If you had to choose only 1, what caliber and why?

[mikep]

If you had to choose a single rifle cartridge for hunting, what caliber would it be in? Much the same way that motor oil discussions between thicker is better protection or thinner offers better flow, Elmer Keith and Jack O'Connor publicly aired their differences when it came to rifle cartridges and calibers. Ol' Elmer followed the more mass/larger bullet theory while O'Connor believed the .270 was "enough gun" for any game animal in north america and could be shot more precisely. Basically Elmer wanted a bullet than could knock the animal off its feet and Jack stressed shot placement and precision and felt the smaller caliber was easier to shoot well . Brute force vs. precision?

For me, I went with a .270. Being in NJ, the land of the shotgun, we can't hunt with rifles anyway so only when I go on a trip do I get to use one (or practice shooting at the range). When I shot in a trap league I noticed my scores improved when I shot 1 oz or even 7/8 ounce loads vs. the standard 1 1/8 ounce target load. That got me thinking more in line with Jack O'Connor and since I have no desire to shoot a Grizzly or Polar bear and don't have the $$ to go to Africa I don't see the need for a 200 grain bullet.

A few years ago in Canada I took two large bull Caribou on two shots (thank you

) using Winchester 130 gr. Powerpoints. One dropped instantly the other took about 6 steps before falling. That made me a believer that the .270 was no lightweight. With a bump up to a 150 gr. bullet of the right construction I wouldn't hesitate to use it on any member of the venison family including Elk.

So lets hear your choice. One caliber and only one caliber for your hunting rifle. I'm not interested in type of rifle, brand, scopes nada...just cartridge caliber and why.

 

[XS650]

.458 Winchester Magnum. No girly man rifles for me.

 

[like a rock]

I have used a .280 remington for years in the Browning A-bolt stalker. It is a fine white tail round capable of long range kills. Very similar to the .270 winchester with maybe a tick better energy. I was using 140 grain ballistic tips but found they were trashing to much meat. Yes I even used the shoulder meat for jerky and burger. Two year back I purchased a savage .243 and fell in love with it. Quick clean kills with the 100 grain power points and good trajectory out to 300 yards with half the recoil. For me it's the .243 on white tail mule deer and with the right round even elk. Your choice in the .270 is excellent also. Great all round caliber.

 

[mountravlr]

After some experience with the .243, I had a .284 Winchester barrel put on my Rem. 700, for the following reasons: 7 mm. caliber, case cap. of the '06, almost 7 mag. performance up to 150 grain bullets, flat trajectory to 275 yards, great accuracy. I'm glad I went to the .284.

 

[GSV]

A .243 is fine for coyotes not for elk. Just because some clown killed one or two with one doesn't make it adequate. When it fails (not if) you'll wish you'd hit the elk with a bigger round.

If you handload, the .30-06 in a modern action gives nothing away to a .270 or .280. You gain a bigger bullet. I'd choose the 06, then the .280 then the .270.

I have a Sako .338 that I use on elk but I've played with my old Sako Finbear .30-06 and the 165gr. Bear Claws enough that I'm tempted to try it in a couple weeks.

I only load 165s now in the 06. Nosler 165 Partitions and Hornady Interlocks over 58 gr. of Hodgdon H4350 and Federal mag primers. I use the same load but with 58.5 gr. of powder under the Bear Claws and all 3 shoot great. I've got a 25" barrel on the Sako 06 so I get a little more poop out of these than most. John Barsness had this same load pressure tested and it was under 59,500. Perfectly safe in a modern action that chambers newer hotter stuff.

 

[like a rock]

Gsv - remember shot placement is just as important as the caliber used. Back in the old days lot's of elk were killed with rounds less potent than the .243 winchester. This post asked what your favorite round was and I said a .243 Winchester. If you wanted to kill elk with a 17 bee more power to you. Let's not get bent out of shape.

 

[Calvin]

Hmmm.... If I had to have one rifle for use all over the world I would opt for a .375 HH Magnum. If for use in the USA only then most likely a 30-06...
Loaded w Nosler 180 gr bullets for allround use or for heavier beasts like Elk , Moose or Bears I'd go for the Nosler 200 Gr....Both of my 30-06's ( one 24in bbl and the other 26 in bbl ) for some reason LOVES the Nosler 200's. But to be honest my Custom 98 Mauser in 7X57 with a 26 in bbl will work just as well in the lower 48.

 

[GSV]

like a rock ,

Shot placement is more important than caliber.

I like the .243, but I REALLY like Elk. Even a Barnes X-bullet in a .243 needs to be reserved for lung shots. These critters are big and deserve respect. This could start an endless debate but I'm dug in on this point. Dedicated squirell hunters would get mad at me if I used a .375 H&H on their favorite game.

A lot of things done in the past in the "hunting fields" should not be emulated. How many of the old timers were drunk and littering all over the place when they went hunting?

take care,

 

[like a rock]

gsv You have some valid points but so do I. We agree on a few things though. The .243 is well suited for the eastern United State. Your .375 H@H shoulder buster is very well suited for the Utah country also. Your .375 if used for deer hunting in the east would make our old critters run into the next zip code because of no round expansion. So I get your point and you get mine. Hope you get that royal 6 by 6. Ryan

 

[k1xv]

I think the 30-06, as many bullet weights are available and if you hand load, you can load it up or load it down, depending on what your objective is. The 308 Winchester would be a close second.

I doubt I would ever hunt for anything so large that it required anything bigger.

If I had only one rifle to use for everything, I would not select a magnum.

 

[Tim]

I sure am glad I'm not limited to one!!!

I often take more than one caliber with me on any given outing.

