John Jackson

I know it's not what you're looking for but lately I've been really shopping around for the .45/70 caliber lever action rifles. It has amazing energy close in which would be good for dense brush or less than 200 yards. I do agree with your .308 idea. I have loved the .308 for many years for a target gun. I do know that the .30-06 has a little better ballistics. Here in TN, they sell a lot of the 7mm Magnum and the .300 Win Mag. I have no experience with them in the last 15 years so can't comment on any one brand for either.

Hunt Man

I've dropped plenty of deer and hogs in their tracks using a .308 but I'm usually using a Browning A-Bolt .300 short mag with a Leupold VX 2 scope. huntdrop.com/hunt/my-next-scope It's a big caliber and deer hit the ground hard and fast. Both the .308 and .300 are very accurate calibers and used by military snipers. It's worth mentioning, my semi-auto .308 is lighter and holds 7 rounds and the .300 SM bolt action holds 4. This matters to me when I have a lot of walking to do and when I expect to see a lot of hogs. In this case, the .308 is my weapon of choice.

Zack Doyle

I also agree that the .30-06, the .308, the .300 Win mag, .300 WSM, .300 WSSM are all great calibers. You have to ask yourself, "What exactly am I planning on hunting, in what terrain, and how much do I want to spend on ammo?". With bullet performance and variety today, any one of these calibers is capable of taking any animal in North America. Would I want to hunt a 1200lb brown bear with a .308...maybe not, but it can be done. If you plan on hunting African plains game, you may want to look into something larger yet, like the .338 Win Mag. A wide variety of bullet loads are available for it as well. All of the calibers have great ballistics, and offer a very large range of applications. However, there is one major factor that sets them all apart, and it is the price of the ammo. If you like to do alot of shooting, and don't way to throw down more than $2 a shell, you want to look into the .308 or the .30-06. Ammo for these calibers can be inexpensive, but on the other hand, high performance ammunition does exist as well. As for the other calibers, ammo typically runs at least $40 a box, or $2 per shell. In my opinion thats awful expensive to do some target shooting. My caliber of choice is the .30-06 for general use, and the .338 Win Mag for larger game.

Roger Flynn

I have a Mossberg ATR 308 and love it!! Also have a Remington 700 in 243 that I plan on using this deer season! just remember your shot placement!!!

Bryce Wipp

Just throwing this out there but I would recommend a 7mm. It is often over looked as a big game rifle and it can reach out to long distances with its flat trajectory.

Jared Benson

I personally use .338 Win Mag for almost everything now. That being said I think the 7mm-08 is a very versatile caliber that can be loaded up or down to hunt everything from elk to coyotes.

Tim Maxim

IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR HUNTING. But if you hand load ya cant go wrong with a 30-06... From coyotes to moose, From 110 grain plinker to 220 grain bear stopper. it can do it all.

Dave Dennie

I have a Browning bar 308, and I find its the right gun for just about anything im hunting here in Canada. I dont think you'd go wrong with one . But then it comes down to personal preference...

Ensign509 Anderson

I love the .308 Win. It can be suited to nearly any task at hand. If you load your own, it's possible to lighten up some loads to take out recoil, or run near full house loads and really get that bullet out there. As for the bullets, the .30 caliber is so diverse (as others have said), I run 110 for varmint and predator and am dialing in 178 for going long range.... The .308 is really popular, allowing for ease of access to ammo (for the unforeseen accidents like forgetting your ammo box), copious amounts of ballistic data and so much information that it can be overwhelming.

Arthur Nickerson

I agree with Tm above, it really depends on what you are planning to hunt and if you are using factory ammo or hand loading. I hand load with a friend and our kids use .243's shooting 100gr bullets(nosler partitions) and we are pushing them at 3400fps. Great round for whitetail. I shoot a Remington 700 chambered in 30-06, also hand loaded, shooting a 140gr Nosler partition at 3000fps. I would recommend the .243 for all but the largest game, the only thing is you must place your shots, but the hand loading helps in that you can push your bullet so much faster then factory loads, but you must tune them to your gun. I also have a .300 win mag for bear and moose.

kraig cullison

winchester module 88. 308. it will tak em down within 500 yards

Matthew Meeks

I own a .270 and for where I hunt thats what I like. one can buy lead heavy enough for dense brush or light enough to travel 700 yard. not to mention the ammo is cheap.