Boy, sure a lot of 35 Whelen lovers here. Good company!

quote:

Originally posted by Pancho:
30-06 based on worldwide popularity.

My personal favorites are 264WM and 300 H&H.

30-06 also, personal favorites 300 H+H and 300 ultra mag.

quote:

Originally posted by surefire7:
Boy, sure a lot of 35 Whelen lovers here. Good company!

The modern 35 Whelen really is a twin to the 350 Rigby and is simply carrying on the tradition... What was perfect then is still perfect now...just sayin'... ;-)

No explanation needed...

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:

quote:

Originally posted by 16Bore:
270 Winchester.

+1 Some of us are old enough to remember when we didn't know we needed magnums to shoot elk and bear.

Wish I’d realized it before I started farting around with everything under the sun....only to return to an oldie...

With the qualifier "Ever", I have to give it to the 30/06 for its ability, longevity, and its record worldwide, it is just a fact, and I have never hunted once with an '06 even though I own several.
In the Magnum category, the 375 H&H, what else can you say about it, everything I said about the '06 applies, and if I need something in NA for big stuff, that is what I take.
Personally, for this topic, I like to see it divided between magnums and non-magnums. When I hear "medium bores", my thoughts tend to center on standard, non mag cases. I think the 35 Whelen is a great round and it obviously has its adherents here, but I have never run across anyone using one in the field, and of my shooting friends, I am the only one that has one. My personal favorite is the 318WR, but here at home in Texas, I gravitated to the 257 Roberts forty years ago and never needed anything more powerful for deer and hogs.
Come to think about it, I can't recall meeting a medium bore that I did not like!

Ill chime in hear just for the fun of it. The .375 H&H, medium or big bore. Doesn’t matter to me what you call it, it’s simply the best all around cartridge. I like the 235gr all the way up to 300. The Ruger #1 I sold to GWB was set up for 250 Barnes TTX, and man would it shoot. I shot my Browning X-Bolt in .375 yesterday and it’s incredible how an out of the box rifle can shoot that well.

It’s a caliber for world wide hunting. I still like my X-Bolts in .308 and 6.5CM, but if I could own only one, it’s the .375 H&H.

300 whelean for sure

The 338 win mag is my favorite all around cartridge .I have used it 33 years .I used it in georgia and Alaska for most everything .I did change to the 338-378 weatherby in Alaska for longer range .

The question should be "whats your favorite (best) mid bore." They never would have needed to advance past the 30-06. It will do everything the 270 through 338s will do with bullet selection. It will kill antelope, deer, bears, elks, mooses, leopards, tigers, musk ox, lions, pigs, prairie dogs, armadillos, Axis soldiers, gazelles, zebras, ferrel cats, and more. I hate the ol'06. If my wife found out all the uses that just one gun could fill, why, i'd be stuck with one gun. It is one of the very few commercial chamberings I have never owned. Oh, and clearly the 270Wby is the best mid-bore ever created, hell, it'll do anything the 06' will do.

quote:

Originally posted by Quintus:
The question should be "whats your favorite (best) mid bore." They never would have needed to advance past the 30-06. It will do everything the 270 through 338s will do with bullet selection. It will kill antelope, deer, bears, elks, mooses, leopards, tigers, musk ox, lions, pigs, prairie dogs, armadillos, Axis soldiers, gazelles, zebras, ferrel cats, and more. I hate the ol'06. If my wife found out all the uses that just one gun could fill, why, i'd be stuck with one gun. It is one of the very few commercial chamberings I have never owned. Oh, and clearly the 270Wby is the best mid-bore ever created, hell, it'll do anything the 06' will do.

Quintus, I appreciate your quandry and your desire to have more than one rifle.

Good news ! ! !

Some of your assumptions about the 30-06 are incorrect. The '06 will not do everything that the 338 Win Mag will do.

The '06 will not SAFELY kill buffalo. Yes, it can kill buffalo, in fact it can do so fairly readily under good conditions when used carefully. (Yes, there are stories about what happens when people hunt buffalo with a 30-06. Not all of the stories have a happy ending, something true about all calibers. But the sad stories increase with a 30-06.) A strong, premium bullet with the same internal integrity/construction and that has more diameter and more energy WILL PROVIDE more killing power and will be a safer round for hunting buffalo.

