I'm looking to build a semi-custom hunting rifle and I'd like to hear your opinions on what would be the best caliber. I'm planning on selling all my other rifles and using this gun for all my big game hunting. I will be hunting deer 99% of the time so there will be no need for an "Ultra-anything". Antelope or a guided elk/bear hunt may be in the cards some day but it would definitely not be the norm. I'm leaning towards the a 257 Wby(like I've been hit with a Big Stick ) or 280 Rem but until I send in the action to Pac-Nor, everything's still fair game.

I like the idea of an ultralight 308 win. With 165 grain premium bullets. It will handle anything up to 300 yards. Hunting is 99% carrying a rifle looking for game, and 1% shooting. Might as well be comfortable.

Happy Hunting

here we go again...

I think a good old fashioned 30.06-
150s for little stuff, 165s for deer & 180 partitions or FailSafes for anything big or tough.
works for me...

mine is a SteyrMannlicher"M"Pro- double set trigger, Zeiss 3-9x36 Diavari.
It's 20yrs old- shoots a nice .5moa and I've only got about $1300 in it.

I agree that for a true "all-around" NA rifle it should be in some sort of 30 caliber as a "one-rifle-rifle" is a compromise and the .308" bore is the ultimate compromise caliber. Whatever you choose is entirely your preference... 308, 30-06, 300's... I like them all. My current "all-arounder" for here in Montana is an M70 chambered for 300 WSM. I had its barrel cut to 22" and mounted a 2x7 Leupold on top. It's handy, light, accurate, flat shooting, light recoiling and offer's plenty of wallop up close or far out (180's at 2,900 fps), antelope to elk.

I'd never do a 25 cal for a "one-rifle-rifle" and the 270 Win or 7mm-08 would be my minimum.

Brad

[ 09-09-2002, 10:04: Message edited by: Brad ]

NEBRASKA,
OH what a can of worms this could become. Personally, I see no need for one of the magnum class cartridges. There are several cartridges that will serve you well. The .30-06,IMHO, would do the job quite well. I've taken a lot of game here in the lower 48 and Alaska with one. A gentleman by the name of Granzel Fritz took a whole lot of game world wide with his only hunting rifle, a .30-06. If I remember correctly, he did it all with factory ammo.
The .280 Remington and the the .270 Winchester are also excellent selections. Of the two, Id lean a little more in favor of the .280 because of the broader selection of bullets available.
I'll be the very first to admit that this is all based on my experiences and biases from those experiences. So put your own value on this.
Another consideration may be ammo availability in a pinch. If you load, these are a lot cheaper th use and don't get meat on both ends of the rifle. Good luck.

I would go for a .30 cal. The good old 3006 would be my first choise.
Reasons: There is nowhere on earth where you can't get ammo for a 3006. That alone should be reason enough. It's big enough for that bear hunt you have in mind for the future. (Fderal High energy puts the 3006 caliber right up there with the bigger ones).
And the bullet selection is enormous.
I shoot a .270W myself, but I don't just own one rifle.
But then again...., as allways it all depends on what you like to shoot. If the recoil from a 3006 disturbs you the the .270 is a better choise a.s.o.
Bullet placement is everything, power is secondary.
Elephants have been shot with the .257 I have to agree though, that it is marginary.

K&B
Niels

I'd also have to say the 30-06 would be my choice if I could only have one rifle.

Nebraska,
If deer were 99% of the menu my choice would be the 7x64 Brenneke (now almost one century old, by the way).
If I lived in the US and were a handloader I would choose the almost identical 280 Remington. If i did not handload, I would go with the 270 Wionchester.
montero

Nebraska,

The mention of 257 Wby and 280 Rem tells a story

One of my closest friends has shot over 100 animals in Africa over 4 trips, with biggest being Eland. He has used 257 Wby, 7mm STW and 300 Wby with Barnes X bullets. He is now a complete convert to the 257 bore, provided Barnes X bullets are used.

But that raises a problem. What if the 257 won't shoot X bullets. No disrespect meant, but I think his budget for barrels is bigger than yours.

The fact that you mention the 257 and 280 Remington tells me that you have come to realise that the 25 to 28 caliber just seems to shoot easier than 30 caliber. More likely to shoot different loads to the same point, more likely to shoot to the group from a cold clean barrel or a barrel with cold hard fouling.

You also say this is to be the "one rifle"

My suggestion would be either the 270 or 7mm Remington Magnum.

If the 300 Magnums will kill better than the 270 or 7 mm Rem, you will not shoot enough animals to see it.

