flinthead wrote: ↑Sat Jun 12, 2021 9:32 am
I have owned many over the years and still have several... but the .243 is just about perfect for the critters of the south. Just a joy to shoot with almost no recoil and for what ever reason, it kills way better than one would think. The Hornady 95 grain SST dropped this boar hog like he had been struck by lightning... it does deer that same way... they never make it more than a step or two...
Whitetail hunting - my top picks
.308 Winchester - all around
.30-30 Winchester - hunting woods
.270 Winchester - field edges
Never tried, but still good choices -
7mm-08 Remington
6.5 Creedmoor
.243 Winchester
There's no fun in just picking one!
.308 Winchester Tikka T3 has been my primary whitetail gun in recent years.
.30-30 Winchester Marlin 336 is my most valued gun. Has the most memories, & my Dad bought it for me when I was a young kid.
.270 Winchester Browning A-Bolt. This gun belongs to my 81 year old Dad. He still shoots it extremely well. This gun will stay in the family (my brother or I).
Shot my first buck in 1975 (age 12) with a Sear's Ted William 20 gauge pump shotgun with a rib barrel & poly choke on the end. Dropped him in his tracks @ 75 yards. It was a 6.5+ year 10 pointer. Game warden who registered the deer at the Ranger's station back then, said I would be spoiled. He said, it's gonna take a long time to top that buck. That buck remained my best buck until 2015 (40 years later). Deer head mount cost $65 in 1975. I won a trophy from a big buck contest that my aunt had entered me in.
My 9 year old brother at time of all this, said he was going to do the same. We all chuckled at him. At age 12, he won the same big buck contest with an 8 pointer. He used the same 20 gauge Sears Ted Williams shotgun that my dad had bought used for $54 @ Sears. It was in bad shape. Stock had been broken, glued, nailed back together. It threw slugs good, however. We bought had our head mounts & trophies displayed in my parent's living room for years. Head mounts jumped in price. I think my brother's was $125.
My dad buying me my Marlin 336 was a big upgrade.