what is the best hunting caliber for north america?

270 because you can use it anywhere followed by 308, 30-30 and 30-06.

I am an exotic type guy so 30 Herrett and 300 WM are my choices, however there are a number of good cartridges.
 
I hunt solo in Grizz habitat and I would personally not be comfortable packing a 270 but that's just me. I do however like the caliber.

The thread is titled "What is the best hunting caliber for north america?".

Dog_River
 
30-06. Good ballistics, many different makers of rifles, myriad of ammo available, ammo commonly available, easy to handload for.

What more could you ask for?
 
Dog_River said:
I live and hunt in BC and carry a .300 mag most of the time when in Grizz country. I was out a few weeks ago for three days in a very remote area solo with a healthy population of Grizz. I had just read this article http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr152.pdf.

I have always felt pretty safe packing a .300 mag, but after reading this article it made me think and ponder a bit. I guess the fact that this year has been a record year in the West for bear encounters and mauling s.

So I am not sure if the .300 mag is the best gun for where I hunt. In the attached report which seems quite thorough and objective rates the .300 mag in last place for bear protection only.

Thoughts ?

Dog_River
Click to expand...

Been fortunate to hunt grizzly a few times now, believe me there is nothing wanting in a .300 mag's performance on grizzlies. Anytime you're looking at statistics consider first and foremost sample size; if it's less than ten throw out the result. So while interesting the paper isn't definitive or really any more telling that shooting wet phone books in your back forty. Finally, bears, no matter how big aren't hard creatures to kill, they're "soft" animals, penetration isn't the be all in killing bears- that's elephants. :)
 
I agree with Ardent here. People have been killing big bears with 22 cal rifles for over a century. You don't need a long range howitzer for hunting in North America, even if the biggest bears are included.

30-06 will work fine, or any cartridge you shoot well and can easily attain ammo for.
 
Price449 said:
45/70 kills everything.
Click to expand...

The ' Garden hose ' trajectory leaves a bit to be desired though.
It's funny how these posts come down to everyone's personal favorite. Myself I've a 308 & a 30-06; neither of which are my favorite. But they are good, solid, everyman firearms.
Stay away from the antiques and uber-magnums IMO. They are less than they seem to be.
 
tokguy said:
Followed by the 308 Winchester. The super mag'S are great until you try to get shells in Bumf**k nowhere...then they are a PITA useless club
Click to expand...

How about the .300 Win Mag? :) On the hardware store's shelf as much as the .30-06 and more than the .308. Also outperforms both.

tokguy said:
The ' Garden hose ' trajectory leaves a bit to be desired though.
It's funny how these posts come down to everyone's personal favorite. Myself I've a 308 & a 30-06; neither of which are my favorite. But they are good, solid, everyman firearms.
Stay away from the antiques and uber-magnums IMO. They are less than they seem to be.
Click to expand...


Well said. I don't presently own a .300 Win (my recommendation) either. .45-70, 9.3x62, .35 Whelen... All would be fun on a sheep or goat hunt accross a valley.
 
I do own several examples of my recommendation (.300 Win) even though its actually not my favorite cartridge. I'm way too much of a gun nut to even consider one caliber for everything, but experience and observation has taught me that when I'm packing a .300 I never find myself wishing I'd brought something else. It doesn't seem to matter where or for what, or at what range, a .300 is either perfect or so close to it that it doesn't matter much. The .300 Win is just the easy way to shoot a .300.
 
Dogleg said:
I do own several examples of my recommendation (.300 Win) even though its actually not my favorite cartridge. I'm way too much of a gun nut to even consider one caliber for everything, but experience and observation has taught me that when I'm packing a .300 I never find myself wishing I'd brought something else. It doesn't seem to matter where or for what, or at what range, a .300 is either perfect or so close to it that it doesn't matter much. The .300 Win is just the easy way to shoot a .300.
Click to expand...


That's how I feel about the 7mmSTW, I have never once wished I had a different rifle with me. Moose, Elk, Bear, deer, sheep, wolves, whatever,.. Maybe not the best for varmints but a light bullet @ 4000 FPS does wonders on little critters, just costs more to shoot lol.
 
Cleftwynd said:
That's how I feel about the 7mmSTW, I have never once wished I had a different rifle with me. Moose, Elk, Bear, deer, sheep, wolves, whatever,.. Maybe not the best for varmints but a light bullet @ 4000 FPS does wonders on little critters, just costs more to shoot lol.
Click to expand...

The STW is my favorite cartridge as well, just not my choice as a do everything round. Its just so ideal for my local hunting, even if I feel better with a bit more bullet on the extreme upper end of body weights and definitely feel better with something a little more mainstream when travelling. Any ammo is better than no ammo, and if I got separated from my STW fodder away from home I'd be well and truly screwed. I know I'll be able to feed a .300 Win anywhere.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom