one for a couple of years and it's VERY nice. Especially since you can get them around 100 dollars.

[Marss]

mosin nagant... super cheap to buy, super cheap ammo... and a blast to shoot.. accurate as hell...

SP hunting ammo is a bit tough to find though, and it costs the same as the rest unless you get steel cased bear. It'll punish his wife's shoulder pretty good too.