some kokua choosing a rifle

aloha mai bradahs,
in looking to buy a higgh power rifle. i live on the big island and looking to try out maunakea. i would like to buy a gun that i can grow into. i dont exspect to shoot 300 even 200 + yds off da bat but mabey one day. i will be mostly be shooting pigs and what ever else is in the area. im basicly looking for a gun that has posible stoping power at long ranges. any sugestions on caliber. 270, 30-06,25-06,308,7mm. any advise is appreciated

Going for pigs I would recommend 30-06 or the .308, I shoot a 30-06 and have no complaints and have taken a few sheep and goat with the same rifle also. If your plan was to do mostly sheep and goats you could use a .270 but I have never tried taking down a pig with one, I am sure there are a couple guys who will disagree. I'm not positive but is Mauna Kea closed? I haven't taken my -06 out in quite some time, I've been busy working my dogs! Good luck with your new rifle!

The 30 calibers like the 308 and 30-06 are ideal calibers for larger tougher game like pigs while the 270 would be more ideal on slightly smaller/less-tough animals like sheep. That said, a well placed shot from a 270 would easily kill a pig but you'll have more killing power with the 30 cals, especially at longer distances and with marginal shots. Stay away from 25-06 and the 7mm. One is underkill and the other a gross overkill cannon IMHO.

Except for the weight in ammo, the 308 being slightly lighter because of the shorter case length and a more efficient use of powder, the two 30 cals are so basistically similar that you might as well just go with whatever you can find a better deal on.

I shoot a 30-06 and it's a great gun but I secretly wish it was a 308.

As a kid growing up all my uncles hunted with either bow and arrow or rifles. Many many years later I got into hunting and got into rifles so I asked the same question you are asking. All my uncles recommended the 270 so I ended up with the 270. After about a month, I also bought a 308. Personally I feel more sure about taking down animals with a 270. I have shot numerous pigs with this caliber and have also taken my share of goats and axis deer. My farthest shot was at 297 yards and the pig went straight down with a shot to the neck. When I took that same shot with my 308... low and behold I missed!!! And I was aiming at the shoulder not the neck... Don't get me wrong the 308 is an awesome gun also, but personally I feel more sure about bringing home the "bacon" with my 270.... Good Luck!! - Chad

Howzit my bradda all the Calibers you mention have more than enough killing power for anything in the state. There's other things to consider than just caliber but they all are capable of what you're asking. I'll post more later little busy at the moment

Alohaz

Hey Koa!
You're right to acknowledge that there's a lot of overlap and overkill to consider when buying a rifle. My advice, and I'm a more passionate shotgunner than rifle shooter-so you know where i'm coming from...It is easy to get caught up in the "my caliber is better than your caliber" conversations. There are a few simple questions to consider before laying down your hard won $$ for a rifle. What do you want to do with the rifle? How far do you realistically expect to shoot? How much recoil can you handle? Do you reload? Where will you hunt with this rifle?

All those questions being posed, a few well known (which makes them boring to some shooters, a feeling I don't understand) rounds come to mind and mention. For anything up to (and over?) elk (think a horse sized animal) a 30-06 is hard to beat. The .308 has tons of fans, and the difference between it and the '06 are negligible-unless you're gonna take a lot of shots at animals 400-600yds away. The .270 has a huge fan base. There's not a lot up for sale in the consignment market because those that has 'em, are those that keeps 'em (that's a BIG HINT) If you have to take shots at animals 300-600+ distances; I pose this advice....stalk in closer or shoot something bigger.

7mmMag is a BAD bullet. It's smaller and less well known brother, the 7mmSTW is even BADDER. And then there's there hyper fast .25 calibers to play with... like the .257 STW ( a 7mm Mag case necked down to to .257) The .257-STW is a wildcat specialty bullet. For you pure rifle heads...48gr (on top of a secret amount of Reloader 25) runs at 4,100fps at the muzzle. The zero-dead on hold for that round is 400yds (that means up to 400yds, point of aim is within 2" of point of impact!!! A VERY POISON PILL) Smoke 'em if you see 'em! Deer, pigs, javelina, coyotes.....DRD (dead right dere!) Anything in Hawaii will drop in its tracks if hit with that bullet, at those speeds...'cept a feral cow!

