As most of you know I’ve been giving some thought to buying another rifle for a few months now. Yes, I want a new toy and yet again I’m looking for the “Holy Grail†of rifles. As explained in an earlier post I’m hoping to hunt all the North America deer and caribou, plus at least one moose and we’re also looking at a trip to New Zealand and have a return trip planned back to Africa. Some of these hunts could be combo hunts such as moose/caribou or moose/deer so even though I have a 35whelen and a 270win I’m looking for the one rifle to do it all. Also as explained in another post I have a pretty clear idea of the rifle I want, a Remington BDL action, 24†barrel with iron sights in a synthetic stock ready to hunt in the 8.5 to 8.75 pound range. The thing I can’t decide is caliber, I’ve looked at the following and still can’t make up my mind.

30-06, Well it’s the 30-06, sorta like vanilla ice cream. I’m sure it will work on deer and all the caribou plus I could find ammo anywhere ammo is sold but it seems a little light for moose. On the plus side most rifles built for a 06 will hold one more round than a magnum rifle and the recoil isn’t bad at all. But sill its an 06.

7mm Remington, again it would handle the deer and caribou,.handloaded with 140s it does out class my 270, the 160s would be great for caribou and would work for moose but might be a little light. Finding ammo shouldn’t be a problem. Plus the recoil is pretty user friendly. On the other hand, when studying the reloading manuals, at least on paper, it will not do much the 30-06 won’t do.

270 Weatherby. Bet you didn’t see that one coming! What can I say, this caliber has interested me for some time but really what will it do that the 7mm Rem. won’t? Plus ammo will be harder to find, if you can find it and the 270Roy really needs a barrel longer than 24â€. Still I would like to have one but it seems like a dark horse in this race.

300win. OK, so it will handle everything from couse deer to moose without any problems. Though it does seem to be a bit overkill for small deer, then again I do plan on keeping my 270win.for just such occasions. Finding ammo shouldn’t be a problem anywhere I plan to hunt and though recoil can be on the stiff side it still is manageable. All in all the 300win has a lot going for it but I’m sort of like warm on the idea.

300wsm. Much of what was said about the 300win holds true for the wsm, which isn't bad. But the finding ammo thing worries me, can you find 300wsm ammo in the far north of Canada, New Zealand or Africa?

So that’s the short list, whats your thoughts?

quote:

Originally posted by mark65x55:
As most of you know I’ve been giving some thought to buying another rifle for a few months now.

...aah..I am getting that feeling too every month

Anyway...yes there is a holy gral...

9.3x62 Mauser...can be loaded in bulletweights
from 232 grain to 320 grain. Will kill just about everything between the North and south pole.
I believe that caliber can be found everywhere
except for North Korea, Libanon and China
I have lived on Sand Mountain...where do you live in the "heart of Dixie"??

I've been to Sand Mt. a time or two, I'm near Birmingham.

Of the choices you list, I would go for vanilla ice cream. The 30-06 really has a lot going for it. It will do fine on Moose and ammo is available litterally everywhere.

I agree the 270 Weatherby would be better fitted to a 26 inch barrel. This seems to be the cartridge you are most excited by but it potential will not be acheived in a 24 inch barrel.

A couple other options might include a 338-06, an 8mm-06, or 8mm Rem Mag. Ammo is not as available and the 8mm-06 would be a handload only proposition. But then again finding 270 Weatherby is not easy in all places either.

I still like the 30-06 though.

I'd go with the .300Win, for the availability of ammo, and because it is the only one that will give you an edge over the .35 whelen in long range potential. If you don't go beyond 300 yards, the Whelen will do all your work.

I would go with the 300 Win Mag.
I always take 2 rifles on a hunt.

You can team your 270 and 300 together on a deer hunt and take the 300 and the 35 Whelen when after bigger game.
This way you have 3 rifles is case something happens to you primary.

Tony, thats some pretty good logic your using there. Hmmmmmmm

...as NE450No2 said - if you looking for a middle between 270 and 35 it has 300 win mag writen all over - tho as option - how about step upward from 35 and go 375 H&H - so you could join 270 and 35 for deer and 35 and 375 H&H for bigger game?

