Suggestions for an-all-around rifle....

wrinkles88 said:
Exactly what I needed to know. What would you recommend that wouldn't damage the hide?
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You have two basic choices; down load a lighter, highly frangible bullet (see link I posted above) or upload a heavier, monolithic or FMJ bullet such as below;

http://www.hornady.com/store/30-Cal-.308-150-gr-FMJ-BT/

There are many good download recipes out there (google is your friend, but be wary of online recipes and always work up), IMR4198 is good for this... some are using a full case of Trail Boss. For uploading, you can go straight from the book... I use H322 with the 110's for over 3300 fps.
 
RatFink said:
+1. This is what I've done... but they are on the pricey side of things I guess. I'm just hoping that the extra money now saves me having to buy another rifle in a couple years.

But I freely admit that my experience is a mere fraction of what other members have, so don't take my word as gospel. I'm interested to see what you choose!
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i have the gunsite as well, it is accurate but the short barrel isnt good for 1000 yard shooting. ive never seen an animal that i would shoot, (how would i identify it?), over 400 yards.

best thing about the gun site is its handling. i like its weight since im not a little boy and the length of it is awesome. easy to manoeuvre and aim
 
BigUglyMan said:
If you're asking this question then the likelihood that you can handle a 300 Mag is just about zero. I don't care what people tell you, especially on the internet, but the 300 Magnums of any incarnation are too much rifle for 80% of shooters out there. ...
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Believe this. The thought of .308 is right on.

RG
 
For me an all around rifle is one I could easily change the barrels on so as to have options during ammo shortages.

As well as both irons and scope.

Also unless your hunting in Africa I'm sure you will do fine using a .308 within more realistic hunting ranges...if you do your part.
 
Every time I hear "newbie" and "deer to 1000m" my brain craps a brick.
To the OP:
Your entire question is realistically an oxymoron.

Buy a Model 70 EW in 30-06 and practice out to 400yds. Then get back to us.
 
The Parker Hale rifles that Tradeex has would be great but I also suggest looking at the Husqvarna 1600 series rifles in .30-06 as well. Personally I'd go with the Husqvarna over the PH but that's just my opinion.
 
gunkle said:
'One' gun is a myth
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Your comment flys in the face of a lot of history that shows otherwise.

Besides which I can point to many members of my family as well as loads of hunters I have met over the years that only own one rifle or shotgun and use it to harvest pretty much everything they legally can during hunting season.
 
Must disagree with some. Get a 6.5x55 or a .270 and learn how to shoot. Not shot, shoot.
Think of it as a learning step. Either will take a moose, deer or wolf. If you find a 7mm08 go for it, just as good.
You never mentioned how much money you were willing to spend. Consider a $400 scope and a $400 used rifle (not a RemingTIN).

Now you have a plan. Less money to start buy a Savage Package.

I was asked to play nice with you, this is it. At ten I was hunting moose, wolf, deer, bear with a 30-30 and continued to do so for many years successfully. The 30-30 is still one of my favorite cartridges. Power does not come into skill. Most game is taken within 50 yards.

Will the 30-06, 308, 7x57, 303, .257 Roberts, 257 Weatherby and so on work?... of course they will given the shooter. By your claims and questions, you have zero experience in the woods.

You need a mentor. Read up on hunting books, magazines. LEARN. A Marlin in .35 Rem would suit you pretty well as well as an old Winchester in 32sp.

A few dozen years behind the butt stock and you'll figure it all out as long as you can hit your target. I taught my son to hunt deer with a 12ga Winchester 1300 rifled barrel scoped. He does well. Limitations are the hunter, if the hunter learns how to hunt with what he has, not a problem.

Rant off, figure it out.
 
gunkle said:
'One' gun is a myth
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Prove it.

It's pretty easy to make ridiculous statements like that and walk away. Give me one good reason why a .30-06 (or any one of several others I could have named) is not capable of being an almost ideal one gun battery for N.A.
 
270 is by far one of the most practical guns, and common to boot.

Realistically you should stay within 200 yards until you have learned to hunt, this includes feild dressing and tracking.

Most game are shot between 75-150 yards.

Learn to shoot off hand, and in a sitting position.

The 270 will last you for life.

All around gun? Buy a slug barrel shotgun with replaceable barrels.
 
