Go to Eurooptics you can get a Tikka T3 for $499 they also have plenty of left hand models in stainless and blue. Looks like they had a few more arrive recently.

That's a great price for a wonderful rifle.

About that eye dominance thing...years ago while I was penniless in college I entertained myself by reading military/suspense type novels. After I'd read all of Tom Clancy I started branching out and found a number of very good authors, one being WEB Griffin. I think it was in one of his books that there was a student fighter pilot who couldn't shoot the guns (talking WW II era here) and was going to wash out of fighter pilot training. Come to find out, it was an eye dominance thing. So what they did was put a patch over his dominant eye and make him drive a car up and down the taxiways day after day until he had trained the other eye to be dominant. I don't know if this is truly possible, but I think the best writers of that genre (and Griffin was excellent!) tend to stick to reality pretty much.

No one's mentioned (unless I just overlooked it) the Ruger American rifle or the Winchester XPR. They're making some pretty decent economy rifles these days, and buying something like that might help you fund better glass. Definitely buy a quality scope and don't scrimp on the mount and rings. It may seem bass-ackward, but spending more on a scope than a rifle is perfectly rational.

Tikka T3

I've heard that eye patch thing. I am sure it would work, you can ultimately program your mind and body to do anything. However, my vision is so much better in my left eye, I think I prefer it as my dominant eye... I'm going to take a good hard look at the tikka after hearing so many people say so many good things about it.

Don't get a 3006

If you are left eye dominant you should shoot left handed. You will adjust to it quicker than trying to change your dominant eye, which I'm skeptical you could do being middle age. I'm curious, are you trying to shoot your pistols right handed?

I vote for the Tikka.

Fixed it for ya.

Don't get either

OP can speak for himself, but that's something I can relate to. I am righthanded and was blessed with perfect vision for many years, but in more recent times the eyesight has changed. I resisted vision correction as long as I could. It was only a couple of years ago that I realized I was shooting handguns aiming with the left eye because my right eye just can't focus on something at arm's length nearly as well as the left eye. Last year I finally got outfitted with eyeglasses and I find that I can use either eye, but the natural tendency is still to use the left. With rifles, I still just do like I've always done.

I know. You just can't kill a deer with either one...they both just majorly suck. If it ain't a Creedmoor, the critter walks!

.280 AI or you might as well get off this dang thread.

These caliber threads always end like this. Most popular calibers are good and will serve you well. Make sure you can buy ammo at your local Wally World.

That's why I like the .308. It seems readily available and fairly cheap, which is good, because I am going to need a lot of range time, as I have decided I am going to relearn the muscle memory and become left handed when I shoot a rifle.

P.P., I do shoot pistols right handed, but find that it is not as big a deal as aiming a rifle since the pistol is nearly dead center in front of both eyes anyways, while the rifle is definitely on one side

When you get comfortable using your left trigger finger start shooting your pistols that way as well. You will find it easier to aim your pistol left handed raising the gun in front of your dominant eye, not off to the side of it.

I finally gave into using my reading pair of glasses to shoot my pistols and be comfortable with my target being slightly out of focus. I was amazed how much better I shot by being total focused in the pistol sight.

That's a great choice. Good luck with the eye thing.

Unless you reload you should choose from calibers that have a good selection of readily available factory ammo. .308 fits the bill well for the deer and pigs in Texas. Some other good ones to chose from are .270win, 7-08, & 30-06. Any of those will do well on the big game in Texas. The 7-08 and .308 are going to have the least recoil and have both been quite successful in range competition. Due to the lighter recoil, either of these will be a little more pleasant at the range. The .270 is a time proven, classic long range deer cartridge. In that capacity it is on the short list of the best. The .30-06 is the most versatile. When you add elk to the mix, all four are capable, but the 30-06's performance with heavier bullets elevates it above the others. Caliber selection is give and take. If you want to spend a lot of range time and don't reload, .308 is probably the best choice
I shoot Savages and Remingtons and can recommend either one. With Savage you will most likely get a very accurate rifle straight out of the box. The Remington may require a few tweaks but it is where a lot of custom builders like to start for good reason.
I would advise you to shoot with your dominate eye. Like you I am right handed and left eye dominate. I shoot left handed. You may end up paying 30-50 dollars more. Left handed guns are harder to find. Shooting with anything other than your dominate eye is starting at a disadvantage. Not using the 20/10 vision in your dominate eye is giving up a serious advantage. If you stick with the shooting sports you will eventually get into shotgunning. With a shotgun the importance of the dominate eye becomes much more apparent.

Define "long range".

Remington 700.

Based on the OP's description of his own ability level, the simplicity of a point and shoot, point blank set up will best serve him, and how I geared my recommendation. In that application, the mild recoil, flat shooting, hard hitting performance on deer sized game that has also accounted for more than a few elk is what earned the .270 win the following it has maintained for decades, and what I am referring to.

Makes sense. And in those parameters, the .270 has been doing that job for a long time. I caution the term "long range". That is defined differently by many people. The NRA defines it as 600+ yards. I define it as 400+ yards after observing shooters deal with it, spotting thousands of shots, and the fact that a huge list of cartridges have the same (or very similar) corrections, for gravity from 100 to 300 yards. In my experience with the term long range, the .270 is dismal. However, there are plenty of hunters that view 200 yards as long range.

Fireman, I'm new to this forum and trying to get off on the right foot. I am not a competitive shooter but I do have my own range and I have burned a few 8 pounders of H4831 in 7 Rem Mags at 800 yards and a good bit more Varget in 7-08's. With a consistent load you can deal with gravity but the wind is your real nemesis. I didn't think that applied to the OP. I also lease out140,000 ac. of private ground to hunters and I have an old dog that will find a poorly hit deer. In my estimation 300 yards is long range to 90% of the hunters afield, and that is what I applied to my reply, even though it may be at odds with the NRA.

Pretty much what I said.

As well as the general rule is the .270 is not a long range cartridge, per se. But it is a 0-400 yard cartridge, for those that practice with it enough.

Smokey,
you're doing fine, no worries.


OP,

308 works very well for deer and pigs. Good ammo is abundant and affordable, and it is pleasant to shoot in practice.

The Montana Rifle Company XWR or X2 are very good off the shelf rifles that will last a lifetime.