if you could only have one rifle for hunting what would it be?

geologist said:
Either the one in the middle, BRNO 602 .375 H&H or the one on top, BRNO 600 30-06 Springfield.

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It's hard not to like the Brno's !
 
Meh; South American contract Mauser re chambered to 308 win...irons. I don't hunt dangerous game for the most part anyways. 308 kicks & barks less than a 30-06 dressed the same.
308 Win has great bang for it's size, IMO
Ammo is easy-peasey to locate too
 
It would definitely be my Mauser 98 actioned .375 H&H. I'm in the middle of loading up some deer hunting ammo for it tonight with 250 grain Sierra Game Kings.

Most importantly it handles well and I shoot it well.
 
For the thirteenth time this question has gone around.......................Rem 700 or FN/Win in 340 Wby and it would look a lot like this.................



With a 340 you can shoot right down to 185 gn bullets and I do believe one can buy 300 gnrs as well. It would be a wonderful mountain rifle for sheep, goats and caribou and I would not feel under gunned for buffalo or elephant with a 300 gn Swift or Woodleigh soft and a 300 gn solid for elephants. It could be loaded up or down to suit whatever game one pursued, has plenty of reach and can be loaded to earth shattering hammer ballistics when needed. There just is no downside to the 340 Wby as a one rifle arsenal............
 
c-fbmi said:
With a 340 you can shoot right down to 185 gn bullets and I do believe one can buy 300 gnrs as well. It would be a wonderful mountain rifle for sheep, goats and caribou and I would not feel under gunned for buffalo or elephant with a 300 gn Swift or Woodleigh soft and a 300 gn solid for elephants. It could be loaded up or down to suit whatever game one pursued, has plenty of reach and can be loaded to earth shattering hammer ballistics when needed. There just is no downside to the 340 Wby as a one rifle arsenal............
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I wonder if the long narrow 300 grain 338 bullets would be inclined to bend when driven into a really taxing material at high velocity? Didn't the old 6.5mm solids have that problem when Bell was face-shooting jumbos or is my recollection fuzzy?
 
BUM...........Those were steel jacketed lead cored bullets (I have about 3000 of them) with the jacket being too thin for his application, I was more thinking along the lines of a homogenous type solid in anything from 270-300 grns at about 2500 fps. Would out penetrate a 300 gn 375 bullet, and would have a higher SD. These could also be pushed a lot faster if they would straight-line penetrate and not rivet at higher velocities.......I have no info on this scenario..........I think even a 250 TSX would do the trick as I have had them shed all 4 petals on the 270 gn 375 and the remainder looked like a 200 gn flat nose solid copper bullet. I was within a couple ounces of trying my theory out on a cow ele in Zambia, had the crosshairs of my .375 (270 gn TSX @ 2900 fps) planted square between the eyes and 3 " up, but she decided she didn't want to share my seat after all, and darted off into the night bush. I may not have won, but she sure as hell would have known she was in a fight !!!!!!!
Ballistics and intelligence says the 340 is most likely the best light to heavy compromise cartridge out there, and the plus it has over the Lapua is the ability to hold up to five rounds under in some rifles like my Sako Safari and CZ 550 and Brno 602, 4 under in the standard L61R - AV model Sakos and 3 under in most other bolt actions. I believe this to be an advantage in a single rifle/cartridge hunting scenario.
 
For many years my Rem 700 LSS in 375 Rum was my one size fits all. Hunting the south province lately has seen me carry a T3 30-06.

But if it was Canada my one and only would be my 300 WM. The 375 Rum if i was looking for a one gun for the world. Stomping handloads and a premium bullet for anything, except maybe Pterodactyls, and loaded down to 375 H & H level for everything else.
 
c-fbmi said:
..Would out penetrate a 300 gn 375 bullet, and would have a higher SD...Ballistics and intelligence says the 340 is most likely the best light to heavy compromise cartridge out there...
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Undeniably true...but then legality raises its ugly head. Considering how long it takes an enlightened country like Canada (!?!?!?!?) to make changes to game laws in response to changing realities of game densities and other variables...would anyone like to guess how long it will take African countries to amend the laws that require a minimum of .375 for dangerous game? Especially since it would likely need to involve specifics of bullet types and weights in order for it to make any sense...I don't think you would want to have guys shooting 200-grain bullets over reduced loads in their .340Wby rifles when hunting elephants and buff, just because it might become technically legal if the law isn't very specific and detailed.

You know, the same guys who now happily blast away at deer with .22Hornets, and at moose with .243's...just 'cuz they can.
 
nowarningshot said:
For many years my Rem 700 LSS in 375 Rum was my one size fits all. Hunting the south province lately has seen me carry a T3 30-06.

But if it was Canada my one and only would be my 300 WM. The 375 Rum if i was looking for a one gun for the world. Stomping handloads and a premium bullet for anything, except maybe Pterodactyls, and loaded down to 375 H & H level for everything else.
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While I have many rifles to choose from especially switch barrel T/C Contender carbines my choice of only one gun would also be my Rem 700 LSS in 375RUM.

I shortened the barrel to 21" from 26" load 260gr Accubonds @ 3020fps & 350gr @ 2450fps.

I also reload so can tailor a load to do anything that I want example load it down to 375 Ruger/H&H velocities or even down to 375JDJ velocities.
 
jjohnwm said:
Undeniably true...but then legality raises its ugly head. Considering how long it takes an enlightened country like Canada (!?!?!?!?) to make changes to game laws in response to changing realities of game densities and other variables...would anyone like to guess how long it will take African countries to amend the laws that require a minimum of .375 for dangerous game? Especially since it would likely need to involve specifics of bullet types and weights in order for it to make any sense...I don't think you would want to have guys shooting 200-grain bullets over reduced loads in their .340Wby rifles when hunting elephants and buff, just because it might become technically legal if the law isn't very specific and detailed.

You know, the same guys who now happily blast away at deer with .22Hornets, and at moose with .243's...just 'cuz they can.
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The guys I have hunted with in Africa couldn't care less about min caliber laws or many other laws for that matter. They have all been ethical though and abide by most hunting laws, however were I to show up there with a 340 Wby and 300 gn solid and soft loads for buffalo and elephant, I think all that would be said would be "Let's go hunting". They are way more concerned about how one shoots and much less concerned about what one shoots.
As far as morons downloading 200 grn bullets and trying to hunt the heavies with them, well let's just hope and believe in Charlie Darwins theories........and the same could be done with any one of the 375 bore rifles as well, 220 flat points, 235 Speers, doesn't Sierra make a 250, 260 ABs...........none of which were made intending their use for thick skinned dangerous game but are technically legal most everywhere in Africa
 
Since i will most likely never hunt outside of north america i will say ruger american in .308 topped with a bushnell 3200 series scope. .308 will have enough thump to do the job for me.
 
It would be a tough to pick between my Mod. 70 in .375 H&H, and my Ruger mk.II in .300 W.M.(stainless/boat paddle). When I was a bit younger the .375 would have been the only
pick, now I expect if I had to pick one the .300 with its lighter weight and 19 in. bbl. would get the nod. These calibers would not be suitable for everyone however for those of us that
reload as part of the shooting game it works. In my case the two rifles above have very limited use of factory ammo. One box in the .375 no factory ammo., in the .300.
TGR
 
Apart from the "holier than thou" talk down to attitudes of some on this thread, I've actually enjoyed it! One reason is that it confirms a lot that I'm currently writing about on my blog: "One Rifle and One Bullet for all Big Game". That's "Big Game". I haven't disclosed my choice yet... that's upcoming, but it is a tough call.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca
 
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