Texas...Bolt Action Country....is where we are, depending on the length of the sendero / a cut lane bull dozed and pushed out, you can have one 2 miles long to hunt on...this is normal. That means you have some long shots that can and do happen almost all of the time. We do have game close if the feeders are set up near your blind, but a great deal of the game walks a long way off from those feeders just grazing and moving in their daily push to the evening bed down spots scattered all over. Lots, and I mean lots of Texas brush Mesquite / cactus country where a fence line will be not too far and you want that game down...NOW. So what does all this mean..... a FLAT shooting rifle for the "whatever" distance that pops up is always needed not so much a want. So that leans, damn near everybody here, to FAST, 'high step'n" loads for .270's, .22-250's, 7 RM's , 257 Weatherby's ( 2 in our group) , .243 win / wssm's and 130 grain FAST loads for .3006/.308...all are proven killers over and over again from many of our good friends.
I am the only one out of all of us that handloads...yeah I know. So when "scope checks" (lots of beer ...very cold Keystone and fun) before the season begins are needed, my chronograph gets a workout by all there. Since that has happened they want accuracy with speed...so they choose the most accurate choice (factory) that also has the highest speed and set their scope accordingly. Usually thats 2 1/2 "s high at 100. Our Weatherby shooters and 7 RM gals and guys are at 3" high at 100. As far as brand names of rifles.....no one gives a chit.....its flatness is what they want. Accurate tracking/zero holding scopes and flat/fast bullets are all that matter here.
For me the .243 Winchester is my rifle most of the time, as it is "on the button" at 270 yds. My recent "discovery" of the 7mm Remington Magnum in a Savage 24" Texas truck gun will change that....with speer 145 grain btsp's at 3000 something fps once its all set up the way I want it.
