Best do-it-all hunting caliber

medvedqc said:
well i do think you do not know how army is choosing tools ... CR they did not choose the caliber nor the rifle .... the army did ....
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Very brief and simplified version as the full version would take days to explain.

In this case it starts with an SOCD, stating that current equipment (Lee Enfield) is no longer able to adequately meet operational requirements. This is then reviewed by multiple offices to determine validity. If determined to be valid the file will eventually make its way to Directorate Land Requirements (DLR), where in conjunction with the user community build a Statement of Requirement (SOR) for the replacement. The SOR lists both the fixed and variable performance levels that must be attained. After the SOR is finalized, development of a Request for Proposals (RFP) begins, and when finalized the RFP is released by Procurement Canada to industry. Then the back-forth ten-way #### show begins.

Had some characteristic of the .308 not been acceptable to the CR’s, the cartridge would have been excluded by the SOR. The big army doesn’t care what the CR’s use in much the same way they don’t care what CANSOFCOM uses. The “common ammo” myth is just that, a myth. Find me another group in the Army being issued Nosler Accubonds.

As I said before, I’m not saying going bigger is right or wrong. Shoot what you’re comfortable and accurate with. But don’t be fooled into thinking you ‘need’ anything more than a .308/30-06/.270/etc.
 
Dogleg said:
.375 H&H for the world; 300 Win for North America. That's easy, practical and verging on boring. ;)

Trouble is; people who have to ask probably shouldn't be shooting either one yet, and people (and thats a pretty elite group) who plan to hunt everything don't need and don't want one rifle.

Better to consider what you are really going to do, where you are going to do it, where you are as a shooter and gear up from there.
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Best answer yet
 
rifleman762 said:
Yeah, really. In my opinion, it's ethical to shoot animals as far away as you can consistently hit the vitals under the current shooting conditions. In variable wind and no rangefinder, maybe 250 yards. On a calm day with a rangefinder, 600 is easy for a lot of people. I won't go into my hunting stories here but I hunt both bald prairies and steep mountainous terrain. You can't always get closer. You ever try sneak up on a whitetail across a billiard table flat, snowy prairie?
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Someone gets it.

Faust0, I’ve spent the better part of last 30 years mainly hunting and on/ off guiding/hauling out goats. Believe me I like getting closer if I can. I’ve taken them at 30 yards with a muzzleloader and the furthest at 480 with a 7mm. Not an artillery pice and not as far as other I shoot at a local 1000 yard range a few times a month and on my own lots which goes to 850. 600 yards is boringly easy. Been successful 15 minutes from home and on 12 day trips. My backyard is the mountains, I couldn’t answer your question because every where I go I up a mountain with a rifle. They are one animal that you can’t always sneak closer on for sure. Sorry, only my daughter keeps a diary, she can also ring steel to 500 with her a 6.5 grendel, a real” artillery piece”
 
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383SB said:
Someone gets it.

Faust0, I’ve spent the better part of last 30 years mainly hunting and on/ off guiding/hauling out goats. I’ve taken them at 30 yards with a muzzleloader and the furthest at 480 with a 7mm. I shoot at a local 1000 yard range a few times a month and on my own lots which goes to 850. 600 yards is boringly easy. Been successful 15 minutes from home and on 12 day trips. My backyard is the mountains, I couldn’t answer your question because every where I go I up a mountain with a rifle. They are one animal that you can’t always sneak closer on for sure. The rest of your stuffs bordeline retarded, my daughter keeps a fn diary, she can also ring steel to 500 with her a 6.5 grendel, a real” artillery piece”
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I'm jealous of your backyard :). I grew up in BC but ended up in AB for the sake of making a living. My father and uncles have gotten a few nice goats over the years. The Alberta side of the mountains is a small area and crowded by comparison. I stick to areas with no vehicle access to cut down on the crowds... Beehive Mountain is my playground for two weeks of the year.

One story: Up there last fall I stuck two bullets into a black bear's lungs at 530 yards. 300 WM 200gr ELD-X. The terrain was such that the choices were to shoot from there or wave it goodbye. It dropped on the first broadside shot but got back up so I slipped one in behind the ribs on a quartering away shot. My practice range only goes to 600 but I can ring steel until I get bored. Or shoulder pain starts...
 
My choice is .270 Win. I have one, a .300 mag and a 6.5 Creedmoor. The .270 shoots flatter , hits harder than the Creed and ammo can be found anywhere. Lot less recoil than the .300,not much more than the Creed. I hunt with the .300 and the .270 and keep the Creed mostly for range shooting.
 
While I would choose the 30-06 as the best all-round chambering, there are a number of others that I would not feel
particularly handicapped if I had to take one rifle for the continent.

