*** GOT TO VOTE FOR THE .338 Win. ***


Build up a real Sub-MOA shooter , -- and you can load it W/ light bullets and reach way out for Antelope ; ( a good friend of mine just did it --- last season , in MT. ) .

Load it with 250 to 300 Gr. Premium ( esp. partitioned ) bullets , and you are all set for anything in N. Am. , -- ( except a Brown or Grizzly , -- ATTACK , --- [ for which it would be better than many , -- but not ideal ] .

JMHO ------ MMCOUGAR .

quote:

Originally posted by DigitalDan:
.30-06

I'd have to agree Dan. I've used everything between the 7mm-08 and the 338WM, and for a long time the 338 was my go to gun. In the last three years however, it seems I reach for the 30-06 almost exclusively.

If I would go to a .33 cal what is your opinion of the 325wsm
Dr B

quote:

Originally posted by Dr B:
If I would go to a .33 cal what is your opinion of the 325wsm
Dr B

I feel if you went to .33 cal you would get a lot more enjoyment from the plain old .338 win mag in what ever rifle you like. Bullets & Brass easy to get as well as your factory stuff.

I think the .300 WSM has made it and there are enough around to keep it here but I have my reservations with some of the other calibers.

I would aks the question is there anything a .325 wsm can do that a .338 win mag can't...................I am prepared to learn something here

Ok after reading all of the post you guys have convinced me that one needs more gun than the big .300 mags to shoot big bears. If one needs more power than the .300 mags he needs a lot more.

So I would have to say the .378 Weatherby shoots flatter than the .338 and double the horsepower at all ranges.

I have shot the .378 Weatherby and shot it quite well, BUT, I would NEVER own one. Every guy I know who has bought one sold it, quite quickly, it is a brutal cartridge in a 10-11 lb. rifle and not practical in Grizzly country. It kicks too hard, weighs too much and you will be afraid of it; this means that you will probably muff your all-important first shot.

The Grizzly does not walk that cannot be cleanly and quickly killed by the .338-250 NP and while bigger rifles can be better stoppers for pro. guides and so forth, almost everyone is better served by this combo. Actually, I often wonder why I bother with anything else....except I am addicted to rifles!

I would bet that more Grizzlies of all types and sizes have been killed by the .30-06 than anything else and as I said, it is best for people who cannot deal with recoil and are smart enough to admit that to themselves.

If the responses have swayed you toward a .33 then .338 Win is your medicine. It is the most practicle of the .338's and it can be found everywhere in NA. Probably any where you can hunt in the world. One of my favorite rifles is my M70 (pre-64) in .338 which is about as good as it gets for a production rifle.

Well not exactly swayed me to a .338 I own two of them and a .340 Weatherby and in all honesty they don’t kill Elk any better than my .300 Wby or my .300 Win. Of course I have never hunted any big bears but I have shot lots of Elk. And when the shots get long 500+ yards that .300 Wby is my gun of choice. And the .338 stays home.

quote:

Originally posted by Dr B:
Hi
My brother and I want one gun for North America. Texas to Alaska. We have narrowed it down to 7mm RUM vs 7mm STW. Please share your thoughts.
Dr B

I assume with a DR B sig, you guys are not idiots, just head strong, or, S and M freaks.

RUM is a big cartridge, usually loaded to very high pressures, to kill things that die at much lower velocities. Still, the rum shoots flat.

What do you shoot at 300 plus yards? If the answer is nothing, the rifles start at 308, go to 30-06, and end at 375 H&H.

Oh, my God, you said the "A"Word!!! Alaska, meaning brown bear, elk, and polar bears are in the mix.
Brown bears, fast moving volkswagens, and you want to use a 7mm? You are idiots!!! I'm sorry I over estimated your intelligence.

Please: use 7mm, and, I will be happy to put flowers on your grave.

In my area, we have two, picture posted, 1200 pound, huge costal brownies. BOTH took 11 shots, of two people fired, hunter and PH backing up, to bring down, using 375 H&H.

My only hope is you are at close range, and, the bear removes you from the hunting gene pool, so I don't have to read stupid shit like this again...



Sorry, but it's friday night, and it's
time....

S

PS

We have famous, well schooled, PH Alaskan hunters in this forum. They are pretty much going to tell you learn to shoot a 375, and work up, but, you can search, and look, and find that advice on your own.

I'm curious why you think brown bear are some sort of pet, circus animal?