Sooo, the question boils down to...What are you gonna shoot? What bullets can you get easily? One of the big benefits of shooting the popular 30-cal family of bullets, is that they are easy find. My advice, based on availabilty and cost.... 30-06 or .270 , the range between them is big. Both are well proven rounds. If you think you're going to hike a lot on a hunt, then go .308. Why? Because is a short action rifle is lighter to haul around hiking than a "long action" rifle (30-06, 270, 280)

Turkey Joe, some where in some earlier post Alaska Andy , myself and a few other covered this very topic. My .02 cents is , it is all about shot placement and the conditions you have to make a shot. All of the calibers you listed are excellent for the hunting you want to do. I have taken coyotes , standing still, with a 7mm rem mag at 900 yards. I have taken elk at 400 yards with a .270. Even the 223 with the right bullet weight choice is a very good round. Bullet choice in any caliber and shot placement can drop anything from pigs to elephants. It is just my opinion that for Big Island hunting The .270 would be the best choice especially if you do your own reloading. The 270 is one of the flattest shooting rounds there is and bullets can be found in many weights. It will defintely stop a pig with a heavy bullet. 140 nosler ballistic tip will probably drop them in there tracks. Also if you get a chance to hunt axis deer for the long shot with plenty of punch the 270 is good for the job.
My biggest pet peave is people by rifles and dont know how to shoot them.They but these big 300 RUM and think I can hit them anywhere and they will die. Sure any body can pull the trigger but can they really shoot it. Sure you can hit a target at 200 yards all day long but can you do it at a trophy axis deer when the wind is blowing 15 mph with gust to 20? What ever caliber you choose learn the characteristics of you rifle and know them by heart or even keep notes to kow you drop.

Aloha Bradda Joe first off Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays good questions you asked. BTW the 257 STW is a wicked round as is its bigger brother the 7mm STW.

Howzit Cal great to have you back and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Kamaaina- As Jedi pointed out Shot Placement is key regardless of the caliber you choose. With that being said theres things that can affect your shot placement. One of the biggest is Flinching, I dont know your previous experience with shooting but without a solid background you could very well develope a flinch quite easily if you havent done much shooting in the past or been taught wrong. Even a seemingly light recoiling caliber can be too much in a bad matching rifle or maybe having the scope's eye relief not set properly.

Having taken all of hawaii's game with all the calibers you mention there's really no wrong one. From what you wrote I gather you dont have much experience with shooting a high power rifle please correct me if im wrong. If possible start light 22, 223 etc pratice the fundamentals of shooting sight alignment,sight picture,breath control,trigger squeeze,,bone support etc. this way you build on a solid foundation and lessen the chance of learning bad shooting habits by starting off big and may be more than you anticipated.

Im also guessing you'll probly be buying factory ammo as well and thats a big thing to consider. All the calibers you listed are fairly easy to find in most gun shops with the 308,270 and 30-06 being the most common with the 7mm RM a close second as is the 25-06. Another caliber that fits right in and is a very accurate round is the 7mm-08 its often over looked but its an awesome caliber and fits the bill nicely with many different rifle models, light recoil,short action,very accurate and has very good bullets available with very good BC and SD.

Or you can be like me and get them all and then your only decision is which one to take on your next hunting trip

Share with us and we can better help you decide whats best for you but in the end we can only suggest something by the info we recieve from you. We're here to help as best we can!

Aloha!

WOW! thanks for all the great help everyone! sorry for such a late reply i've been working on oahu and have just got back to the BI. i have chosen the Remington 308 tactical with a leupold scope. but will keep in mind the tips you guys have brought to my attention. all of it was very help full in making my decition. and yah Koa i am not that experienced and i will try to practice to not develop some of those bad habits. thanks again!
Aloha

Practice...brah...practice. Just like they said, shot placement will do a lot. Think about this...for the most part, the guys who preach practice and shot placement, are not always the guys trying to sell a shooter a rifle. An expensive new rifle, ridiculously expensive scope and a big @$$ mag bullet will not do the job if you didn't put the shot in the right place. I'm just gad you didn't ask what the best shotgun is....that is a WHOLE 'NOTHER conversation

Turkey Joe wrote:I'm just gad you didn't ask what the best shotgun is....that is a WHOLE 'NOTHER conversation

I'd love to hear it Turkey Joe! My picks would have to be Mossberg 500 or Remington 1100 but then again those are the only guns I shoot! Biased opinion!

I like the 300 winchester mag