new rifle

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

thinking of buying a new rifle deer hunting only either a 7mm.08 or a 25.06 any body have any input.

[calebw]

Both are great calibers and very flat shooting calibers. Personally I would get a 308 over either of the other calibers because it is also very flat shooting caliber but throws a little more lead down at the deer. The 7mm-08 is just a 308 necked down to 7mm . I have seen both the 7mm-08 and a 308 drop deer at 400 yards and don't think you could go wrong with either one.

[JPH]

Of the two choices with no description of the intended hunting/shooting situations: 7mm-08 hands down.

[Capt_John]

Single shot, heavy barrel H&R 7mm-08 is the heat. Or the Remington 700 in the same caliber is nice.

[Flooringman]

I have a Remington Model Seven in 7mm-08. It is hands down the best all around deer rifle in my opinion. h have had this gun for almost 7 years and i have killed roughly 15-20 deer with it.i have made shots from 15 yards to around 400. and i have tracked 1 deer with it. it has been to hell and back a few times and shoots straight and hits hard everytime.it is a very compact gun and is easy to tote around and shoots quick. i had the trigger turned down just a little, its light enough that you can think about pulling the trigger and it will go off. with 139 grain hornady lite mag rounds and you are good to go.

[flatland fisher]

Only concern might be finding ammo in the quickie mart type stores while on a hunting trip. Compared to .243, .270, 30-06 etc.

[netman9]

My brother shoots the 7mm-08 with great success, even dropped a pair 1st @342yds and 2nd @364yds. As far as ammo goes don't count on anyone anymore. I have a hardtime finding 243 ammo which is the same case necked down. I also have a 270 Weatherby Mag that is the most violent gun to shoot. All the hipe with the flat shooting mags got me and I like the softer shooting loads that seem to get the job done just fine. As my brother says "dead is dead, how dead do you need em".

[Captain Jay Kavanagh]

Well, I am going to go against the grain.

I am a 25 caliber fan.

Since I started deer hunting when I was 13, I have purchased smaller and smaller caliber deer rifles.

My main piece now is a Winchester model 70 in 25 wssm.

I had decided on a 25-06, but my local gun dealer, suggested I look at the 25 wssm's. Anyway, same balistics, shorter action, less percieved recoil, and I bought it.

the 25wssm has not been very popular, and factory ammo might be an issue, but I love this gun, and has lots of killing power and long range.

My other two pieces that I deer hunt with are a Remington Mountain Rifle in 280 Rem, and a Kimber 8400 in 270 WSM.

I have my eye on the new Kimber Montana in 257 Roberts, but do I really need 4 bolt action rifles?

Anyway, I know lots of folks that hunt with 7mm08, and seem to be happy with it, one advantage of the 7mm 08 over the 25-06 is that the 08 is a short action caliber, will save some weight on the gun if that is an issue.

What guns you lookin at?

[Dave Sikorski]

I went through this same thing two years back and settled on the .25-06 in a TC Encore Pro Hunter. It has a Zeiss 4.5-14x50 on top.

I LOVE IT.

I haven't tested the range just yet on game, but it's taken 4 deer I can think of off the top of my head and 3 of them dropped in their tracks and the 4th went about 10 yds b/c I didn't hit bone.

My buddy loaded up some 100 grain handloads for me that drive tacks, and I SUCK with a rifle.


-D

[Deep C]

You mentioned ammo as being an issue and it is... My go to is good ol 30-06 . Such a wide range of bullets available. With 150 grain I have no problem reaching out and flippin em like a pancake at 400. Slide up to 165 nozzler and it whacks an elk with the best of em. Dummy it down to a round nose 180 or even bigger if you want to bust brush or if you're in a place where "carry" is an issue. Ammo for them is readily available most anywhere you go in the world.
I have a buddy that shoots 25-06 and with his fancy shmancy scope he can deliver sleep almost 200 yards further but for most people I know, 400 yards is the "fence" for a safe clean shot.