Looking for mild recoil, enough knockdown for hogs and deer, readily available and inexpensive ammo and a decent to good selection of bullet weights. Which caliber fits my needs in your opinion?

I would go with a .270, .308 or .30-06. All three have some of the last expensive factory ammo and you can find it anywhere.

There is a wide range, anything from 22-250,243,270,25-06,308 would all be on my list if I was looking to buy something that fits that criteria.

The 270 Winchester is your brew.

i like my .270...good for everything imo

.243 or .270 would be perfect

What do you want for an effective killing range and do you care about cost of the rifle or the ammo?

25-06/7-08

.30-30 in a lever rifle.

25-06. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every pig in the woods... accept no substitutes.

.243 or .270

range: 50-250 yards and I would like the rifle to cost about the same as a 700 BDL ($700 or so) and I want easy to find cheap ammo (winchester super x, remmy core lokt etc..)

.25-06 will fit the bill. I would recommend the 6.5x55 except ammo isn't readily available. The .25 will cover your needs.

7mm

+1

He was asking for mild manner round

7mm-08, 260 Rem, 243 Win...All based off the 308 Win cartirdge casing.

30-30

243 for the win

As far as being cheap, .308 can be found for under 10 bucks a box and it'll take deer or hogs quite well. Just about any bolt action out there is offered in it too.

.246, 6mm remington, .260 remington, 308 winchester

I have killed whitetail out past 500 yards with each of these caliber's and prarie rats even further!!!

all light recoil and more accurate than any ole 270,3006 ever thought about and don't stomp a mud hole in ya like a 06'

.243win is a great round. It is accurate, cheap, low recoil, and widely available. You can find rounds in the 50's and up to 100 grains in any store. I have a Tikka .243 and it shoots everything great, like most Tikkas. I always shoot my pigs in the neck or head if they are big, or shoot them behind the shoulder if they are under 100 pounds. Never had a deer run more than 20 yards. However, some of the cheaper rounds dont go all the way through the deer.Notice how I said some, not all. I would say 1 out of 5 dont go all the way.

I havent shot a 7mm08 but I have heard and read great things. It is very versatile and recoil is between the .243 and .270. They get up to 150 grains. Not as common as .243, .270 or even the .308. However, most Walmarts have it and any Academy will have it too.

The .270 is a bit more recoil, but, like the .243win, accurate, cheap and widely available. The advantage of the .270 is it has more knock-down power, which is critical for longer shots. The recoil is noticably more than the .243 but not unbearable.

A .308win is similar to .270 in recoil but shoots a larger bullet. Its accurate, easy to find and shoots up to 180 grains.

There are many great rounds to choose from. I would shoot a few of the calibers and see what you like. In my opinion I would get a .243win. Low recoil and kills everything in Texas. If were to hunt Elk I would get a .270 or 7mm-08
Just my .02

I may pick up a Marlin XS7 in 7mm-08. Great gun at a good price.

.270
.308
.30-06

After that, without going to magnum rounds, you are getting into either smaller rounds that are dicey at the ranges you want or involve high priced ammo (which is also less likely to be available at podunk hardware).

.308 has lasting power as a low cost round because it's a military cartridge. .308 and .30-06 are very similar for same-bullet weight loads. The larger .30-06 case is better if you hand load. .270 is popular and certainly works. I prefer .30 cal. You cannot go wrong with any of those choices. There are reduced recoil rounds for all of them as well. If you are strong or hunt from a stand with a gun rest, you can further reduce felt recoil by adding weight to the rifle.

Certainly 7mm magnum, 300 WM, and 6.5 Swede will all do the job but they don't meet your other requirements. There are people who will shoot a deer at 200+ yards with .223 and, to be honest, if it works on 200 Lbs. humans, it works on 200 Lbs. deer, but .223 loads don't have the recommended energy even at the muzzle. http://www.snipercentral.com/223.htm
Dirty thirty is a great gun but not really for 250 yard work.

The three I listed are the most popular rounds. They end up being the top choices because of the various trade-offs people make in combination with whatever their dad or granddad gave them or whoever they got into shooting advised them to use. They want enough energy to kill anything in north America, with flat flight ballistics, that won't blow their shoulder off, break the bank, or offend the ear drums. It's impossible to say any of those three rounds is better than the other without also saying what you want to do with it, because each has at least one strength the other 2 do not have.

Good grief!

if you don't mind the noise, a 300wm or 7mag w/ BOSS offers the range and takes away the recoil problem. I personally think that they are mild recoil rifles to begin with, but not everyone shares that belief.