What is the best rifle for everything

Let's get real here, the 338 WM is not a big caliber and wouldn't be in the realm of compensating, it is just so painfully average. Now if you showed up in deer camp with a 416 Rigby or 378 Wby.................that's another matter entirely.
The OP asked for a ONE GUN DOES ALL out to 4-500 yds on big game, if he's talking NA then I would say any one of the 300 mags or 340 Wby, if he's talking world wide I would say the 375 H&H or the 416 Rigby with the new powders and bullets it truly will do the 4-500 yd thing just fine. All of the above in an 8 lb wood stocked, Teflon coated, stainless steel gun, with a 3-9 Zeiss Diavari or even better the new 2.5-10. 24" barrel, floor plate (no DM to lose) and it must shoot 1 1/4 moa out to 500 yds.

I have said many times that I would happily hunt the entire world and every criiter on it with the 340 Wby and 3 different loads and not feel under gunned on anything including elephant.
 
I just bought a rifle that meets all your criteria. It is a Savage Alaskan Brush Hunter in .338 Winchester Magnum. Accurate, cheap, beautiful trigger, iron sights for back-up, 2800fps with 225 grain interbonds, stainless, with plastic stock. About 8.5 pounds with scope.
 
upnorththodd said:
Hey all
The age old debate. What is the best rifle for everything? Not just calibre, the whole setup. Rifle, caliber, barrel length and diameter etc.

Parameters: Accurate for the range to 600 yards. Able to maintain 100 yard tight groups, for minimum 5 rounds in succession. Large game hunting to 400-500 yards (not including bison, that’s a whole different thing). A little heavy is OK, but not too heavy. Durable. Long barrel life. Ease of loading ammunition. Affordable for the average guy/gal. Assume the shooter is above average so don’t take user error into account.

I know, a tall order. I have my ideas in mind but I want to know what the rest of you think. Once we agree on a rig (or agree to disagree) the next topic will be what to load…..One load for everything.
Hopefully some of you are interested in this thread and not too bored with this age old discussion.
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Ahhh mid winter threads while everybody is waiting for bear season...

First off, there is no one right answer as there are dozens of combinations that will do this from Calum's single shot to CFMBI's 340.

Calibers will vary by area. Back east the range could start with the swede and go up to a 3006. Out west I think from .284 up to .338 or .375 is a more appropriate range.

I would lean more toward a non belted case for long case life, think 280 Rem, 7x57, .308win, 3006, 9.3x62.

I would offer that more important than cartridge is a good quality rifle that fits the shooter. I prefer CRF bolts, but truly a Remington, a Weatherby, a Ruger, a Tikka, etc could do just as well.

FME a #3 or #4 sporter contour in a custom barrel is a good compromise between weight and POI consistency.
 
You're going to get 100 "answers" where people just give you a personal preference for every one fact based response. Pick a "big but not too big" caliber, go shoulder some rifles in the store pick one buy it and shoot it till you're good.

I will say this, if you're hunting in Canada and can't kill it with one well placed shot from a .308 or 7mm mag, you should take a few minutes to think about what you're doing.
 
lister said:
I've said it before, and some consider it blasphemy, but---

Rem 7600 in 30.06. 3-9x40 scope of your choice. See-thru mounts optional, but I like them for close shots and quick target acquisition.
The pump action allows you to stay on target and have a quick follow up.
I've shot it out to 600yrds and it puts out a decent group. Good bolt design.
The 30.06 is highly versatile (100gr.-220gr.) and available anywhere you might be.
my .02$:)
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Listen to this feller...HE KNOWS HIS CHIT!!! Except I got a peep on mine;)
 
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