I picked the 7mm for mine in this same scenario. I figured I used .25 caliber rifles for deer mostly, and have several middle ground calibers, none of which were as flat shooting as the seven mag. I also have a .338 WM so I have bigger covered for NA game. The 7mm with light bullets for smaller stuff and up to 175gr or heavier works fine more most of what gets hunted.

That said, I admit that I constantly keep my eyes open for old Mod 70's and caliber is of little issue! Nate

30-06 to lite for Moose .

I think you need a 50BMG

quote:

Originally posted by mark65x55:
---
30-06, Well it’s the 30-06, sorta like vanilla ice cream. I’m sure it will work on deer and all the caribou plus I could find ammo anywhere ammo is sold but it seems a little light for moose. On the plus side most rifles built for a 06 will hold one more round than a magnum rifle and the recoil isn’t bad at all. But sill its an 06.
---

Too light for moose? About 50000 mooses are each year bagged here in Sweden with the 6.5x55 and some other 25000 with the .30-06. They only die once, at least with proper bullet placement.

But my answer to your question is the .300 Win Mag. The old oh-six is indeed good enough but forbidden in some countries, being a military cartridge.

Fritz

The fact is you don't really "need" any more guns unless you plan to hunt elephant and such.

You mentioned Africa as being on your list of the places to visit. With that in mind, you couldn't beat the 375 H&H Magnum and ammunition for it is available just about anywhere. It's good for the little stuff (not really much meat damage) and the really big stuff as well.

Of course, the 375 H&H Magnum might be a little over the weight you specified but really, what is an extra 2 or 3 lbs.

The 270 Weatherby would never be on my list of guns to buy since other cartridges that perform just as well are available at much more reasonable cost.

I've taken several moose with a 270 win, so it is not too light IMO. If the biggest thing you're going to hunt is moose here, and plains game in africa, the old 06' is more than up to the task, but so are many other calibers. As has been said often, place a decent bullet in the right spot and the animal is yours.

wait and get a 375 ruger!

quote:

Originally posted by Fritz Kraut:

quote:

Originally posted by mark65x55:
---
30-06, Well it’s the 30-06, sorta like vanilla ice cream. I’m sure it will work on deer and all the caribou plus I could find ammo anywhere ammo is sold but it seems a little light for moose. On the plus side most rifles built for a 06 will hold one more round than a magnum rifle and the recoil isn’t bad at all. But sill its an 06.
---

Too light for moose? About 50000 mooses are each year bagged here in Sweden with the 6.5x55 and some other 25000 with the .30-06. They only die once, at least with proper bullet placement.
But my answer to your question is the .300 Win Mag. The old oh-six is indeed good enough but forbidden in some countries, being a military cartridge.
Fritz

Yes...a lot of moose is killed with a 6.5x55 each year in sweden..so the 6.5 can kill a moose
but is there better cartridges?...yes!!!

A good friend of mine has taken the conseqens
in their hunting in "Dalerne" to use minimum
30-06, 8x57..simply becauser the 6.5 doesn`t leave much bloodtrail.
They have had too many moose to "take off" with even a well placed bullet from the 6.5.

I believe that the the only reason that the
the "class 1" requirement for shooting moose in sweden has allowed the 6.5, was so everybody could afford a carl Gustav m96.

I know that some hunters in sweden claims the old rolling block in 12.7x44 to be better

Why use so small caliber, to hunt something so big???

Mark,

Saw this & the Sako vs. Rem thread too...just get a Kimber in '06 or 300 Win and get hunting!

Wish I were about to get a new rifle! All in good time...

Another vote for the 9.3x62!

Don´t leave home without it!

I get the same itch once in a while as well; for a go after any kind of game rifle, I lean towards a .375 H&H or the new .375 Ruger. I have a fried who has the H&H, and when I asked him whether that's too much gun for Arizona, he said, "You can always load a cartridge down, but you can't always load it up."

Makes sense to me. He shoots antelope with it, and loads it to whatever he intends to use it for. Also, you didn't mention whether you reload (or I just missed it), but that can give you a degree of versatility with any cartridge.

Good luck; I have a .22-250 on the way; the .375 will have to wait 'till next year!

