“You’re so full of hot air, if a north wind was blowing it would carry you off across the Rio Bravo! No way would it be a .308!” Said the campfire illuminated, grizzled face partially hidden behind the low-brimmed black western.
“What have you hunted? A couple of whitetails and a javelina? There’s not but one good round to hunt Texas. That’s the .270 Win!” Chimed the slightly bent hunter moving way from smoke.
“No way you old geezer! 6.5 Creedmoor!” shouted a younger voice.
A minute earlier sitting around the western Texas hunting camp’s fire I asked, “What is the best caliber/round to hunt all of Texas’ big game from javelina to bison?”
I can not imagine a hunting camp or campfire where someone has not asked that same question. Like it was asked shortly after Europeans brought firearms to Tejas. Prior to the invasions of the palefaces “The Ancients” probably discussed the best spear and atlatl designs for taking down mastodons and other animals they encountered when they first arrived in what is now Texas.
Growing up in the Zimmerscheidt Community of northern Colorado County I started hunting squirrels and deer as soon as I could cock the hammer on my “hunting rifle”, a single-shot bolt-action .22 rimfire. Short and Long shells were for squirrels and rabbits. The “powerful” .22 Long Rifle “catridges” were for whitetail. Those early years I was convinced my .22 was the perfect hunting round! But, I also dreamed of someday owning a lever-action Winchester Model 94 chambered in .30-30 Winchester just like my Dad hunted with.
Prior to World War II, lever action rifles built by Winchester, Marlin, Henry and Savage dominated the Texas hunting scene. These were chambered in smokeless powders rounds including .44-40, 25-35, 38-40, 32-20, .30-30, .303 Savage, .30-40 Krag, .300 Savage, .45-70 and others. Many of today’s hunters no longer recognize some of those as being rifle rounds.
Back in the 1950’s, and especially starting in the 1960’s after the screw-worm fly was controlled and eliminated Texas’ whitetail deer herds started growing in number. So did hunter numbers. About this same time pronghorn antelope returned to “huntable” numbers. Texans became more aware of desert mule deer found in the Trans Pecos, exotic species such as Axis deer, blackbuck antelope, fallow and sika deer and others being released behind high fences. During those years the YO Ranch introduced “package and guided hunts”. Those who owned land realized they could lease their properties to hunters. Wildlife and hunting opportunities had true economic value. Landowner and managers became interested in sustainable wildlife populations. Hunting opportunities increased as did the number of hunters. The era of “If you do not hunt with a lever action .30-30, you are not a real hunter!” changed as well.
Starting in the early 1950’s thru the 1970’s the bolt-action rifle became king! Soldiers returning from the war had carried rifles chambered in .30-06. They had learned the effectiveness of other rounds such as the 7mm Mauser or 7x57. Rounds such as the .270 Winchester which had been developed in 1923 became popular thanks to the writings of “Outdoor Life’s” Jack O’Connor starting in the late 1940’s. Texas hunters such as Graves Peeler and Roy Hindes, Jr. used their .300 H&H Magnums bolt actions not only in the Brush Country of South Texas but also on monster mule deer on the famed Kaibab in Arizona.
Roy Weatherby in the late 1940’s introduced his revolutionary .257 Weatherby Magnum, 7mm Weatherby Magnum and .300 Weatherby Magnum. In so doing he initiated a “magnum movement”. His efforts at building rifles and creating cartridges were fueled both in dollars and promotion by Herb Klein, a Texas oil tycoon.
These new magnum rounds lead the way in the 1960s to Remington introducing their 7mm Remington Magnum and Winchester their .300 Winchester Magnum.
The shorter cased .308 Winchester, known in other parts of the world as 7.62x51mm, was introduced in 1952. It became popular during the 1960s. For several years very few new cartridges appeared on the hunting scene, those which did were merely “a flash in the pan”.
Moving into the twenty-first century things changed regarding cartridge length and design. Remington introduced their .300 RSAUM (.300 RSUM or .300 Rem SAUM) or .300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum as well as numerous other short action calibers in 2001. Winchester soon followed in 2005 with their own line of short magnums in such calibers as .325, .300, .270, and others. These were designated Winchester Short Magnums.