I have hunted over most of the world with Remingtons and one particular 300 Wby with a 3-9 Zeiss Diavari scope. I would recommend a 30 cal Magnum from the 308 Norma to the 300 RUM and put GOOD glass on it, Zeiss or Leupold 3-9, 3.5-10, 4-14 or similar. Don't listen to the Rem nay sayers, listen to the voice of experience, many of us old timers on here hunt with Remingtons and have for 40 years or more. They have the best out of the box accuracy and trigger available, a little tweaking, maybe a bedding job and you truly have a 1000 mtr rifle, using a 300 mag. Shooting game at 1000 mtrs in field conditions is unrealistic, but 6-700 is doable with enough practice and knowledge of your rifle and caliber. You cannot do better than a 300 Mag as an all around one gun hunting rig, here or in Africa or anywhere in the world on all game up to and including the big bears.
Forget the 270s, 30-06s and particularly the 308s, they are not all around cartridges, they are deer cartridges. The 300s are truly all around guns on all game up to the big bears without compromise, duiker to polar bears without any feeling of inadequacy and from 20 mtrs to 700 mtrs without wondering if your cartridge will do it's job out there.
Yes the 300s take some getting used to, but are certainly not insurmountable with practice and you will never regret using one for hunting any game anywhere within reason.
This is my experience after taking somewhere between 250-300 head of big game all over the world and most with one 300 mag or another.
 
Goodness sakes. A 30-06 is a deer rifle? I'd hunt anything in NA including the Big Bears with one and so would the majority of all the people with equal or greater experience to yours. What is a 180gr Partition or TSX going to do better at 3000fps that it won't do at 2800fps inside of 400yds.
If you would like to argue that point, I'll just bow out and let people like Finn Aargard and Phil Shoemaker do the talking for me.
Or maybe my Uncle Dempsey who used a Featherweight .308 from the 60's til now to shoot every big game animal in Canada. Guy has over 300 animals on that gun and most where from Northern BC and the Yukon.



Back to reality.......
 
Also, if you plan on reloading, the .375 H&H is not too shabby, reduced loads with lighter bullets are something to look at. When you need the power it's there.
 
All around rifle
Where is beating dead horse icon ?

For a friend is Sako 75 SS in 300 Weatherby Magnum with muzzle brake, his only rifle. His 12 y old skinny Son took first elk with it, they share this rifle.

I would vote for 300 mags if you can handle them well.

For my Sons I have 30-06 as they don't shoot enough to handle more recoil well.
 
rem338win said:
Goodness sakes. A 30-06 is a deer rifle? I'd hunt anything in NA including the Big Bears with one and so would the majority of all the people with equal or greater experience to yours. What is a 180gr Partition or TSX going to do better at 3000fps that it won't do at 2800fps inside of 400yds.
If you would like to argue that point, I'll just bow out and let people like Finn Aargard and Phil Shoemaker do the talking for me.
Or maybe my Uncle Dempsey who used a Featherweight .308 from the 60's til now to shoot every big game animal in Canada. Guy has over 300 animals on that gun and most where from Northern BC and the Yukon.

AH yes but you neglected to include all of what I said in your retort, "6-700 mtrs is doable with a 300 mag". Anyway I just opined my experience. I did not limit my ranges to 400 yds as you did and THAT my friend is where the difference comes in between the '06 and the various 300 mags. The OP expressed interest to 1000 mtrs, I answered his question as expressed.
You have obviously never hunted the big bears, so it's easy to say you'd do it with an '06. I on the other hand have, and feel a 375 is barely adequate, and feel more comfortable with a 416. Hunting and shooting the big bears with everything on your side and the bear not knowing you're there is one thing and can readily be done with an'06. It's when things change and the wind whips around and all of a sudden it's no longer on your terms and you're looking at 12-1500 lbs of really pissed bear who just discovered he's not alone and really don't like your smell or the fact that you're within 200 mtrs of him, that even a 375 don't give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside and an '06 makes you feel like you're holding a 222.
May I suggest you spend some time around and hunting the big bears before you opine the 30-06 is adequate for them!!! The Alaskan outfitters and guides who hunt the big bears almost to a man carry .375s and larger and I know 3 who use 458 WM for back-up on the big boys. 416s are also very popular and have a much better range for those "he's getting away" shots.
So all I have to say to those of you who would hunt game well beyond the capabilities of the 30-06 is make sure you go with a good outfitter and his guides carry a rifle suited to the big boys, 'cause you're NOT !!!!
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I suggest you don't get caught up in the "which cartridge is best" game. Any bore size from 6.5- .30 combined with a modern cartridge can produce the performance necessary to take long shots and provide the versatility to allow it to be used as an all around rifle. Choosing a quality rifle is far more important than worrying over the cartridge its chambered for. The which cartridge is best game is prudent when you search for a mission specific rifle, rather than a general purpose rifle. The general purpose rifle should not be picky as to how accurate it is with any particular load, it should shoot any reasonable load pretty well.

The time to start handloading is the same time you begin rifle shooting. Handloading increases the versatility of your rifle, it literally becomes a mice to moose killer. An additional benefit to the novice marksman is that he can choose his level of recoil, so if his new .300 magnum or even his .30/06 proves more than he can enjoy, he can simply choose a lighter bullet with less velocity, and he now has a combination he can comfortably handle, shoot accurately, and gain confidence and competence with.

Don't spend too much time on the bench, get the rifle sighted in, get a feel for the degree of accuracy you can expect, then get off the bench and spend your time shooting from field positions. The positions you have trouble with, should be the positions you spend the most time on, typically this would be off hand.
 
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