what is the best hunting caliber for north america?
- Thread starter kyan
- Start date
i already have a shotgun for waterfowl and sks for shooting for fun or deer, all i really need is a bigger caliber gun for bigger game and im not made of money so figured i would get a versatile gun. but then again i probably will get more in the future.
I figure Jack O'Connor and I would have got on well. I love the 270 in either the original Win and the newer WSM, taking everything from pheasant to elk, moose, and bear. That said, my biggest animals have all been dropped in their tracks by a 6mm Remington.
lineofsight
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Lower Mainland, BC
Shoot it, then decide. Having shot .300 Win Mag, .30-06, .300 WSM (and a few others), found the felt recoil / most comfortable shooting the .300 WSM from those 3. A .308 more comfortable yet but not as fast / flat.
I personally try to take a different rifle and cartridge when ever I hunt locally. Last fall I used my 9.3X300 WM to take a grizzly and a wolf, used the 230 Douglas for WT, this fall I took a couple WTs with my 7RUM and now heading for BTs with my 300 WSM............I believe I have taken game with every caliber from 24-45 (except for 27 of course) and I have say the 300 WM is a great all around NA rifle.
Bigfoot 870
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Exactly!!!!!
OP, Please search the forums and you'll see that the last one (late winter - early spring 2015) turned into nothing but a big shlt show.
Hopefully, the mods shut this one down.
I do the same, use a different rifle each hunt....the 300 WM works great but I also found that a 270 win killed every thing just as dead and just as quickly as the Win Mag.
My conclusion is bullet placement means more than bullet size or construction.
Of course it does; but bullet placement isn't a given. Larger ( or faster) cartridges ripping huge wound channels may not be a great substitute for perfect shot placement; but poor substitute or not its the only substitute there is.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Hunted bison or grizzlies yet hawk-i? Answer may well be yes, and a .270 will kill either, a .300 is insurance and nobody will argue delivering more bullet just as flat and as fast as a .270 isn't beneficial. Folks need to consider a .300 isn't big, it's just a .30 cal that shoots flatter than a .30-06.
Over and over we get caught up in the limitations of the shooter, confusing it with the limitations of the rifle. Not saying hawk-I cannot shoot a .300- I'm sure he can. He probably doesn't enjoy the recoil however, and to others, a .300 Win doesn't get into the realm of recoil yet. It's all shooter preference and comfort level, and if you can comfortably carry and shoot a .300, yes it is better than a .270/.308/.30-06, it just opens more windows on angles, range, and tailoring loads to the game.
Answer may well be yes, and a .270 will kill either, a .300 is insurance and nobody will argue delivering more bullet just as flat and as fast as a .270 isn't beneficial. Folks need to consider a .300 isn't big, it's just a .30 cal that shoots flatter than a .30-06. Over and over we get caught up in the limitations of the shooter, confusing it with the limitations of the rifle. Not saying hawk-I cannot shoot a .300- I'm sure he can. He probably doesn't enjoy the recoil however, and to others, a .300 Win doesn't get into the realm of recoil yet. It's all shooter preference and comfort level, and if you can comfortably carry and shoot a .300, yes it is better than a .270/.308/.30-06, it just opens more windows on angles, range, and tailoring loads to the game.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
You really expect original content in a forum of such limited scope?
The question will come up repeatedly, and provide the same old debate repeatedly, if tiring one probably should visit a boating or car forum. They have their versions of the "ultimate question" too, but they won't get old for a year- long enough to find a sledding forum and engage in their ultimate question. Most folks starting these are new to the forum, can't blame them, pretty important question in their eyes.I'm with you on that one Dogleg...........great big hole and wound channels even in the wrong place do tend to kill very quickly. The WT doe I shot a couple weeks back must have taken a step just as I touched off and the 160 gn AB from my 7mm RUM took her full in the guts at about 350 mtrs. She was dead in less than 100 mtrs..........same hit with a 270 I suspect I'd be looking for ravens a couple days later. Higher velocity and more on target energy most definitely increase lethality.
Hunted bison or grizzlies yet hawk-i?
Over and over we get caught up in the limitations of the shooter, confusing it with the limitations of the rifle. Not saying hawk-I cannot shoot a .300- I'm sure he can. He probably doesn't enjoy the recoil however, and to others, a .300 Win doesn't get into the realm of recoil yet. It's all shooter preference and comfort level, and if you can comfortably carry and shoot a .300, yes it is better than a .270/.308/.30-06, it just opens more windows on angles, range, and tailoring loads to the game.
No, but I do keep putting in for the draw! When or IF I get a bison draw my plan will be to use a 416 RM(it will let more light in) but I could bring the 270 as a back up gun.
Just saying that from my observations the less powerful cartridges kill pretty efficiently. Also I should say I'll wait for a shot I like, if that means a missed opportunity then so be it.
I like those 160 Accubonds too, mostly in STWs but once in awhile in a 7 Rem . They hit hard. So do the 180s in a .300 RUM.
