Ive given it some thought and I need new rifles. How do you all think of this setup:

.17 HMR For shits and giggles
25-06 For where the deer and the antelope play.
7mm Mag Mulies, Black Bear, sheep, goats, elk
.375 H&H Elk, Big Bears, Moose, maybe Africa

Any comments?

Nice choices, but I would add a good quality, bolt action .22 L.R. for plinking and garden raiders.

Oops....I thought that was a given..

But Mike, Thats what the 17HMR is for

Not a bad setup, but do you think there is quite a bit of overlap in the 25-06 and the 7mm? Not criticizing mind you just maybe one of those things to make you go hmm gabe

Not to bad. The only changes I would make would be the addition of the 22LR and I would change the 17 rimfire to a 223. Currently the 17 costs about $10 for 50 rounds. I can reload the 223 for about $4 for 50 so it would be ALOT cheaper to shoot.

Yeah, I know mtelkhunter. But dammit, that .17 HMR is a cute round. Out in your neck of the woods last week I put one throught the vitals on a coyote. Threw up so much dust behind that I thought I shot over him, but he just wnt about 10-15 yds and piled right up. Really impressive.

Do you guys really think theres too much overlap in the 7mm and 25-06? Maybe drop to a .243 if that's the case?

Cengel,
If you MUST have the .17HMR, then a .243 using 55-100gr. bullets must pick up your longer-range varminting, plus antelope.

The rest of your choices are good, since if you ever make it to Africa, your 7mm and .375 are a fine combination for African hunting, including Cape buffalo, lio, and leopard.

George

Good setup. We could debate this all day long...and probably will

Personally, I would substitute the 22-250 for the .17, but it really makes a hill of beans one way or the other. You have all bases covered.

I do not see as much of an overlap between the 25-06 and 7 mag.

All in all, darn good choices.

cengel,

Can you send me a list of what you are getting rid of?

How about swapping that 7 mm mag for a 300 win mag? I would much rather go in that direction than swap the 25-06 for a 243.

Cengel,
Damn good choices. As far as the .25-06/7mm issue, I think they are actually somewhat complimentary to each other. The .25-06 is excellent for deer, antelope, smaller plains game....a situation where the 7 Mag might be a bit of overkill, while the 7 Mag is great for elk, moose, kudu, gemsbok, etc, while the .25-06 will still be sufficient in a pinch. To summarize, either could substitute for the other one in a satisfactory manner in case one was down or you needed to loan one to a hunting parter.

All in all, a very well thought out battery...

Joel Slate
Slate & Associates, LLC
www.slatesafaris.com

7mm Rem Mag Page www.slatesafaris.com/7mm.htm

Works for me, but ....

I'd go with:
.22 rimfire
.223 rem
.257 roberts
.300 wthby
.338 win
oh, and a 12ga for birds & fowl.

I've got the the 25-06/7mm combo. I think they go together quite well. Depends on what bullet your feeding the 7mm. I only feed mine 175s, puts it in a whole different world than the 25-06/120gr.

Barry

Good choices. These polls are fun. My idea of a limited battery would be:
22LR bolt or lever
223 bolt or semi-auto
30-06 bolt
375 H&H bolt
12 gauge pump
There will be no complete agreement on this; to each his own.

It seems everyone is adding more guns to your list. You started with 4 guns and I agree with most of them. I dislike the 17 HMR, I have since it came out. Its just something I dont see a need for. Id get a 223 over it any day. The 25-06 and the 7mm overlap some, but you could easily do fine with having one of each. SO, my list would look as such;

223 bolt
25-06 bolt
7mm bolt
375 bolt

A good 22lr bolt rifle is something everyone HAS to own, but it can wait till you get those rifles taken care of. Same goes for the 12ga pump.

Your list looks good with one big exception, the 7mm Mag. I would go with the 300 Win mag instead but that's just me. If I was making the list from the begining I would go with the:

1. 22LR
2. 257 Ackley/25-06
3. 30-06
4. 338 Win Mag
5. 375 H&H

.22 Bolt

.223 Ruger #1

7mm Rem Mag - Winchester CRF

.340 Weatherby - Winchester CRF

.404 Jeffery. - Mauser 98

You can utilize all of the bullets in all the calibers with minimal overlap and hunt anything.

Obviously this is a minimal collection and should be considered as such.

.22LR bolt
.243 StyerMannlicher ProHunter
30.06 StyerMannlicher "M"Pro
375H&H Pre64Win70

Fun topic! Here's my picks:

22LR - SS Ruger 10/22
223 Rem - Bushmaster 16" H-Bar Flat-top
25-06 Rem - SF Remington Model 700 Sendero
300 WSM - SS Win Model 70
375 H&H - SS Win Model 70

Can I vote twice??? Sure I can!!!

