quote:

Let me guess... He mentioned 20 calibers and loved them all.

I don't trust anything he says about caliber or rifle selection.

No Sir he did not! He started guiding in the late 60's/early 70's and in discussing the issue with him, he actually felt like it was more of a case of "Hunters" not spending the time getting used to the gun and were simply incapable of putting their shots where they needed to go.

I would imagine that any of us that have hunted any length of time have seen folks that for whatever their reason, would over or under gun themselves simply because of "Knowledge" gained from magazines or in more recent times internet forums.

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
I do not like the 140gr bullet at that velocity unless it was a mono-metal. 2800 fps for 140 gr is fine to 300 meters.

280 Rem or 7mm magnum should do a lot better with 150gr or 160 gr bullets on the larger animals like elk & moose and even black bear.

JMHO.

I've been shooting 150g Partitions at 3000 fps out of my 270 for about 40 years. The dead elk, deer and bear seem to think it was very effective.

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
308 with 150 grain
Works every time

Used something similar on my DIY elk hunt in New Mexico this year. 308 win with a 165 Trophy bonded bullet. One shot at 139 yards took the starch out of a 6x6 bull. I've managed to kill 4 bulls and a couple cow elk in the past and none ever ran far.

quote:

Originally posted by rgrx1276:

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
308 with 150 grain
Works every time

Used something similar on my DIY elk hunt in New Mexico this year. 308 win with a 165 Trophy bonded bullet. One shot at 139 yards took the starch out of a 6x6 bull. I've managed to kill 4 bulls and a couple cow elk in the past and none ever ran far.

"I've been shooting 150g Partitions at 3000 fps out of my 270 for about 40 years. The dead elk, deer and bear seem to think it was very effective."


What is that load?

Quite a few calibers meet that category, and they all work well..

My choice is easy, the 30-06 gets my vote for all NA game, even the big bears with a 200 or 220 gr. Nosler partition..and the 200 gr. Accubond or partition is my usual choice for all but those big bears.It works great on small Coues and Hill countr white tail in Texas and big Muleys in Idaho, on elk and Moose, you name it the 06 is in the running.

I guess the real question is if you could only have one gun to hunt all NA big game what would you choose.

I would have a 300.

Maybe if you read between the lines he was saying basically they are all good. You don't need to buy a magnum, you shouldn't shoot a pop gun, but any reasonable choice of the scores of options are suitable and very near to optimal, so pick what you like. Looking at his parameters, anyone can make a short leap to say my load is very close perfect. He needed 3000 words by Friday.

quote:

He needed 3000 words by Friday.

The question is what calibers will reliably kill all north American game (except big bears) up to 400 yards but still have manageable recoil so that all hunters can use them.

His theory is 140 grain bullet at 3000 FPS at the muzzle.

Whether he is a writer or what he needed by Friday is irrelevant to the question.

not really it's his livelihood.
no words no paycheck.

putting things and thoughts down on paper sells magazines, pissing off advertisers doesn't make the money come in to well.
there has to be a balance to what's written.

think about all of the cartridges that fit that 140gr. 3,000 fps criteria.
not many of them make it.
the 25-06? too light, the 7X57? too slow.
and that leaves stuff like the 270 just barely hanging on the threshold.
but puts the old 300 H&H right in there only nobody is going to shoot a 150 in one of them to get there.
his words are saying he really likes the 7mm rem magnum,,,, anything close to that is acceptable.
more is better.