Moving to Florida- which rifle(s) and caliber(s)?

[Vinootz]

I’ve got a 16” AR in 350 Legend topped with a sightmark wraith that is a hog slaying machine…

Ive found nothing better to have on hand when a sounder of 20 of those forest demons walk out of the wood line..

Semi auto 350 will surely do the job. Great for solving invasive hog issues. If harvesting for food who needs more than one or two hogs if you can’t give the rest away. It’s getting harder to find butchers and people to take excessive meat here in Florida.

 

[dchamp]

You might take a look at Blaser’s Bockdrilling BD14. The small barrel comes with a .22 Hornet or .222 caliber barrel. The standard barrel comes in either 6.5x55, 308 win, 30-06 or several rimmed calibers from 5.6x50 R mag to 9.3x74. The third barrel is a 20ga. which I think can shoot slugs. All barrels are free floated.

 

[flyfishdoc]

Florida panhandle here. I love my Remington .260 mountain rifle. Have killed deer and hogs no issue. Remember a 200 lb buck in Florida is a big one…

 

[Donnstar]

My most used rifle on my cattle ranch in Martin County, FL was my .17wsm. The largest Coyotes I have ever seen live here. They run in excess of 80 pounds. Alligators are also a problem but we will not discuss that. A POS Savage with a Redfield scope lived in the roof mount of my Kubota RVT900X. Ranch rifles are a tool. A cheap tool that work. If you pull out a 7mm and kill your neighbors bull you may have a very expensive problem. There are no trees here to stop a high powered round. A .22 centerfire is also popular.

 

[Nevada Mike]

I'd just get a 7X57 and a good SxS or O/U 20 bore. Done.

 

[John Camp]

The 7mm mag caliber will work fine. But, the rifle might not be the best choice. 7mm mags generally have long barrels, and long barrels are a pain in the butt when trying to sneak through some thick brush. 7mm-08, 308, or 6.5 would be great for the short receiver and shorter barrels. I have iron sights on my rifles and I know a lot of people hunt the southeast with just a scope. I don't know where you will be hunting, but there is some thick stuff in Florida, and iron sights are better than a scope in that situation.

I read a comment advising a medium bore and I am all for it. Bigger and slower moving bullets anchor dear and do it with less damage. 9.3x62, 35 Whelen, 375 H&H, and others would be ideal.

Consider a lever action. They can be ideal for thick stuff.

Finally, if you plan to hunt Georgia some, consider hunting the North Georgia mountains. We got big mountain bucks, hogs, and bears. Please come and get some of these bears. A medium bore is just the ticket for the mountains.