GS ----- We all wanted to say what you said, and I might add, without pussyfooting around about it. Well said sir, from one who had a Big Bear encounter that gave him great respect for their strength and tenacity for life. Good shooting.

quote:

We have famous, well schooled, PH Alaskan hunters in this forum. They are pretty much going to tell you learn to shoot a 375, and work up, but, you can search, and look, and find that advice on your own.

Bull Shit.

Chuck

quote:

In my area, we have two, picture posted, 1200 pound, huge costal brownies. BOTH took 11 shots, of two people fired, hunter and PH backing up, to bring down, using 375 H&H.

That sounds like a case of very poor shot placement.

I'm going to point out that opportunities for a hunting client to go after coastal brown bear are very few and far between, and represent perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most hunters, and mountain grizzlies aren't all that big, although they are tough.

Yet, these "all-around" rifle fart-fests are always built around the idea of throwing a big bullet at an Alaskan brown bear, when in reality you're going to have far, FAR more use through the course of your career, and from "Texas to Alaska", for a flatter-shooting rifle than a 375 or some other such pumkin roller, especially if you're going to hunt much mountain game, or else down in the Southwest, Great Basin, etc., (my favorite stomping grounds) for whitetails, mule deer, Coues deer, pronghorn, elk, sheep, etc. The flatter-shooting numbers are far more versatile, and far more useful on a much, much broader variety of big game, year-in and year-out -- not just five years from now for that big-time brown bear hunt. Yet, we're going to bet our whole poke, and build our one-gun hunting battery around that perhaps ONE-TIME chance we're going to have at a brown bear -- maybe, someday -- when we can, hopefully. That sounds like a rather skimpy bargain, and a rather dim-witted plan if you ask me.

Why not go for a two-rifle battery that features a 300 Win. Mag., 300 Weatherby, or 300 H&H as your primary rifle, which will handle ALL NA big game except for coastal brown bear in a walk, offer more power, punch, and verstaility than any 7mm (yet shoot just as flat) and then add a 375 or 416 of some sort to your battery for brown bear, and then you'll be set for Africa as well? Such a plan makes much greater sense any way you look at it.........

This "one-gun for North America" concept is a paper-chase, and the by-product of misguided improvidence, armchair theory, barstool philosophy, and teenage night-visions. Let's face it: If you can really and truly hunt ALL species of North America big game, you can surely afford more than one rifle to do it all to optimum advantage, pure and simple. ONE MORE solid rifle isn't going to throw a monkey wrench into anyone's hunting budget, and if it has the potential to do so, that budget didn't exist in form and substance to begin with.

Once again, I'll quote Jim Carmichel: "THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF ALL-PURPOSE RIFLES -- WHERE ARE THE ALL-PURPOSE HUNTERS?"

AD

Well said! a 300 class rifle is the way to go. Moreover, if a 300 Weatherby with 180gr Noslers was good enough for Elgin Gates on his polar and brown bears, it's good enough for me. jorge

I have to agree with Allen this makes the most since to me cause my .338 doesn’t offer me any thing my.300 won’t do!! Like I said if I need more gun than the .300 than I would be looking for a .375 or .416 that is if something has in mind that it wants to eat me.

Don’t get me wrong here I love my .338 calibers but the .300 Wby has more energy at all ranges over my .338 win and shoots a whole lot flatter.

Jorge, a couple of weeks ago, I was hunting with one of my friends in Tanzania, and this fellow told me about his long-time friendship with Weatherby Award winner C.J. McElroy, founder of Safari Club International. He told me that Mac's hunting battery, with which he hunted -- literally -- ALL legal species of the world's big game, including North America, consisted of just TWO rifles: a Weatherby Mark V 300 Wby. Mag., and a Browning Safari 458 Win. Mag. As I understand it, both rifles were heavily-used, badly beaten, and unmistakably worn, yet they did the job for Mac throughout his incredible career, and anyone who would care to visit Mac's resurrected trophy room at SCI headquarters in Tucson, or at least read his books, can see for themselves to what extent he used those rifles. Theory be damned, he went out and did it, and those rifles served him better than well.

One of my own local friends and a fellow Portland, OR, SCI chapter member is also a Weatherby Award winner, and, like C.J. McElroy, he has literally taken trophy specimens of all of the world's big game species, some of them many times over, and his trophy room must be at least 5,000 sq. ft. in size, and spands three stories. He spends over 200 days per year in the field, hunting. His hunting battery also consists of just two rifles, a custom 300 Weatherby that he's hunted with for over forty years (it's gone through at least five barrels!), plus a Colt-Sauer 458 Win. Mag.

