I'm a lifelong bird hunter. Shot a couple of deer in my life using a borrowed rifle.

I now have the opportunity to shoot whitetail and axis yearly at a friend's new place.

What is the best all-around calibre, 30-06, 270?

Also, what is a good mid priced rifle?

TIA

You are going to get a million differing opinions. Mine:

For those game you listed a 22-250 or a 243 is plenty of gun. Heck, the last 8 white tails I've shot have been with a Ruger Ranch Rifle in .223. And they have all been taken inside 80yds.

I have a Ruger .270 but the older I get the less I like to shoot it for light-skinned Texas game. If I was in to Elk/Moose I'd look at the 30-06.

Savage Axis II is a great gun or the Ruger American (I'm partial to Rugers)

You have all kinds of cartridge types within the same caliber.
You are going to get lots of good answers.

My favorites….. I'll repeat, my favorites (which don't mean a thing) are:
.308 (Can't beat its availability everywhere, and you can have bullets from 110 gr. to 200 grain for any game.)
7mm-08
.280 Remington

For Whitetails and Axis.
That's just me and all I got.

7mm 08 , 308, 270 and my favorite 280 are great all around calibers. My favorite rifle is a Browning X bolt which are on clearance most places right now.

50 bmg. API rounds

I had a Ruger mark 2 M77 that was a 7 mag. Best rifle I have ever had. Got stolen years ago and have no idea how to track it down.

7 mag is my preferred caliber. Good luck!

If you do not have plans to go after anything bigger then whitetail and axis, a .270 would be a great choice. As far as brands and types, I would advise you to get the best gun you can afford. The Savage Axis is an inexpensive rifle that is plenty accurate out to 300 yards. The Ruger Americans are great guns as well. The two rifles I use the most are a Remington 700 in 30-06 that I have owned for 45 years and a Ruger M77 that is over 35 years old although I have only owned it for about 15 years.

Whatever you buy, learn to shoot it well and be accurate with it. Find the bullet weight and brand it likes to shoot. It will surprise you how much changing brands will affect the accuracy of a rifle.

Somebody made a song about a 243 for a reason. I let my daughters and wife shoot it and don't worry about recoil. Shoots flat.

They also appreciate the leupold glass. The more I hunt, the more I care about optics.

ETA: I love guns. I start feeling guilty about not mentioning 308 or 25-06.

Just buy a 3 or 4 to see what fits.

I picked the 243 because I shoot small hill country dog deer at 150 yards or less. Many within 100 yards.

I think the 270 is a great all around caliber. My Mom and Dad shoot that. I shoot a variety of rifles.

7mm Mag, 300 win mag, 7mm Rem Express (280), 30-06, 270WSM,

I prefer the 7mm Mag because I am comfortable with it and most confident with it. Has a muzzle break, decent trigger pull and Leupold Scope. 3.5-10x

Being Comfortable and Confident in the gun you shoot goes a long way

.243 or .270 for the game you stated. I love my Tikka T3 in .243 for whitetail.

Anzio 20mm. Man up!

Heard good things about the Ruger American Gen II, not super expensive. Comes in several different calibers already mentioned on the thread. No experience, but it looks intriguing, it's what I would be looking at if in the market for a new deer rifle.

Winchester Model 70 Sporter Classic .270, 24" barrel.

I am a winchester model 70 guy and that is most of what I have.

However, in your situation looking for a one rifle setup I would probably go with a stainless tikka t3x in .308, 270, 6.5 cm or 6.5 prc. I shoot a 270 and 300 wm but there is no denying you have more options in .308 and 6.5 cm. If you wanted to stretch a little to get a little more capability the 7 mag (7 prc also but tikka doesn't chamber 7prc yet) is hard to beat as a one rifle caliber. A little much for whitetail but not overly so and can you take you up to and beyond elk without as much recoil as the 300 wm.

Depend mid-range when it comes to your budget and include what price including the scope. This is Texags and midrange could be $500 up to $2500 depending on your point of view.

