New article on Caliber Choice in Texas

I just posted an article by George Sakai of South Texas Trophy Outfitters discussing caliber choice when hunting in Texas.

Also covers sectional density.

http://www.greatlifesportsnews.com/category/hunting/

Well I agree with him 100% about .243/.25-06 as the baseline.

That's a good baseline. I get annoyed with the etx, can't see anywhere stereotype though.

I like .243, that's what I use.

for 99% of deer hunting, if people would just find some middle ground they would be alright.

They either want to use a .223 or .22-250 exclusively or shoot a .300 wsm to take a 100 yard shot

Me and you both. My best buck was shot at almost exactly 300 yards..

My longest and shortest shots at deer were in east texas.

My best was shot about 110 and I had to thread a needle through a low spot in 3yo clearcut regrowth. 180grs was my insurance that it would defect off leaves and stuff too much

Written by our very own "Jorge" here at THF.

He can't spell his name right?

where did ya'll hunt at in east texas?

You've noticed that, too, huh?

I bet it was between El Paso and Shreveport.

I can spell my name but since I live in McAllen, Mexico oh I'm sorry Texas, 99% of the time they say "yorge?" with a puzzeled look. You mean whore-hay lol. It kinda stuck and I'm half mexi so it works for down here, gots to blend in guys not a local.

I vote for you to change your username over to that... quit saying we can't see nowhere in ETX and you can change it back.

Cool article.

Says he who had insurance that his bullet would defect. Fixed it for you



Yea I know I have a lot of typos not caught before posting

I had an excuse at 1:37 yesterday afternoon..something was going on that had my attention at the Doctor's office more than forum.


David < spelled right! not Day-vid...

Jorge or George, either way it is a well written article.

As one clients and now good friend put it "using Jorge kinda makes ya indigineous huh" it helps down here fellas, whole different world!!!!

And I have a great excuse I practically live in Mexico.

I recant that east, tx shots are 50-75 yards. I was speaking in generalities. Always a critic out there.

It would be da-veed down here bro lol

Good Read

I'd settle with Chuy....

Good article, and I too agree on the 6mm/257 as the functional baseline for Texas Whitetail.

I've seen a few folks shoot deer with .223s and the like, and while it's technically killed them just as dead, the margin for error is much greater. On a related note, I've also come across a living deer with 2/3rd it's skull missing while out varmint hunting at night (deer was standing in a creek that was 2-3 ft deep and completely unresponsive to my presence) ; I always just assumed it was shot with a smaller caliber that deflected off hard bone. It was a sad sight.

Bottom line, if you're going after hogs and bigger deer, it's probably a good idea to leave the .224 based calibers in the gun safe. IMO a 260 Rem (or other 6.5 calibers) is just about the ideal Texas whitetail deer cartridge. (Highest SDs, close to the highest BC with 140grs, lethal out to even the longest hunting distances, and relatively low recoil). What's not to love about that?!?

Regardless of if you're hunting with a .204 Ruger or a .505 Gibbs, the most important thing is knowing how your rifle and scope will perform at varying ranges/conditions. If you have quality equipment, and know how to use it correctly, anything inside 300 yards should be sitting on your dinner table that evening.

Take Care.

what about Sancho?

lol,,

One of my longest shots was in east tx on a big clear cut and im from the panhandle

I like how a lot of people over look the 6.5 Creedmoor and the .260 Rem. both are amazing rounds. Both in the field and on the bench.

See two posts above.

The 6.5mm/264 bore just hasn't caught on in the states like it should of. I think with the explosion of information exchange of today's society, people are starting to get more exposed to those cartridges, and as a result are inherently more accepting.

I agree on the 6.5 getting passed over by many guys, one of my favorites in the safe is my 260. The .264 family offers the best sd, and the 6.5x55 swede has taken just about everything in Europe, reason I left it off the table is I picked two calibers 25-06 and 243 for several reasons. Ease of buying ammunition virtually anywhere, familiarity, and cost of ammo while there isn't a big difference good 260 rem is pricey in comparison to 243 win. Also, for reloading there is a plethora of info for the 243 Win and 25-06. Not that the BR guys or F-Class guys haven't put 260 data out their most loads in doing my own research were tailored to precision shooting not necessarily hunting. An A-max or Smk can work I've used them there are better tools for the job like an Accubond or SST.

First of all, great article. Well written.

Secondly, I don't think you can include too many calibers in an article like that because you'll loose alot of reader with technical info overload.

Mostly, I'm just glad you didn't end the article with "270 is the best of all calibers and nothing comes close to second here in Texas." Nothing annoys me more than that.

I seen the post lol. I said a lot of people not all people. I have the .260, 6.5 Creedmoor, and the 6.5-284. All three shoot great and the ballistics of all three are flat out nuts.

My longest shot was south Texas, Axis deer about 220 yards with a 243. That deer ran a good 150 yrds before keeling over. I normally shoot 7MM or 8MM depending on the distance. East Texas, my 180 Grn 8MM normally does the trick.

Very good article, the author did a great job of keeping it general enough to be inclusive but specific enough to pass on some good info.

Very good article.

Yep, I am from East tx, but have hunted in a few places around the country...I do not know what it is like now, but growing up in the late 60's and early 70's before I left for college and never returned to live....we spent time hunting the right of ways on pipelines and transmission lines...those shots can get pretty long, not your usual brush distances. My longest shot ever was on a right of way in Cass County. We always just took a different gun depending on where we were gonna hunt. 30-30 and .35 in woods/brush and .243 in the clear.

I have since discovered the 6.55 X 55 and have found it to be outstanding. This is not meant as a slam at the person who wrote the article in "any" way. I have noticed in a couple of places, not just on THF where the 6.5 get left of the list of solid calibers because you can't run down to the local MaoMart and get ammo. Even if you do not load your own, geezzzz plan ahead, buy enough ammo to get it done.

Oh, maybe it is like some of the guys we shared a field with on opening weekend for dove season three or four years ago...showed up for opening weekend for all day Saturday and Sunday morning with one box shells each "daaaa which way did they go, which way did they go."

Which leads me to a question I may ask someday...after your gun is sighted in and you have practiced enough to make you happy...how many rounds do you really expend in a year of hunting?

I shot a doe this year at 350 of the front of my buddies Polaris ranger with my .300 win mag mag. I prefer to shoot a .243 or .308 for Texas whitetail but I was after a Nilgai and shot a whitetail instead.

My next caliber will be a .257 wheatherby.

x2