Those are the only rifles he hunts with.......

AD

You know, I just cannot imagine life with only 1 or even 2 rifles. Splurge a little! You only live once.

I actually like planning a hunt, opening the safe, and having to make some decisions on who goes on the trip this year.

Here's a prediction, even if the original poster decides on one of the 7's, and in a few years gets to go on a coastal/brown bear hunt, he'll be asking what is the best medicine then too, and go buy an additional rifle.

I think the "TX to Alaska" comment was used as a general term without real regard to the big bears.

Just a thought.

Thanks for the great story on C.J.McElroy Allen. I've done some reading up on him as well as other Weatherby Award members. I must admit (as you already know) that I am avowed Weatherby cultist, I guess I fell under the spell of the old Weatherby Guides, especially Elgin Gates. There was a man DRIVEN to be the best at everything he tried in life and I admire that.

Doc: I see your point of splurging, but I've started to come "full circle" on rifles. I use to think I need a rifle for every species (more or less). For example, I even had a semi-custom Ruger in 35 Wheelen that I sued only once, specifically for black bear and that rifle served me well. We both know that my 300 Weatherby could have just as easily taken that blackie as it had on previous occasions.And that rifle goes with me everywhere I go.

Although I still have many rifles, many ofr sentimental reasons, I've sold the majority of them as I prefer the money to spend on safari rather than on "safe queens" as look at once a year then they go back into the recesses of my safe. jorge

The reality is, that most "all around" rifles will never see that much game. Of any variety. I much prefer mulling over a functional well balanced rifle than worrying over the cartridge it is chambered for. I grew up in an area where a large variety of North America's big game could be hunted. Most die hard hunters I know from the area carried one of the three 06 sisters and have done just fine. There are a bunch that carry the 7 magnums, some that carry a 300 win mag, but I only know of a couple of others besides myself that have actually hunted with something bigger. Even in big bad grizzly country.

My younger brother has hunted successfully for whitetail, mule deer, bear, pronghorn, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep with the lowly 7 Weatherby. He doesn't wonder whether he is over or under gunned. Should he?

Chuck

I gave up on the one gun concept many years ago, even for Alaska. What's great for hunting brown bear in the alder thickets and devils club usually isn't the rifle I want to lug to the top of a mountain and make a 400 yard shot on a Dall Sheep or Mountain Goat. Throw in differing terrain, different animal sizes, different hunting styles (stand hunting, still hunting, spot and stalk, etc...) and I don't think we can ask one rifle/cartridge combo to all things equally well across this great country of ours.

Guess what it really comes down to is matching the gun and cartridge (and bullet) to the game hunted and the way it will be hunted. A half dozen would be better. I suppose you could perform admirably with 3 or 4. When you get down to two, either you will miss fleeting opportunities or you won't hunt as effectively as you could with a rifle/cartridge combo more tailored for the job.

Even when thinking about deer hunting, still hunting or tracking deer through a thick nasty swamp or cutover pine thicket would call for a different rifle than one you would use sitting over a big beanfield or sendero, seems to me.

I think we owe it to the game we hunt use the most effective rifle/cartridge/bullet combo for that particular animal and hunting situation.

If you are looking to build a super expensive custom rifle in one chambering, do that with the one that matches the most of the hunting you will do (both animals and hunting type). But then pick up a rifle/rifles (and make sure it is dependable and works as necessary) for whatever the first rifle isn't ideal for. Depending on your income (Dr? Doctor?) it may or may not take a few years to save up for another rifle or two after the custom rifle commission.

Having said that and referring to allen day's post above about CJ McElroy and his friend in Oregon, Elgin Gates also hunted worldwide with his trusty 300 Wby and took everything from small game to a 180 lb elephant with it.

A 7mm, I don't care what case it is in, and Coastal Brown Bears sounds to me like a prescription for trouble. I have taken 3 Coastal Browns and the smallest cartridge I used was a .300 Weatherby Magnum. I did it twice and never again. If I ever go after another Brown Bear I am going to have a .375 caliber, preferably my .375 Weatherby, in my hands. Lawdog

quote:

Originally posted by Lawdog_Gary:
A 7mm, I don't care what case it is in, and Coastal Brown Bears sounds to me like a prescription for trouble. I have taken 3 Coastal Browns and the smallest cartridge I used was a .300 Weatherby Magnum. I did it twice and never again. If I ever go after another Brown Bear I am going to have a .375 caliber, preferably my .375 Weatherby, in my hands. Lawdog

Have to agree with Gary on this one. As for one rifle, one planet: Can't you get a very light,
375 H&H, load it with 200 grain bullets, or I think speer makes a nice 235, and have a ballistic equal to a .300, or close enough so the animal won't know the difference, and, in a pinch, reload with 300 solids or softs????

