caliber for ALL north american game
I have a .270, but want a new gun that will enable me to shoot any of the larger NA game. Perhaps a brown bear, moose, or big horn sheep hunt is in my future. I hear alot about the 300 win mag, but there are so many other great calibers as well. Any thoughts?
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Another vote for 30-06, but the 300 mag sounds nice too.[8D] 0 -
the 300 win mag or 338 mag would be fine choices, as would the 300 weatherby. Great selection of bullets (especially for the 30 calibers) makes for very versatile rounds. A friend has a 270 weatherby and he swears by it for just about everything. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by spryor
Another vote for 30-06, but the 300 mag sounds nice too.[8D]
Roger that!! If you are ever in doubt, buy an '06.0 -
Cant go wrong with a 300 win mag. 0 -
While you can drop a Cape Buffalo with a 22 hornet and a moose with a .22 rimfire I prefer to over gun than under gun. Many will argue for the 30/06 300WM or whatever they are ALL good rounds. If suddenly I had to pick and keep but one firearm for everything it would have to be the Marlin lever in 45/70. Dave 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Mk 19
Lets see, the do it all cartridge:
Handgun: 44 Mag
Single Shot Handgun: 375 JDJ
Shotgun: 12 gauge
Single Shot rifle: 375 H&H
Lever Action Rifle: 45/70 Govt
Bolt Action Rifle: 300 Win Mag
Good list.
I second the 45/70 and 300 Win Mag.
You can find 300 Win Mag loads that won't turn a Whitetail inside out, and loads that will drop the biggest game in NA in their tracks. Since you already have a 270 for Muley, Whitetail, Sitka, Antelope, Boar, Black Bear, etc. That 300Mag will take the rest, then some.
Savage Mod 11GCNS in 300 Win Mag is the ticket!
or
Savage Mod 114 American Classic
Or Remington's 798 or tried and true 700.0 -
quote:Originally posted by ECC
The .300 Win Mag will do EVERYTHING the 30-06 will do and MORE. I'd take a .308 over the 30-06 any day...but my ultimate choice would be the .300 Win or the .300 RUM.
exactly..my choice also..Loko [8D]0 -
I am a huge fan of the .300WM and use it from antelope to moose size game. A friend have guided in AK and carries a .375H&H and suggest his clients to have .338 Mag as the minimum caliber on brown bears with emphasis on shot placement. Good luck! 0 -
Nobody mentioned 300 WSM. There's no need to carry a 10-lb gun. 0 -
300 Weatherby, works good on anything in N. America. I would rate the 06 a little to small to tackle some of the big northern bears, and only marginal on moose. Better to have a little too much power then not quite enough, especialy when against an angry bear. 0 -
I was going to input in favor of the 30-06. I have several. Then I started my "head-scratching". Go with the 300 Win.Mag. because....
If you have a 300 Win. Mag. you can download to 30-06 performance. If you have a 30-06, you may not necessarily be able to upload to 300 Win.Mag performance.
...and 300 Win.Mag. components (brass) is less expensive, and perhaps more readily available than 300 Wby.Mag. Best, Joe0 -
Winchester Model 94AE in .356 calibre! This calibre can do it all for any North American big game in the woods (ie. fairly quick shooting and at not all that great a distance). 0 -
Just sayin' that I can load down to less than 1400fps for 250gr lead cast bullets, or up to waay past that with a 125gr TNT and anywhere in between. I have some Pasch bullets that are a pre-production lot of VVLD 230grainers with such a smooth surface; they have to be hand-cannelured before loading or the case won't hold 'em! Very fast, and very accurate past where you'd shoot at any animal. Only fer paper.
But a 220gr Partition with a little pointing of the nose of the bullet will get you anything that walks on N.A.
And it doesn't have to weigh 10 lbs.; the Ruger weighs only 6.5 with scope/sling, and the Sako is polymer stocked as well for a measly 7.0 -
Wow what a thread. The old saying.....when in bear country carry a bear gun. If you have to shoot a bear you have to shoot him with what you have in your hand. Thus the bear country line of thought. Any of the 30 cal loads mentioned will work but you already have a 270 and have the small side of the 30 cal covered. So cover the big side. While 30 cal mags will work on brown bear if he is in your face what do you want? 338 win mag will do what you want and will step down for about anything and step up to a ligit brown bear stopper. 338 RUM will do it about 200 fps faster and thats a lot if you are face to face with a threat. If you get larger than this ammo gets real expensive. In a decent rifle and scope combo you will have a 9-10 pound set up and which you can shoot without being pounded to hard. You can go bigger if you want.
