Mosin 7.62x54R is a great rifle caliber for almost all large game animanls.... I and my sons have hunted with and taken whitetail and Axis deer with Mosin 7.62x54R in 205grain soft point ammo.It does kick like a mule though...This is close to our American 30-06 cal.If you shoot iron sights....aim 5 to 6 inches below your point of aim.you should be dead on at 50 to 100 yards with this aim.Make sure you shoot it in at your local rifle range to know how it shoots and you know your gun you shoot..The safety or what there is of one...is not to be trusted..so do not place a round in the chamber until you are sure of your target and ready to fire..Also..make sure what you shoot at the rifle range is the same ammo as you use for hunting..different ammo brads will all shoot different..with iron sights and scopes..Very accurate rifle!!This is a great hunting rifle and can be for you too.Hope this helps..

good luck....

Wizer_dude,

I have been saving the 30-30 casings with the thought of reloading someday, but don't have many yet (Need to get out to the range more often.)  If I decide against reloading, I'll let you know.

i had to pas on a nice 8 pt last weekend because i dident think i could i could make a good shot he was well with in my range but just couldent bring my self to risk makeing a bad shot on him 

Brave soul trying to sneak up on Wilbur. Provided you can even get close to bow range, drop down low...take a knee. Less likely to spook them. If you spook them, and can squeel, they may stop and come back...Not joking. Look for ground tore all up.  If a large batch is in the area may look like ground has been plowed. May even smell them. They dont realy like to be out in daylight. latest I have seen them out and about is 7:30AM. Have seen one out durring the day, but it had taken a shotgun blast to the face, and was coming to water...he didnt make it.

I read this somewhere hope they are right, we hunt out of Wall.

If the dry conditions continue through the rest of the summer we will see poor fawn recruitment this fall, whitetail will probably readily come to deer feeders as a result of less than desirable range conditions and hunters should have pretty good harvest rates,” he said. The deer hunting should be good this year, but poor fawn production could hurt hunters down the road. “Landowners and managers need to encourage hunters to meet their harvest goals for the ranch, regardless of drought or wet conditions.”

Sorry friend, believe me we all feel your pain. However in a speech last year, UNCLE OBAMA, said that he would like the price of gas to be in the $5-$7.00 per gallon range so we as Americans would be more in line with our fellow man in Europe. WONDERFULL. We cannot drill for oil in most of our own country but we must pay thru the nose at the pump. 

Savage is a very accurate rifle, but at the same time, they are so specific and parts for them are extremly hard to find. I work with a lot of long range shooter that like to customize there rifles. Getting different parts to fit up is almost a nightmare. If you are looking to buy it mount a scope and leave it, it will be an awesome way to go but dont except to make any mods easy or cheap.

Kevin,

I do not own a Mauser in .30-06.  But, I will tell you from over 30 year's experience that every gun is different - even with the same model from the same manufacturer.  There are a number of things that affect accuracy for different bullets and loads:  Rate of barrel rifling twist, chamber headspace, harmonics on the barrel, etc.  Some guns will like 150 gr, some 165s, and another 180s...and, there are even bullet designs that some rifles favor over others.  Shoot different weights and loads from different manufacturers, because the type of powders can affect this as well.  To give you an example, I've got a 7mm Mag that likes only Federal 140gr Nosler Partitions.  With those I can keep under 0.75" at 100 yards consistently.  Without them I'm 1.5"+. 

There's also the type of hunting you do.  Frankly, if all you're doing is taking native Texas game, including hogs and most exotics (Nilgai might be a possible exception), any of the bullet weights above will do very well.  I'd even throw elk in that category.  You picked your round well - .30-06 is one of the best.

The other is the range you take game.  If you're shooting within 100 yards, a 2" group at 100 yards is plenty of accuracy.  And, cartridge selection in that case becomes more preference than anything else.  But, if you take game further than that you have to be a little more particular the farther you shoot, so bullet design becomes something to think more about, because there are bullet designs that hold speed and energy much better than others.  In this case you have to balance accuracy with bullet design (i.e. what can I shoot that hits where I aim and put it down)

Hope this helps.