The North American Ultimate hunting caliber

Which caliber is North Americas Ultimate caliber for hunting?

  • 30-06 Sprg

    Votes: 72 35.8%

  • 303 British

    Votes: 7 3.5%

  • 6.5x55

    Votes: 12 6.0%

  • 300 Win Mag

    Votes: 57 28.4%

  • 7mm Rem Mag

    Votes: 22 10.9%

  • 308 Win

    Votes: 31 15.4%
  • Total voters
    201
Ultimate do-it-all cartridge is the .375 H&H. Its better on the small stuff than a lot of the "small guns" as long as hard bullets are used. I've spanned from 20 pound Steenbuck to 3000 pound giraffe with the cartridge and could have done it with one load as well.Thats versatility.
The ultimate combo would be a .375 and a 12 gauge but where's the fun in that?
 
Calum said:
Yah, but what is the price for a box of twenty .375 H&H cartridges? :eek: :D
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IMO if you have to worry about what the cost of shooting a certain cartridge is, don't bother. If you have to count cents when shooting a certain cartridge, you will never get good enough with that cartridge because you will not shoot it enough because the cost will always be on your mind.

Stick with something that you can afford to shoot and shoot it lots, you will be better off in the end.

Lots of practice will make you a better hunter than the cartridge you shoot.

JMO
 
crazy_davey said:
Stick with something that you can afford to shoot and shoot it lots, you will be better off in the end.

Lots of practice will make you a better hunter than the cartridge you shoot.

JMO
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There yah go throwing common sense into a silly topic...it's all over now IBTL. :p :D

Good advice btw, and I agree 100%. :)
 
Crazy Davey has made good sense..although, to be honest, it's not limited to stuff like the 375 H&H...

The truth is, ost hunters come into a store and ask for the "cheapest" 30-06 or 270 ammo they can find...They buy 2 or maybe 1!! Box of it, "check thier zero" by chasing bullets around on a target, then say "close enuff for hunting!!"

And most guys think that ammo is to pricy to practice with, anyway...and say stuff like "this box has lasted me for 3 years" as a point of pride...

Now, some of these guys know how to hunt, and get close, so it works out, and some of them have spent miles on the range shooting 22's when they were a kid, so know how to shoot...But many just kill game because the targets (animals) are BIG,,ad those kill zones are BIG- compared to what most think...
 
crazy_davey said:
IMO if you have to worry about what the cost of shooting a certain cartridge is, don't bother. If you have to count cents when shooting a certain cartridge, you will never get good enough with that cartridge because you will not shoot it enough because the cost will always be on your mind.

Stick with something that you can afford to shoot and shoot it lots, you will be better off in the end.

Lots of practice will make you a better hunter than the cartridge you shoot.

JMO
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I totally disagree. For me economics plays a huge part in my shooting, thats why I bought a reloading kit. I look for specials and buy as much on sale as I can. I really enjoy shooting and will do it as cheaply as possible.

As far as buying the cheapest ammo goes, why not for practice and then get a box or two of the quality ones to hunt with. I use Nozler Partitions and it doesn't make sense to pound quality bullets into a a back stop unless you are working up an accurate load or sighting the rifle in for hunting.
 
I don't know if it's proper to interject petty concerns about ammo costs into a discussion of the "Ultimate Caliber" or realistically the ultimate anything. If the topic was for a usable caliber with the cheapest ammo it would be somewhat different.:rolleyes:Besides if hunters actually did practice with their rifles the ammo wouldn't be sold in 20 packs.
 
I'll come in at this from a slightly different direction. Many of us accept that a .375 caliber rifle, regardless of flavour, is the ultimate all around big game caliber in the world, so what follows are what I consider to be the ultimate bullets for the ultimate caliber.

I think the 380 gr Rhino bullet for the .375 is the ultimate big game bullet in this caliber for close to medium range use. While the cost of $3.00 a piece does enter the picture, I shoot them enough to to be competent with them out to 300 yards, although they perform best inside 200 yards. IMHO, there is no other bullet available which can match the punch produced by these bullets in a .375 caliber rifle.

