Since we have been lagging here a bit... I thought I would spice things up by asking a simple question. What two big game cartridges would fulfill your big game needs in North America and why... explain? We will exclude varmints and small game, and assume you already have that covered. Your big game hunting would not be limited and you would hunt moose and big brown bears also.
My choice would go to the two most absolutely sensible cartridges I own in my battery... The 270 Winchester and the 375H&H. Batter up.......
Posts: 2045 | Location: West most midwestern town. | Registered: 13 June 2001
I've sold off most of my collection and am planning on sticking with the Win M70 Classic in 270 Win and 338 WM, topped w/ the Leupold VX-III 3.5-10x40 in Talley Lightweights.
Posts: 1346 | Location: NE | Registered: 03 March 2002
Staying with the cartridges I have rifles for, I'd say 30-06 and 416Rigby. If I had to opt for a 2 new gun choice, I'd go with the 30-06 and 375H&H as my 2 gun battery.
Posts: 2124 | Location: Whittemore, MI, USA | Registered: 07 March 2002
The 270 Winchester and the 338 Winchester will do it all for anything I'll be hunting in the near future. I shot my Elk last year with the 270, and after he died, he was dead , so I could really get away with the 270. But the next Elk will be shot with the 338.
For my area long distance shooting at Deer and Elk with the 7 Stw in a Wby Accumark. The closer shot's in the wooded areas For Bear my 300Wby have done the job.
For North American hunting I would go with the 30-06 and the 375 H&H magnum. If there was any chance of facing buffalo or elephant in Africa, the pair would be a 30-06 and a 416 Rigby or Remington.
For North America, both rifles would be Weatherbys: the .300 and the .378. The .300 Wby kills all NA game from caribou on down and it does so with plenty of authority. And the .378 would do the same for all game bigger and/or meaner than caribou. I think there is a legitimate place for .416s in Alaska and other places north of about 60 degrees Latitude in North America, but if we must choose two rifles, my choices are .300 Wby and .378 Wby.
Posts: 669 | Location: Alaska, USA | Registered: 26 February 2004
I'm form Brisbane, Australia and new to this forum. My dream is to hunt as much of the world's big game as I am able. My current (3 rifle) big game battery is:
Model 70 Pre 64 featherweight in 270 (I also have one in 308 too) - mountain rifle - good for sheep, etc
FN M98 classic custom in 308 Norma Magnum - for thin skinned non dangeruos big game (perhaps bear too)
Ruger M77 375 Chatfield-Taylor - African big (including, with the right projectiles, dangerous) game
For North American, Asian, European, etc hunting I'd take the first 2 two rifles and for African hunting I'd take the last 2 rifles.
This will see me hunting a lot of the world's big game for quite a while.
Posts: 62 | Location: Brisbane, Australia | Registered: 11 June 2004
I'm with SteveM70. Make mine a .375H&H -- as long as it's a Model 70, either controlled feed or push feed, and while you're at it I'll take stainless steel and fiberglass for the vastly reduced maintenance.
Im a newbie to this forum and to big game hunting. At this point I dont really have a desire to hunt anything outside of North America and my favorite large game cartridge is a 338WM which I think is plenty for anything found in my neck of the woods and its accurate for me.
Furor: That's all I have been using in Alaska since the early 90's.
Now, JeffP's rifle battery (.270 and .338WM) could be topped with one of the .416's, not because one would need it up here, but because the .416 is a huge step up from the .338WM past the .375 H&H. With that idea in mind, a perfect rifle battery would be:
a. A .270 and .338WM for the lower-48
b. A .338WM for all my hunting in Alaska
c. A 270, .338WM, and .416
I would only use the .416 if I was only hunt the big bears, but as such it would be a "special" type of hunt, and not the all around hunting I do up here with my .338WM.
Posts: 2448 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 25 May 2002
That�s easy My Marlin 336 in 30-30 would be for deer, pronghorn, and pigs. The other rifle I don�t have yet. It would be the Browning BLR in 358 Winchester. That would be used for Bear and Elk. I might change the 358 for the 45-70 though.
I'll agree with what several others have said. The .30cal and .375 calibers would be my choice. The .375 would be my .375RUM or my .375-.358STA and the .30 would be my .30-.338 or .300RUM. Personally for the last 7-8 years the only two centerfire guns that I have used on big game are the .375-.358STA and .30-.338 with the .375-.358STA being used about 95% of the time. It's hard to beat the ability to quickly dispatch game, with no more meat damage than many smaller calibers, the .375's afford. The new .375RUM I just built is slightly more accurate then my old .375-.358STA so it will get put into use this year along with another super accurate .416 Rem. Mag. (both 1/2" or better guns).
A second choice would be a .30 cal and a .416 of some flavor if I lived in Alaska and hunted a bunch in bear country. After hunting there and seeing a griz fairly close the bigger the gun the better . Besides the .416's can be loaded with 300gr X's to shoot just about as flat as the .375's.
Posts: 179 | Location: Boise, ID | Registered: 16 February 2004
Well, having only a few rifles; My .54 Muzzleloader for most, my 6.5x55 for small stuff; the 35 Whelen for what the .54 won't do. Oops, you said two....Tough...... ok, the 6.5 and the 35.... (but would keep the .54, .50 and the 06 just in case....
Posts: 49 | Location: Indiana by way of Louisiana, Arkansas & Oklahoma | Registered: 25 December 2003
I had this very thought when I first got out on my own. After much thought I purchased a pair of matching Ruger M77's (tang safty) in .257 Roberts and .338 WM as I could and did cover everything from Pelt hunting with the Bob and 75gr. Hp's up to Elk with the .338. The Bob is a great versitile round and is one of the overlooked gems as far as I'm concerned. The .338 WM has proven itself as fairly versitile as well, taking deer and elk both. My safe has many new toys falling in between these and some smaller yet truthfully this combo was a pretty good choice for a young man with limited funds. Funny thing though in looking back, I had a 30-06. I guess it seemed to big for some things and not as big as I wanted for elk.
Big nate, no flies on the 257roberts thats for sure. I use to hunt alot with its better half, the 250 savage. Your choice of the 257 and 338 I see as ideal. I feel that many stack cartridges up too close.
Posts: 2045 | Location: West most midwestern town. | Registered: 13 June 2001
After so many responses I don't know if my preferances are meaningful but here goes anyway. I believe that a light weight 270 Win. that will shoot the 130 NP and a 338 WM that likes the the 250 NP would be a very hard combo to beat for North America.
I just plain like rifles and the 257 Roberts through the 458 WM has served me well throught the years. You only asked for 2 choices and the 270 and 338 are it for me. Coyotes to big bears are in deep trouble if you employee these 2 calibers and bullets properly.
Regards,
Mark
Posts: 13066 | Location: LAS VEGAS, NV USA | Registered: 04 August 2002
My choices are the 300 win mag and 416 rem mag. The 300 is good for deer-elk sized game at any distance and the 416 is good for buffalo and elephant at close range or grizzly at a bit longer range. The 300 would be in a S/S and the 416 rem mag in the classical wood and blue. After saying all this my only rifle is the tried and true 30-06, but I plan to add to that.
, so I could really get away with the 270. But the next Elk will be shot with the 338.