The 270 Winchester and WSM, A number of 7mms, from the 7-08/7x57 up, a fairly
solid number of 30 cals, starting at the 308 and moving up through the magnums. [recoil can be an issue for some]

The 8x57 is a solid contender, and the newer 325 WSM is more of the same.

I know this might sound like heresy, but if I had to, I would go afield anywhere with my 1910 Ross in 303 British [With handloads, of course]

In skilled hands, several of the 6.5s would probably qualify as well, but I would be slightly uneasy trying to stop a peeved grizzly with one. :)

Love the 338 Win Mag, but it is definitely not for everyone, and like the 8mm Rem Mag, has quite a bit more "ooomph" that that needed for
75% of N/A game animals.

There are a few contenders in the .358, 366, and 375 diameters, but most are either a handful, or trajectory is not ideal outside of 250 yards.

Really, it would come down to whatever YOU feel comfortable with in any situation you might encounter. Dave.
 
TT1900 said:
I see the DG/bear argument frequently used to justify larger calibre or higher velocity offerings. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but food for thought is the new Canadian Ranger rifle. When CR’s were given the chance to spec the replacement for their .303’s, they chose .308. These are folks who frequently run into the big bears, regularly sustenance hunt, and didn’t see a need to go bigger.
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I'd probably go for a 30-06, but to your point, I've heard that the 243 is one of the most common calibres the Inuit use for everything.
 
270 winchester. Because speed kills. Or whatever. Lol

I picked it because I wanted something that has super easy to find ammo just in case, and I didn't want a 3006 for no particular reason.
 
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Eagleye said:
While I would choose the 30-06 as the best all-round chambering, there are a number of others that I would not feel
particularly handicapped if I had to take one rifle for the continent.

The 270 Winchester and WSM, A number of 7mms, from the 7-08/7x57 up, a fairly
solid number of 30 cals, starting at the 308 and moving up through the magnums. [recoil can be an issue for some]

The 8x57 is a solid contender, and the newer 325 WSM is more of the same.

I know this might sound like heresy, but if I had to, I would go afield anywhere with my 1910 Ross in 303 British [With handloads, of course]

In skilled hands, several of the 6.5s would probably qualify as well, but I would be slightly uneasy trying to stop a peeved grizzly with one. :)

Love the 338 Win Mag, but it is definitely not for everyone, and like the 8mm Rem Mag, has quite a bit more "ooomph" that that needed for
75% of N/A game animals.

There are a few contenders in the .358, 366, and 375 diameters, but most are either a handful, or trajectory is not ideal outside of 250 yards.

Really, it would come down to whatever YOU feel comfortable with in any situation you might encounter. Dave.
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I'm sorry Dave, we can't include you in this discussion. ;)

You could probably hand load with a tent pole for a barrel , a football for a butt stock and a golf pencil for a projectile and still out shoot/hunt most of us. Laugh2
 
30-06, lots of bullet weights, ammo found everywhere, even in remote northern communities, enough power for hunting almost all North American species and the reoil can be handled by anyone with good technique and a good stock fit.
 
rar said:
just read that Jim Shockey says the 338 ultra mag is the one to pick.
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From the guy that made made a career out being a muzzleloader guy? ;)

However; the RUM isn’t a bad choice is you can take the recoil. It does beg the question though; did Weatherby get it right 75 years ago?��
 
RYoung said:
Hey guys and gals. I'm relatively new to hunting as well as firearms ownership, but am wanting to get into it more and more as each day progresses. I already have my waterfowl shotgun, and I'm looking for a hunting rifle, but would prefer one caliber that can do it all. In my search for that magical caliber, I stumbled upon a link from Bass Pro in which they have a chart with over a dozen different calibers and categorize what they're best for. 300 WinMag seems to be the only golden caliber (on their chart) that can handle all big game. I know many factors come into play like shot placement, distance, bullet type, weight, etc. But in your expertise, is a 300 WinMag a good, do-it-all caliber? Thanks for your input.

https://1source.basspro.com/news-ti...e-rifle-caliber-chart-pick-right-ammo-hunting
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Have a look at this article: Everyone will have a preference depending on experience and their personal situation. I find this article looks at the question from a few different angles.
https://www.chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm

Also many things will seem like a good idea when just reading information on the internet, but it will take your own personal experience to work out what is correct for you. for example my own experience has been.
(1) Many new hunting rifles are a bit on the light side, I fired a friends Tikka T3 in 300 WinMag to realize its not the caliber for me to develop good marksmanship skills.
(2) 100, 200, 300 yards does not sound far when reading these numbers on the internet, but lets say several trips to my local range shooting from field positions at targets the size of deer vitals was very humbling. It gave me a good idea of how much time I was able/ wanted to spend developing my skills and what was my range limit.
 
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