If you only had one caliber to do all with???

Gents, lets pose the question. You have to hunt whitetails, muleys, elk, antelope, moose, pigs, and bear with the same rifle!!! Whats its gonna be. Just a fun hypothetical!

Ill lead off, Ive gotta go with the 30-06 since its all I truly have experiance with and its so versatile.

Lets hear it fellas.
Dano

A 308 would fit the bill, with bullets ranging up to 220 grains. And all this in a short action light package. Add in that you can buy surplus ammo to shoot for practice, its really tough to beat. In addition its a good long range rifle too, can easily get to 1k yards.

300 Weatherby.

7mm mag

Coin toss between 257 Wby Mag, or 270 Wby Mag. Both could take down anything in N. America.

agreed 100%

.270 WSM would easily be the choice. Better ballistics that the Wby's and 7mm. Short action makes the gun lighter for those spot and stalks, plus with the ammo technology these days a 150gr will do the trick.

7mag

i plan to put the 257wby to work this season - so i will see if its my new #1

+1

Not better than the 270 Weatherby but close.

257 wby and 25-06 a close second

Between 250 to 300 fps avantage goes to the 257.

I hunt with a .270 Weatherby Magnum, love the round. Hate the price of ammo though. LOL

.35 Whelen with hand loads.
Because it'll shoot 160's ~ 250"s and makes a bigger hole.

264

Here is an article about a guy who did do it all with one rifle. He killed every North American big game species recognized by Boone and Crocket, except the big bears. The rifle was a Remington 700 in 7mm Rem Mag.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/rifles/2005/09/can-one-gun-do-it-all

If I had to only hunt those animals you listed... it would be the 300 RUM.

338 Federal, 45-70 or the 375 Ruger

I agree but with the the ammo differnce its a toss up. Therefor I came to the conclusion life is to short not to have both.

Would agree with many of the post here for smaller diameter bullets except when you throw in bears, especially coastal Browns or Polar. I would want something that with a large chunck of lead. The old 30-06 has been used on them and is considered minimum by many of the guides and then with heavy bullets.

Of the guns I currently have my choice sould be the 350 Remingtom Mag or 45-70. If getting another gun for such, 300 RUM

.338 lapua magnum

308

Having shot a 308 for a long while i do agree that it would work on all game in Texas but, I found that the 264 Win Mag is a good caliber to use and with a well placed shot the ballistics on the 264 will put a large elk down as well.

While I think other calibers do certain things better than a 308, if factoring in ammo availability, easily accessible reloading supplies, the 308 (and 30/06) are hard to beat

300 wby, its what i have.

I think you could kill them all with any of the calibers liested, but would want a little more bang when I got to shoot the bears. When hunting something that can and might try to eat your but after you shoot it i would always go with more gun rather than less.

matt

Remember a lot of places have caliber restrictions around 7mm or. 30

where are all theses "lots of places"...99 percent of states are either 243 or centerfire...

if we include bear as being grizzly and brown bear, than i'm opting for the .338 winchester mag.

it can spit a 180 grain bullet pretty durn fast.

a .300 wby or RUM will get the job done too.

imo a 30-06 is pushing it and with a .308 your undergunned.


take grizzlies and browns outta the mix and i'm gonna go with a .300 wby or winchester

Sorry I didn't specify if you go with a guide they sometimes restrict you on sizes, as in the brown bear and moose hunts in Alaska last time I looked most said .30 cal or bigger same goes for others I'm sure.

.308

exactly.


how many of you really wanna try a cross canyon shot at a bear with a .308?

That would be my choice. .308 second choice. .260 third.

there is a guy a who killed everything with a 270 too. Im with the 270 short mag, might be a little under gunned for those bears though.

Well, after reading some of these crazy posts I have changed my mind. I'll go with the 50 BMG.

Great posts guys!!! Thanks for the link Palehorse, that was a nice read!
DannyG

What's the fun in having only one rifle?

But if I must choose only one I'll go with a 30-378 Wby Mag.

