caliber question
FlatsMatt96
ChuluotaPosts: 1,358 Officer
Hey yall, I am back again with another question. Right now I hunt with a .308 win bolt action, it is my primary and I have it all decked out for long range shots and short range shots. I love this gun so much. However, I dont have a backup gun. I feel like its always important to have a backup gun. I love lever actions as well. I was thinking of a 45-70 for my backup gun. Do yall think thats too big for florida? I know the idea of "use enough power to kill humanely". I get that, but do you think that caliber is too big for florida deer. Will it ruin a lot of the meat? I was thinking of 6.5 creedmoor bolt action or a 45-70 lever.
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Replies
If you want another caliber, 243 and 270 are good and ammo is common.
Something fun but less common is 7mm 08.
In lever action you can go with the common 30-30.
My posts are my opinion only.
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. Will Rogers
Here's the reader's digest version: His philosophy would be that your .308 serves as the centerpiece of your arsenal. 30-06, .270 and 7mm would also fit that duty. This gun can do it all in North America, but isn't the most precise fit for everything.
A step below this would be a rifle for medium size game, including the white tails and pigs you find in Florida. Here you get a gun that still shoots flat but with less recoil. Creedmoor would fit the bill, as would a .25-06, which I own and love. My dad has a Remington 700 in Creedmoor. Great hunting rifle and bench shooting toy.
That 45-70 falls into the big bore rifle category. I wouldn't hunt deer with it, but do whatever you can afford and makes you happy.
My experience with each of the above:
PROBLEM:
Without that so called 'perfect shot,' larger game will often have a tendency to run.
My posts are my opinion only.
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. Will Rogers
If you are a...
you will really appreciate the Old West tradition.
A perfectly placed head shot with a .22 or even .17 will kill any hog. However, in the real world, the opportunity for that perfectly placed shot may or may not materialize. Kinda hard passing up a real trophy because a head shot is not possible. With that so called "buffalo" rifle the chances of putting that chance of a life-time trophy on the ground and keeping him there is much greater.
I Shot a BAR 7mm Rem Mag for years. Unfortunately Florida real trophy boars like to stay in heavy cover. I have had many really big boys run for hundreds of yards after being hit hard with my 7mm Mag. A 7mm-08 is a cut down .308 with much less knockdown power than a 7mm Mag. As a result, shot placement, in the real world, is more critical.
In my younger days I loved to stalk hunt or drive ever so slowly down old logging roads. In either case, hogs were often running; perfect head shot... Forget it!
A wounded hog tends to be a 'little' unhappy with us, and does not mind telling us so. Fortunately I have never been cut, but I have been knocked down on numerous occasions. One time I shot this really big, bad, boy from by truck on an old logging road. I hit him hard in the chest with my 7mm Mag. He immediately charged, knocked be back into my truck, ran around back, and returned to the front looking for me. Huge mistake! He will never do that again.
Heard so much about the put them on the ground & keep them there Government 45-70; decide to look into it. The 45-70 was developed in 1873 by the U.S Army's Springfield Armory.
Per Wikipedia: "As is usual with military ammunition, the .45-70 was an immediate hit among sportsmen, and the .45-70 has survived to the present day. Today, the traditional 405-grain (26.2 g) load is considered adequate for any North American big game within its range limitations, including the great bears, and it
DOES NOT DESTROY EDITABLE MEAT on smaller animals such as deer due to the bullet's low velocity. It is very good for big-game hunting in brush or heavy timber where the range is usually short. The .45-70, when loaded with the proper bullets at appropriate velocities, has been used to hunt the African "big-six". The .45-70 has been loaded and used to hunt everything from birds to elephants and the cartridge is still undergoing new development work."
My 405-grain ULTRAMAX even comes in a 'Cowboy' box:
"I think I am drawn to the 45-70 because of its history." Me too!
Most guys I know who've shot hogs over 600# use 243s.
I like the handgun caliber guns and currently prefer a 357 mag (Ruger bolt) that is death on any deer or hog inside of 100 yards. Gun weighs 5.5 pounds and has about 5 pounds of recoil.
That 308 is a great gun, but other calibers are fun to shoot too.
Pick the one you want - it'll work just fine.
I try my best to be a real gentleman. I take pride in being a Florida native. To me sharing our Florida is payback for living a lifetime in paradise. I love promoting the Sunshine State and the wonderful people who live, visit, here.
45-70 could by many be considered an over-kill for hog hunting. However, once you have shot one, it kinda grows on you. Never forget the first time I shot my Marlin. I put a target up against a huge oak tree. It knocked down the target, and put a hole in the tree as big as a golf ball. Fire shot out the barrel as it kicked the living daylights out of my shoulder. Been shooting all my life; never shot anything like that before. To me the 45-70 is "fun to shoot too''!
Love the tradition. Did you know that the 45-70 was even used in the early model Gatling guns...
Most guys I know who've shot hogs over 600# use 243s.
Have hunted hogs from one end of Florida & Georgia to the other for over 60 years. Have NEVER seen or heard of a over 600# WILD Florida/Georgia hog.
Except for...
.308 is one of many 'great guns'. Very true! My wife used a BAR .308 for many years. Tremendous round!
.357 Ruger: Have one... Love it!
"Pick the one you want - it'll work just fine." Agreed 100%.
In my younger days I wanted a rifle suitable for hunting in virtually any environment all over the country. The 7 mm Remington Mag. worked out well. In Maine & New Mexico I was shooting from one mountain to another with it. However, differently from hogs, the targets were still.
Hogs: I found that with less than a perfectly placed shot, hogs will run on a 7 mm. Don't let anyone tell you 'I just shoot them in the head and they drop instantly.' Great if he stands there and lets you shoot him.
Decided to try the 45-70. That ended the problem.
Pickup: The Marlin Guide gun would be a great choice. It's very dependable, hard hitting, and short.
Plinker: The kick may discourage that.
The best choice is whatever the individual feels most comfortable with. Personally I prefer to pick a weapon and stay with it. It becomes almost part of you. By doing so you will become familiar with what it will, will not do, and act accordingly. My 7 mm. Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) & Marlin 45-70 Stainless Guide Gun have been part of me for many decades. Love the stainless; virtually no upkeep!
Biggest pig I've seen in the wild was around 300#. I slipped downwind of him and left that spot just for him. He was actually trying to find me and kept working closer. Had shotgun but was hunting ducks, not hogs.
Have never seen anything even close to that. Saw a 300# boar that a woman shot at Buck & Boar, Madison, Florida. It was a monster. Would love to see a picture of one twice that big.
.308 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was my late wife's favorite; tremendous caliber.
She shot it for decades; was very good with it:
"would prefer the gatling gun in those instances." Me too!
Per 'Terminal Ballistic Research': "Few cartridges have retained such long lived popularity as the .45-70 U.S Government. The .45-70 started life as a military cartridge and now, 135 years later remains an ever popular hunting cartridge."
Must admit, being an Old-West Cowboy fan, I love the tradition of the .45-70. Regardless, the ballistics of the .444 are very impressive. And the best part... the .444 is, like the .45-70, available in a Marlin Stainless Guide Gun. Great guns!
In a way I kinda wish you had not posted this... Now I want one!
HOWEVER, its odd to me that of the many game animals I've taken with a .260, I've never once had it cause hydrostatic shock. All animals go about 50-100 yards before dying. I always find them. Even if poorly shot. I've tried all sorts of loads. Its just something about how the powder charge and bullet designs all come together to not cause brain hemorrhage during the hit.