Bolt guns for Oklahoma whitetail country

The classic Oklahoma deer rifle is a scoped bolt action in .270 Winchester, and it still makes sense: it shoots flat across a wheat field outside Enid or a Panhandle CRP draw, and it does not punish the shooter. The 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 have taken much of that ground, and a .243 or 7mm-08 is the usual first rifle for the October youth season. Predator callers in the short-grass west run light bolt guns in .223 or .22-250 for coyotes. The few who draw a Wichita Mountains elk tag step up to a .30-06 or .300 Win Mag. Nothing else in the state calls for a magnum. Your rifle ships to an Oklahoma FFL dealer, who runs the NICS check when you collect it. See Deer & hog rifles for a caliber table.