The 260 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip/Accubond might be the ultimate long range medium game bullet in this caliber. Due to this bullet's high BC, the velocity can be held down a bit to minimize high velocity induced blood shot meat, yet retain a trajectory which is flat enough to minimize problems resulting from errors in range estimation.

The 270 gr Hornady Interlock is the ultimate all around bullet for a .375 caliber rifle. Loaded to high velocity they shoot flat enough to take medium to large game as far as you are justified to shoot. Due to the affordable cost, they are the logical practice bullets. Loaded to reduced velocities (1200 fps) these bullets neatly take small game and game birds with very little damage, and in my rifle at least hit point of aim at 25 yards.
 
Boomer, you're going to ruin a perfectly good debate if you keep arguing it with logic and fact. :D


Dogleg;
I don't know if it's proper to interject petty concerns about ammo costs into a discussion of the "Ultimate Caliber" or realistically the ultimate anything. If the topic was for a usable caliber with the cheapest ammo it would be somewhat different.Besides if hunters actually did practice with their rifles the ammo wouldn't be sold in 20 packs.
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Lots of hunters practice, and lots of hunters are newer hunters who didn't grow up shooting. So IMHO I'd have to say that cost of practice and maybe even 'recoil for practice' should be allowed as a factor. Lets say you're a newer shooter and you're going to make it to the range 8 times in a year to practice. THat's not a lot, not someone die hard or anything. During those 8 times if you can only shoot 20 times before you get sore or start flinching, vs say 40 times with a different gun, that's a factor. You're shooting 160 rounds practice vs 320. And over 320 rounds, cost might well be a factor for a younger shooter.

I'd call it a 'side' point at best, but it's worth thinking about.
 
I disagree. This thread is about 'ultimate' hunting cartridges.

In an 'Ultimate' care, for example, cost and mileage aren't considerations. Sure a Civic will get you around, but a Ferrari is certainly much more 'ultimate.' How many kids have posters of Civics on their walls?
 
I disagree. This thread is about 'ultimate' hunting cartridges.

In an 'Ultimate' care, for example, cost and mileage aren't considerations. Sure a Civic will get you around, but a Ferrari is certainly much more 'ultimate.' How many kids have posters of Civics on their walls?
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Bigger and faster doesn't equate to 'ultimate'. And in any meaningful comparison, the civic would be a much better example of "the ultimate car for city driving'. Once you start putting that kind of criteria on, 'biggest and baddest' aren't necessarily the determining factor.

If the criteria is 'the ultimate hunting cartridge' for north americans, it must logically be the cartridge that is the 'best' cartridge when taking into consideration all the factors of hunting in north america. That will include effect on game (and the largest number of game animals), as well as other hunting considerations. Hell, based on your thinking one might claim one of the 50 bmg's was the best - but it would be a most impractical rifle to hunt with.

The gun that lets the largest number of people hunt the largest range of animals under the largest number of conditions (short range, long range, brush , open feilds, etc) would seem to be the 'ultimate' cartridge if the condition is 'for hunting in north america'.
 
Turkeyslayer 1300 said:
The 30-30 for sure it's done it all. But then again this is the magnum age so maybe .303 british because it too has done it all.
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The magnum age...that must be the new breed of hunters who are too out of shape to take more then a few steps away from the road into the scary woods lest they miss a good song on their trucks radio. :p :popCorn:

walksalot said:
As far as buying the cheapest ammo goes, why not for practice and then get a box or two of the quality ones to hunt with. I use Nozler Partitions and it doesn't make sense to pound quality bullets into a a back stop unless you are working up an accurate load or sighting the rifle in for hunting.
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I agree, I use FMJ bullets of the same weight (or as close to it) as the SP I will be using, and I'll use a few of the SP ones for a final sight in. :)
 
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IM with mumps, but my answer might be different if I hunted primarily in BC< or N alberta...


Dont need anything larger than a 308win to kill anything in ontario...

Unless you have a rogue elephant escaping the circus
 
The magnum age...that must be the new breed of hunters who are too out of shape to take more then a few steps away from the road into the scary woods lest they miss a good song on their trucks radio.
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YESH! YOUSE TEH MAGENUM!!!!

(i assume aphib was busy so I filled in. :D)
 
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