The beauty of all these short action rounds was magnum performance in a short case, which meant being able to use shorter bolt-action actions, allowing for a quicker follow-up shot.
The short magnums have been followed in recent years with a variety of other newer rounds, due to the current craze of long range shooting. Where once 400-yards was considered “long range” today with the “proper” rifle, barrel, optic and ammo, that distance is now considered “a chip shot”. Shooters are now precisely hitting targets and shooting small groups at distance of 1000-yards and beyond.
Approaching the 2020’s we have seen a proliferation of new cartridges such as the 6.5 Creedmoor developed by engineers associated with Hornady Manufacturing. Never in the history of the United States had there been a truly popular 6.5 caliber round. The 6.5x55 Swedish had for years been popular in Europe and other places. For a short time, the .264 Winchester Magnum had been somewhat popular. For whatever reason here in the US no 6.5 round ever stayed popular. This, in spite of one of the great benefits of 6.5 rounds is their long bullets which remain stabilized when in flight, particularly over longer distances. But…then the 6.5 Creedmoor hit the scene and took off like wild fire.
This efficient round was soon followed by more cartridges designed for long range shooting, particularly in the form of the 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge), .300 PRC and very recently the 7mm PRC, developed by Hornady Manufacturing, i.e. Hornady Ammunition and their engineers.
These days we not only have both old and new calibers and cartridges to choose from, we also have the finest hunting bullets and ammunition ever developed. Before getting into some of the rounds, I would like to make some personal observations particularly regarding long-range shooting. I enjoy shooting long-range at steel and paper targets. Doing so, I learn how to shoot my various rifles and handguns so when I get as close as earthly possible to my live target I can precisely place my bullet into the vitals for a quick and humane kill.
I am not a proponent of long-range hunting. Too many things can go wrong when shooting extremely long range at an animal, including “wind” which can blow a bullet “off course”. In the time it takes a bullet to travel 1,000 yards, it can take two steps. A well-aimed bullet at the vitals, could then strike the animal “too far back”.
Personally, I like hunting with single-shot, bolt-action and lever action rifles, as well as revolver handguns. I do not hunt with semi-auto rifles, sometimes referred to as “modern hunting rifles”. If others wish to use them that is great. I like blued steel and pretty wood, although I appreciate stocks made of synthetic materials and stainless steel barrels and actions.
Back to calibers and rounds… During the years I was co-owner of the Los Cazadores Deer Contest and Hunting Headquarters over a 10-year period I asked everyone I could what caliber and round they used when hunting Texas. The most used round was the .270 Winchester, followed by .30-06, 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, the numerous and various short magnums and a great variety of others. Admittedly this was before the 6.5 Creedmoor became popular.
I am a big fan of several of the rounds, particularly fond of the .270 Win, .30-06, .300 Win Mag and several others from a bygone era. Those include the 7x57 (aka .275 Rigby), .257 Roberts, and Teddy Roosevelt’s “Go To” the .405 Winchester, among others. As far as “modern” rounds, I am currently hunting with Mossberg Patriot Predator bolt action rifle chambered in the brand new 7 PRC using Hornady’s 175-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter ammunition and topped with with Trijicon 4-16X50 AccuPoint scope. Love it!
You will have noticed I have not stated one particular caliber or round that I would choose above others if I had to pick only one with which to hunt Texas’s game and exotic species. Doing so would be a truly tough decision! But if pressed, it would be a .30-06. The round is time tested and ammunition is readily available.
Incidentally I asked Justin Dreibelbis our TWA CEO and David Brimager, Director of TWA’s Public Relations their choices. Justin stated his choice would be a .270 Winchester, while David said his choice would be his .308 Winchester. Interesting!
Now that you know some of my favorite rifle calibers and rounds, and, my choice for one round to use on all of Texas’ big game hunting, what is yours?
All this brings us back to cartridges to use for Texas big game species.
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