Scout0 -
Obviously there is no one caliber for all north American game. Any caliber you choose, including the venerable 30-06, is simply a "make do" for such purpose, and that is all it is. Of course a 30-06 will "make do" for grizzly...unless the grizzly is pissed and charging; and of course a 375H&H will "make do" for prairie dogs...if that is your idea of varmint shooting. But so what? Either caliber is laughable for either situation. 0 -
.458WM. DON'T be "undergunned"!
On the other hand,people kill Elk,Moose,Bear every year with bow and arrow.
Go figure!
Seriously,30-06 will take care of MOST N.A. game,given the correct bullet,load,range,etc. I prefer the 7mm magnum,myself,and it can and has killed all the animals you mentioned. A PREMIUM bullet and shot placement are paramount when hunting game larger and more dangerous than deer. If I wanted to move up I would go with a .338WM so as not to duplicate what the 7mm will do. Already have the .375 and .458.0 -
Dan - to answer your question about the 325 WSM, I have heard good things about them, but they are a bit much for the smaller big game such as whitetail. I also don't think that that cartridge will be around long. I think that the .300WSM is here to say, but I am not so sure with the other WSM offerings.
I agree with whoever said .35 Whelen. Once again you can load it up or down depending on what you are persueing.0 -
It sounds like the 300 win mag would complement my 270 nicely. I did however read in one of my hunting mags something about remington 3 level ammunition that when used in a 300 RUM can be used at level 1 to match 30.06 ballistics, level 2 to match 300 win mag ballistics, and level 3 to match 300 RUM ballistics. I guess its the same thing you handloaders do all the time. It sounds like an interesting concept for people like me who dont handload. 0 -
Yeah but that RUM ammo is EXPENSIVE! You can get "managed-recoil" 300 WM ammo that will approximate 30-06 performance too. 0 -
.458 socom, just kidding. go with the 30-06, you cant go wrong. 0 -
If you just need to kill it - not use it... then why settle for anything less than cal .30-378WthbyMag !?
More realisticly... just go with .45/70 and a modern production gun.
Easy to reload/handload - and you can make loads that kids will love to shoot all day long... to "grown up"-loads that will make adults lay down on the ground and cry.
It's allready taken every north american game there is... and that probably since 1873 when it was first made (if I remember correctly) - and probably will for many, many many, many, many many years to come.!0 -
My only suggestion is to buy for the majority of hunting you will be doing.
If you are going to be hunting deer, buy the upper end of the deer guns. No need to beat yourself to death for a once every three years bear hunt.
The real experts. Alaskan guides, say to bring the largest caliber you can shoot well and are not afraid of getting kicked.
Sage 10 -
30-06 of course. 0 -
The 300 RUM will do what your are wanting to do. I recently wrestled with the same question. I eventually went with the 300 WSM because I wanted a lighter shorter rifle than is needed to utilize the extra power of the 300 RUM or 300 wby. In other words if I used those calibers in the shorter barrel I would have been getting 300 wsm ballistics anyway. There is a very large selection of 30 cal bullets. Remington loads a good selection of ammo for the 300 RUM, of course that and the 300wby really shine with 180-200 gr bullets.
A friend of mine was a remington 700 in 300 wby and has shot everything from South Dakota antelope to Alaskan moose with it. He plans to use it on a grizzly hunt. I went with the 300 wsm because it should handle a grizzly in a pinch with 180gr loads. However if I am going to hunt were grizzlys are known to be I would feel better with a 338 or larger. But if you run a 200 grain A-frame (which remington loads) through a 300 RUM that's pretty potent grizzly medicine.
For what you want to do, and considering you do not hand load, you would do well to buy the 300 RUM. Sound like you are leaning that way. I would probably line it up with the 180 grain swift scirocco that remington loads and shoot every thing on the continent with it (see bullet reviews of the bullet) with the exception being putting the 200 gr A-frames in for large bears. Remember if you over kill something it is still dead.
Myself I plan on buying a larger rifle when I go after my grizzly maybe a 338 RUM or a 375.
good luck
Scout0 -
If you are going to get rid of the 270 I would go 30-06.
If you are going to keep the 270 I would go 325WSM. The more I play with this 325, the more I like it. I have used it on deer, and my friend on elk. A great big game rifle! The 200gr Barnes TSX flies great from the A-bolt I use.0 -
Can't speak from experience, since I don't own one yet, but if I was turned loose as the Last Man on Earth and only had one caliber to pick -- it would be the .338 Federal. The .308 is adequate for any critter, and the .338 Fed would just make it better. With I'd thought of it.
For the record though, your .270 would do anything you wanted it to do in North America. Good round, stable, doesn't his at hard as a heavier cartridge but then it wouldn't recoil as hard. Kills a lot of elk every year.0
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