The "One Club" Tournament, Grand Slam Style

What chambering for all 29 North American Big Game with one rifle?

  • Total voters
    206
dogger1 said:
I would have to say the 338 win mag.it can reach out and touch them and finish of something with teeth close. the 375 would have been my first choice but doesn't have the reach a 338 has. the 300 has great reach but less weight on bullets for something up close with teeth that wants to eat you. the 9.3 well what can I say its metric hahahaha .
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Actually the .375 is better for reaching out in my estimation than the .338 Win, albeit marginally. Out to 500 yards, the two flattest shooting loads in my ballistic computer's library for .338 Win and .375 H&H has the .375 0.11" ahead in drop at 500 yards; identical trajectories, the .375 is just arriving there with a bit more energy. Load a 300gr boat tail in the .375 and it will arrive even at 1000 yards ahead of the .338 on energy and comparable on drift and drop. At the hunting ranges, 400 and under, the .375 will easily equal on trajectory and beat on energy the .338 with a 260gr Accubond, 250gr TTSX, or 235gr CEB Raptor. This all said, you're right the .338 is a better North American 29 rifle, more versatile, and generally lighter rifles, an important consideration. People discount the .375's long range performance however when it is actually one of the better choices for terminal effect at range. But they are heavy guns with more recoil than necessary at times.
 
^ Interesting and informative post, Angus (both of 'em:)), thanks; definitely has me thinking. As a guy who is probably as likely to buy and/or use a xylophone as a ballistics program, this isn't something I had considered much. I am fervently hoping to take an elk this year with a singleshot .375, but haven't had a chance yet to try it past 300 yards. Sounds promising. :)
 
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Ardent said:
Actually the .375 is better for reaching out in my estimation than the .338 Win, albeit marginally. Out to 500 yards, the two flattest shooting loads in my ballistic computer's library for .338 Win and .375 H&H has the .375 0.11" ahead in drop at 500 yards; identical trajectories, the .375 is just arriving there with a bit more energy. Load a 300gr boat tail in the .375 and it will arrive even at 1000 yards ahead of the .338 on energy and comparable on drift and drop. At the hunting ranges, 400 and under, the .375 will easily equal on trajectory and beat on energy the .338 with a 260gr Accubond, 250gr TTSX, or 235gr CEB Raptor. This all said, you're right the .338 is a better North American 29 rifle, more versatile, and generally lighter rifles, an important consideration. People discount the .375's long range performance however when it is actually one of the better choices for terminal effect at range. But they are heavy guns with more recoil than necessary at times.
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funny we had a discussion a not that long ago with a good member about the 375hh and the three bullets that HH come with: 235gr for asian moutain hunting 270gr for plain game and 300gr for dangerous game and all getting at 100 meters or yards in the same spot ... they knew what they were doing ....
 
People sometimes figure the .375 H&H is some sort of thumper intended for heavy stuff up close, it's just an oversized .30-06 as you know all too well. Basically its ballistic twin with a much bigger payload.

I arranged the poll smallest to largest, kind of interesting how we have a bell curve distribution in selections made eh?
 
Not many people opting for the 9.3x62... So I will! 232gr pills for reaching out to the stuff you can't get close to and 300 grainers are for the critters you don't want getting close to you lol
 
Ardent said:
I'm on parental leave and the imagination runs wild, what can I say.

You're setting out to do the North America 29, no umchorn preserves allowed all wild. You're taking everything from little 80lb deer in Mexico to reachy bighorns in the desert, to a 2,200lb wood bison bull, to mountain goats accross a valley, to polar bear, brown bear on Kodiak or the peninsula, and grizzly. You're spending a good BC house on this project and can't afford any redos, to make it realistic.

