here's *MY* choice, for all NA game, from tree rats to bears...

358 winchester on a mexican mauser (can use a wincheter SA)

You can go buy a featherweight in 708, have it rebarreled and sights added for LESS than 400 more, and you yourself can add spacers or cut down the stock.... It's like a 14.25 and comes with a tiny pad, so making it fit anyone a a breeze.

That, with 225 grain good bullets, will take bear, No Problem, Moose and elk... yep... deer? WOW.. look ma', no bloodshot meat

rabbits and tree rats? 158 JHP or TMJ, at 2900 fps...

and I do this with a 20" barrel

Jeffe

Jeffeosso, the little 358 Winchester? And I was under the impression that you considered the 375 H&H small bore

If you are going to hunt one particular species the overwhelming majority of the the time, get the rifle and caliber most suited for that species. Mostly deer with the occasional elk or moose? .7/08, .308, .270, /06,..whatever, don't strain on a gnat.

If you will be taking the larger deer more than occasionally, I'd take a lightweight .300 mag, short or long.

If you can afford a custom-built, then you can afford two rifles: a .25-06 and .338 Mag. prairie dogs to bear.

My main Big Game Rifle for the past many years has been a custom rig built on a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 action. The caliber is 280 Remington. The barrel is a realistic 25" and scope power is 4X12 - Leupold, of course. With this Rifle I have taken Mt. Goat, Elk, Mule Deer, Blacktail Deer, Whitetail Deer, Black Bear and Antelope. I would not hesitate to Hunt Moose with it for a second.
Some fall soon I hope to Hunt Coues Deer with it to complete my collection of Deer.
Back to the Rifle and action. The Rifle holds 6 cartridges and is the safest most reliable action I have ever dealt with. Broken firing pins with this action are unheard of!
I took my time looking for an action and purposely chose one that was made the same month I was born (July 1947) and this vintage action had the so called transition model safety. It is a small wing like 3 position safety that is virtually impossible to accidentally disengage!
Good bullets and care in placement with the 280 will bring any NA Game home with you! If the first round does not bring them to bag the next 5 will!
I brought this Rifle online many years ago after retiring a pre-64 Model 70 in 30/06 and then retiring another old Model 70 in 270 Winchester. I simply had taken their fair share of game with both of them and out of respect hung them up permanently!
I hope to take a Caribou with my 280 Model 70 in the near future also.
I do not think the 280 would lose much knock down power with the short barrel you are intent upon.
Another great choice would be the 7mm/08 built on a Remington 700 SA. I have seen this caliber perform and its a dandy Big Game cartridge. I do not think I will be Hunting Grizzly anytime soon and if I was I would probably opt for a 338 on up.
Remember though all the other Big Game Animals other than Grizzly like the Sheep, Antelope, Mt. Goat and open country Mule deer where accuracy and flat trajectory are at least as important as knock down power! The 280 is one great choice!
Good luck with whichever you choose!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Since you leave out the big bruins, my vote goes to the 300 Winchester on a Model 70 action or a variant thereof. And heck, even if you should decide to go for the big bears, a 300 is by no means inadequate! jorge

I would opt for a 9.3x62 in a cz 550 as an allrounder and McMillan have there AHR stock for these if you want a rough weather job.

my two to go rifles are 375 ICL and 358 Norma

RuffHewn,

quote:

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I just have to ask is there some misconception that it take massive ft-lbs of energy to kill? I know this is going fly in the face of conventional thought, and start a serious shit storm, but bullet energy does not kill. Blood loss or stopping the function of vital organs kills.

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That is understood. I have to make assumptions since you only stated 300+ yards. I'm assuming we're talking about 350-450 yards. At those distances your 168 grain bullet is losing effectiveness especially on an animal of that size. I use a 338 WM but most of my shooting is well inside of 300 yards. Now if we're getting into long shots I'd want the extra power of the Weatherby. At the long distance you mentioned a 308 in that bullet weight, if you don't anchor him with that first shot and have to go in the bushes after him, I personally want more power than a 308. Even the 338 that I use is considered a minimum by many guides. Like I said before it can be done but... Maybe on the short side of 300 yards but I don't like your chances on the far side.

