Gents,
The question posed was a "one gun", not a "two gun" for all things in the world so you must not cheat and name two guns else the .338 combined with the 416,404 class of rifle would win hands down, and I will tell you why. Read on

The .338 will be better than the 300 Win or my baby the 300 H&H, and that is because if you are in Tanzania hunting plainsgame and run into something wanting to hurt you then the 338 is a much better option. I load my .338 with 300 gr. woodleigh softs and solids at 2500 FPS and it will do the job on anything one meets...

Of course this is merely my take on the subject.

I am curious what you fella's think about the best all around Caliber from the lower 48 thru Alaska and Africa?Is there one?It's probably a two caliber selection considering.Just curious if there is just one you would use?I have never been to Africa,but if I lived in Alaska,it would be the 416.

Best of luck.Jayco.P.S.If it's been hammered before,just say so and I'll pull the post.I never saw it.

375HandH

I am in no way shape or form an expert on this subject, but I would be happy, and confident with a 9.3x74R in a nice doublegun, or more realistically a 9.3x64 in a bolt gun. My 2 cents

As a two rifle battery, I cannot think of a better pair than the .30-06 and .375H&H. I have used that pair on three of my four African safaris, and been quite happy 90% of the time.

George

GeorgeS suggestions are a 9.9 on a scale of 10. To be a 10 the choice would have to be a .30-06 and a .375 Weatherby Magnum. Lawdog

GeorgeS's recommendation for the 30-06 and 375 H&H for a two rifle battery is hard to beat. I concur 100%.

I concur on the 2 stick battery, as that is my norm as well. This year I may bring the 300wsm I just built in stead of the '06, but it's still a hard combo to beat. Second choice on the light rifle might be a 7x57 or 7-08.

I don't want to sound to dumb here,but what if you run into the dangerous guy's while hunting the little guy's and only have the lite gun?Like I said,I have never been to Africa.It seem's to me,one gun would be better?

Dumb on Africa.Jayco.

I'm with George on this. My two gun battery was 375H&H and a 30-06.

The 30-06 never left the case.

Jim

Inasmuch as the 416 Rem will do anything the 375 H&H can and then some, like you, it would be my final choice..A 300 gr. monolithic at about 3000 FPS and a 450 gr. at 2350 FPS leaves little to be desired...

Then if recoil is a consideration perhaps the 375 is next down the line, but I cannot tell any difference in the two recoil wise...

Jayco - Like if you looking for a baboon you wacked with your bow in the dark with the tracker and a the Baboon track & blood end were the Leopard spore is(Still Steaming)?

If you can't out run you hunting parnter, be sure you can hit his foot.

Jay,

Since your talking about hunting everything it would have to be something 375 or larger to be legal in Africa for DG. I think I would try to build the lightest 375 Weatherby I could and still have tolerable recoil. Used with care I can't imagine a hunt it would not work for.

If I could pick 2 I think a 300 mag. of some type and a 416 would be very practical.

Regards,

Mark

Given what I have hunted, will soon be hunting and want to hunt in the near future, of my collection I would say my .416 Weatherby - if I had but one to choose. Why? There isn't a thing that walks for which I would feel undergunned. Since I handload, I can choose components for virtually anything lesser no matter how unlikely that they might gnaw, scratch, tear, gore or trample me (hey even squirrels have been known to attack).
Glad we don't have to make that choice, I like shooting more civilized firearms on occasion.
Stay well,
Paul

There probably isn't a "best", hunting everything w/ one rifle is going to cause some compromise. Saying that & taking into account my .404jeffery is about finished, I would say the good old .375h&h. Legal for DG in all countries, flat shooting enough w/ a 250/260gr bullet for 400yd shots on non DG, good 300grsofts & solids for DG and all of that in a trim enough rifle to be shootable. Hard to beat that, mayve I'll have to get one soon.