Have to go with my 30/378 Weatherby. The performance is there for the largest game or load it down for deer. Wide range of 30 caliber bullets. Expensive but it gives a wide range of options and levels of performance.

which is the better caliber....the 30-378 or the .300 RUM?

30-378

Give me .264 WIN MAG, if bullet availabilty is a factor, then 308.

300 Ultra Mag would be my choice.

I had a 30-378Wby for awhile but the ammo was over $100 per box so I sold it. Ballisticly it is superior to the 300RUM but I promise you there aint a animal in the world going to know the difference between the two if you were to hit them with both.

264 buy the bullets before you go

308

I have to stick with my trusty 270 win. BUT! If it came to bear, I may still use it, as long as I had a partner with a small cannon! Bears just scare the bijesus outa me! lol

Shooting a bear wouldnt bother me, it would be going to find him that scares me! LOL

308

I would hunt ANYTHING in N. America with my Marlin XL7 .270. I don't care what it is. I have it sighted in within an "1 of center. So I know where I aim, it will go in depending on wind conditions.

WOW!

I wish I could be that general about making any shot. Too bad I have to sight in at 100, measure MV, enter all the ballistic data, environmental conditions, develop a chart and then go actually shoot it to find out if it is accurate. I do all that and don't believe I can "know where I aim it will go depending on wind conditions." Guess I should go practice some more.

Thats called pucker factor!

i have no opinion (that counts) but i sure like this topic

.280 Rem - except for the bear factor... you can load it up or down and it has excellent reach at long yardage. If you want to play with bears then I think something more substantial is call for.....

I say this because it was instilled in me during my Army days. I never was a sniper, but always shot 34-36 out of 36 during M-16 A1 qualifications.

30-30 marlin! 165 grain leverevolution! all you need. learn how to stalk, and learn how to place shots well.

I would have to choose the .375 Holland and Holland Magnum. It shoots relatively flat, hits hard, and is legal for use on all big game anywhere.

The Marlin has been my drug of choice for over 40 years. Not the ultimate by any means, but I can't begin to come up with a round count, and it's the one I'm most familiar with.

That said, if I had to pick one rifle / caliber to go up against anything on this continent (or anywhere else), I'd opt for a Marlin in .45-70. Standard factory loads are pretty well neutered, but still adequate for deer, hogs, and the like. If I'm going after dangerous game, there's always the Garret 540gr Hammerheads. I figure if they're adequate for cape buffalo, they'll stop anything I want to stop. Range is limited, but as I said, I'm a levergun guy, and not really interested in shots beyond 300 yards in any case.

If I could keep only one rifle, it would be my 300Wby. My second choice would probably be my 7mmMag.

i'd like to see you sneak up and shoot a kodiak bear with a 165 grain bullet outta a 30-30.

I'll start planning your eulogy now.....

Why not, people shoot bear, moose and elk with a bow at 250 ~ 400 FPS, what's wrong with a 165 grn out of a .30 cal rifle.

These caliber debates are too funny.
Not that long ago folks killed with spears or sticks and string at close range. Guess the aminals got tougher and meaner over the years.
My caliber will kill better than your caliber, my bullet is better than yours, my truck is faster and will haul more than yours, my daddy can beat up your daddy.

I bet you had a slow tricycle when you were a kid.

a broadhead kills by blood loss thru razor sharp edges, not shock and internal trauma like a bullet.


while were at it, go try and kill a cape buffalo with your 30-30 too, see how long you'll last doing that.




a long time ago a fellow named robert ruark wrote a book........it's called "use enough gun".



maybe you should pick it up and browse thru it awhile

BTW you better check the state you plan on hunting in most deer the minimum is .244 but Elk and bigger game aren't the same.

"while were at it, go try and kill a cape buffalo with your 30-30 too, see how long you'll last doing that."

Well, the measly little .30-30 sure seemed to do a number on the American Bison herds. I doubt that too many who have responded will be going after the cape buffalo anytime soon or often. If they did, they'd be hard pressed to find a better gun to take than a Marlin 1895, stuffed with hammerheads or exiters.