If you want to put some mustard on it:

22WMR - Volquartsen
22-250 Rem - Remington Model 700 VSSF
257 Wby - Custom SS Remington 700
338 Win - SS Ruger M-77
416 Rigby - Ruger M-77

[ 10-23-2002, 08:58: Message edited by: Nebraska ]

Well thought out battery. 4 rifles seems to be the minimum that any hunter can possibly live with. I'd suggest this change. Sub a 243 for the 25-06. Here's why.........

For whitetails, antelope, or smaller mulies both the 25-06 and the 243 are fine.

For varminting thats outside the range of the 17, both the 243 and 25-06 are also fine, but the 25-06 has too much recoil for a long day over prairie dogs or ground squirrels.

So, the 243 is maybe a better crossover varmint/small deer rig than the 25-06. The 25-06 has an advantage on bigger deer, but I'm thinkin' you'd take your 7 mag for that anyway.

P.S. I'm a 25-06 fan and own two, but I have something else to shoot 100 rds @ varmints.

JimF

I don't have the top end covered with a minimum caliber.

MY collection:
17 HMR - NEF Single shot
22 LR Bolt Action - Tradewinds
243 - Rem 700 BDL
.303 British - own 2 Mk4 *T and a sporterized Mk4 - I love these old rifles!
12 gauge Mossburg

This will cover ALL North American game for me.

I would go for a .22 Hornet over the .17 HMR but if it were only 4 rifles it would not be in my list.

22/250 Heavy barrelled VSSF etc.

30/06 - can be loaded up or down depending.

45/70 - my marlin lever with leupold comapct 2.5x

.416 Rigby for the bigger stuff.

I would also have to add a 5th gun which would be a decent U/O 12 gauge shottie.

Thanks for your opinions everybody. As for shotguns, much to my wife's chagrin, my Rem 1100, Browning B-80, and Parker 16 ga. cover things quite nicely....

Longbob..... I'm not really "getting rid" of my Weatherbys, just "retiring" them..... My wife promised me a bigger safe for Christmas....

The only real contention I see is the 243 vs. 25-06. (With a little 7mm vs. .300). For varmiting, I would use the .17 on woodchucks and the 25-06 on coyotes. No prairie dogs around here; we just shoot chucks to keep the horses from breaking their legs and coyotes because we can. Besides, if I ever got a prairie dog shoot I am confident in that .17 out to 250 yds, barring too strong a crosswind. I was very impressed with it.

If ( ) I had a real desire to start over and get practical here is how I would do it...

.22LR (plinking)
.223 Rem in same configuration as hunting rifles (inexpensive practice)
.270 and .30-06 (all big game hunting up to and including elk)
.35 Whelen or .375 H&H Magnum (everything bigger than elk)

... but that's just me!

Bob

I would come down on the side of the folks that say bump your 7mm to a 30 mag, instead of dropping the 25-06 down although I don't think you would have any problems with a 243 and the 300 win/wby (insert 30 mag flavor of the week here). My particular list is gonna be (got half done already)

.17 Rem for fun and up to varmits

264win/6.5x55/257 bob (decisions decisions) for varmits up to deer sized stuff

.338 Win for bigger deer up to the real mean and nasties

.458 Win (probably to go to Lott someday) For the REALLY Mean and nasties up to just for fun

See it all comes full circle

So has all of this pontification made you change your mind or dig your heels into your first picks even more???

gabe

Oh yeah I almost forgot, you have to have a "brush gun" (I really hate that term too BTW) but everyone needs a levergun, and a couple of hand cannons, I mean really how can anyone get by in life without a .357 mag?? and if you have a levergun then it is only right to have a .45LC peace maker just to go along with it. See the slippery slope you can find yourself on, hope you have an understanding wife gabe

BTW CEngel, Where are you at in Ohio, been noticing more than a few ohioans (was gonna say buckeyes....spit but I am a Wolverines fan )

There is nothing wrong with a little overlap. I take a back up gun on every hunt. I obviously prefer to use the primary, but the second gun must be able to do the job. As much as I love the .243, it can't back up a 7 mag. The .25-06 wouldn't be my first choice, but it is more capable on bigger game with proper bullets if you're forced to use it.

I like the little .17, but I would consider a .223 over it if I were you.

Whats that biff,
North till you smell it and west till you step in it?

Close to Columbus myself how about you?

Greg,
LMAO Right on the River, bout 1.5-2 hours south of you, in Hilliard, depending on how I feel like driving and how the cops are on 23

gabe

You sound like you have thought out your list to meet your personal needs and preferences.