Axis are a little larger than white tail so most people I know that hunt them prefer .270 and larger, from there its up to you. Old school .270, 30-06, and .308 are pretty flat 300 yards and in where you should be able to get a good shot hunting axis. Rounds like 7mm-08 and 6.5 Creedmoor are also good choices. Honestly can't go wrong hunting axis and white tail with any of those.

Distances you will realistically be shooting will make a difference.

For this thread purposes, i'll assume inside of 250 yards.

Basically, anything above .22-250 and you are going to be just fine as long as you do your part and use ammo designed for hunting.

As far as guns? You'll get just as many answers ranging from AR's to favorite bolt gun platforms. I'll tell you to find a good Winchester 70 and put a 3.5-10x40 Leupold VX3-HD on it.

I'm also cheap, so keep that in mind. That leaves more money for shotguns and pistols.

My favorite mid priced gun I have ever owned is a Howa Game Pro in .308.

Can get the rifle and scope for < $1K. Have killed many critters with mine

What have you shot before? Trying a few rifles in different cartridges to acquaint yourself with how much recoil they have would be a good idea before buying.

.280 ACKLEY IMPROVED

Obligatory...get a 7-08 you'll be happy.

.308 or .270

Can't go wrong with a Tikka rifle. .270, .308, 30-06 all great rounds which you can always find ammo. Of course I own none of them - 25-06 and 7mm REM Mag means I buy boxes whenever I see them on a shelf!

Water Turkey. After this thread is finished write down all the cartridges named in it and prepare yourself to become like all of us…. and start your collection… as you will end up " needing" at least one of each… maybe more than one of each!

water turkey said:

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I'm also cheap, so keep that in mind. That leaves more money for shotguns and pistols.

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If you decide on a 243, I have a Kimber 84M that I have been trying to sell, but no one has offered on TA. It has only been shot about a dozen times.

It is valued at over $1000, but I would let it go for $700. Probably more $ than you are thinking, but it is a great value. I will try to find my post if you are interested.

Found it:

https://texags.com/forums/50/topics/3357184/replies/64126382

Nice rifle.

.30-06 eot

Overkill for some? Perhaps. But for an axis, I'll be dipped in **** if I'm throwing a .22-250 down range at one, and the time will come where bigger is better. I'll be the first to admit I've popped many a deer in the neck with the trusty .223, but for someone just starting out, the .30-06 is a steady platform and can make up for shot placement with shear damage and deafening power to disorient if you miss.

Yep. First rifle I ever bought new for myself… Ruger M77. You can get 120 gr for hill country WT and go all the way to 180 gr for Elk.
Back in the 1950's my wife's grandad took his very old 30-06 to Africa and swore by it.

I will back up the .223, 22-250, .243, 7-08 recommendation as they all are good choices for lighter recoil rounds out to 250 yards for deer. Past that, you can look into 308, 7mm or one of the whiz bang 6.5 rounds. The Savage Axis and Ruger American are on the less expensive end of the spectrum but offer good quality and accuracy especially for the money. Above those, the guns get nicer as the price goes up.

There's a reason you hear 270 and 308 over and over. 130 grain in the 270.150 grain in the 308.

Some here may cringe, but our family has 4 Remington Model 700s in .270 (all with new triggers).

This past weekend, we shot 7 times and had 7 kills. One ran about 40 yards before she piled up. The other 6 just dropped where they were.

I will always say that the 7mm-08 is about as perfect a well rounded caliber as you can get. This is the caliber I built my wife's custom gun in.

Hunting all from a blind? Range to target is important as well. Ive (and my kids) shot a lot of deer - 270, 30-06, 6mm, 22-250, 308 and 6.5cm.

I'm not a huge fan of using the 6mm/22-250 for whitetail unless I'm doe harvesting. You will be faced with the occasional hard tracking job. I prefer both the 6.5CM and the 308 myself. Just put a 5" can on my 30-06 so that might get more use.

My favorite whitetail guns are 270 and 308.

Favorite western hunting guns are 300 win mag and 6.8 western.