Ready, aim, fire
My grandfather would often tell me the old wise saying that you should fear the man that owns one rifle. Owning a single rifle usually means that an individual becomes more proficient and accurate with his or her single rifle than those who have several. His advice stuck with me and to this day, I own but one rifle.
As deer season quickly approaches, many of you will be dreaming of pulling out your rifles and heading for the hills. Some of you may even find yourself drooling over gun shop display cases, dreaming of your next rifle. This begs the question: if you were going to buy a single rifle for hunting what caliber would you pick? My recommendation for you is the .308 Winchester.
The .308 Winchester, since its 1952 introduction, has become America’s most popular short action hunting cartridge. Adapted in 1954 by NATO, the .308 Winchester (a.k.a. 7.62 x 51mm NATO) remains a powerful allied nation workhorse. Olympic marksmen and snipers will attest to its deadly accuracy and reliability.
From a hunting stand point, the .308 is ideal for any game from coyotes to black bears. Although I have shot targets at 1,200 yards with a .308, it is generally estimated that this cartridge is capable of taking game out at 800 yards.
It will also greatly outperform any .22-caliber cartridge in bad weather. The increased weight of the .308 bullet makes it more wind resistant than lighter, smaller caliber bullets. Possessing commercially loaded cartridges weighing 100-220 grains and numerous bullet designs the .308 Winchester may be the most diverse cartridge ever made.
Typical military surplus ammunition can cost $.50 per round, while premium hunting or match ammunition can cost around $1.50 per round. Remington offers beginning hunters and those who are recoil shy managed recoil cartridges. Hornady is even making specifically designed Zombie defense “ZMAX” cartridges. Grand Island made Hornady cartridges are known for exceptional quality and accuracy. My rifle loves match designed Hornady 168gr AMAX cartridges.
Yes, the .223 Remington shoots much flatter and is much cheaper than a .308. But I would never trust a .223 to reliably take down deer-size game humanely. The .308 provides 89 percent more surface area than a .22 caliber round combined with far superior penetration and terminal performance. Yes, the 30-06 has a higher muzzle velocity but it requires a slightly longer and heavier rifle. And to be honest, the 150 fps advantage the 30-06 has does not make much difference on terminal ballistics in the real world.
For those of you out there that chase after the hottest, fastest cartridges, the .308 Winchester will fall far short of a .300 Winchester Magnum and short magnums. But increased speed comes with heavier recoil and far more costly ammunition. Besides, if the 308 can reliably kill most American game and all game found in Nebraska, why would you want to punish your shoulder and wallet with heavier cartridges?
For those that are in the market for a good rifle, I would highly recommend the Howa M1500 Hogue/Target Master combo. Available in .308 Winchester, the Howa comes with a heavy 20” varmint barrel Hogue stock and Target Master 4-16x44mm scope.
At around $700 this rifle is a true steal. Howa makes exact copies of the famed Weatherby rifles at a fraction of the cost. This rifle’s performance to “sniper” class is one minute of angle standards (1” groups at 100 yards) at a fraction of the price of a Remington. This rifle would be well suited for deer hunting, varmint shooting, or a shooting competition. While $700 may seem like a lot, you would end up investing much more in a cheap rifle trying to get it to shoot to the same accuracy.
The combination of a Howa .308 Winchester rifle with Hornady ammunition would truly make an ideal Nebraska rifle. This would be a great investment for anyone intending to buy one good rifle.
With a single rifle such as this, you will be ready for any shooting adventures Nebraska can present to you.