What is your #1 choice for all North American Big Game?This ranges from Pronghornd to the Kodiak Bears ,Sheep,Deer ,Moose, Elk ,Black Bears .The gun must be able to take game out to 300 yards or further.Mine is the 338 Win mag hands down.I was just wondering what yall thought?

Question:
Whats your # 1 Favorite cartridge for all North American Big Game?

Choices:
338 Win Mag
300 win mag/300 wsm
30-06
375 H&H mag
270 winchester
300 Ultra Mag /Weatherby
7 mm rem mag
308 winchester
44 mag
45-70
338-378 Weatherby /338 Ultra Mag
416 Rem Mag
other below 6.5 mm
other above 6.5 mm

 

That would be the 350RemMag in a vey lightweight M7KS. Plenty of Thumping Power in a small, handy, very accurate rifle. But you MUST wear Hearing Protection at all times with the 20" barrel.

I have 12 338 win mags,6 416 rem mags,2 338-378 weatherbys,2 375 winchesters,a pair of 308 not for hunting,a 30-06,2 243s .I use the 338s for all my deer hunting and the 338-378 weatherbys for the open tundra,I use the 416 rem mag as my brush gun.If I were limited to one rifle it would be the 338 win mag in a ruger model 77 stainless.It would handle anything big game wish in North america.I almost always use my 338-378s for open country.Its just a fast 338.

Well I voted for 30/06!
I know, I know not enough gun right?
Well everything on your list except the Big Bear I've shot with my 30/06 (out to 425 yards on a Bull Elk) and it has never left me feeling under gunned. I also know that for 60 or 70 years the '06 was a hell of a big Bear rifle and if you talk to some folks it still is, I wouldn't hesitate to take a big Bear with the right bullets in a 30/06 even though there are better rifles out there as a matter of fact I own several that would be better suited for the big Bears (.338, .375).
I think to make sense of this "one rifle for North America" thing you have to look at how much time you will spend hunting what animals. I personnaly don't like hunting Antelope and Deer with something as heavy in caliber as a 30/06 so it makes the 300 mag and .338 seem like way too much gun, on the other hand I like the 30/06 performance on Elk, Sheep and Goats and the 300 and .338 would do nicely there too.

You will get a lot of opinions on this one many of which will be based on peoples real experiences, many too will be based on the garbage that inexperienced writers in magazines and on the internet will spout.

When you discuss cartridges that have done it all the 30-06 reigns with the 7x57 the only near frontrunner. Most of that is due to time in the field but these two can do it all and have done so. Gianni.

Well I'm not the type to shoot out to 300 yards and therefore my vote would go to the .35 Whelen.

But if restricted to the list, then I would choose the .338 Win Mag.

dgr416 ----- Neither of my choices appear on your list. I would pick first a .358 STA, my second choice would be a .340 Weatherby. I will vote when you add either of those too your list. Good shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by MT Gianni:
When you discuss cartridges that have done it all the 30-06 reigns with the 7x57 the only near frontrunner. Most of that is due to time in the field but these two can do it all and have done so. Gianni.

+1

quote:

The gun must be able to take game out to 300 yards or further.

You really should specify the range. "Further" is a bit vague.

My pick would be the 375 H&H Magnum. With it I would be able to shoot anything from ground squirrels to elephant. Light weight, reasonable recoil and excellent accuracy; it has it all.

quote:

I would be able to shoot anything from ground squirrels to elephant.

dude, the mammoths are gone and the only elephants you will find in north america are either in the zoo or the circus....

#1 338-06 is my choice
then a plain old 30-06 be second.

The 338 calibers with premium bullets do not cause as much meat loss as smaller caliber high velocity cartridges in my experience.

A 338 caliber, 250gr premium bullet will take anything NA has to offer and almost anything else this world has to offer.

Indeed!

We all view things from what we are use to.

Now the topic was all North American game......that means polar bear, bison, grizzly, brown bear, walrus....to whitetail deer, moose, black bear, elk......to caribou, pronghorn, javelina.............not just what you are familiar with at home.

So take a second look...........

500 A^2 or 500 Jeffery Improved. Don't need anything else anywhere.

My pick would be the 338WM or 340 weatherby. Cause for those times you would be hunting brown bear or be in an area that has brown bear if one should get a little out of hand I want something that will get his attention. And I know a 338 works great on deer also. Or the 375 H&H. I would be happy with either.

While I dearly love my 35 Whelen and the job it does, if I had to pick one rifle and one rifle only for ALL North American animals, 375 H&H.

Mine is a Sako m75SS 300WM with 180gr Accubonds for big game in Alberta, but my Tikka T3 LS 270WSM with 140gr Accubonds is sure impressive also.

If forced to pick one caliber to kill ANYTHING inside of 300yards?

The question forces the 338winchester, though normally I'd keep the 338Mag for Moose, Elk and brown bears.

Because other than for those three the 30-06 or 7mmRemMag will deal with anything else in North America
and under limited circumstances (shorter ranges and/or specially loaded) I'd use the 30-06 on any of the three and the 7mmRemMag on anything BUT the big brown bears.

