Best round for deer & hog hunting

[RSRW]

Thank you everyone for the great information. What a great site this is!

 

[HobieH3]

.308 never a bad choice. Many different types of factory ammo for hunting, plus tons of cheap 7.62 x 51 for practice or plinking. Just make sure you stay away from steel jacketed bullets.

I have a Ruger American in .270 and it shoots great. Kinda wish I'd got a .308 (see above). Hear lots of good thinks about the Savage 110 as well.

 

[CVCOBRA1]

Glad to see most of you agree on the 308. That is what I chose in an AR for hogs. Shooting factory ammo suppressed. I am having a hard time finding a bullet that will do mass damage but pass through. Would love to use Accubonds. They won't cycle. Hornady hollow points shoot great but leave no blood trail. No pass through on hogs. I am sure they would be great on deer or steel. Remington pointed soft points would not hit the side of a barn. Thinking of trying Winchester. Suggestions please.

I wouldn't call Hornady hollow points a hunting bullet. Have you tried their ELD-X's?

 

[Deviant]

Glad to see most of you agree on the 308. That is what I chose in an AR for hogs. Shooting factory ammo suppressed. I am having a hard time finding a bullet that will do mass damage but pass through. Would love to use Accubonds. They won't cycle. Hornady hollow points shoot great but leave no blood trail. No pass through on hogs. I am sure they would be great on deer or steel. Remington pointed soft points would not hit the side of a barn. Thinking of trying Winchester. Suggestions please.

Try the Hammer Hunters or the Sledgehammers.

 

[ajkellerusmc]

Monolithic all copper Barnes will punch on through because once they expand they hold their weight without fragmentation and thus still have the energy to punch through. I suppose Hammers and Hornady GMX would do the same.

 

[ZAK13]

I hunt hogs regularly. They are tough but not that tough. I usually use my 243 with an 80gr Barnes TTSX bullet, & some Superformance powder. I've successfully harvested them from 50-300 yards. Some with DRT results and some go at most 15-20 yards. Just remember to put the bullet anywhere from the ear to front of the shoulder and they'll drop. Good luck. By the way you can't go wrong with a 308 either, good all around caliber.

 

[SilverbulletMAG]

Thinking of trying Winchester. Suggestions please.

How far are you shooting that you aren't getting an exit? Will a partition cycle for you? Best of both worlds there with the rapid expansion and then hold together to get you a clean pass through/blood trail if you have decent velocities and not shooting a mile away. You could also try the Accubond Long Range if you can get them to cycle?

Otherwise monolithic bullets should be the ticket. Hammer, Etip, TTSX, GMX, etc. and just find which your rifle shoots best.

 

[John@redmt]

This is strictly my opinion based on nothing more than my experience. I hand load so that may play a role in my recommendations.
The .308 has a very broad span of components bullet wise so it would be the most versatile. The 6.5 CM is much easier shooting but doesn't have the broad bullet availability. My personal preference is the 5.56 loaded with Barnes TTSX bullets of different weights depending on condition for anything up to about 150-175 yds. Everything I've hunted at those ranges has been a 1 shot kill.

Like I said, strictly my opinion!!

 

[Rem7mm08]

Add 7mm-08 to the list. I have a Magnum Research Lone Eagle in 7mm-08 that has dropped many deer and hogs.
There are enough factory ammo offerings to get the job done and plenty of bullet options to handload.

 

[Kaptoe]

Killing medium sized game under 300 yards .308 is very difficult to beat

Killed more animals with a .308 shooting 150gr accubond than anything I hunt with. Terminal performance on white tails of that combo is some of the best I have seen and doesn't break your shoulder

 

[Mustang72]

308 is a great choice. Have killed literary a ton of pigs with one,shooting plain old 150grain hornady cup and core. ( I used to have about 1000 of them). 7/08 is another great choice. Something like a little Remington model 7 with a2-7 scope is about as good as it gets for an all around rifle out to 400 yards.

 

[silentnoise]

Hi folks, I'm posting this here because I did not know where else to. I'm am about to buy a new rifle for deer and hog hunting. Was thinking .308, but I wanted to get some input if you all thought there was a better caliber for these types of hunts. Thank you in advance for any information.

 

[TIMEBY]

I used only .270s for years. 130gr SST, and if I do my job as a marksman, the hogs drop every time. Shoots flat, entirely adequate for hogs. Can't speak for deer; I don't hunt Bambi. Thing is, I almost never get an exit wound, but they drop if I get a good hit. I usually aim at the front shoulder, especially as I get older and shakier. Their heads keep getting smaller!
Just recently I bought a Savage Scout in .308 and added a suppressor. At this early date I am 2 fer 2 shooting GMX 165 grains. Very pleased with the .308. Still no pass throughs, though, with hits in the shoulder. Range at night with a Digisight night scope have been around 100 yards. Just my experience...

 

[silentnoise]

RSRW, I have two 30.06 rifles, my buddy has a 308, both of us use the 150 grain Hornady SST Superformance ammunition (near 3K muzzle velocity) for deer. I have dropped deer "like a bad habit" at 330 yards, him at 200+, not having to follow blood trails on 200 plus size game makes us a believer in this ammo. My main 30.06 is a Remington 700, his 308 is a Thompson Center ProHunter...so it didn't make much difference what weapon the ammo was used in.