doubleA

There once was a time when I wouldnt agree with this but in today's market I would agree with the above.

Lance86, First of all, welcome to the Realtree Forums...... Living in South Texas where we are often over run with feral hogs, the best rifle to shoot one with is the one you happen to have at the time. The internets has sorta added to the idea of the "super unstoppable man eater hog". While I confess that every now and then there are some bigger ones out there, most are going to be in the 100-200lb range and no harder to kill than a whitetail. Hit well in the vitals, they die. Hogs are not bullet proof, though the really big ones can be tough if hit in the front shoulder where a heavy grizzle forms helping to protect the vitals. Of course head/brain shots will always work, but so will shots that a bowhunter hunter would take like slightly quartering away tight behind the shoulder. Having killed 1000's of hogs with many different weapons, the 25-06 being one of them, will fit the bill nicely. Good luck and remember....the only good hog is a dead hog!

I invited my closest friend, the one that would drop anything at the drop of a hat for me and my family to an all expenses paid trip to northern Saskatchewan for whitetail. He hates the cold, I mean really really hates it but was able to sit in sub zero temps for several days before taking a buck of a lifetime. That trip will forever be etched into our memories and I will cherish those moments till the day I die, I have been truly blessed.

H&R2, Welcome to the Realtree Forums! I have had government trappers come to my property for the last 20 years in the spring and take out coyotes with cyanide traps/guns. I just dont see coyotes any more. If I did see one I would shoot with whatever I had at the time. Around here they are like feral hogs, the only good one is a dead one.

There is no way to tell what is "best" for your needs sitting behind this key board. What works for you might not for me and vice versa. We can only suggest some things. Yes, there are certain bullets and powder combinations that are somewhat universal across the board. Reloder 15/Varget and Sierra 175 and 168's can usually be coaxed into shooting well in just about any 308 Win. It;s been said that if your rifle will not shoot Federal line of Gold Medal factory 308 win loads it wont shoot anything. These are loaded with 168 and 175gr SMK's. Back to handloading.... There are quite a few choices to choose from if you're talking match bullets, it might take a bit of trial and error. For the most part Nosler's Custom Competition .308 bullets are a fraction cheaper than the Sierra Match Kings. Hornady make's the A-Max target line which is gaining me favor. Then there are the Berger and Lapua brands as well as small custom makers all of which are going to have better BC's than the afore mentioned but also will run you more money. Some experimenting with the OAL is to be expected also as some of the bullets like a jump to the lands and some dont. Your individual barrel and twist will most likely diciate the bullet it prefers be it a 168,155,175,190, 208 etc. Not written in stone but a 1:10 twist is most likely going to handle the heavier 175gr better than a 1:12. The 168 is a happy medium for both twist. IMHO Unless you are shooting competitions and or really serious about the absolute flattest , wind bucking super pill I would be content with a happy medium with preformance/cost. You didnt mention the skill level but practice makes perfect so economy plays a big part. No need to be shooting something exspensive through the learning curve. Again, unless you are shooting over 600yds, there isnt a whole lot of difference between the 155,168,175, they will all do as well as you can shoot.

Dont want to get too far off topic but here it goes.... I agree with AJ that the 175 is a better bullet for ranges longer than 600 yards. Given the same weight, it's the bullet with with the highest ballistic coeffecient that shoots flatter and has less wind drift not the one with the lowest as you suggested. Even with an initial lower velocity, the 175 with it's higher BC will do better than the 168gr at distance. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Sierra used to be the holy grail when it came to match bullets but in todays market there are several makers that produce very high BC bullets, noteably Barnes make some of the very best high BC pills. The Lapua 155 Scenar equals Sierra's 175 match king but can be driven alot faster so it can reach to 1K and still be super sonic, something that the 168gr is "iffy" on. Dont get me wrong, the 168gr is a great bullet out to around 600 yds but the 155gr and 175 gr outrun it at 1000. PS, great to see your still alive and will AJ :cowboy:

You must be living right Anthony, it's good to be the KING!:clap: Tell Herbie hello for me, you still have my number?:gun2:

Welcome to the Realtree Forums Longshot. Your setup is not only good for 200 yards but alot further depending on your skills and your rifle's accuracy capability. You did not mention the ammo your feeding it but in most cases, handloads taylored to your rifles likes will do better than off the shelf factory fodder. Good luck with your shooting!