HV
I am looking at this a little differently...Are you looking for high velocity or a standard velocity and a light weight rifle...I like a stainless steel action and barrel and I have three choices of caliber a .280, .308 , .35 Whelen
The 280 is a great screamer and very lethal when shot placementis essential, .308 Marine snipers have showed this modern cartridge will do super with great bullets... .35 Whelen will be a crusher and will shoot a substantial bullet at a standard velocity but have a devistating effect on game and very good penetration...
My ideas...a little different....final choice is yours..

Mike

Freedom is not Free

While there is nothing wrong with having one rifle for everything, it may not be the best decision.

I recall when I was stationed in Alaska in 1960-1964 there were those soldiers who would hunt the big bears with 30-06 or something similar. I know of a couple of cases where they lost the game.

I could not understand why when they had a chance to hunt game that they could never afford otherwise, they were too tight to go to the PX and buy a larger rifle. A M70 in those days was about $106.

If one ever gets a chance to go on a hunt for such game, he should invest in another rifle, such as a .338.

My own view is that for nearly all North American game a 30-06 is perfectly adequate. It is excellent for deer size game, and is acceptable of elk.
But if you get a chance to hunt Kodiak bear, get a bigger gun.

Jerry

JerryM: I agree with you about rifles for Alaska. That aside, the .30-06, .300WM, and .338WM are the most popular cartridges, leaving the rest behind by quite a large margin. I believe the 7mm magnum is next in line, then .375 H&H, and so on.

But when it comes to hunting grizzly bears, a great number of hunters leave the smaller guns at home. Another portion of hunters, usually Natives, rely on whatever rifle their families have been using for years. I don't see a problem there, since some of the experienced hunters who live out there in the "bush" know Nanook and other bears very well. The average bear hunter (urban resident, including myself), I believe should use the biggest gun they can shoot well. I would not mind using a .30-06 with some 200 to 220-grain bullets, but I feel much better when hunting moose in bear country...with my .338WM.

When you stipulated a 22" barrel you left yourself only one logical choice, the 30-06 Springfield.....90 grs. to 220 gr., it will do it all...

I mostly shoot 26" barrels as I can shoot them better offhand, especially when using iron sights which I do a lot...therefore the 300 H&H is my choice for all around, but the 338 win is a close second or perhaps a tie.

Neither the 30/06 or .338win mag can be classified as charge stoppers. Bears become dangerous,when they're at close range and the only thing that stops them is well constructed bullets reaching the spine or brain ,regardless of wether those pills are .30cal or .338cal. When loaded with 200 grain bullets,the 30/06 is going to penetrate like a .338,so that isn't an issue. Talk to any guide with experience hunting bears and having things go wrong, few of them blame caliber or bullet performance and fewer yet carry a .338 as a stopper. They blame shot placement. Keeping your shit together when the shot comes is what counts. I've been around grizzlies several times and not even a fucking ray gun is going to make you feel on top of things.

Hey Cuz!

good post Steve!

I have a lot of calibers that I am fond of, I am a 6.5mm, then 6mm, then 7mm ( non mag) fan in that order.

However, I have two Winchester model 70s, one with a stainless barrel and wood stock and the other one is a Blue Barreled Wood Stock ( the common ones). Both are in 30/06. both carry a 4x /40mm objective scope. Although I love a bunch of my rifles more so than these two, if I had to give them all away ( talking big game rifles), but one caliber, then this is what I would keep.

If I had to keep something with just more punch, then I would keep my 338/06 in the same configuration as these two.

My favorite two rifles are a Winchester 70, that I had rebarreled to a heavy sporter 6.5 x 57 Mauser, with a 28 inch barrel, 3 x9 Nikon scope.
The second is a Winchester Featherweight with a factory laminated stock ( beautiful stock) and a 26 inch barrel, with a 3 x9 Leupold Scope. Caliber 6.5 x 55.