So it's 6am, you are about to set out for buffalo. There are two rifles that fit you fine and are equally accurate. One is a 30-06 with an xxxxx bullet, 200 grains, 2600 fps, the other rifle is a 338 WinMag with an xxxxx bullet, 250 grains, 2700 fps. Which rifle do you grab? They are not the same.

So it's 5am and you have a same choice of rifles for elk in an area with difficult tracking where you want the elk anchored. OK, the bullets are lighter. The 30 cal has a 180grain at 2750fps and the 33 cal has a 225 grain at 2825fps. Which rifle do you grab?

This is always an exercise of choice on a sliding scale. The 338 Win Mag will outperform the 06 in the margins.
So what about a 375 HH//375 Ruger? Yes, more diameter and more energy are available. How about a 9.3x62 or 35 Whelen? Yes, again, more diameter and more energy than the 06. The 06 works, all these others work better.

Anyway, with buffalo we are pretty much on the line/margin of reasonable safety with the 338 WinMag. My reasoning?
Powers that be, watching years of experience over whole countries have concluded that either the 375 or the 9.3x62 were the minimum caliber for buffalo hunting. We can recognize that we are on the margin, because some countries do not allow the 9.3x62. These laws and traditions were developed at a time when the 338WinMag was not available or not readily available with long experience. Since the 338 Win Mag lands between the 9.3 and 375 in potential power, I would rate it as adequate in terms of safety, equaling the general marginality of the other two rounds just mentioned. (PS: I would not hunt lion or tiger with a 30-06! They move faster than buffalo and present much fewer opportunities.)

More analogy: the above power rating for buffalo can be duplicated for deer when discussing the 270, 308 and 30-06. the 06 has the advantage of diameter and power like the 375s, and the 270 has capacity to catch up (sometimes pass) to the diameter of the 308 like the 338 with its capacity catches up to the diameter of the 9.3x62.

So choose the rifle that you want for whitetail deer, but always reconsider when thinking of other game.
Maybe a 243, the Bob, or 6.5 Creed for an elk? OK, but restrain your shots and use extra care. It would be easy to lose one if the elk moves as the shot breaks.
7-08/270/280/308? Better.
7mmMg/30-06/300? Better.
338 WM? Better still.
375 Ruger//HH? Even better, if shooting flat and accurate (e.g., 250gn at 2800-2900).
416 Ruger/Rem? Possibly better, but starting to lose a wee bit of trajectory for 300-400 yards (350gn at 2600fps).

And there are many good choices to fill in the spaces on the cline just described.
Many are mentioned on this thread, and all good.

Yes, you can tell your wife that you NEED the special rifle, with all the love that you can muster.

That is good news. Maybe invite her on the hunt and redo the above for her rifle !

Dang, Waterrat, that is a very, very handsome rifle you have in your hands in that photo. Care to share details?
The .35 Whelen as you specify will surely do some good work.

https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/35-whelen/

Like 'em all and have several but the .338 WM really shines. Wide range of bullet weights and designs from 180 to 300gr including a 265gr VLD.

https://shop.nosler.com/nosler...in-bullet-100ct.html

416Tarzan,

Agree in your thought experiment. I know which I’m picking up. I need all the help I can get and know my limitations.

Funny you brought up elk breaking at the shot. Had a New Mexico bull do just that at 285 yards. .300 win mag with a 200 accubond at 2900. It killed him but he didn’t bleed a drop we could find. My wife actually found him by getting down wind of his spoor and following the smell of the bull. He was rutting and that is a unique and musky scent to say politely, but she walked right to him. A city gal that has adapted to my more rouge necked lifestyle. I was proud....


That’s the last trip .300 win my gets to go out west(for elk).... I hit him in the lungs but he had spirit and went 400 yards up a hill and started down the other side. I was worried sick I pulled the shot and I’d never get to see this stud. We finally found him thanks to the wife.
Finally, my point is, a larger caliber at same speed and sectional density and we should of had a blood trail. I’m thinking next time a .338 RUM with a monolithic or a certain .375 with a 270 LRX or 265 GS custom. Should get exits with those.

For what it’s worth I recovered the accubond. Worked as they should. Found on off shoulder under skin. Got home and weighed it. 64% weight retained and a not so pretty mushroom.

Just my experience and mileage. If that bullet was a Barnes or other mono, would have I gotten an exit? Who knows, but in my experience, monos out penetrate a bonded bullet. This was a situation where penetrating power was needed.

