J
jones112b
Guest
What would be a good caliber rifle for both mule deer and Oryx. I want to buy a rifle very soon. I was looking into the 300 WIN MAG I was wondering if that would be to much gun for Mule Deer?
I have tags for both Mule Deer and Oryx. I have a question about a riflle
forkhunter
Active Member
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- 287
I think you will find a huge # of 300 mag users for mule deer on this site. It is certainly a popular weapon these days. I don't think it is too big for mule deer. It's too big for me........but that is another subject. Good luck.
marley
Very Active Member
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- 2,461
I use a .280 for everything. Never put more than one bullet in any animal I've shot. Elk, deer, antelope, pigs, aoudad. Plenty of gun for me and them. More about placement IMO.
30 calibers are popular but too much bang for ME personally and overkill for most N. American animals IMO but suits many people. My grandpa killed more elk with a .243 than I'll ever kill with my .280 I'm sure. He always said, "It's hard to run with a bullet hole through both lungs and heart". Placement!
30 calibers are popular but too much bang for ME personally and overkill for most N. American animals IMO but suits many people. My grandpa killed more elk with a .243 than I'll ever kill with my .280 I'm sure. He always said, "It's hard to run with a bullet hole through both lungs and heart". Placement!
T
TheGreatWhiteHunter
Guest
I would say the .270 or .270wsm would work with a well constructed bullet like a Hornady Interbond, Swift A-Frame Trophy bonded Bear claw ect...
The more popular choices would be the 7mm Mag and 300 Win Mag.
Just remember the right bullet and good shot placement mean more than a big magnum Caliber.
THE LORD IS MY ROCK
COLORADO,USA
NRA LIFE MEMBER
HUNTING PASS IT ON
The more popular choices would be the 7mm Mag and 300 Win Mag.
Just remember the right bullet and good shot placement mean more than a big magnum Caliber.
THE LORD IS MY ROCK
COLORADO,USA
NRA LIFE MEMBER
HUNTING PASS IT ON
sageadvice
Long Time Member
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- 11,849
There are a lot of cartridges that would fill your need. I'd put the 25-06 at one end and the 300 Win Mag at the other. Depends a lot on how much recoil you are used to, how much you can handle without flinching. Anything that you choose on each end or in between, .270, .280, 30-06... should be fine but they do bark a bit.
I took at good hard look at a very nice lightweight rifle today. It was a Remington short action, about 6 pounds, in 7mm/08. These are really superb little guns that pack a wallop, certainly more than the need you described. Hornady loads their factory lite mags with 139 gr SST bullet at 3000 feet per second. That, is a flat shooting, easy packing, hard hitting, buck killing son of a gun!
The 7mm-08 w/ that kinda loading might be one to take a good hard look at.
Joey
I took at good hard look at a very nice lightweight rifle today. It was a Remington short action, about 6 pounds, in 7mm/08. These are really superb little guns that pack a wallop, certainly more than the need you described. Hornady loads their factory lite mags with 139 gr SST bullet at 3000 feet per second. That, is a flat shooting, easy packing, hard hitting, buck killing son of a gun!
The 7mm-08 w/ that kinda loading might be one to take a good hard look at.
Joey
How much kick can you take...a 300 can be brutal...out west its the 7mag and up for most...you can get a break on the barrle of any gun to take away the kick..but that takes money...find a friend that has a caliber you are interested in and shoot before you buy.
cmiddleton
Very Active Member
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LAST EDITED ON Jul-09-08 AT 07:50PM (MST)[p] 150 gr bullet and your set up for muleys. i use 180's for elk.
kick only happens at the range i never feel the kick when shooting at game.
on the same line i did buy a 270 win last yr and am looking forward to using it too. didn't draw a elk tag so I'll pack the 270 all year.
still hoping to fill the tag with my bow.
i still remember my old 270 weatherby mag and the 300 mags kick is light compared to it. i thought that one blew up every time i touched off. knocked my hat off every shot and if you ever saw my bald head you'd know that's unacceptable.
kick only happens at the range i never feel the kick when shooting at game.
on the same line i did buy a 270 win last yr and am looking forward to using it too. didn't draw a elk tag so I'll pack the 270 all year.
still hoping to fill the tag with my bow.
i still remember my old 270 weatherby mag and the 300 mags kick is light compared to it. i thought that one blew up every time i touched off. knocked my hat off every shot and if you ever saw my bald head you'd know that's unacceptable.
ELKOHUNTER
Very Active Member
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- 1,838
I would say go with a 7mm. There's no reason in buying a 270. Look at the charts there almost the same. You can kill anything in North America with a 7mm. 300s are to big and the ammo is big on $. If you just want to wast money buy a weatherby. I have not seen a good argument about not buying a 7mm! That's way lots of people have them.
muleylover
Active Member
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- 204
300 mag works good for everything. I use it for deer and elk. I have never hunted Oryx but I lived in New Mexico. Oryx are very big animals, as big as or bigger than an elk and African games vitals don't arn't in the same areas as Western big game. Not an expert, but from what I remember hearing is that you don't want to take the behind the shoulder shot that you would on an elk, oryxs heart and lung are higher up in the chest cavity and might require more of a shoulder shot. You should ask in the New Mexico forum as some of those guys might have some better feedback. Hope this helps, I love my 300 and wouldn't trade it for anything.
2
264X300
Guest
LAST EDITED ON Jul-10-08 AT 04:42PM (MST)[p]Since I have reloaded a .308, 30-06 and a 300 WM I sort of noticed something, they all shoot the same .308 bullet. Only difference is the casing, bullet weight, amount and type of powder. I grew up with and heard that the 30-06 is the best overall caliber ever made. Funny thing is a .308 and a 300 WM puts the same hole in a deer or elk that an '06 does and has for many years.