AllanD

keep thinking of buying a 358 sta but i think its pretty close to the 338-378 I use.I should have added the 340 weatherby to my338 ultra and338-378 list .i dontknow how to change it afterwards.I think the 358 STA and the 340 Weatherby are both awesome calibers.I just cant even ythink of using anything smaller than a 338 winmag for grizzlies.I live in alaska and have had friendsd have to shoot bears many times while charging.I even bought my 416 rem mags as my tent guns .You can never be over gunned for a grizzley .

I really like my .270 Win but if I had to choose just one rifle for all North American game I'd have to go with the 06. Might not be the best choice to stop a charging bear, but it has been used with great success on large bears in the past. I have a .338-06 and .35 Whelen as well that strike a better balance between a .30-06 and .338 Win Mag.

Cummon...! Common sense dictates it is the 338 Win Mag, although not my favorite.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
....if I had to pick one rifle and one rifle only for ALL North American animals, 375 H&H.

Ditto

If I could only have one rifle for EVERYTHING in NA, I would take a .308 Winchester hands down. However, it would be a sad day to only have one rifle.

I guess among the ones in my safe for one N.A rifle for all duties( and though I love my .375 H&H), it would be my .338 RUM. It can reach way out, superbly accurate and packs one hell of a wallop with 250 gr. A Frames.

I voted other above 6.5mm since I would use a .300 H&H if limited to only one cartridge.

With bullets being what they are today, I'd go with the '06 hands down. Other than that, the .338 would be my second choice.

gd

I guess a M1A2 tank, but if that is too big, then I'll settle for a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

Wait, I'm in California (I forgot), so I'll guess I'd take a 375 h&h.

35 Whelen, and I am happy.
Thanks, Doug

I answering the poll, you look at the largest, most dangerous game animal, and you vote accordingly. I personally feel that the 30-06 is adequate for the largest animal here in North America.
But, the 338 might be better, in the hands of someone who can actually shoot the monster without flinching. Too many reports coming back of hunters in Alaska using a 338 and not being able to handle it.
I voted for the 30-06.
I use a 7mm Mauser for Deer in Michigan. It's plenty adequate for that.

Don

Just curious, has anybody on here actually shot a Moose or a Brown Bear with something less that 6.5 mm? I'm not sure that should even be on the list. And for the record, I voted for my .300 WSM, shooting 180 gr. Barnes MRX of course.

So actually how many here have shot or will kill a grizzly, brown bear, polar bear, wood bison???? Moose and elk on a regular basis?


Just curious....I suspect very few........and hence the answers are based on a LACK of real experience.

Eland Slayer I have shot exactly 6 moose and 4 elk with less than a 6.5........only because it was what I had in my hands at the time...not because I think it was the right cartridge/bullet combination.

quote:

Originally posted by luv2safari:
Cummon...! Common sense dictates it is the 338 Win Mag, although not my favorite.

Common sense says do NA with MORE than ONE rifle!

Yeah, if commmon sense lets you have more than one rifle...like 3-4 the 338 will still be on the list. I voted 300 Weatherby BTW. Life is short, you can't take it with you, try a few.

quote:

Originally posted by RaySendero:

quote:

Originally posted by luv2safari:
Cummon...! Common sense dictates it is the 338 Win Mag, although not my favorite.

Common sense says do NA with MORE than ONE rifle!

I must agree with R.S. here.

It does not suprise me that a tie exist for the most popular at this juncture. I had a difinate difficulty choosing one of the 2 current leaders. It is after all the distance issues and the Big Bears which weigh most heavily in my decision process. Since I do not believe that a hunter gets the benefit of a dangerous game animal without being reasonably close at the time of his shot... The '06 with proper bullets would feel adequate to me.

In my opinion when in Big Bear country if you are armed with anything less than the most rifle you can shoot instinctively, you are making a mistake. It is amazing what experience will teach you, particularly in Alaska in the Big Bear country. Several here have stated that the 30-06 with proper bullets and bullet placement will suffice on the Big Bears, and it will if all goes perfect. What if it does not go perfect and you don't get that perfect angle or your guide stumbles and falls with that big backup rifle at the wrong time, you had better be ready to perform and be armed with something that leaves little doubt about performance. I have a good buddy buried 6 ft. down up there in Bear country that argued all his live that you could kill them with a .222 and the 30-06 was overkill. The last Bear he faced after many dozens killed him before it died from a killing shot and he was armed with a 30-06 with 220 grain silvertips and was as good a shot as you could ever find. What happened no one knows as he was alone when it happened, the Bear found on top of him, both dead, the fact is he lost his debate and payed with his life. I took my 91/2 Brown Bear with a .300 Winny and 200 grain Nosler Partition bullets, a one shot kill, that aroused three very close 8 ft Bears as unaware of our four man party as we were of them. One took five shots another four shots from a .375 H&H and .300 Winny, the other left unmolested. If you have not been in that situation you cannot imagine the noise, speed, power, and will to simply live exhibited by those huge animals. That experience convinced me imphatically that I needed more than a .300 and needed to shoot whatever I chose until I was instinctive with it's use when I was in Big Bear country. The next trip I carried a .340 Wby and the next and from now on a .358 STA with a 270 grain North Fork at 2950 fps. I had a brother-in-law shoot a wounded charging 9 ft Browny twice in the face with a 30-06 and downed it at 5 steps from him. Another buddy shot a 8 ft. Browny three times with a 7mm Rem Mag, then three times with a .41 Mag pistol and stopped it at 7 steps. After that encounter he smelled something aweful that was not the Bear and it was his own britchs. Well that is my experiences for what they are worth. Good shooting.

