Hello Fellas, I'm new to the forum, and new to the sport, I'm looking for recommendation and a good rifle for deer,and hog. Something reliable, caliber,brand,etc.. Any tips are much appreciated

Welcome to the forum

Boy is that a Loaded question.
I think I would first seek the advice of family or close friends that may help enlighten you further about all aspects of hunting and responsibilities that it entails. It goes well beyond just buying a rifle of any particular caliber. There are many great calibers to choose.

I'm a fan of the .270 for those specific game animals- flat shooting, nominal recoil, and plenty of good ammo for different applications. With respect to brand, you're gonna get a lot of personal preferences (Remington, Savage and Ruger to name a few) but it's gonna come down to your price point and what feels good when you shoulder it. I'd recommend going to your local gun store and fondle a few til you find something you like...

welcome to hunting and to the forum, my top 2 recommendations would be either a .243 a good beginner caliber with plenty of ammo, or what I got for my wife and daughter, a .257 Roberts. Bob is a great caliber but ammo is more expensive.

243

Caliber is a hard question. There are many options and a lot of overlap. I prefer the 30 cals cause it makes reloading easier. But it's more expensive per trigger pull.

I would try to borrow some guns and get feel for them. The way the gun feels matters more than anything else

6.5 Creedmoor or the 270 WSM is what I would recommend. Both really accurate and capable of longer range shooting with factory ammo.

270 or 243, you can easily find ammo, they are available in all levels quality of rifles from the inexpensive to the high dollar one.

243 is a perfect middle-ground caliber & will easily take all game in Texas without dislocating your shoulder,

Thanks guys, I'll start hitting up the gun shops to get a better feel for them. Can't wait to get started, already a fishing addict I can see hunting will be the same.

Lots of rifles and calibers will work great for deer and hogs, If i were about to buy one strong consideration would be given to a tikka t3 in 7mm-08 or 308.

All I'll say is you'll get enough advice from the crew on caliber.

shoot a few rifles of friends or
relatives before you plunk down
your cash so you know what you're in for.
you don't need a big safari rig like all
the magazines tell you just to hunt texas.
buy whatever you can shoot accurately.

.308, or 30-06 would be my recommendation. Great power, range and versatility |

My vote as well

.270 or .308

270 I don't shoot one, but wish I did every time I buy shells for my 280.

.243
.257 Roberts
.270 Win
.280
7mm-08
7mm Rem Mag
.308
.30-06

243. It's easy to find ammo, the recoil is light and you can always go bigger with the next rifle.

For the rifle, decide how much you want to spend and then you'll get a better list of choices.

.270

Remington makes an ADL package that is a perfect starter gun.

1. define your budget and potential for use by distance expected to hunt at, and the kinds of critters you expect to hunt. This will answer your needs for how much quality you must afford for a rifle & scope...Under $500, under $800, under/over $1000.

2. The caliber for use in Texas can be anything from a 30-30 to one of the smaller magnums...but the "Great Average" deer/hog killers run from as mentioned 243 to 30'06. I am not a big fan of the 243 simply to escape recoil, IMO the 243 is more of an experts caliber and as such is indeed capable of success in Texas and elsewhere. I favor the minimum bullet weight of 120gr's @ a minimum of 27-2800 feet per second at the Muzzle for reliable Kill Shots for the Average Hunter. Wallyworld/Academy/Cabellas/BassPro/Gander Mtn priced & quality ammo is sufficient for anything you will ever hunt in 85-90% of North America in the Standard Calibers ...kinda like Regular Gas is used in 90% of the cars & Lt Duty trucks in the US instead of Premium Gas. As far as a good average caliber to use anywhere I'd suggest 7-08, 308, 270 or 30'06 as a place to start, or mebbe one of these will be the last gun you will ever NEED or buy. I think of these as "Little Red Riding Hood" calibers, not too big not to small, not too much recoil for anyone capable of hunting, ammo most always available and always at the cheapest price and good for anything on 4 feet you will want to shoot at anywhere & Reduced Recoil ammo if it is absolutely needed for a pre teen sized shooter.

3. Guns & scopes - heres where your budget speaks volumes, Under $500 choices are somewhat limited but doable, I favor the Ruger American @ around $350+/- and the balance of the bux around $100-$150 Plus the Sales Tax on the whole purchase for a $500+ Total out the Door +/- ammo in a 3x9x40 scope like a Bushnell Banner or Trophy, Sightron SI,or something with a Lifetime Warranty like the Sightron or a Swift Premier Grades in this same price range. Again there are lots of low end choices that are too cheap to be believed for a reason. Gun Mfg'er package deals traditionally are a bad choice 'cause they skimp on the scope's quality IMO.
An Under $800 Budget will get you a good well made Quality Gun or a Scope, but not both, and here IF you can find a clean Used rifle of more exspensive model that may be the way to go & be able to spend more money on a better scope.
At the Under/Over $1000 budget is where you can expect to find both a Good Qaulity gun & Scope at around $6-700 in the gun and the balance of $3-$400 in the scope.
EX: I looked at a nice clean used rifle yesterday in a caliber and brand I really like & respect in a Pawn shop that, if I had had the money available and in hand, I would not thought twice about spending the $1000 asking price with no haggling - which may be a 1st for me - in a New York Micro Second & the quality of the gun screamed for a $800/$1000+ scope, for a $2000+ Sales Tax total priced rig ...do I need it NO - I've got 4 other deer shooters now I don't use enough to justify buying another one, that has taken me 3 years to thin the herd and get down to just those 4, do I want it YES, but am I going to buy it NOT anytime soon. It was Georgous though! in a discontinued caliber I already shoot and am set up to reload for.

4. Budget Formula - I used to use a 2/3rd's Gun & 1/3rd Scope budget formula but with todays better quality low price guns you can afford to spend more on better Scopes & get the same results in accuracy. Shop hard & everywhere.

5. Accuracy and Functionality - Accuracy comes from Practice first, second and third. Yes some guns will prefer different brands & bullet weights & styles, but Practice time at the range is the bottom line key. The Big Box retailers promo ammo choices will have the best possible average bullet for Texas Hunting to start with in Federal, Remington & Winchester. You will need hands on experience to learn the differences YOUR GUN prefers and how that preference works on the targets you decide to hunt.

You didn't learn to drive a car by watching a video or asking other folks questions about what to do when UNTIL you had some behind the wheel experience to relate the answers to. I would like to think that if you practice just a little you can expect to be able to achieve "Minute of Deer" aka a 5 shot group with all 5 rounds hitting the target at under 3"s at 100 yard Hunting distances without any problems. Enough Practice may bring that 5 shot group to under 2"s each and every time you pull the trigger. Getting to being able to put all 5 rounds undr a 1" circle is not critical when hunting at around 100 yards...further out past 2-300 yards it Becomes critical for a clean kill.

TP&W used to say that 80/90+ % of all Deer Killed in Texas every year according to their surveys was done at around 75-100 yards...that may have changed a tad but not much I' sure, and mebbe you could safely add 25-50 yrds to that statement. All the calibers and guns you will have recommended can accomplish that easily...BUT ONLY if YOU do your part behind the trigger in Aiming Accurately.
Have Fun and Good Luck
Ron

Thanks for all the info, it sure helps.

.243 Mossberg ATR 100

7mm-08, 308, 30-06 are my fav's