Best do-it-all hunting caliber

Well, I don’t believe there is a do-all caliber. I’m a believer in a 4-6 battery for all hunting in NA. A guy should have a 22, 30/30 lever, 6.5 whatever, 270, or 308 for deer, any of these will do! Something on the order of 35 Whelen or 9.3x62mm for elk/moose/bears. Add in a 20 and 12 ga and you’re good for just about anything. I hate 30’06, it’s overrated. And forget the magnums, they’re pretty pointless too IMHO of course. To each their own. If you only hunt one or two species, then choose accordingly.
 
Good thread. Some informative posts. I have my mind made up I need a 9.3x62...I'm just trying to decide between a Husky or a Zastava. Want a M98 action...
 
mikeelliot said:
Good thread. Some informative posts. I have my mind made up I need a 9.3x62...I'm just trying to decide between a Husky or a Zastava. Want a M98 action...
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In that case, look for a Brno ZG-47 in 9.3x62. Finest commercial large-ring sporter ever made, and it happens to be a M98.
 
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mikeelliot said:
Good thread. Some informative posts. I have my mind made up I need a 9.3x62...I'm just trying to decide between a Husky or a Zastava. Want a M98 action...
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I have a Zastava 9.3x62. Bought new. Beautiful rifle. I took it to my gunsmith, he smoothed the bolt and the trigger. I did a pillar bedding too. After that it started shooting sub-moa with my handloads. Get Lapua brass (or PPU), PPU 285 bullets, H4895 and Fed210 and you are good to go. You can also buy PPU cartridges and keep the cases for handloading. With some linseed oil it will look fantastic. Not tried yet on deer.
 
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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That summarizes this discussion rather nicely, right there.
 
after going through this thread and wondering what about the 9,3x62 .... i finally found a couple posts .

this is near the top of the heap for the best all round cartridge .
in a modern action , loaded to modern pressures , it is a very powerful round .
loaded with slippery bullets , like the 250 grain nosler , it will reach out and touch something way out there .
recoil is actually pretty good , and i have a lightweight husquvarna 1600 chambered in 9.3x62 improved that is loaded to modern levels .

brass is easy to get ( 30-06 brass works well , as does any other brass from this family )

i've been able to buy loaded rounds almost everywhere in B.C. , including walmart and canadian tire . and generally it is priced on par with other calibers of similar size . and it all pretty much shoots under a 1 inch at 100 yards in my rifle ( hornady , privi , s&b , norma , rws , lapua , and a couple i have forgotten )
it generally holds a extra round or 2 more compared to the magnum rounds , and can be built into lighter easier to handle actions and rifles .

draw backs ....... having to listen to other people try to tell you how great their wizbang rifle is , when they don't have the foggiest idea what a 9.3x62 is.
 
I, personally, like the .300 Win Mag but then I have very little problem with recoil. It hits hard. A better choice for most would be a .30-06. Lighter recoil, cheaper ammo, a great selection of rifles and ammo and lighter recoil.
 
burnt_servo said:
after going through this thread and wondering what about the 9,3x62 .... i finally found a couple posts .

this is near the top of the heap for the best all round cartridge .
in a modern action , loaded to modern pressures , it is a very powerful round .
loaded with slippery bullets , like the 250 grain nosler , it will reach out and touch something way out there .
recoil is actually pretty good , and i have a lightweight husquvarna 1600 chambered in 9.3x62 improved that is loaded to modern levels .

brass is easy to get ( 30-06 brass works well , as does any other brass from this family )

i've been able to buy loaded rounds almost everywhere in B.C. , including walmart and canadian tire . and generally it is priced on par with other calibers of similar size . and it all pretty much shoots under a 1 inch at 100 yards in my rifle ( hornady , privi , s&b , norma , rws , lapua , and a couple i have forgotten )
it generally holds a extra round or 2 more compared to the magnum rounds , and can be built into lighter easier to handle actions and rifles .

draw backs ....... having to listen to other people try to tell you how great their wizbang rifle is , when they don't have the foggiest idea what a 9.3x62 is.
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While I certainly have grown a fond admiration for the 9.3x62s ballistics, you have a far different Walmart and Canadian Tire landscape than I’m familiar with. ;) Most I frequent in my travels around the province, you’d be lucky to find a 6.5 load of any chambering let alone 9.3. Your report is good to hear I had to order my 9.3 ammunition ten years ago when I was shooting it.
 
so some hunter is going to use a 300 magnum to shoot a rabbit or a bird ?? since it is a "DO IT ALL". then that is not hunting, it is just killing
 
Most of us presume when hunting rifles and hunting chamberings are discussed, it’s big game. That isn’t an unreasonable assumption, and there isn’t a big game animal in the country .300 Win is unreasonable for. As for using a larger rifle on smaller game, they work the same as smaller ones, most of the difference is felt by the shooter rather than the animal; the animal still dies with the smaller chambering.

I’ve taken game from 20lbs to 2000lbs with the .375 H&H Mag. Suspect all the animals felt the same about it.
 
dukecrab said:
so some hunter is going to use a 300 magnum to shoot a rabbit or a bird ?? since it is a "DO IT ALL". then that is not hunting, it is just killing
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So do you use a smooth bore flint lock or a 3 barrel drilling with centrefire rifle, shotgun, and rimfire barrels? Just wondering...
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
Many O'grouse have been taken by "over gunned" hunters when out on a big game hunt.

They don't taste any different.
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Yep, done now just as has been for couple of hundred years. Some people don’t actually get out hunting much.

I have put a few grouse in the pan with a 375 H&H as well as a 22lr, and rabbits with a 270 Winchester.

Ted
 
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dukecrab said:
so some hunter is going to use a 300 magnum to shoot a rabbit or a bird ?? since it is a "DO IT ALL". then that is not hunting, it is just killing
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Legalities get it the way of any possible "Do it All" gun. In BC a 12 gauge isn't legal for Elk, a 300 Win Mag isn't legal for geese.

Never mind BC, Yukon, and Montana Bison rules, Ontario's 270 rule, the straight wall rules in the US, and so on.
 
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