Let the discussion continue!

Concur with you on using a mono for maximum .300 WM performance, got mine loaded with the 180gr TTSX at 3050 fps mv (although preference is heavier, many an Elk dumped with lung shots some at range with .416 RM 300gr TSX at 2950 fps mv).

416Tanzan, With all due respect, I don't think the mighty buff is a mid-bore beast. I would not carry the 338Win or the 06' if I had paid for a Cape Buffalo. I would however have no issue taking the 06' with 165 grain Scirocco on any elk hunt. I would rather carry it, and I shoot it better than the .338WM. An elk well hit with a .378 can still run a piece and fall down a big hill. Trust me I cannot stand the 30-06, but for a MID-BORE it is the perfect blend of manageable recoil, trajectory, thump, versatility through bullet selection, oh and cost and availability of ammo, rifles, build actions, etc. It's vanilla ice cream - you can turn it into almost anything.

quote:

Trust me I cannot stand the 30-06, but for a MID-BORE it is the perfect blend of manageable recoil, trajectory, thump, versatility through bullet selection, oh and cost and availability of ammo, rifles, build actions, etc. It's vanilla ice cream - you can turn it into almost anything

The 30-06 is the king.

But I glad I don't have to have only 06's.

Need went away with my first 06.

Want is fine with me.

30-06 for the many reasons that come to mind but most already know..Its never failed me even when I push its ability, and I have more than a few times..

there is no best, only favorites!! my favorite is the 30-06, my idea of the best is the .338 Win. That said, I could not live without my RJ Remmer Ruger lwt. wt. in 7x57..

338RUM will handle it.
Dave

quote:

Originally posted by 16Bore:
270 Winchester.

+1 more for the 270 Win.

quote:

Originally posted by tsturm:

quote:

Originally posted by 16Bore:
270 Winchester.

+1 more for the 270 Win.

I've got to order another for my wife.
It's easy on her 105-lb frame, with enough punch for elk with good bullets.


PS: if and when she wants to hunt over 500 yards (she doesn't), I will re-barrel her new rifle to 1-in-7" twist. Hammer Hunter bullets in 168 grains, 0.313 SE, 0.620 BC, will shine. Meanwhile, the 129 gn TTSX/LRX at 3100fps does it all. Really.

The reality is there is no “best” medium bore.

Even if you agreed on a specific bore diameter range, the “best” would have to be qualified by what it is intended to be used for; and who is going to be using it.

Most of the posts seem to more an indication of what is “your favorite” or “most versatile” or “most popular”, rather than what is “best”.

In retrospect, I believe the “best” medium bore is the one you can shoot accurately, with enough energy to reliably perform its function, whether punching holes in paper or killing moose in the alders.

BH63

8x68S does it all from 154 grains up to 227 grains. But in truth the .30-06 does it all from 55 grains with the Remington Accelerator up to 220 grains. It covers all that you need if owning only one medium bore.

For most of the stuff that dwells in Europe and/or North America the .30-06 or Germany's 8x57JS is the "one gun" answer. I prefer the 8x60S but pick any of the three is good to go. The .300 Magnums extend range only.

Best medium bore has to be .308 based on bullet selection. You can stuff those bullets into anything from the 30 Carbine to the 30-378Bee.
That covers squirrel to moose. And yeah, there are better squirrel guns and better moose guns.
IMHO the best medium medium is the -06.
113 years old and killin' it.

3006 hunt no further

I've hunted with a number of calibers but I've never felt under gunned with the 30-06. I'm using the '06 on a mule deer hunt this fall. There ain't no flies on the '06 with 150 gr. bullet at 3,000 fps.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by mdstewart:
Ill chime in hear just for the fun of it. The .375 H&H, medium or big bore. Doesn’t matter to me what you call it, it’s simply the best all around cartridge. I like the 235gr all the way up to 300. The Ruger #1 I sold to GWB was set up for 250 Barnes TTX, and man would it shoot. I shot my Browning X-Bolt in .375 yesterday and it’s incredible how an out of the box rifle can shoot that well.

It’s a caliber for world wide hunting. I still like my X-Bolts in .308 and 6.5CM, but if I could own only one, it’s the .375 H&H.