If you are going to spend some money on "one rifle" you also need to be happy and relaxed with your choice of caliber.

270 and 7mm Remington are universal choices that also do very well on paper when you shoot your rifle.

270 and 7mm Rem are nicer shooters than 30/06 or 300 Magnum.

As to 280 Remington, why have a caliber that is not known, a caliber you have justify and for no gain over the 270. But then again you might be looking for a challenge. You could be coming to Australia and have made a bet with your friends that you will get 280 ammo here or cases for the 280

If you have 3 elk to shoot, there is a good chance that the 500 A Square or 585 Nyati will show an advantage over the 270. If you have 10 elk to shoot there would be no doubt. But I thik you would need to shoot a lot of elk to see the difference between 280, 270, 7mm Rem, 300 Magnum etc.

My summary:

257 Wby, needs to shoot with Barnes X bullets and shoot real well to justify itself. Will you be getting it chambered with a 257 reamer that does not have the Wby freebore. Decisions and questions. Which 257 do you have????

270 or 7mm Remington are the best.

Mike

I have been playing around with the same idea myself... can�t get my mind set on only using one rifle though!! But in my thoughts I have come up with the 7mm Remington Magnum as a likely candidate if I ever had to convert to a one-gun-man.....

The last couple of posts finally nailed it . Deer in open country with an occational elk or bear ? 7mm Remington magnum all the way . That caliber was made with you in mind , Nebraska .

You can't go wrong with a 30-06. It is probably the very best "all around" rifle ever, and probably always will be.

Get a .300 Winchester. It'll do all that the .30-06 will do and then some, making it even MORE versatile than "The Great Icon" is, plus it doesn't kick all that much more and it's still widely-available.

AD

Get a .270 win.

weidmannsheil martin

My choice would be 7 MM Rem, but I would feel undergunned for elk and bear. Since you're going the custom route, I would have the smith set up 2 barrels for that rifle with the same contour, etc. These would be in 7 MM Rem and .338 Win.

7 mm Remington mag. If you ever come up with enough money to hunt Africa or shoot a Brown bear - then you will also be able to afford a 338.

Rifleman, that is one of the most intelligent points that anyone could possibly make about rifle/cartridge selection. Most of this fussin' & fumin' about "all-around" cartridge selection is an exercise in mental gymnastics and little else. Indeed, if you can afford to hunt the big bears, etc., you can afford more than one rifle - you can afford several, in fact!

Nebraska, I sent you, at my own personal expense, and information package. Did you receive it? If so, a simple note of thanks would have been an appropriate gesture, don't you agree?

AD

[ 09-09-2002, 18:37: Message edited by: allen day ]

I've come full circle on this subject. I have always liked magnum's. They really are good elk medicine. Personally I've always prefered a .300 mag. But since 1982, As an outfitter and guide in the state of Montana and having fielded over 750 clients and friends writers etc....and booking thousands of hunters all over the world I'd suggest that most hunters cannot shoot magnums as accurately. No duh, right? But so many new hunters buy "big" boomers without even shooting one first. Accuracy can suffer.And we all know how "vital" (pun intended) this is.

The question is what caliber for a one gun hunter? I suspect you are refering to NA hunting. I'd vote the good old, plain old, boring
30-06. Period. For Africa the natural choice is the .375. Happy Hunting!

To me a lot of the choice should be based on what the individuals ability to deal with the bigger guns is like.
Like Keith says most can handle the 06 class rounds just fine, and more than a few can handle the bigger sticks.

If you're not comfy with with the bigger rounds stay with the 06 class (doesn't matter which to me,06/280 or the 270).

If you can handle the bigger rounds then take a close look at the 300's the 338's and the 340's.

Just my thoughts, now lets all get on the hill!

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

To me the biggest thing here is to know your gun,know your ability, and have the discipline to stay within those guidelines.

I'd agree with most of what's been said already, but spent the weekend becoming familiar with my own personal limitations. I was out exploring, driving logging roads and having a picnic with the wife and young 'un. At each clearcut, drainage, whatever I'd make my best guess concerning distance and verify afterward with my rangefinder. I was sometimes embarassingly wrong!

I have no experience with the 7mm mags but the .300 Win I carry helps minimize the errors. Of course, you still have to do your best to get everything right regardless of caliber. The maggies probably don't kill any deader than the '06, but they shoot FLAT. Other'n that, I'd carry my old '06.

