From now on the 300 Win Mag shall be known as the 300 Jesus Christ! I like the sound of that!

Not related to the op but i love to talk about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and it is a fact what he did for me some 2000 years ago on the Cross at Calvery. I give Him Praise for Salvation full and free,

Not needed for medium game, I’ll agree. But it’s better to have it and not need it than the other way around.

It shines where you are afield in an area where you may encounter game from 100 lbs all the way up to over 1000 lbs, which is the case in many areas, but not a common scenario here in Texas.

For a do-all for non-dangerous game, I just don’t see there being a better combination of bullet selection, ammo availability, shootability, and knockdown power than a .300 win mag.

300wm is plenty of gun for 95% of the animals on the planet, but some of the other 5% lives in Texas, even if they are considered hunted feral livestock. If I were planning to hunt bison, cape buffalo, zebras, or nilghai, I might consider a 375 or 338. If I were planning on hunting everything but that, I would consider a 30-06 or 270. 300 WM might be the best compromise, but if you are a dentist hunting zebras in Texas, you probably have more than one rifle.

The same holds true for the 300 WSM, 300 PRC, 30 Nosler, 28 Nosler, 7 Rem Mag, 7 PRC, and I probably left out some.

But, for today, where the 300 Win Mag has the edge is the availability of brass. It has been around a long time, so there's brass typically available. But the same can be said for the 7 Rem Mag.

There's more 30 cal bullet choices. But in 7mm, there's more than plenty for what I need to do the same jobs you mentioned.

This thread convinced me I need more than one to hunt all of Texas.

Is ammo commonly available to a non-handloader in .300 PRC, 28 nosler, or the 30nosler?

I see some .300 prc on our local ammo shelves but not much on the others.

If your driving it’s a non-issue but with the way our wonderful airlines work if your flying you have to factor in the possibility your ammo may not arrive with your rifle and will have to procure it from a local source. .300 win mag is probsbly the most common magnum round available. Sole reason I had my Mark V chambered in .300 win instead of .300 wby, which is bordering on blasphemy but ammo availability was a major concern

As far as capability any of the above mentioned is certainly adequate

I don't consider ammo availability. Many need to, but I don't.

Same doesn't hold true for any of those mentioned. Only 7 mag has the ammo availability. I have a 7 mag i built, pretty fond of it out to a mile but i'd take the 300.
Been rolling my own long before you were breathing air so we agree on not worring about ammo availability but it is one of his drivers in his question.

i hunt W Texas Mule/whitetail and use a 270 or my fav 7MM mag but my next gun will be a 25-06

What ammo you use on Mule deer with your 7mm Mag?

I've been really wanting a 25-06 in the arsenal for awhile now. When I think of Texas I think of 25-06 and 243.

Gotta be 30-06 right? I mean generally speaking

270, 308 or 30-06. Any of these should do the job and ammo for them can be found most anywhere.

If I had to have one rifle for TX it would be the .270......... (and .308 would be #2)

270 or 30.06

You know... it looks like a "Texas All Around" rifle would be a Win 308 or 7.08...I have 5 308s after shooting 270 and 300 HH for years. Guess when you get past 70, you just want a good rifle to get the job done and not kick you! Seriously, there are so many good calibers today and so many good quality bullets, I just like to shoot the one that I enjoy and puts the animal down quickly. Great thread and good information.

Any mid-range caliber is good. i've heard in the past that there's more game harvested with a .270 than any other caliber....i don't know if this is still or ever was true. in all truthfulness i think a well loaded 3006 could/has done just about everything in north america although it gets passed over a lot more in favor of newer flashier choices. not too big for texas game and big enough for just about anywhere else. there's not all that much difference between a .270 and a .3006. 06 just has some heftier bullet options.

i sure hope nosler partition bullets aren't a thing of the past. for reloading haven't been able to find them much. no matter what caliber you shoot...i'm of the opinion that a partition is about the best hunting round you could fire thru it.

.264 CM. Ha.

Plain and simple, it's not a 300 WM. This season was spent taking my 22 250 and 300 out with me. I'd prefer a single weapon.

Cannot wait for the suppressor stamp to get approved and issued so my cut down 270 becomes the norm again.

I own a .223, 6mm, .270 and .280....all of them are bolt action and I have killed deer and other critters with all of them. The most kills have come with the .270 by a large margin and I still hunt with it. Killed everything from predators to hogs to aoudads to oryx to axis to red stag in NZ to mule deer in Alberta and Trans Pecos to whitetails all over the state. Last few years have gone to my .280 made by Rifles, Inc. Can't comment on other calibers I don't own but what I have has served me well. All calibers listed above in post are personal favorites since those people own those rifles. They would not own one it if they didn't like it.

308 Win is my favorite, but I also like the 7mm-08, .243, and .223 (with a 75-grain bullet). I guess I like the short actions because they're easier to mount scopes on (with the proper eye relief) and you can make quick follow-up shots with a bolt action.

But ultimately it comes down to whatever you're the most comfortable and capable with. And it also helps when it's easier to find ammo.

many cartridges will do just fine, but I'll cast my vote for 7mm-08.

wide selection of bullets for the handloader, ample for anything in TX, and very manageable recoil.

Do what?

He must talking about true short actions that are 1/2” shorter and don’t have pic rails. On something like a Ruger 77 or a CZ 550, there are optics mounting points on the receiver. Long actions are spaced 1/2” longer so it can limit how much you can push the optic back without hitting the scope bell.