Like some of us here my wife will only tolerate so many guns until we get in better shape with are retirement plan.
Currently I own a 22 hornet(savage bolt), 12GA (Mosseberg 835), 45-70 (creedmore #2 target rifle), 54 cal Muzzleloader(CVA mountain stalker).
My plan is to buy a few things.
1. Rifled slug barrel for the mosseberg.
2. Tika continetial 25-06 26 inch bull barrel.
3. Weatherby 338-378.
I love to shoot and will be reloading everything but the 12ga slugs. I will be going on one exotic hunt ever 2 yrs mostly I hunt whitetail, elk, mule deer, hogs, hogs, hogs, and black tail.
My rational for these calibers may be flawed so please enlighten me. 12 ga rifled slug barrel because I do hunt sometimes in really thick bush for elk and hogs. 25-06 to plink praire dogs at my inlaws, blitz coyotes around the state, hunt whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn long distance in open praire. 338-378 because I really like how the 338 puts down elk at range and I have no problem firing big rifles plus if I save up enough the wife will let me go to Africa. I would already have the gun and be really familure with it by the time I got the chance to go to Africa so I would not showing up with a brand new gun I might doubt.
I will be keeping the 22 hornet until I leave this world it was the first rifle my dad bought me and I killed my first deer with it. I will not open that discussion. ( I dont hunt deer with it anymore )

Sounds like fun.

Does the rifled barrel for the Mossberg have sights (scope?) attached to the barrel or action?

It seems that you might want to use the shotgun and then have to sight in the rifled barrel again. Consider two shotguns and unless the law requires the slug gun I always favor a rifle.

The other rifles are a little extreme with out having a standard (say a 308 or 30/06 Featherweight) rifle already. But to each his own

If Africa is on the menu I would personally opt for a cz 550 in either .375 H&H or .416 Rigby over the .338-378.

The .416 Rigby can shoot quite flat with the lighter 300 gr projectiles and will offer much more vesatility should Africa become a reality.

I like a lever 45/70 for thick cover shooting (although the other day I used my cz .375 with scope set on 2x and had excellent success).

I would like to throw the 30/06 chambering in there over your 25/06 choice and instead trade the .22 hornet in on a heavy barelled 22/250. Then for Africa you would have your 30/06 & .416 as your two rifle battery.

This just my thoughts hope thye help in some how. If there rot just let me know

I just feel the .338-378 is a very specilised round with not as much versatility compared to a standard chambering.

As for the .375 H&H I have just started playing with this calibre and it truly is a darling.

Lastly I would buy my rifles in these calibers in CZ's except for the lever 45/70 which would be a marlin.

[ 12-27-2002, 16:18: Message edited by: PC ]