One rifle, one cartridge, one load for everything

jbmauser said:
Kimber Montana in .338 Federal shooting 210gr TSX.
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Ever since coming across the 338 federal I've been intrigued by the cartridge. Performance wise it reminds me of a modern day 8x57. To bad it never took off.

I had mine shooting 210 Nosler partitions pretty good.

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sgt.rock said:
Although I have 40 hunting rifles, I have weeded down my ACTUAL use guns to 2. I use my 375 Ruger Alaskan for 90% of my hunting. My best hunting load is a 250gr GMX over a max charge of Ramshot. I get between 2675 & 2720f/s. I have 4 boxes of Hornady outfitter 250gr GMX factory ammo and it chronographs 2700 f/s, so I am happy to duplicate the factory speed with equal accuracy in the 20" barrel.
And just to keep from getting bored, I occasionally take my Winchester Extreme Weather in .30-06. I use 165gr GMX bullets in that too. But if forced to only have 1 gun/load, it would be the 375 cause you cant overkill an animal, but you sure as hell can underkill. I practice shooting 3x a week at all practical distances and field positions, and shoot the 375 very well. It took a bit of time to master, but its worth it.
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Big game or hunter?
I've been using ramshot big game (84 grs) in my 375R under a 235gr tsx. Prints well under an inch @ 2875 fps out of my Ruger 77 guide gun.
 
Years ago I had a conversation with John Hunt (RIP), when it came to what he used for a rifle and cartridge he was point blank, " I use a 300 Weatherby for everything" I think that was sound advice.
 
257Roberts said:
Years ago I had a conversation with John Hunt (RIP), when it came to what he used for a rifle and cartridge he was point blank, " I use a 300 Weatherby for everything" I think that was sound advice.
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Probably is sound advice. I think anything starting with 300 would be a good do-all besides the blackout of course. Win mag, prc, wsm, rcm would all be good to go.
 
troutseeker said:
If I had only one to use it would be my .375 Ruger African. That rifle is damn accurate, can be loaded from mild to wild and will flatten everything it hits. No wonder it's the King of .375's! :)
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My 375 ruger alaskan is very accurate as well.
I’ve shot some groups knocking on .5”

235g hotcores @2450fps have been great mild load for it as well
 
It is a tough question to nail down to one cartridge, one bullet.
I mean yeah, you could shoot groundhogs with a 300 Ultramag with 180's and everything else you come across, but it won't be fun.
So something manageable recoil wise that will work for 5lb Varmint and 1000+ grizzly and won't be shot out in 1000 rounds?
On the heavy end of game, minimum 30 cal is my comfort zone, I could shoot 30'06 with 165gr partions or Aframes all day, but I'd feel bad about wasting $2 bullets on groundhogs lol. Probably the absolute base minimum though to cover everything if I was forced into 1 cartridge one bullet with common components.
I'm glad we ain't forced into this corner yet...I enjoy matching the cartridge to the game I'm after a little closer.
 
BigUglyMan said:
There was a time I swore that I would never own a 30-06 because they just work so well and predictably.

Now I have 2. Three if you count the Garand, which is something of it's own beast.
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Agree 100%. And I'm in the same boat, though a couple of my 30-06 rifles are chambered in Ackley and Gibbs versions. - dan
 
this one keeps on giving, I posted back in June of 2023 at season 5 with a 6.5 grendel 123 gr eld-m we were running very well, now 6 seasons and 20 animals and the average distance and recovery distances changed, and up to 7 species of Alberta big game...

but if I was trying to look into the future and had an 'off the shelf' mindset for the original ask then it would likely be a 20" 308 with 168gr white box eld-m match ammo as the do the most of North America without fuss and easy to find for the next 50 plus years, the 6.5 man bun with a similar 140 eld-m white box match would be a very close runner up, 0-600 do alls...that will thrive in target circles etc. and always find that affordable match load which is an absolute sleeper at those velocities for big game work ;)

those would be the mainstream options in the 40+ gr powder class case options.....in the 30 gr case class then the 123gr eld-m in 6.5 grendel will also rule the roost for 0-500 yard work for next 50 years (6 arc guys just stop...we've heard enough of your whining already, it's close...but not the best, calm yer boobs)....and then of course for the 50+ gr powder class how do you ignore the 30-06/.270 win?....the 40+ gr class is the more universal universal though....so the 308/6.5 manbun is the top 1/2 combo going, and sleeper eld-m's in the .25 sd or higher are where it's at for nearly everything....only the ft/lbs caliber restricted licenses like buffalo in some areas where you must bump to a 30-06 to meet thresholds stand in the way, I think there's a similar walrus threshold like that also....outside of that though...the 308/manbun can, does, and will, do it all for a long azz time, off the shelf, everywhere...that's where the betting money will go ;)
 
savagelh said:
Just watched a YouTube video by backfire that got me thinking. I know it's a nasty thought, but what if you only had one rifle for everything you shoot/hunt what would it be? It should be a rifle that you have already proven in the field.

I think mine would be my semi custom tikka t3 lh in 308win. My load is 150ttsx at just under 3000fps. It has proven very effective on big game up to moose. I have also rang steel out to 650 with it. A close second load would be the 155 scenar at the same speed. I just haven't tried it on big game but I have read of many others that have very effectively.

So what is your choice? Some if the answers in the vid ranged from 9mm pistol, 22-250, 30-06, 6.5prc 6 dasher and 22lr.
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It is going to be differenet for every shooter. Old classics. New classics . Hell a 375 H&H will do it it all, and not much damage , even on a white tail. So take your pick.
 
Well having just one rifle/cartridge/bullet is just silly talk but a couple months ago it would have been a 300 PRC shooting 190gr CX bullet, lately I’ve been shooting 175gr Berger Elite Hunters out of my 7-6.5 PRCW at 2900 fps so I think I’m going to go with this package.
 

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