If I were to choose a 4 gun battery for all my hunting needs, here's what they would be:

First rifle would be a Savage .22-250 with a Burris Signature 6-24 on it. A 50 gr BalTip or V-max would cover varmints and coyotes.

I'd like a Matchgrade Arms 7mm Rem Mag. With this rifle I could add a Harris M25C and a Swarovski 4-16x50 and still be around 8 pounds field ready. With a 160 gr Partition, this rifle would take everything from antelope to elk.

I'd make my Rem M700 BDL into a .338 Win with the addition of a Lilja #5 Chrome-moly crowned at 24" then add a custom laminate stock and a Swarovski 2.5-10x42. A 225 gr Partition sounds like just the ticket for Alaskan moose and bear.

For my 4th rifle I'd start with a stainless Montana Rifleman M1999 action, add one of their barrels, stainless, in #6 contour, crowned at 24" and chambered in .416 Rem. Add a barrel band and some express sights. Bead blast the metal to reduce glare. Add a McMillan stock and be Africa ready. Probably go with a 400 gr Partition load and a good 400 gr solid.

Put these rifles together with a .22 handgun and a M870 Wingmaster, and I could cover just about any hunting situation on the planet, from golphers, to elephants. Would I stop with these, hell no. Cause what would be the fun in that? I mean every rifleman needs an 06, and I want that VS .308, and that...

Well, one of the retirees is a .300 wby Mag. I've kind of lost interest in the speedfiends and want to tone down a bit. Frankly, call me dickless, but the .300 knocks a man a bit loopy after a dozen rounds, especially when he leans his massive 135 lb. bulk behind it.
I had the opportunity to pop a few round from a .375 a few weeks ago and it was nothing compared to that .300.

For hand cannon I'll stick to my Ruger .45 ACP, thank you, and I can get ahold of a 35 Rem lever if need be, like for Cape Buff...

biff..amos.. down between Dayton and Cincy in Warren Co. I heard the Rolling Stones are playing Paul Brown Stadium this weekend...

..... they're favored by 6. Fall is in the air when "Bengals" and "pathetic" are uttered in the same sentence more than "peanut butter" and "jelly"... I wonder what the non-hunters around here do in the fall when they cant take it anymore.....

ROTFLMAO!
We need to get together around Caesers Creek and go Squirrel Hunting!
(unless you have access to some private land and or are bowhunters )

Mine is what I have now-Since Africa will never be in the picture that I see. And anything up to a Griz would be a dream come true. I have what I need already.

.22LR Semi auto (Springfield Mod 66)
.30-06-For every thing from Coyotes on up
to Elk/Griz on a bad day.
.45 LC Lever for same except maybe Griz

.454 Casull SRH- I know it's not a rifle but dang it it can take anything I would get a chance to shoot!!!

[ 10-23-2002, 21:00: Message edited by: Gunnut45/454 ]

That is funny, see I can't figure it out I learned at an early age that no football is really played in the state of Ohio

Greg, I would be all for getting together and popping some squirrels, I have had an on again off again relationship with bow hunting. Need to get on again so I can get out in the woods more though. just never trusted that pointy stick flying through the air. I know there are alot of folks that do it very successfully just a personal hangup I guess.

If I wanted a scantily filled safe, then the following:

22 LR bolt rifle (plinking, squirrels)
223 Sako with 12x Leupold (prarie dogs)
30-06 FN mauser (deer gun)
M1A (high power competition)
9.3 x 62 FN mauser (elk gun)
500 NE double (dangerous game)

12 ga SxS shotgun with choke tubes (birds)

Colt lightweight commander .45
S&W chief's special

[ 10-23-2002, 22:00: Message edited by: 500grains ]

Actually Greg... I'm in Waynesville... Obviously you know the terrain... If I shake it too hard after my morning constitutional I splash a little right in that very lake

Good God Biff you are right.... the football is suffering something fierce here. If Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Mike Brown were up against the wall and you had two bullets, how many times would you buttstroke Mike Brown after shooting him twice?

As for the bowhunting, Ive never had the patience.... too much of a weekend warrior what with two little ones, etc. Besides, duck season comes in next weekend!

[ 10-23-2002, 22:21: Message edited by: cengel ]

I grew up in Centerville and fished the "creek" the first 4 years it was open regularly.
Caught a bunch of bass.

.22 LR
.270, or .30-06, or .308
.338WM

If you only hunt big game in the US, then a .338WM is plenty. But if you want another big game rifle to step up from the .338, in that case one of the .416's should do it.