Caliber selection can be as important as the shooter wants it to be. First the shooter has to shoot enough to become proficient with a number of chamberings, regardless of size. Like Allen, I used a .300 Win mag for years and hunted everything on North America successfully with it using 180 grain and 200 grain bullets, mainly Nosler Partitions. I took countless Deer, many Elk and Caribou, and a 91/2 ft Brown Bear all with reloaded ammo. I then retired from playing Tennis because of knees and started shooting to my hearts content. I went to the 7mm STW, then .340 Wby, then .358 STA, then to the .416's both Remington and Rigby. Those listed are my own rifles, but I shot from .570 T Rex .460 Wby and many more for others who didn't like the punishment but wanted to know what their rifle would do. I found the more I shoot the more I can shoot. I have also found that someone who can handle the larger chamberings can be awesome takers of game by using them to their potential. I shoot a .358 STA with a 270 grain North Fork bullet with a SD over 3 at 2950 fps into one hole when I have a good day pulling the trigger, and it is my main go to rifle for North America and I plan to take it to Africa this year for plains game. This shooter can also miss on occasion as I missed a cow Elk last year attempting to shoot at the same time my grandson took his Elk. At his shot my cow jumped 10 ft sideways and I shot where she stood not where whe landed, that is just hunting and if you are out there enough you will see lots of stuff happen. ------ Back to the original question. ----- I say caliber selection can be a big factor if the shooter is capable of shooting extensively and becomes proficient enough to place the bullet as accurately as he or she could regardless of caliber and size of chambering. I hope that is as clear in writing as it was in my head. Good shooting.

Use the most powerful round that you can shoot well...Alan Day has excellent advice regarding learning one caliber....I would like to follow that myself but I like "different calibres" and the history behind them hence I own a few different calibres....if I do not have a passion for the chambering I am not that interested in shooting game with it...may be I am strange

Within reasons, it isn't that important. If you take a class of calibers, lets say 6.5 mm's, .270's, 7mm's and 30 cals, load them all with well constructed bullets, launch them at a reasonable velocity, say 2700-3000 fps, you'll find that for your typical whitetail deer, they will all kill will the same effectiveness given a properly placed shot.

It is only when one uses a caliber that is marginal for the animal being hunted that caliber becomes an issue. While all of the above rounds could be used for the largest and most dangerous of game, none of them can be expected to provide the ability to produce the large wounds and deep penetration that larger calibers will.

It all comes down to knowing the limitations of your round and placing your shots given those limitations.

It depends on what you want to accomplish. If you want drop dead power at no more than 200 yds then a large bore is the clear choice, but if long range is your game then the answer is usually going to be different. Which aspect of the bullet is most important? The way I look at it, the smaller the caliber, the more important both SD and bullet weight become. Certianly a 375 slug with a SD of only 250 will out penetrate a 6mm with a similar SD. Some like long range capabilities with low recoil, others dont care about recoil so much. Personally when Elk are the goal I dont get all that excited about 500 yard rifles. Thats just me.



There was a time when people were limited to not much more than a 40 or 50 caliber. Guess what, it worked.. but they all worked about the same. Thats the beauty of our choices today, you can taylor things to your needs and desires.



I believe that one reason the 30 cal is so popular is because it offers a nice compromise between trajectory and power, if that is what you want to accomplish then there you have it. But frankly 7mm and 8mm will do nearly the same thing. Some folks get to carried away with caliber selection methinks. Just carefully consider your needs and do what works best for you and dont ever let anyone tell you their way is better, because there is no "best way" for all hunting, only riflemen with suitable weapons.

Personally I like to punch bigger holes in things than is absolutely necessary to minimally get the job done. I guess I fall on the Elmer Keith side of things. I think one of his best quotes was "the 375 H&H makes a pretty good deer gun" That chambering is all I have hunted deer with in the last 4 years. They don't run too far. Good hunting. "D"