375 H&H reloading for lighter bullets

The .30s do boast the widest variety, and the least expensive, bullet selection of any caliber I know of, except maybe, 223.

Also, Ganyana has a REALLY good point, in that one of the major failures under pressure is short stroking your magnum rifle under pressure.

Sure, it's a great idea to have different calibers, but, I sure like the idea of having
the same length actions, and, maybe, make the rifles as close as possible, overall..??

I see no reason for not figuring out how light I could get a CZ 550, except for the incredible wood that came on my rifle, and, match that with a heavy, like a 458 Lott for brown bear, and Africa. For 99% of the shooting, use 235 grain speers, 375, in NA. But, when the shit hits the fan, and you go after the big guys, you can load up 300 grain solids, and, you will be used to the rifle...or go to the big rifle, the Lott.
I guess it's unlikely you are going to have problems going from a longer magnum action to the 458 win, but, why?

I've got three rifles, with the same scopes for that reason, in 22.r, 30-06, simply because if the shit every really hits the fan, it's perfect for people, and everything else in NA, lower 48, and, a 375 H&H for everything else.

But, that's just me...

GS

Chuck, your post interject's waaay too much reality

My thought for the gent that asked the question hasn't changed. He wanted a vote between the 7 RUM and 7 STW... either would work well on anything from Texas to Alaska including the much feared Brown Bear. However, my point was regarding ammo? This guy has obviously been pouring over ballistic charts as that's how most arrive at the 7 STW or RUM . The reality is 7mm RM ammo is available anywhere from TX to AK wheras the other two are specialty chamberings and not widely available... that must count for something if a guy's a travelling hunter with only one rifle. Also, if there's any practical difference among the three I'm all ears.

Heck, I even hear they sell 7mm RM ammo in Alberta...

quote:

Originally posted by stubblejumper:

quote:

In my area, we have two, picture posted, 1200 pound, huge costal brownies. BOTH took 11 shots, of two people fired, hunter and PH backing up, to bring down, using 375 H&H.

That sounds like a case of very poor shot placement.

My understanding was the bears got to be very big, by staying away from humans. The shots were taken at long range, in difficult areas,
and, at extreme range, the punch is diminished, and shot placement is not percise.

Not everybody can snap shoot a dukier, angling away, at 300 yards, with a 375 like Saeed...

gs

PS
As far as I'm concerned, for everything, other then brown volkswagens, a 30-06 is the cartridge. Even heard a few people use em on brown bears...

I really have to ask why anyone would settle on 7mm, and the rum? Do the 7mm bullets hold together at the velocities the rum can push them?

Still, I can see the appeal of a 7mm, 175 grain
needle, fired at 3500 fps out of the rum. Except I guess the idea is not to eat what you shoot?


The biggest key to an all around rifle is being able to shoot it a lot, and having cheap ammo. 30-06 has that. Also, at real high velocity, isn't barrel life shortened like crazy?

hey allen, who was the other weatherby award winner from your chapter?...

30 years ago, I spent months pouring over charts and reading magazine articles. I owned a 30-06, but wanted another gun. I finally settled on the 6mm Remington.

Shortly after that, I went on a bear hunt in Maine. I intended to use the 6mm but had the 30-06 along as back up. I had handloaded some 150 grn rounds for the 06.

The guide took one look at the 6mm and said no way. So, I grabbed the 06. He asked to see my ammo. Then said, he would prefer if I had some 180grn bullets instead. Being my 1st guided hunt and my 1st bear hunt, I said, "Sure, what ever you say." Well, the only place to buy ammo within 50 miles was a small grocery, gas station, hardware, sporting goods store. (Well before the advent of the mini-mart.) I walked in and immediately purchased the 30-06 ammo.

I learned a valuable lesson on that hunt. If you are going to travel, be sure you are carrying a gun you can get ammo for just about anywhere. I have used a 30-06 as my main gun ever since. I still have the same 6mm, but some how, it lost it's shine that day...