The OP didn't mention killing cape buffalo nor did I.

Read it, its just like any other book on the subject.

He was a newspaper journalist / author that wrote a fictional series for field and stream loosely based on hunting with his grandfathers as a kid.

The book you mention was based on two African safaris, mostly born of poetic license and fiction to sell books.
He was no expert, great hunter or outdoors man.
He was a notorious drunk and died at the age of 50 from severe alcoholism. He just so happened to have the ability to capture and profit from a less informed audience with his writing style.

If you view the mostly fictional memoir's of drunk as some kind of expert on guns and hunting, I guess I see where you're coming from,

The 30-30 was introduced in 1895, by then most of the American Bison had been hunted to near extinction. I doubt the 30-30 Win. killed many buffalo. The most sought after buffalo gun was the Sharps 50-90.

For you boys that are THAT serious 50 BMG is the only choice.

I'm thinking .300 win mag, those Kodiak bears get huge and mean!! IF it was'nt for big bears one could get by with smaller round!!

I respect you and commend you for your service to this country and your acheivments with the M-16 are expert no doubt. I was just saying that was a general statement about being able to hit your target at many ranges without employing much of the science and math, that many of us choose to do, in an attempt to be a more accurate and ethical hunter. Again not calling you out just expessing my stance on the subject.

Happy Hunting!

30-378wby.... wouldn't ever want to take a pellet gun into a cannon fight.

30-06 or 308

.30-06 Can take down anything and can find the ammunition anywhere.

If he's across the canyon, I am going to shoot at him several times with a 308 before he eats me.

If grizzlies and big bears are included I would have to go with the 338 Win. mag. Without the big bears I would take a good old 270 or 30-06 for everything else.

30-30 165 grn round is perfectly capable of taking any north american animal. if you do your job with shot placement, it will do kill. it is not a 300 yard plus round, but if you have to be 300 plus yards away to kill the animal, they you are not a hunter. at that point, you are a shooter, and i dont want to be a shooter. i want to be up close and personal.

30-06 nuff said

Amen, but I will take a 30-06...

-ww

People shoot them with arrows and I will take my chances with the 30-30 over a arrow any day!

.280 Rem , with hand loaded ammo

454 Casull. Big enough to do the job if things get tight and can still reach out there if you need it to.

and it takes a hunter to attempt good shot placement at closer ranges.. don't matter how far the animal is, just kill it when you shoot it.

300 win mag.... line em all up

I'll say .300 win mag since bears were mentioned. Otherwise, I would feel completely confident with my .308.

If I could only choose one it would be a 30-06. It has a wide range of bullet weights and will kill anything in North America.

Reggie

Have yet to find a state you can't use 257 wby to hunt elk..................

OK, I'll be different. I'll pick the 348 Winchester. 30-06 velocity with 200 grain bullets and will handle big bear with the 250 grain bullets. With the bonus of coming chambered in the best leveraction ever made...the Model 71.

My old trusty .30-06, oh wait I don't have one yet, but it should be in next week. I've never owned one, but I figure why not own a classic catridge. You can shoot so many different grains of ammo, if your rifle likes the superformance Hornady, the old .30-06 will have almost the same energy and drop as the 7 remmag and .300 winmag. It gets very close!! I ordered a Sako GreyWolf today in .30-06!!

300 win mag all the way. Second would be the 308 with a 200gr ammo.

416 rigby or 375. cal or if your not looking to blow it up 7mm mag is a great all around gun

.308

7mm Mauser Ackley Improved.

30-06. Nuff said!

30-06 Gophers to Moose. Load up or down.

.270 Win

I choose the 45-70, but no matter what the animal, aside from African Dangerous Game maybe,any of the calibers mentioned, you take out the lungs with a good broadside shot, its gonna die....Big bears included

30-06 There is nothing as versitile.

7.62 NATO

7mm mag