I have a Savage .243 and I absolutely love this gun. I will never give it up and probably hunt deer with it the rest of my life.

i have a 7mag and 300 wsm. the 300 wsm is a savage 12 that has been extremely accurate. i just shot a group at 200 w/ the last 3 touching. the 7mag is a winchester laredo w/ boss that is also a tack driver. these 2 have similar ballistics but with different bullet weights. i just like the extra punch of the magnums.

I always will use my trusty 30.06, but am taking my 243 as well alot this year.

.270 but have been shooting the wife's .243 WSSM quite a bit the last couple years.

I'm not sure how much whitetail hunting I'll be able to do in the future, but I'll be sure and take along my Savage 110 in .30-06 with Remington's Managed Recoil ammunition.

A fail-safe combo for me. Just love it.

7MM-08! Best Texas deer rifle caliber around! JMHO!

270 model 70 140 gr handloads, this was my grandfathers deer rifle and is always my first choice for white tail or hogs bigger game 30-06

+1 on the 7mm08, light recoil and DRT deer

+2 on the 7-08, accuracy of the cartridge is above average.

I like the 25/06 or 257AI. A 120gr bullet at about 3000fps, shoot flat, hits like a 130gr 270, and the recoil is light enough that you can usually see the deer's reaction to the hit.

+ 3 on the 7/08. Finest round available for Tx. deer & pigs.
IMHO


Jay

For Lora it is a 257 Roberts.

For me it is my 375 H&H first with my 35 Whelen as my second choice.

I usually take a ruger m77 mark II in .270 but on I also feel comfortable with the marlin 336ss in 30-30.

The wife hunts with a .243 and she does rather well with it. Me when I do hunt with a rifle I have different stuff I use. Depending on my mood and where I am hunting. Sometimes it's a .338 win mag, 45 caliber mzzleloader, and I might even break out the .50 Beowulf. I know that none of those are normal deer cartridges for TX, but I don't own anything that shoots a normal deer catridge.

I have a winchester coyote lite in 25 wssm . I load 100 grn barnes triple shoks and this combo is deadly accurate out to 300 yds and maybe farther . Havent shot it past that yet.

For the last 40 years it's been a 270, even though I've gone thru a pile of other calibers at the same time. Shot out the barrel of a 257 Roberts on WT's over a 15 year period, started with a 243 SAKO and never was really satisfied with it's DRT aspect even though I could shoot the wings off a house fly with it and it wound up as a 100+yard turkey gun that was good enough to never cut feathers, & never really glommed onto another cartridge...but I am working up a 6.5x55 Swede in a Tikka T3 right now that shows immense promise for a light weight, comfortable shooting & so far always accurate all round Texas WTail, hog & 'yote shooter. Accurate enough with my handloads I may start taking turkey head shots again. My backup gun since 1972 has been a series of 300Wmgs, since it throws 165 bullets in exactly the same flight path as a 270 in 130 gr'ers & 180's same way for a 270 in 150's...and is IMO a better DRT gun than a 7Rmg is but where it really shines is with 200gr'ers at plus 300 yards.
Like CHC I also have a penchant for bigger calibers and have not finished with my CZ 550 9.3x62 to the point it's ready to go in the field, and it's 308 vs 30'06 comparison only to a 375H&H with lots less kick ... but I'll find some fur or better still some big time heavy bristle asap to try it out on.
Ron

+4 on the 7/08. Best all around Texas deer cartridge, even moreso in a handy, short-barreled rig like the Remington M7.

257 Weatherby Mag - Mark V-me and Vanguard model-my son. I have never had a deer take more than 4 steps before dropping....

6as

280 Reminton is my favorite. I love it, deer hate it.

MC

30/06, no doubt.

But, over the past 15 years I've been somewhat partial to my 6mm Remington. Have taken some big bucks with it, some at distances out to 200 yards.

When knock-down is needed, /06 for sure!

savage 270!

Winchester Model 70 Featherweight .270 using 140 grain Federal Premium Nosler Accubond bullets.

22-250 with barnes x-bullets in 53grains! at 3700 fps deer and hogs drop instantly! looks like dynamite went off inside them! an accuracy is way above par! less than half inch at 100yrds! tried them all 270's,06's,7mm's will stick with my 22-250 anytime here in Texas!

Still gotta plug the old 308.

308