The caliber / cartridge selection is yours and yours alone. You are response for your hunt. Just be sure you can lose your luggage, fall in a swamp, what ever and still get ammo.

quote:

The shots were taken at long range, in difficult areas,
and, at extreme range, the punch is diminished, and shot placement is not percise.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by stubblejumper:

quote:
In my area, we have two, picture posted, 1200 pound, huge costal brownies. BOTH took 11 shots, of two people fired, hunter and PH backing up, to bring down, using 375 H&H.


That sounds like a case of very poor shot placement.


My understanding was the bears got to be very big, by staying away from humans. The shots were taken at long range, in difficult areas,
and, at extreme range, the punch is diminished, and shot placement is not percise.

Exactly my point.

quote:

Originally posted by stubblejumper:

quote:

The shots were taken at long range, in difficult areas,
and, at extreme range, the punch is diminished, and shot placement is not percise.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by stubblejumper:

quote:
In my area, we have two, picture posted, 1200 pound, huge costal brownies. BOTH took 11 shots, of two people fired, hunter and PH backing up, to bring down, using 375 H&H.


That sounds like a case of very poor shot placement.


My understanding was the bears got to be very big, by staying away from humans. The shots were taken at long range, in difficult areas,
and, at extreme range, the punch is diminished, and shot placement is not percise.

Exactly my point.

We agree. As for the all around cartridge: 30-06

30-06: the all around cartridge

30-06 the ideal survival, sniper cartridge

Boddinton on the ideal NA cartridge, or any cartridge, for that matter

gs

The original question was what is the best ONE cartridge for all-around use in North America, not what the best two, three or several are. It is quite obvious to most reasonably experienced hunters that a pair or set of rifles in different calibers is better for this situation, however, IF, we want to really answer the original question, we need to stipulate one cartridge only.

If two rifles were the poster's desire and he was going to hunt ALL over North America, I would prefer twin CRF .338s with identical loads scopes and even carrying equipment. These would serve admirably in western Canada and Alaska where the majority of BIG game hunting is located and that is what I think is important here.

Now, many of the replies, even from experienced guys like Allen and Jorge do not address the difference in locality, hunting style or the very real aspects of Grizzly defence in most of the best game fields in contemporary North America. These tend to influence our choices greatly, i.e. Allen is in the "Great Basin", Jorge hunts Africa a lot and so on.

If, one is a wealthy trophy hunter who goes on many guided hunts per year, the choice of a cartridge might well be different from that of someone who frequently solo, backpack hunts in B.C., the Yukon, the N.W.T. or western Alberta....or Alaska. In these locales, one is dependent on one's own resources for everything and this is why I consider a .338 superior to any .300 magnum as it is the better bear buster when correctly loaded.

I think that many, if not most, hunters would be far better off to pick a pair of identical rifles chambered in the same cartridge and use this combo exclusively for ALL their hunting. A .416 or Lott is a pretty foolish choice for anyone who is not a full-time, working guide or crew guard, but, a .338 is nearly as good on big stuff and very good on small stuff.

Africa and "jetset" trophy hbunters are a separate issue, IMHO, and the Africans I know here in B.C. actually have agreed withh me on the .338 for general BIG game hunting in this neck of the woods. Many people discuss dealing with large bears, based on experiences on guided hunts; I did this for many years as a frequent part of my employment and still do (twice this year) as a fact of contemporary B.C. hunting life.

Nobody will ever convince me that ANY high velocity, small bore cartridge is as consistently deadly on Grizzlies as the .338-250 combo and I see no real increase in utility with .300 mags. over the .30-06 in this scenario. I have owned/hunted with 3 -7 mags, 3 -.300 mags, 6 -.375 H&Hs, a .264 and 12 different .338s and in 41 years, I have yet to see anything as consistently useful in B.C./YT. conditions.

Of course, them tiny bitty ALBERTA bears, well, shit, I shot them with my Kimber Super America .223 when I was there.................

kutenay:

Proven fact is the 30-06 is THE NA, cartridge, and it's been proven for 100 years.

220's in a 30-06, while not ideal,do give you a bear round.

Wasn't the 338 originally called the OKH, in honor of Elmer Keith, among others?

338-06

And what about the 35 Whelan, if your going on opened up 30-06 cartridges?
35 Whelan

GS

quote:

The original question was what is the best ONE cartridge for all-around use in North America, not what the best two, three or several are.

