With deer rifle season still being a few weeks away i'm left making sure all my gear is ready to go and agonizing over the petty details like trying to decide which rifle to hunt with this year. The area i am hunting is a mix of farm fields with up to 250 yard shots and wooded areas that are often under 50 yards.
My 3 main options are:
Savage 116 in .308 shooting federal power shock in 150gr
Savage 110 in 7mm-08 shooting hornady american whitetail with 139gr Interlocks
Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 shooting Fiocchi with 140gr SST
In the short range the .308 has the edge in energy, 6.5x55 has the low starting speed.
At 100-200 yard mark the 7mm-08 comes out ahead and the 308 and 6.5 are about even.
Beyond that the .308 starts falling off harder and the 6.5 starts to catch up to the 7mm.
In terms of recoil obviously the 308 will push more, but it's more than manageable, the 7mm a little less and the 6.5 the lowest.
Rifle weights for the 7mm and 6.5 are close enough to be considered the same, the 308 is heavier with the accustock insert.
Scopes are all 3-9x40's of similar quality.
What would you pick when you're heading out in the morning and what is your reasoning?
Even though i am not specifically targeting them there is always the possibility of a black bear being seen as well and i have a tag, does that change your answer from a purely deer gun?
My 3 main options are:
Savage 116 in .308 shooting federal power shock in 150gr
Savage 110 in 7mm-08 shooting hornady american whitetail with 139gr Interlocks
Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 shooting Fiocchi with 140gr SST
In the short range the .308 has the edge in energy, 6.5x55 has the low starting speed.
At 100-200 yard mark the 7mm-08 comes out ahead and the 308 and 6.5 are about even.
Beyond that the .308 starts falling off harder and the 6.5 starts to catch up to the 7mm.
In terms of recoil obviously the 308 will push more, but it's more than manageable, the 7mm a little less and the 6.5 the lowest.
Rifle weights for the 7mm and 6.5 are close enough to be considered the same, the 308 is heavier with the accustock insert.
Scopes are all 3-9x40's of similar quality.
What would you pick when you're heading out in the morning and what is your reasoning?
Even though i am not specifically targeting them there is always the possibility of a black bear being seen as well and i have a tag, does that change your answer from a purely deer gun?