I made several Ethiopian Safaris with a .30-06 W/ 180 gr. Nosler Partition handloads and a .375 H&H with 270 gr. WIN. POWERPOINTS AND 300gr. HORNADY FMJ Handloads.
That pair covered everything from dik-dik to elephant.
They were both Model 700 Remington Classics but we won't get into that cause a majority of the guys here don't care much for them.
Rich Elliott

Jay: Two basic approaches to all purpose calibers have been presented here and they are diffecult to argue with: GeorgeS presents the 30-06/.375 model and Ray presented the .416 model, with stipulations. Few of us are forced to choose only one rifle for the purposes of ownership, but your question has merit for the simple reason that when we go forward and cry tally-ho, we are carrying a single rifle. For practicle purposes, I routinely use a .300 Wby and a .378 here in Alaska and I carry the .378 more often than not. The .300 is used exclusively on spring caribou. I carry the .378 all other times..not by design, it has just turned out that way. In this since, allowing for differences in grains of powder, I follow GeorgeS' model. I have only made one trip to Africa and I carried the .378 on that trip. I own a .416 Wby and I could easily adopt Ray's model and use the .416 for everything. As Ray said, it can be loaded to shoot 300 grain bullets at 3000fps or 400 grain bullets at 2500fps, so it can act as a long range powerhouse or a short range fight stopper.

The '.375 caliber-model' is probably the single best model to follow, unless you are constantly faced with angry buffalo, angry lion, angry elephant, and angry brown bear, all at close range, in which case Ray's .416 becomes the minimum tool of choice.

If you follow what Saeed does you would not go wrong: If I recall right, he uses a .375/404 wildcat on everthing and does extremely well.

The .30-06 and .375 H&H is a pretty tough pair to beat. I've been to South Africa twice so far; plains game only. I used the .375 H&H on my first trip and the .30-06 on my second trip. Neither one is perfect for all situations but it's a very versatile pair. Of course, a .300 magnum could be substituted for the .30-06. The "royal" pair IMHO is the .300 H&H and the .375 H&H! That's a class act.



Unlike Ray, I do find a distinct difference in the recoil levels of a .375 H&H and a .416. I do own a .416 Rigby (Ruger M77), though I've never hunted with it, and I find the recoil to be another level above that of my .375 H&H. But, as Ray said, a .416 could take the place of the .375 H&H. The .416 would have the advantage on dangerous game. Still, a .30-06 (or a .300 magnum) and a .375 H&H would cover a lot of uses.



Another top notch pair would be the .338 Win Mag and a .416 (Rigby or Remington).



If I were limted to just one rifle, to cover all the bases you mentioned, it would be one in .375 H&H. If you leave out the African dangerous game (and a lot of guys go to Africa and never hunt Cape Buff, etc.) then a .338 Win Mag would be another great choice.



Just the opinions of a neophyte....

-Bob F.

Then, of course, there's the ubiquitous 45/70!

I'm ducking now!

B.Faucett, every time I tell someone that the 416 Rigby is an increase in power levels and the recoil department, Grampa Ray comes along and says that the 375 and the 416 recoil the same. Bob, I thought I was the only one to notice this. Now I know I'm not all alone in this.

475, Faucett,
Sissy babies stinkum butts!

For a one rifle battery I think that 375 H&H is the best answer. For a two rifle battery add a 30-06 and switch the 375 for a 416 rigby.

I would take a 350 Rigby and a 450 Rigby. For a one rifle choise it has to be the 416 Rigby.

/Johan

I agree with Ray enough to say that if I could only have one rifle I'd take the 338.

He did say "one gun" But due to Africa legalities the .375 is a bit much for 90% of the worlds game. So, I say .338/06 whether legal for everything or not is quite capable for everything without being way over-gunned for the smaller stuff. African legalities screw everything up for just a one-gun for everthing.

All right, if it has to be a single rifle, it would have to be a .416 Wby. And what is all this noise about recoil? Again I find myself agreeing with Ray: no whiny sissy stinky butts!

