Dear Ron: What cartridge should I pick?

Q: Hey Ron,

Huge fan here, newb to hunting though! I plan on going hunting with some family friends here soon. I am in South Texas so I mainly plan on hunting deer, hog, and coyote. I’ve been looking at different cartridges and still have no dice as to which I should pick. I am 21, 5’10, 250 lbs, for reference. I was thinking maybe 308, 270, or 7 rem mag ( I think might be too much for Texas though ). But please give me your input, I’d love to hear from you!

A: Hi Kam, 

Congrats on your new interest in hunting. I'm sure you will enjoy your closer connection to the real world, including the meat! As for your rifle/cartridge options, you won't go wrong with any of these. Truly the only significant difference is trajectory, the curve your bullets makes downrange as a result of gravity and wind. The higher the muzzle velocity and bullet's ballistic coefficient, the less the bullet diverges from your point of aim. Inside of 300 yards the differences in drop and wind deflection among these three is negligible for a target as large as a deer or hog's chest. You will get a bit more recoil out of the 7mm RM. The other two are similar depending on the bullet weight you shoot. The 270 would probably be my pick, but you can't go wrong with the 308 Win, either. I'd go with the 7mm if you were also toying with trying elk, moose, and other bigger game and or hunting where shots beyond 300 yards are expected. 

I urge you to study bullets and become selective about them because they are much, much, much more important than the rifle/cartridge that launches them. You might want to watch my video on bullets, how they're constructed, and how they perform at https://youtu.be/We6OM03wSEI.

Good luck and welcome to the exciting, fulfilling world of sustainable sport hunting! Know that your financial contributions via gun and ammo purchases, tags, licenses, etc. pay for a huge part of wildlife conservation and protection across the USA. 

Ron