1 caliber for sheep, antelope, deer, elk, moose and bear.

Question:
Okay, you have ran into financial trouble and must become the ultimate provider for your family; the 1 rifle meat hunter.

This means tagging as much as possible every year to fill the freezer. Not much room for nostalgia here.

Choices:
300 Win. Mag
338 Win. Mag
30-06 Springfield
7mm Rem. Mag
375 Ruger

 

Notice I put the 375 Ruger instead of the 375 H&H.

The reason I did that is because of our modern light mono-metal bullets, powder choices and barrel lengths. The 375 Ruger can indeed become a low enough recoil caliber to shoot well and get the job done.

300RUM Don't have any of the calibers you have listed.

God Bless, Louis

Interesting topic, especially when I'm stuck indoors in this 100+ degree temps we have down south.

I voted .30-06, however, a 1-Gun battery for all hunting in North Am. has to be a drilling in either 8x57 or .30-06 under 12 gauges ckoked Cyl/IC.

There have been a couple of times when I've been down to one gun, and it's always a drilling. Good for all types of big game, plus ducks, birds, rabbits/squirrels, and home protection.

Mike

cheap, available ammo, pure utilitarian. 30/06,, kill anything that walks or crawls on the planet. Jack of all trades, and a master of some.

I love the 338 WM but for shear practicality you cannot beat the 30-06

SSR

1 vote .375 H&H, to Hell with the Ruger! A properly stocked and loaded .375 H&H does not recoil all that bad, and I have killed a few critters with it.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
1 vote .375 H&H to Hell with the Ruger!

CHC is right!

quote:

Originally posted by low_tech:
cheap, available ammo, pure utilitarian. 30/06,, kill anything that walks or crawls on the planet. Jack of all trades, and a master of some.

+1.

.280 AI...However off your list .300 Win.

JC

Good choices! I think it depends more on where you live and will be collecting your meat, but I think over all I'd stand by my choice of the 300...although the 338 was a very close 2nd. I tossed in ammo cost/availability/selection as the deciding factor, if considering only factory ammo. The 300 will also get the job done on anything with less recoil. The 30-06 would do as well, but the 300 will do everything the 30-06 can do +150 yards. If only considering PREMIUM ammo, the price difference is small enough for me to justify stepping up a bit to the magnum. Premium 30-06 ammo runs 30-50, the 300 runs 35-60 in most cases.

30 06, can even get ammo at the bait shop. kills everything good enough, recoil isnt too bad, lots of spare parts cause everybody has one.

quote:

Originally posted by Blacktailer:

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
1 vote .375 H&H to Hell with the Ruger!

CHC is right!

Now that's a good one.....it was a joke wasn't it?

-06.

Biggest moose I ever took,.....30-06. biggest deer, only sheep, 30-06. My -06 has been to the North Slope of the Brooks Range and Zimbabwe because it works so well.

06, just cuz its got tons of ammo .. 308 if offered .. 22 LR for almost all other circumstances (not for shooting big game)

Let me see if I got the situation correct. Your broke and have to rely on wild game to keep your family alive? Best rifle is the one you own and can shoot well that will take game cleanly in your own backyard. Remember your tapped out financially. Your not going to be driving from Ohio to Alaska on that dream grizzly bear hunt. A 22 or shotgun might be your best bet depending on were you live.

quote:

Now that's a good one.....it was a joke wasn't it?

No, but you are a joke! Why don't you put the hate to the side and grasp the concept that not everyone feels the way you do.

You don't agree with my opinions, grow a set of nuts and say so! Hell I will have a lot more respect for you if you actually speak your mind than whining around like a little girl.

The only thing I haven't shot with my .375 is a javelina, but I have shot at least l one with a .458 Win. Mag.

When you start paying for other peoples license and hunts then maybe someone will be willing to listen to your chit. Until that point your damn opinion is no better than anyone else's.

Have a Good Night.

I thought of most of the others but when you are talking money anything "magnum" costs more. The '06 for anything in NA will certainly work. You might prefer a bit more oomph for a couple of animals but the '06 placed properly will take care of any of them.

Ken....

True......on most counts

I wasn't poking at CHC but the "to hell with" part seemed
a bit narrow

It is new but the .375 Ruger is a great concept with an 06 length and a shoulder that shoul give better accuracy than the old H&H design

No cussin or name calling and stompin required

My fuse is a lot tougher to light than some

The problem I have with the 375's is that you have the requisite of "financial woes". That means the cost of ammo becomes an issue. If this is a SHTF scenario then the 375 becomes that much more problematic. '06 ammo abounds, it's cheap and does the job. Heck, Phil even guides brownies with an '06!

As much as I dislike the '06 (for no reason whatsoever, I just do), I've considered having one in the safe for exactly those reasons noted.

I'd I say the only other "real" option might be a .308, again this is about ammo availability and the ability to do just about anything at any time.

quote:

Heck, Phil even guides brownies with an '06

I think Phil is using a 450/400 O/U in a Zoli double rifle now. I don't know if I'd be comfortable wading into the willows and alders after a wounded Brownie with a 30-06 either.

My choice was the good old 30-06. I took into account where I live. If I was that cash strapped I certainly would not be hunting out of that and probably the nastiest critter I might run into here in the desert might be a Black Bear or Mountain Lion. There is of course the exremely rare opportunity to encounter the endangered jaguar and if I was hunting for meat, I'd consider him fair game as well. I have yet to eat a Mountain Lion but will if I get one and figure the Jaguar to be a fancy ML. Remember, this is a feed your family by any means situtation. Frankly, I'm not all that fond of bear meat but I can eat it.
Paul B.

