Best caliber for texas?

45/70fan said:
The WSM calibers are dead. The 6.8 is too new for readily available ammo. The 7mm Rem Mag will do all you need and more. It's no harder on the shoulder than a 30/06.
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I second this, albeit a good cartridge, the 6.8 Western is ghost currently. I work at a gun shop and we have sold two of those rifles in the last two years in the Hells Canyon and some Weatherby. Neither fellow can find ammo, unless its crazy GunBroker gouging. But I am with the hive, I kill everything with a .308 AR10, and If I need to reach out, a 300 WM in a Bergara Wilderness Ridge.

A lot of the 6.5 Creed issues we see in the shop is poor bullet choice, or poor shot placement. And it makes you ghey. (kidding)
 
Rudy tindal said:
I was more curious is anyone was shooting any of new cartridges like the 6.8 Western with is a necked down 270 short mag. Say more accurate at long distance and has more energy. I guess I should started thread off as a 270WSM vs 6.8western vs 7mag cause those are the 3 rounds I’m stuck on
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Out of those those 3 calibers. You would be wise to save the cost of a new rifle and spend it on 7 mag ammo, finding the best hunting round your rifle likes the most. Then practice shooting longer distances and in improvised positions. Your 7 mag can do everything those other 2 calibers can do, and in some areas it can do even better. And it is always prudent to be proficient and accurate when hunting and that only comes with practice.
 
.280 Ackley Improved.

No interest in a 6,anything. However, a friend used to shoot a 264 Winchester Magnum that was pretty sweet.
 
I would talk the guide/outfitter and get his recommendation on rifle/bullet combination. And find out what type of hunting you will be doing. Shooting from a vehicle? Box stand and known distance to feeder? Stalking? A lot of Texas hunts are "canned" and the guide picks out the animals ("management bucks") that you can shoot based on how much you are willing to pay.
 
If I remember there was a lot of 25-06 ammo on the shelves. That was 23 years ago... It just stuck in my mind as I thought it was unusual.
 
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rdinatal said:
If I remember there was a lot of 25-06 ammo on the shelves. That was 23 years ago... It just stuck in my mind as I thought it was unusual.
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I check academy for it every time I go in there and it hasn't been in stock since 2020. I'm going to either pay crazy LGS prices or order some i guess.
 
imo there's not enough difference in your 7 mag vs the 6.8 western or a 270 wsm. I also wouldn't go the WSM route because of ammo availablity.

I'd go .300 win mag. why invest in another cartridge if it doesn't offer considerably more than the 7mm mag you already have?
 
Rudy tindal said:
Just wanted something little flatter shooting.
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I picked 28nosler because of this, it only has 6mils of drop out to a 1k. Pushes pills from 120gr to 185gr any where from 3800 to 3150 fps.
I’m going with the 160gr or 168gr that are going 3200fps.

Yes it has a short barrel life, but it’s a hunting rifle not a competition rifle.
Yes the ammo is pricey but again it’s a hunting rifle.


I would not go 7mm rem mag, if I was looking into that round I would go 7mm prc just because of future ammo availability
 
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Unless you just want to invest in another caliber, what’s wrong with the 308 you currently have. I went on a deer hunt in Texas 15 years ago and was mainly hunting box stands with automatic feeders inside of 100 yards. I didn’t see any deer worth shooting, but did shoot an javelina, a hog and a ram that was 400 yards out. The hog and javelina came into the feeder at 50 yards. We went stalking the goats up on the mountain. I was shooting a 25-06 but would have been happy with my 308. We were hunting an hour south of San Antonio. A bush of brush and smaller bushy trees. Will hunting in the stands, we couldn’t see no further than the feeders. I think the 308 would be sufficient
 
So I just went to Texas for a mule deer hunt, had a great trip! 7mm hard to beat for sure, if I had to pick one caliber and that’s all I could have as far as big game hunting, it would be 7mm and I wouldn’t think twice. For this particular trip though, I seen it as an opportunity to purchase a new gun 😂 so I went with a 300PRC and I’ll say I love it. I bought a Christensen Ridgeline FFT in bronze, topped it with a leupold VX-6HD 3-18x44. I absolutely love it, while we was there I killed a coyote with it, at 489 yards and another at 200 yards and my mule deer was almost 275 yards away. None of them moved out of their tracks!
 
I think I'll add it again it's that great of a cartridge, .270 Win. Move that new gun fund over to the taxidermy fund and use your 308!!
 
I don't think you would go wrong with the 7 rem mag, or the 270; perfect for what you have described. I have had both but personally loved the 25-06 votes as I personally hunted with one for many years and loved it. Being as ammo is now hard to find for it if you do not reload, the 6.5prc would be a great comparison to look at and I see multiple loads available on the shelves.
 
270 is a proven old school
I personally like old school cuz I’m old!
Therefore I would chose my favorite—300 HH
 
If you are doing deer and hogs, then maybe an AR-10 would be a good option to fit the bill. 308 is readily available. 270 is also pretty available as well and as everyone else has said, a very popular round for the bigger hunting ranches.

If you were on public land I would say 300 blackout (for the hill/brush country) because there aren't as many long shots and the deer are all a lot smaller off the ranches haha. But if you are doing one of the big ranches 270/308 or even 30-06 would be great choices. Just don't do something too wild or exotic because not a lot of those rural shops will have the ammo (or bring more than enough if you do end up choosing something like 6.8 Western or 270 Weatherby Magnum).
 
I’ve got a Rem 700 BDL SPS 7mag for $500 that’s about to go up
 
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