Taking everything into consideration I voted .375 H&H (.375 Weatherby).

Bearsare alot tougher than hoofed animals.I think even the mighty moose is alot ledss tougher to kill than bears.The problemwith moose is that you want him down beforee he crosses theriver not in the river.I let a friend use one of my 338 win mags after years of using a 30-06.He was use to shooting the moose and it taking a walk after he shot it with the 30-06.He had to haul a few out of the water because of weaiting for them to die.He shot 5 moose with my 338 win mag with 250 gr Speer Grand slams and the hardly left their tracks and he was very impressed and Ihad a hell of a time getting my 338 win mag model 70 back from him.Year before last he and his son in law got jumped by a 1 eyed grizzley that was only 7"2" tall on the trail.It acted weird from the get go.They shot it with 200 gr bullets from a 338 win mag.It took 6 shots.I had told them to stay with the 25o gr for the bears.I do use the 200 gr for deer and hogs myself.I cut up the bear and made it into sauage.There were 4 perfictly mushroomed bullets in the shoulders and neck in the bear.Their bones are way stronger than you would ever think.Thats why I think the 338 win mag with 250 gr bullets is the very minium on Alaskan game which is the top of the all of North American game.We have wild buffalo where I live and they are tough critters.This heard can be seen at 7000 feet crossing the top of the mountains.I looked at the little lodge where most of the buffalo hunters go ever year to stay.You would not believe how many shots are taken by some of the bigger guns such as 375 H&H and 458 win mag.There have been buffalo taken with 243 in the ear but thats and exception to the rule.Wounded buffalo can run for miles through the thickets and you will loose them.The bears moose and walrus can be some of the toughest game in North America.I think the 338 win mag was made for Elk.I have not hunted elk but everone I taked to that used 338s loved them.They had never lost any elk with their 338s.I dont know of any one that has lost a moose woith a 338 either.I watch three army guys once shoot a moose with a 300 weatherby amnd it ran staraigh up the mountain 1.5 miles with three shots in it.They had shot it running .Animals can really be hard to kill when they are runnoing.As far as recoil goes I think my 338s kick like heavy loads with a 20 ga shotgun.I do like the heavier conture barrels of the ruger model 77s in 338s than the skinny barreled Winchesters and Remingtons.I have shot 3/4" groups with my Ruger model 77s with factory 225 gr Grand Slam bullets that Remington use to load at 200 yards.I usually replace al;l the factory recoil pads with a good high quality sorbathane recoil pad.I practice with at least one past pad if not two.This enables me to shoot up to 300 rounds in one day .I also shoot from a standing bench rest off of a milk crate off of a 60 pound bull bag.I learned how to shoot bigger guns from Reading Elmer Keith.I Totally vbelieve that his .338 with a 250 gr bullet is the key to the all around gun for North America.We will see new calibers come and go but the 338 win mag has become a classic caliber.I had 300 win mags and can really tell the killing power between the 338 and the 300 mags.I didnt see enough difference to justify have a 300 mag and a 30-06.Its a jump from the 300s to the 338 win mag.Its not a monster to shoot if you learn how to do it.It will also bloodshot hardly any of your meat and usually you can eat up to the bullet hole just like old Elmer did.There are biggers calibers that are even better than the 338 but they are going to kick more and cost more to shoot.I think the 340 weather and ultra mag are fine calibers.I have two 338-378 weatherbys myself.I dont think unless your going to do wide open area hunting that you really need them but it does add 300 yards to the range of the 338 win mag which is a good thing if you can do so.I have shot 100 head of big game with the 338 win mag.It is my favorite rifle still after 35 years of hunting and most likely always will be.

Probably more, including me, would have chosen the .300WM if you hadn't joined it with that shorty POS.

Before reading any of the replies I voted for the 30-06 as my go to gun for N. American hunting. The only time I felt like it would be nice to have some more fire power was on a bear hunt. A really big black bear was up in a tree and several mean ass dogs were raising hell at the base of the tree. I was looking up at the bear through the scope of my 30-06 and he was looking down at me. I was convinced that he was pissed and was going to do his best to show me just how he felt about being chased up the tree. I had serious doubts that the 06 was going to kill him quickly enough to keep me from getting bit. When he started backing down the tree still looking at me and popping his jaws I made the decision to fire at his throat hoping that the bullet would break his neck. It did and the bear was quite harmless when he hit the ground.

I don't think that there is any real difference in the killing power between a 30-06 and 300 win mag, 7mm mag. There is a step up in killing power with the .338 and then another big step up with the .375 H&H.

So for everything except the bears a 30-06 would be fine. For the bears it would be foolish to use anything except a .375 H&H unless for some reason there was not one available and a bear really needed killing.