What chambering, and even rifle if you know? I'll add a poll with the regulars for quick visualisation, but vote anything.
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For the game we're talking about, everything from Coues Deer to Bison, it would be really difficult to vote against a fast 30. For the sake of ease the 300 WM would probably be the best one...easily located ammo, enough speed to reach out on longer shots in the goat and sheep areas, heavy enough bullets for Bison and bears, not so powerful that it requires a heavy rifle to dampen the recoil or a muzzle brake to tame it. All in all, the 300 WM would be tough to beat. Now, you could substitute 300 WSM, 300 H&H and 300 Weatherby almost interchangeably and, but for a couple of hundred FPS, you'd be just as well served. Sure you could swap the weights a pound, maybe 22 ounces either way going from the long actioned Weatherby to the short actioned WSM, but those really boil down to semantics as the weight will only be an issue for a few of the hunts.

Funny thing about the North American 29 is that there are actually 30 animals in the group, not counting the "auxiliary" species (Atlantic and Pacific walrus and jaguar). Only an arsehole would lump bison and muskox together.
 
RG79 said:
Have to go with the 300 Win Mag, 180 Accubond. 3.5-10 scope. Under 8lb loaded.
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Yeah, that'll work. The .300 is such an undisputedly solid choice for practically everything, practically everywhere that your turn at the campfire caliber debate will be very short. It's usually limited to the time it takes for someone to say "yeah, that'll work". :)
 
Yep it is pretty tough to find fault with any 30 cal magnum as a one gun do everything hunting partner. Sorta like the 30-06 only better by a few hundred fps.......As much as I love my 340 Wby, the truth is most of my hunting over the past 35 years has been done with a 300 WM and my 300 Wby. These 2 rifles have accounted for more big game in more places than all my other rifles combined.
 
Like a lot of folks it came down to .30-06, 7 mag and 300 magnum for myself. Sadly I don't have any experience with the other cartridges listed, and can't say if I can honestly handle the recoil the produce and shoot them effectively. Anyway back to the intent of my post, rationalizing my choice and justifying it here, so I chose based off of what is in my gun safe or that I have on loan here for load development.

It came down to the 7mm Rem mag. I have a Ruger m77 tang safety with an unidentified but I suspect B&C synthetic stock. It shoots accurate enough that I am confident to my personal 400 yard limit, recoil isn't excessive and the rifle carries and comes to my shoulder very naturally so it isn't a chore to hike long distances with. The truth of the matter is that for me it probably was more rifle than cartridge this same rifle in any number of other cartridges that check any legal requirements would probably be my pick.
 
Punching primers today with das 300 win mag. It is a solid choice! Recoil very tolerable in a 8 lb gun. Very packable at this weight. Lots of factory ammo choices. My wife shoots the 300 with the hornady lite ammunition.
I read an article stating the 300s are taking the majority of Boone and Crocket club
 
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Ardent said:
People sometimes figure the .375 H&H is some sort of thumper intended for heavy stuff up close, it's just an oversized .30-06 as you know all too well. Basically its ballistic twin with a much bigger payload.

I arranged the poll smallest to largest, kind of interesting how we have a bell curve distribution in selections made eh?
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If the question was simply "What is the biggest caliber with decent trajectory you can shoot well", the curve would likely look about the same. Actually it isn't such a bad method of choosing when it comes right down to it. There's no sense in using more gun than you can handle, and no bonus points for using the smallest thing you can find.
 
Dogleg said:
If the question was simply "What is the biggest caliber with decent trajectory you can shoot well", the curve would likely look about the same. Actually it isn't such a bad method of choosing when it comes right down to it. There's no sense in using more gun than you can handle, and no bonus points for using the smallest thing you can find.
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That pretty much sums it up..... of course, we will keep going anyways.... :)
 
Dogleg said:
...There's no sense in using more gun than you can handle, and no bonus points for using the smallest thing you can find.
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Perfect and succinct, as usual. :)

Sadly, the "I want to use the .22Hornet for rhino" threads will continue...
 
My uncle is going to Alaska for moose and brown bear this fall. He said his guide told him to bring his regular moose rifle. The one he is confident with. That would be his Sako .300winmag. Guide was happy in his choice.
 
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