Actually the original question specified that the choice was already narrowed down to only the 7mmstw and 7mmultramags.

quote:

Proven fact is the 30-06 is THE NA, cartridge, and it's been proven for 100 years.

Just how has that been proven?By the way the 30-30 has been around even longer.Most importantly,the choices given in the ooriginal post did not even include the 30-06.

quote:

Originally posted by stubblejumper:

quote:

Proven fact is the 30-06 is THE NA, cartridge, and it's been proven for 100 years.

Just how has that been proven?By the way the 30-30 has been around even longer.Most importantly,the choices given in the ooriginal post did not even include the 30-06.

I know, but, as I said earlier, they put themselves in the questionable class when they decided to throw brown VW's in the mix;-)

375: One planet, one rifle...

If no brown bears, and recoil shy, 30-06. If brown bear, alaska, 375 H&H.

338 isn't a bad choice, if you don't like many bullet choices, or much factory ammo.

In other words, the original question is like saying: We want to pick an opponent for Ali/Clay, in his prime:, and, we've narrowed it down to Alexis Arguello, and Sugar Ray Leonard. Not that I don't think the world of the later two, but, it's likely niether would ever even get Ali's attention, at his prime, or, for that matter, ever land a punch. If they did, he probably wouldn't notice it...

s

quote:

Originally posted by stubblejumper:

quote:

Proven fact is the 30-06 is THE NA, cartridge, and it's been proven for 100 years.

Just how has that been proven?By the way the 30-30 has been around even longer.Most importantly,the choices given in the ooriginal post did not even include the 30-06.

I guess I have to copy and paste the entire articles to get you to read the links I post????
HMMMMM????
-)

gs

quote:

I guess I have to copy and paste the entire articles to get you to read the links I post????
HMMMMM????
-)

The opinion of one or two people is not proof of anything.However simply reading the original post does prove that the choice was already narrowed down to the 7mmstw and 7mmultramag.The 30-06 was not one of the choices given.

I didn't refer to any ...opened up .30-06... rounds, the .338 Win is based on the H&H case and has bugger-all to do with the .06. The .333 OKH was on the .06 case, the .334 OKH on the .375 H&H necked down and left at full length and the lesser-known .333 OKH belted was a shortened H&H case, much as the .338. However, the real progenitor of the .338 Win. was the .33 BSA, a belted round with ballistics about the same as those of the .338-06AI, this came out in the mid-'20s, before Hopkins, O'Neil and Elmer got going.

Since the discussion here ranged into other rounds than the two originally specified, I felt it acceptable to mention a cartridge that, IMO, is about as close to ideal for the stated purpose as is available. There are a great many bullets and a wide variety of factory ammo available for it and it's performance over nearly 50 years demonstrates it's effectiveness.

I don't care if someone restricts themselves to the .06, it is a superb round, but, even with 220s, it is NOT up to a .338 and some guides I have known feel it is a bit small for use in Grizzly areas. These are VERY experienced guys who were born and raised in the B.C. northern bush and live there year-'round; I consider their opinion to be worth taking note of, but, YMMV.

My point was simply this. There are endless discussions on all around rifles. Ideal this and ideal that. Yet in reality, these "all around" rifles sit in the safe next to a dozen other rifles and ocassionally hunt whitetail deer.

I'm also not saying that the 7 magnums are ideal big bear medicine. Yet I understand one might do the trick time and time again. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction........

Chuck

Oh, and one more thing, I hat discussing this type of stuff on the internet. I'd rather do it around a fire somewhere, miles away from any secondary source of ammunition.

Chuck

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Nelson:
My point was simply this. There are endless discussions on all around rifles. Ideal this and ideal that. Yet in reality, these "all around" rifles sit in the safe next to a dozen other rifles and ocassionally hunt whitetail deer.

I'm also not saying that the 7 magnums are ideal big bear medicine. Yet I understand one might do the trick time and time again. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction........

Chuck

As I said, I don't go that way. I have rifles in 22.lr, 30-06, and 375 H&H. I just got an education on .338, and, a 375 necked down to 338, makes about as much sense as a 375 necked down to .35. But, whatever, it's still the 375 H&H., almost.
If you want a bear rifle, and the best all around game caliber ever made, get a 375. If you want a sort of great 375, necked, down, get a lesser calber.

My point is, 30-06 and 375 H&H do less time in safes, then any other calibers....

gs

I'd go with a 30-06 or a 30-06. I might even consider a 30-06