Hello riflemen: For my long range shooting out to say 2 miles I would have to rely on my 45-70 with 500 grain hardcast and a tank full of blackpowder. Of course I would need to sight it in a bit high at 100 yards to get my holdover right. A rangefinder is of course vital. The 45-70 will take all currently existing animals out to 3 miles but I don't have the time to get my accuracy down at that range. Also, since two mile ranges are practical in many parts of Africa it leaves time for a second finishing shot should a rare one be needed. Though I am just a north American continent hunter I must rely on the U.S. Army test results for choosing this caliber for "long range" shooting. I'm not sure the newer calibers are designed for these ranges. Everyone else has mentioned taking a second rifle which would make me comfortable as well. However, I think only one Rifleman mentioned the wsm as an option. A progressive thinker I like and the round is designed after my personal favorite cartridge the 338-06AI built on the old pre war m70 winchester. Of course my 338-06 is a long action design so I give that one advantage to the WSM. I'm sure most of you folks will like my choices as you seem to engage the older cartridge designs. In review, the 45-70 for long range stuff and the 338-06AI for close in work. Lever and a bolt action will keep us all safe and successful. Don't take my word for it, (like you're going to) take care, good hunting, and boy do I wish I could just follow you around while you hunted Africa!!! I'll carry your rifles if you wish Hardley06, but better known as Bestlever-providing mindset orientation to better progressive thinking. It's a form of liberalism that is being doggedly shoved down so many throats. I still favor rugged individualism, a fast deteriorating concept. I chime in half serious always. It's a form of self defense but goods are there if you look. Thumb up or down riflemen, I'll go away if you wish!!! but then you won't hear the merits of lever stopper! What say you, run me out of Africa or let me learn where your thinking has gone wrong (no, no, no) just couldn't stop my fingers, or let me learn why you think as you do! Again, Good Luck

One more added to Ignore.

-Bob F.

Faucett,
Nice art work, how you do dat?

As to the post suggesting the 375 H&H being too big for smaller stuff, I have found that if one picks a tough bullet to shoot deer and antelope with it's like old Elmer used to say, you can eat right up to the hole!! jeez that could be a gay rights slogan

Ray,

Thanks Ray but I really have no artistic ability whatsoever! I just "borrowed" the art work from another web site. I just did a web search until I found an appropriate graphic for the post and then posted its link in my message. Google.com has the ability to search for images.

-Bob F.

Hello Riflemen: It kind of hurts me when a fellow of character becomes characterless. Bob F. or BFaucett you have made an error. It is my every intention to expose folks who are willing to hurt the hobby, even profession, that I have devoted my time to with full exacting deliberance for a closing in lifetime. Accuratereloading is the flagship of small arms forums, yet a few self-absorbed folks full of inflated views of themselves poison the forums. You ignor me You'll enjoy trying that one my fellow rifleman. Are you going to gather the "forces" and make me "invisable" or find another way to excuse my friendly, informed, and constructive exchange, though always on the lookout for those wishing to silence those persons of differing opinion or maybe just wanting to interject a little reality or jest to a often turgid medium for open discussion. Get me right BobF! There are those who think that they are somehow immune to the increasing at an ever increasing rate (exponent)of attack on the shooting\hunting communities worldwide, yes even on the "Dark continent" but you are not immune. "Trading rights for saftey" and "from my cold dead fingers" mean almost everything to me so I suggest that you know well those you wish to alienate from your boards Don't lead the charge of fools into deep Russia with winter coming on. I suggest an effort to add to your general #'s not deplete them. As I have said elsewhere in Accuratereloader's I'm on your side to the last bitter end but do watch for those who would damage my children's and their childrens hunting opportunities. You might be the "great something hunter" but still just a fellow, misguided and ill-considered in my opinion. All behaviors easily modified Or not,in which case I will try to brighten your perspective. Find me elsewhere here for further perspective. Troll or rable-rouser references toward me will slow us down. No threats here just a friendly reminder that in my opinion you and a small "few" need an attitude adjustment. Hardley06

LMAO ! Ray you are a sick individual You are going to make the Aussies proud if you keep that up !

300 Winmag and 375 H&H. Pondoro Taylor's book has excellent discussions on this topic.

B, those are nice links. Your pal has guts. From the pic of him shootin off the bench, he is much lower than he needs to be. Next time, tell to add another sandbag fore and aft. At least that way, it won't beat him as hard. The object with sitting as upright as possible is to give your body a fighting chance at rolling with the punch. As Grampa Ray has posted elsewhere, shoot the Lott about 20 rounds worth and then go to the 416, the comparison will make the 416 seem like a little 22. Of course, the next you shoot the 416 with no bigger boomer around before you shoot, it'll get your attention all over again.

hi
9,3x62 with 250 grain flat shooting like a 3006 and 300+ solid can kill every thing can crawl ,fly or walk on the earth.
danny

For a 1 rifle battery, I agree on the 375 H+H. If I can have 2, give me a 300 H+H and a .470 Nitro Express.