If I was limited to one, any cartridge from 28 to 33 caliber with a case capacity from roughly 60 - 75 grains would be fine. Especially if I can use Barnes X, Partitions and the like.


Tim

 

[Tim]

quote:

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Originally posted by k1xv:

If I had only one rifle to use for everything, I would not select a magnum.

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You must not load your own?


Tim

 

[Pablo]

.30-30 lever action. If I ain't close enough to kill the sucker with that slow poke, it ain't hunting!


No never done shot no elk or moose or mountain goat at 2000 yards, so calm down.

 

[k1xv]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tim:

quote:

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Originally posted by k1xv:

If I had only one rifle to use for everything, I would not select a magnum.

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You must not load your own?


Tim

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I do load my own, but I consider a magnum to be a specialized weapon that emphasizes high potential ballistic performance at the expense of shorter life, and less flexibility. Also, if I could only own one, I assume that means I cannot replace it very often.

IMO, Something with a bigger case and lower chamber pressures, like the 06 or the 308 Win. is more flexible with a wider variety of bullets, powders, and charge weights.

Maybe I am all wet.

 

[sbc350gearhead]

To choose a "one rifle for everything", you must honestly answer the question of what are the largest and smallest game, that you will be hunting with it. Noone in their right mind, hunts cape buffalo, with a 30-06, and noone in their right mind, hunts prairie dogs, with a 458 winmag. Once that is answered, then you must ask yourself, as to what kind of terrain you will be hunting in (do you need a 20 inch barrel for deep woods hunting, or can you use a 26 inch barreled rifle for plains hunting), and what is the longest distance, that you will be shooting at. A gun capable of dropping an elk at 800 yards, is nice........but most people can not shoot well enough at 800 yards to take an elk, in anything but the most ideal conditions.........which rarely happens in the field.

 

[mikep]

Wow! Lots of great replies and interesting debate. Just as I suspected

.

SBC350...yep, I know the idea of even trying to nail down one cailber for everything is almost an impossibilty but it sure is fun thinking and talking about it

. I hope to make a trip for moose either next year or the year after. I'm also ithin' to head west for some pronghorn and I have no doubt it will handle either with ease. Would I use it for elk? Absolutely. Would I be better off trusting an -06 or 300 WinMag or .338 WinMag on what could be a once in a lifetime hunt? Perhaps but I know me and the .270 Savage are capable of 3 round, one inch groups at 200 yards and within 2- 1/2 inches at 300 yards. I literally shot 2 boxes of ammo every Sunday at the range (both 200 and 300 yards) for 8 months prior to that caribou trip. It is how I discovered that particular Savage .270 shoots its best with Winchester Powerpoints. I tried Federal, Remington, Hornady and Winchester and my groups were tightest, by far with the Winchester PP.

Like A Rock...I think the .243 is an excellent eastern Whitetail round. I also think the 257 Roberts or 25-06 would make outstanding whitetail/mule deer rounds.

GSV...do you feel a .270, 150 grain Nosler Partition or BarnesX is sufficient for Elk?

Calvin....yea, I wouldn't be caught dead, or maybe I would

, with a .270 in Africa! A good friend and long time hunting partner has been there 3 times in the last 10 years. He has some serious mojo when it comes to rifles. I remember shooting his Ruger #1 in .375 HH...no thanks! Nearly as bad, not quite, as a .375 Weatherby I test fired while on the Caribou hunt. The guy, a professional Elk guide, had the thing magna ported and the blast, report, and recoil was horrendous! My ears rang for 12 hours! I don't think I could put 3 shots into a 12 inch circle with that thing nevermind into an inch.

Great, fun stuff here gang

.

 

[satterfi]

.22LR

I apologize to the moderators and the entire internet for my last post that was deleted. I forgot a sense of humor is not tolerated.

[ September 19, 2004, 06:55 PM: Message edited by: satterfi ]

 

[Shannow]

.223. It will do most things down under OK.

I agree with the .22LR also, but ammo may be restricted when you most need it.

There will alwyays be .223 around.

 

[GSV]

quote:

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GSV...do you feel a .270, 150 grain Nosler Partition or BarnesX is sufficient for Elk?

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Yep. Even some of the 140gr. "super bullets" like the BarnesX or CT FailSafe are excellent in O'Conners favorite smokepole.

 

[Calvin]

MikeP,

Oh I agree with much of what you say..... The 375 AKA 375 OUCH AND OUCH Magnum is no ones idea of a pip squeek round ! I wouldnt want to sit down at the bench and fire say 50 rounds in a couple hours...one just might get a little punchy after that

But in it's defence it's such a versitile round that has sufficient power that you dont have to run it at full throttle all the time. Got a pack of grey squirrles threating to take over.....Perhaps a 249 gr cast flatpoint with say 20.0 gr of SR-4756 @ 1550 FPS.... Will dispatch said maurding squirrles will much less blast and noise and recoil....And it's surprising just how accurate it would be in the 100 yd and under range.Great combo for any varmit at close ranges... Cant see it on prairy dogs at 400 yds but oh well.

For deer sized game the Speer 235 gr soft point
at 2900 FPS does exceptionally well and does expand on deer sized game...300 gr might not but the little one will... the 235 GR is a fair amount less kick than the heavy weights. And if thats abit much then throttle the 235 gr back to 2500 FPS or so....If a 30-06 with a 200 gr @ 2500 will drop anything so with the 375 / 235 @ the same velocity. And for the big bruisers or anything that bites back the heavy weights are perfect.

Same goes for the 30-06 , with bullets from 100 - 250 gr they can and have done it all.Very versitile with easy to handle recoil.Oh you know you squeezed the trigger but it's nothing like a 458 Win... nothing at all... thankfully !