The .308 may shoot a bit slower and the 300 WM may shoot a bit faster, but all three put the same .308 hole in a deer / elk when it hits. Just a point I have not heard anyone make yet.
I also like the 7MM. I have two, 264's (same case as a 7MM necked down to 6.5MM) and have taken a lot of deer and one elk with them. All have gone down within a few yards of being hit and most right where they were.
Not prejudice so I would suspect a 270, 30-06, 300 SWM, 7mm-08 ect would be just as good. Shot placement is the key and that is why I shoot as much as possible.
264X300
The .308 may shoot a bit slower and the 300 WM may shoot a bit faster, but all three put the same .308 hole in a deer / elk when it hits. Just a point I have not heard anyone make yet.
I also like the 7MM. I have two, 264's (same case as a 7MM necked down to 6.5MM) and have taken a lot of deer and one elk with them. All have gone down within a few yards of being hit and most right where they were.
Not prejudice so I would suspect a 270, 30-06, 300 SWM, 7mm-08 ect would be just as good. Shot placement is the key and that is why I shoot as much as possible.
264X300
leftturnabq
Active Member
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- 723
You're going to get a lot of opinions on this one, but here's mine:
You've got to ask yourself a couple of questions first:
What's the biggest gun you're used to handling, and how do you feel about recoil?
Ballistically, the 300 Win. Mag. is a great performer, but I've noticed 2 drawbacks:
1)It kicks...hard. It hurts to shoot it at the range. This can have very bad effects on accuracy due to the shooter flinching in anticipation of the recoil. This can be tamed considerably with a muzzlebrake. However, a muzzlebrake is considerably harsher on the ears. Another option is an upgrade in recoil pads (like a Simms for exaple) can make a very noticeable difference. Combining both can do a lot for making the gun more comfortable to shoot...recoil wise
2)Cheap bullets make a mess. The big .30 cal cartridges may put the same hole as the slower .308 and 30-06 on paper, but they DO NOT put the same hole through an animal!! Cheap bullets traveling at the velocities of the magnum cartridges end up making a mess...kinda like varmint hunting. Have you ever seen what hot varmint rounds do to varmints? When hunting big game with a .30 cal magnum, I highly recommend selecting good bullets that will stay together well...good weight retention.
Now, the other thing is ammo selection, availability, and price. The .300 Win. Mag. is much easier to get ammo for than the .300 WSM, or the .300 Rem. Ultra Mag. For this reason alone, I'd favor it over the other 2. However, I must say I was very impressed with the performance of my brother's .300 WSM when I played with it at the range (all it had was a recoil pad upgrade).
My personal rifle of choice, for what I hunt in NM, is the 7mm Rem. Mag. It doesn't kill me on the rest, is easy to get ammo for, and performs well for what I need of it. My particular rifle has taken bighorn, elk, oryx, mule deer, and whitetail deer.
Of all the critters taken by my 7mm, the toughest to put down were the oryx...hands down. I've taken 2 36" bulls, and my nuddy has teken a 39" bull with it...all 3 required follow up shots. Shot placement is very important on any animal, and the vitals on a broadside shot with an oryx is through the shoulder (their vitals are forward and low). However, I think these critters just have a will to live that is unlike our native animals. I know some people have dropped them with 1 shot kills, but I've never seen it. Also, these things will agressively turn on you when cornered, so you want to make sure they go down and stay down.
Hope my opinion helps somewhat.
You've got to ask yourself a couple of questions first:
What's the biggest gun you're used to handling, and how do you feel about recoil?
Ballistically, the 300 Win. Mag. is a great performer, but I've noticed 2 drawbacks:
1)It kicks...hard. It hurts to shoot it at the range. This can have very bad effects on accuracy due to the shooter flinching in anticipation of the recoil. This can be tamed considerably with a muzzlebrake. However, a muzzlebrake is considerably harsher on the ears. Another option is an upgrade in recoil pads (like a Simms for exaple) can make a very noticeable difference. Combining both can do a lot for making the gun more comfortable to shoot...recoil wise
2)Cheap bullets make a mess. The big .30 cal cartridges may put the same hole as the slower .308 and 30-06 on paper, but they DO NOT put the same hole through an animal!! Cheap bullets traveling at the velocities of the magnum cartridges end up making a mess...kinda like varmint hunting. Have you ever seen what hot varmint rounds do to varmints? When hunting big game with a .30 cal magnum, I highly recommend selecting good bullets that will stay together well...good weight retention.
Now, the other thing is ammo selection, availability, and price. The .300 Win. Mag. is much easier to get ammo for than the .300 WSM, or the .300 Rem. Ultra Mag. For this reason alone, I'd favor it over the other 2. However, I must say I was very impressed with the performance of my brother's .300 WSM when I played with it at the range (all it had was a recoil pad upgrade).
My personal rifle of choice, for what I hunt in NM, is the 7mm Rem. Mag. It doesn't kill me on the rest, is easy to get ammo for, and performs well for what I need of it. My particular rifle has taken bighorn, elk, oryx, mule deer, and whitetail deer.
Of all the critters taken by my 7mm, the toughest to put down were the oryx...hands down. I've taken 2 36" bulls, and my nuddy has teken a 39" bull with it...all 3 required follow up shots. Shot placement is very important on any animal, and the vitals on a broadside shot with an oryx is through the shoulder (their vitals are forward and low). However, I think these critters just have a will to live that is unlike our native animals. I know some people have dropped them with 1 shot kills, but I've never seen it. Also, these things will agressively turn on you when cornered, so you want to make sure they go down and stay down.
Hope my opinion helps somewhat.
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