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:
-- A good friend of mine has taken the conseqens
in their hunting in "Dalerne" to use minimum
30-06, 8x57..simply becauser the 6.5 doesn`t leave much bloodtrail.
They have had too many moose to "take off" with even a well placed bullet from the 6.5.

I believe that the the only reason that the
the "class 1" requirement for shooting moose in sweden has allowed the 6.5, was so everybody could afford a carl Gustav m96.

I know that some hunters in sweden claims the old rolling block in 12.7x44 to be better

Why use so small caliber, to hunt something so big???

I did not recommend the 6.5 swede as I too find it a bit weak for the purpose. But you cannot dispute the number of bagged mooses with and that it functions.

If you read my posting once again, a bit more carefully, you will find a suggestion for the .300 Win Mag. With proper choice of bullets, it will do nearly all the tasks wished above. And, which can be important, ammo can be found mostly everywear.

There are som more comments in your posting, which are best described with the danish word vrøvl and which I do not further comment.

Fritz

The .270 roy is like the majority of roys cartridges outside of the 300. It just hangs on by a thread. It offers nothing that the 7mag can't do and your .270 will kill just as well as the 7mag,.270roy,30/06,300winmag/wsm.

You can mentally jerk off over what cartridge to get all day,like you have.

If you've got the cash to go on all these hunts. Why not go with something better then the M700.Get a full blown custom rifle and hunt a lifetime with it. If it were me. I'd go with the .270 and a .338 win mag.Or simply use a 30/06 for all of it. Under real conditions these cartridges are going to have the same effect on the game you've mentioned.

I would suggest a 8x57? Just cause its soo damn fun to shoot.

I just looked at a nice one. An early South Gate (made prior to 1957) .300Weatherby built on FN Mauser action. It comes to the shoulder very nicely much like my first rifle a Steyr-Mannlicher 'L' 7x57. "Endoborescopy" prior to purchase is a must.
You don't need to rush into things, America is full of fine quality rifles.
Why would you suggest 9,3x62 to a guy from Alabama, USA? When he asks for ammo at local shop the salesman is going to respond; huh, what was that?

To bad you're not close to Florida. I'd let you try my Winnie in 270 Wby. You'd love the results. Everything the 06 can do and still reach ouuuut a bit farther. I have a 270 Wby Euromark that I cherish but my Winnie can be had if you go in that direction. Then again, my Styer in 06 with double set trigger is just outstanding..

Mark, If you want a 270 Weatherbby ,there are 3 or4 of them for sale in this area at what I consider good prices.All scoped with good scopes and all under $1K. One German and 2 Japanese. Two have good Weatherby scopes. There is also a 7 MM WEatherby here also.

Lots of cartridges will kill the game you listed, so I'd focus on logistics. You can feed a 30-06 anywhere. 308, 270 Winchester, 7 Mag and 300 Mag are nearly as common.

On a series of hunts for feral animals in Hawaii a few years ago, a carefully prepared custom bolt gun crappped out on me. I ended up using an iron-sighted lever gun that I had only shot a few times several years before. But I did just fine, and when I came down off that volcano, I decided to focus more on hunting than on the tools I used.

I also decided to master one "Holy Grail" 30-06. I found a used custom 308 that fit me perfectly, but I left it on the rack because it wasn't a 30-06. A couple of weeks later, I looked at it and put it back again. Then I got my head out of my ass, ran down there and bought it. I've put well over 1,000 rounds through it since then, mostly factory ammo, and it was one of the smartest gun buys I've ever made.

I still kinda wish it was a 30-06, so a few weeks ago I bought a crisp 30-06 barrel that fits it for $75.00. When accuracy falls off in about ten years, I'll screw on that barrel, zero it, find a good Partition handload and never look back.


Okie John

Go with 338WM or 375H&H.

Both can be loaded from 200gr to 300gr plus.

There are many rifles for 338 and 375 in the 8 pound range. I have 338 and 375 in 8 lb (Sako).

I use the 375 (235gr) from white tail to boar plus taking it to Alaska next year.

The 375 is the 30-06 of the world. Lots of bullets in MANY weights.

The 338 is very flat and hard shooting.

I cannot decide which I like better, but I guess I would take 375 if I had to get down to one cal.