Welcome to the Realtree forums victor3ranger. I remember way back when I used to use IMR-4895 with 168's, these days I burn up many ponds of either Hodgdon Varget or Alliant's Reloder 15 In my 308's as both offer excellent results. In the IMR line of powders, 4895 has a great reputation as being "the" powder. Good luck and stay safe by only using published data.

Being a good witness to others in everything I do.

For hunting puposes a 3lb will do, as long as there is no creep and breaks cleanly. A really good 3lb trigger will have a better feel to it than a mushy 2lber.

I would be taking something with a decent scope on it. More times than not, hogs are on the move during very early morning hours and in the evenings right at dark. A scoped rifle will usually allow better shot placement in low light conditions. That's my $.02.

At the very least I think they should reimburse you for the batteries and S&H. I would either call CS or email them about this.

With that said, I would first try some different ammo, maybe a few different brands and weights. You will find some rifles are not all that picky while some will show a preference with the ammo it is fed with. Free floating the barrel works in a majority of cases, it's something that's done in a simple matter, this would be my next move.

Just sent the family of to Green Bay WI for the Bears/packers game tomorrow so I am alone for a few days until they get back. I am a little down in spirits as I was unable to go because of my scheduel. I had the brilliant idea of calling a buddy of mine that wants to stretch out a new Savage FTR rifle, asking him to go out and do some shooting today. He accepted the offer, so I am going to grab a couple of rifles and head down to the ranch with him in a few minutes. Am I smart or what... 2 good friends Firearms burning powder PRICELESS!:gun2:

z7_hunter, let me first off welcome you to the Realtree Forums. There are a multitude of possibilities of why you cant get the rifle to group. Some are shooter influenced and some are equipment. The trick is to narrow it down. Strut10 and colorado bob have named a few above. You might want to go into more detail explaining what exactly you are doing, this will help refine the possible promlem(s). An example.....my shooting abilities are better than average, the rifle used to shoot great but now doesnt, I am shooting off the hood of my truck and so on. Hope you pull up a chair and stay awhile.:cowboy:

Anthony, I have several rigs with Warne's on them. A few with 50mm objectives and mediums work ok. Just last week I mounted a friend's Nikon 3x9x50 on his Marlin XL7 and mediums were used. The scope cleared the barrel by about .050". The Warnes are pretty stout, though sometimes a pain to mount as they are split vertically and the recoil lug sometimes has a habit of falling out when mounting. Really just different, just take your time time mounting them .

I use a Hoyt and a PSE with a few gizzwidgets.:yawn::sleep1:

Sounds like a tasty recipe for sure. ...... on a side note, my wife and daughter use bacon in alot of recipes. One of my favorites is bacon chocolate chip cookies. Just last week, daughter made chicken fried peppered bacon as an appetizer, oh it's gooooood.

Congrats to you and yours.:clap: It will be 23 years for us tomorrow, the 31st.

I take the pictures that I use as backgrounds. I change them frequently. Here are a few examples......

I have had the 1 1/2 HP model now for a few years. It will simply grind meat like nobodies business. I also have the the 44 pound mixer that attaches to it that works very well. I would highly reccomend them.

Anthony, it's really personal preference when it comes to weight, some want to shed every ounce possible but from the ground up I wanted this to be a heavy rilfe. I even chose a steel base when I could have saved a few ounces going with aluminum.:1eye: I killed this plate at 300yds yesterday with 5 shots into an inch and a half. 75gr Amax and Reloder 15 were used .:gun2:

Looks promising......... Found that the rifle is capable of shooting some itty bitty groups, here's the first 5 shot group I fired after fireforming some Lapua brass. Measured in the .1's :cowboy:

Has to be "Oh Holy Night". Here's my favorite version sung A cappella, it doesnt get any better than this.......