I remember a conversation I had with Craig Boddington many years ago, I think 2004. Craig said when he bought his very first rifle with his own money, it was a .375H&H, and he used it to take various game. I think he is still fond of that caliber. Haven’t seen Craig in a few years, but he’s a great guy to share a beer with. My memory can be bad, so don’t hold me to what we discussed over a couple IPA’s, as I recall.

Maybe not the "best" but my favorite is the .275 Rigby (7X57).

I Love all of these

6.5X55
7mm 08
208 AI
9.3X62

For 99% of my hunting I am happy with my Kimber Montana 7mm 08

That other 1% is a dream - will I get a change to hunt Sambar or wild cattle in NZ? Will Get a change to hunt Africa for Kudu, Gemsbok, Eland, Buffalo?

The 9.3X62 will do that

And remember that everywhere above where "375 H&H" is written,

a person can go out and buy a 375 Ruger off-the-shelf for less money and a tad more punch.

Ruger, whether African or Alaskan, Mossberg, Howa, . . .

quote:

Originally posted by 416Tanzan:
And remember that everywhere above where "375 H&H" is written,
a person can go out and buy a 375 Ruger off-the-shelf for less money and a tad more punch.

And remember, ... everywhere the 30-06 and .338WM were mentioned above, you can buy a .35 Whelen - or have one re-barrel from an '06 - and gain more punch into critters than those two cartridges while still enjoying less recoil than a .375 of any flavor.

quote:

And remember, ... everywhere the 30-06 and .338WM were mentioned above, you can buy a .35 Whelen - or have one re-barrel from an '06 - and gain more punch into critters than those two cartridges while still enjoying less recoil than a .375 of any flavor.

More incorrect information from the troll.
35 Whelen, even though it is a great round does not exceed the 338 Win Mag in energy or downrange ballistics.
People are always entitled to their opinions but incorrect information isn't accepted as fact just because you said it.

quote:

Originally posted by 416Tanzan:
And remember that everywhere above where "375 H&H" is written,

a person can go out and buy a 375 Ruger off-the-shelf for less money and a tad more punch.

Ruger, whether African or Alaskan, Mossberg, Howa, . . .

Or just buy a 375 H&H and rechamber it to 375 Weatherby. More punch than the 375 Ruger, can still shoot 375 H&H ammo and don't have to own a Ruger

The ubiquitousness and wide performance range of ammo keeps me convinced that 30-06 is the most useful medium, given the forum’s definition of a medium. However, my personal idea of mediums go from 338” to 416”. My fave in there is the 9.3x62 Mauser. Preferably in a Mauser.

I don't know if I really have one that I call the "best". To me, medium bores starts at 25 and goes through 33.

In medium bores, I shoot 260, 6.5x284, 270, 7x57, 308, 300 WSM and 7mm Mag and all of them do what they're supposed to. Anymore I choose the rifle for a specific application more than for a particular cartridge.


B.T.W. I owned a 30.06 once ... I didn't like it.

In less than 4 weeks (South Carolina deer season) I will be hunting with

Blaser k-95 6.5 creedmoor
Ruger number 1 300 h&h
Remington custom shop awr 7mm rem mag

I like playing with my different guns.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:
In less than 4 weeks (South Carolina deer season) I will be hunting with

Blaser k-95 6.5 creedmoor
Ruger number 1 300 h&h
Remington custom shop awr 7mm rem mag

I like playing with my different guns.

Mike

I hear 'ya Mike. When a person acquires enough guns, he finds himself wanting to hunt with all of them.

For me, medium bores start with 338 caliber on up to 375 bore.

My favorites in that group are 338-06, 338WM, 35 Whelen, 9.3x62, 9.3x66, 375 H&H and 375 Ruger.

So far, I have only hunted with four of them, but my goal is to hunt them all. Hopefully, the 338-06 gets initiated this fall on elk. Got the tag, just need an elk to cooperate! I've always wanted to take a Moose with my 35 Whelen, and I have that tag also for this fall. I believe my 9.3x66 goes to Africa next with Andrew in Zambia for its debut.

Don't want any of these beauties feeling ignored...

For me medium bores start at .243 and end at .499

So, Chuck. Do you hunt mostly with medium bores?

quote:

the .30-06 wins hands down

Sure can't argue with that.....

.30-06 at the lower end; and .375 H&H Mag. at the upper end.

Call me a traditionalist, but IMHO, those are the best.

They also happen to be my favorites!