340 Weatherby.

Of those you mentioned I chose the 7mm, but I would have picked the 270 Win if it was an option, with the 375 H&H in second place. The 375 Booger has no soul!

quote:

That means the cost of ammo becomes an issue.

Not if you handload/reload it don't.

As for my "To Hell with the .375 Ruger" comment, I feel that way about all of the "New-Wonder Chamberings" on the block, with the exception of the 7mm-08. I think it is a good cartridge.

In the descriptions of each and every one of the "Newbies", there is always the wording, "Almost duplicates the performance of ___________" you fill in the blank.

Rarely does it state that it is better than, just almost duplicates or nearly equals.

I am glad people are able to have the array of choices as the world would be a damn dull place.

But, I am a realist and the new,. at least in my opinion, intrinsics, such as a shorter stiffer action/no belt, ad nauseum will never be noticed by the average hunter punching holes in critters. They simply do not hunt enough, or kill enough critters to be able to discern any appreciable difference.

Personal choice for me is the .375 H&H.

Realistic choice for the average hunter, even though I do not own one or want to own one, is the '06. Especially for North American game

CHC,

I am actually quite amazed you would choose the 375 H&H over the 375 Ruger, especially since you know the differences.

The 375 Ruger case is such a simpler, more practical design it is clearly a superior choice.

Of the choices you kisted, if I did most of my hunting in the lower 48 the 300 Win Mag.

If I lived in Alaska the 338 Win Mag.

quote:

The 375 Ruger case is such a simpler, more practical design it is clearly a superior choice.

The .375 H&H will still be killing game around the world for a long damn time after the Ruger round is dead and buried.

I have hunted, shot and eaten animals of all the OP's listed species. The only one I haven't used the .30-06 on is the antelope, where I used and still use a .44 Mag Ruger Redhawk. Nothing shot with the '06 got away. Neither has any antelope shot with the .44 Mag handgun.

I pick the .338 win.
got range and power enough to kill anything, and bullet selection is quite good
200 grainers for deer and lopes, bigger pills for bigger critters...tj3006

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:

quote:

The 375 Ruger case is such a simpler, more practical design it is clearly a superior choice.

The .375 H&H will still be killing game around the world for a long damn time after the Ruger round is dead and buried.

Craze is right....the ol H&H will last over the Ruger just as the -06 will never be replaced

However with no belt....standard -06 length action and a very good 30 deg shoulder to locate C/L the new Ruger .375 is a great cartridge design

I voted 338WM for overall balance. Great bullets for light and fast, and great bullets for heavier and high BC. It's a great cartridge, as are the others in the list.

However, if I really only had one rifle, then I would learn to make it work in whatever calibre it was.

If there wasn't a 338, then I'd go with a 375Ruger. As the diagram above shows, it fits in a standard-length action. It has a 5 grain capacity advantage, too, over the H&H. For Africa it would be a one-rifle meat gun wonder. Probably use one bullet, too, 250 TTSX. Or 230 CuttingEdge Raptor if pricier bullets allowed.

But for cost of ammo and general hunting, I might start with the 7-08 and 308, not-listed, then the 270 or 30-06.

The old 30-06 will, and probably has, kill, everything on the planet that's been shot with a rifle.

However, I would opt for a 12ga. It's much easier to hit a big game animal with a 12ga slug, than it is to hit a flying pheasant with a 30-06.

I could shoot one of my .358 STA's for the rest of my life if I had to. With bullet choices from 185 grains up to 310 grains it is a very versital chambering for a reloader. Factory ammo can be bought but if you are going to shoot the STA you need reload to get the full benefit out of the round. Good shooting.

if i were buying storebought ammo and had to get rid of everything else.
i'd sell everything but the 0-6, get some good 165 gr rounds and use it.
the only thing cheaper to shoot for big game is the 30-30.
unless, like pointed out, you reload then it's a matter of what you have on hand as far as supply's.
because you then have choices.
the 338 wm becomes a 338 federal
the 375's become a 375 winchester
if needed, or even closer to a real big 22 if you cast for them.
the 30-06 still is more flexible in that scenario too.

how about a 338 Edge?

Just lay in a supply of 375 RUM brass and get after it...

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by phurley5:
I could shoot one of my .358 STA's for the rest of my life if I had to. With bullet choices from 185 grains up to 310 grains it is a very versital chambering for a reloader. Factory ammo can be bought but if you are going to shoot the STA you need reload to get the full benefit out of the round. Good shooting.

What barrel length's do you have your STA's cut to?

I also like the .358 caliber but prefer the 350 Rem. Mag because it can make a great portable moose gun with a 20" tube and still get 3000 fps out of it with 200 grains.

I'd choose 30-06 until Moose or Brown Bears are mentioned...

Then I'd go with the 338Mag

I shoot two STA's, both custom Model 70 Winchesters and each has a 26 inch barrel with muzzle brake. Both shoot lights out with either 225, 250 or 270 grain North Forks. Good shooting.

I voted 30/06.
There is not an animal on this planet that I would not hunt with a 30/06 and my own handloads.
For Deer and Antelope I've always felt that the 30/06 was "too much gun" but I've killed a bunch of them with it, for elk it's great for Moose just fine for big bears a little light but very useable with the right loads.
Every animal in Africa has been killed reliably with lesser rounds than a 30/06.
I'll keep mine no matter what.
If I were talking about getting deer and antelope to the table I would be hard pressed to let go of my .257 Roberts, as a matter of absolute fact I'd shoot elk with that round as well and not feel I was in trouble.