My two cents, worth every penny

Redial

Well I think I�ll go along with the 7MM Magnum crowd. It shoots flatter than the 06 and since you mentioned Antelope in your post my guess is you�re a plains hunter and not hunting in underbrush. It also has a better following and you can get ammo for one anywhere. In fact the next guy you meet in the woods is likely to have ammo for your gun. Don�t worry about the belted Magnum part you hear about you�ll get over it LOL as soon as you kill something with it. Have been shooting one for over 27 years now. I have other calibers but I seem to just keep coming back to the 7. As for recoil it is almost identical to the 06. Yes I do have a 30-06 but it sits in the safe most of the time and yes the bigger guns do to unless I�m going where there is something large brown a fuzzy.

Just get whatever you want and make it work. A friend has a .257 Weatherby in a plastic stocked Mark V. He likes it, I don't. But his rifle is very accurate, has low recoil and works for him. He has taken game in Africa with it and will take it again. He is selling his .300 Mags as they are not, in his opinion, as effective as larger calibers.

That Mark V functions very well. It has a very good trigger. Of course rifles like this are long and heavy but have good recoil and shoot really flat.

My favorite varmint rifle has a MV of 3,600 fps. I had the chronograph that day and shot the .257 Weatherby over it and a group at the same time. It clocked 3,650 fps! They really do it!

30-06 or 280.

I like short-action cartridges and so my vote would be for either the plain-jane .308 Winchester or if you want a little more...the .300WSM or if you like Remingtons then the .300SAUM.

.280, 'nuff said.

A 7mm rem mag or 30 cal something will do.

To me it is the 7mm mag. Nearly every make of rifle is chambered for it. Plenty powerful enough without kicking you to death. Factory ammo available most anywhere in great variety and reloading supplies and information plentiful. Main drawback to me appears to be short case life.

Get yourself a .505 Gibbs, my friend. It's just right for deer & antelope to about 400 yards and, will do in a pinch the occasional elk or blackie, with careful shot placement.

Otherwise, go for that .257 Wea. you seem to fancy and, like Mike375 says, try the 100 grain Barnes XLC's at about 3700 fps. It kills like Mings Death Ray, according to Dr. Zarkoff.

I would opt for a .375 H&H and load up or down depending upon the occasion, you never know when you might need a rifle with a little bit more.

I'm with the 300 crowd. I bought a 300 WSM when they first came out. If I had it in 1963 I doubt I'd ever buy another gun.

Growing up, the 30.06 was a legend that scared the shit out of me. When the 300 Win. Mag. came out, I knew it would kick the piss out of me if I just looked at it, so it took me to get 54 years old before buying a 300. It's my last gun.

IMHO the 308 is the finest all around North American round ever concieved, however the fact that you said its for 99% deer makes me suggest a 270.

Each man is entitled to his opinion, but here is something to think about:

The 30-06 is the most popular rifle chambering in the world, to include the European chamberings. And the 30-06 is actually quite popular in Europe.

The 30-06 can handle bullets from 110 grains up to 220 grains. Once the bullet weight gets past 165 grains, the 30-06 comes into its own against the .308 win. (Compare the velocities possible with 180 grain bullets, which would be preferred for really large game).

I love the .270, and might choose that chambering if I were held to only one gun, but personal bias is coming into play there, as you're seeing throughout this thread.

Setting aside all personal biases, it's really a no-brainer in favor of the 30-06. You'll find an abundance of factory ammunition wherever you may travel. The 30-06 can effectively digest just about anything that passes for gunpowder--check out your loading manuals and you'll see what I mean. Thirty caliber bullets are in great abundance, so there should never be a problem finding loading components.

Go with the 30-06. It didn't become the world's most popular high powered rifle cartridge by accident.

Dan Newberry
green 788

It sure didn't, but then being the world's best military cartridge for two world wars didn't hurt anything either. ANY MILITARY CARTRIDGE IS ASSURED INSTANT COMMERCIAL SUCCESS.
I wonder if it had been intro'd as a sporting round, as most other cartridges are, it would have achieved it's vaulted status?
Nevertheless, it will serve nicely for the purposes mentioned. My own choice would either be the 270WCF or 300Wby.

John S,
I'd sure hate to stumble into yours and Allens camp while packin' an '06! Man, you guys never miss a chance to shit can it, do ya?
Is there a story behind your mutual disdain for the .30-06? Just askin' ... no offense intended.

True guys, but likewise its no mistake that the same military that is responsible for the 30-06 being what it is today has opted to replace it with a 308. Personally, as someone who reloads I dont select my calibers depending on cartridge availability. In fact I kind of fancy the more rare ones, screw what everybody else has..

Dans point about the 06 leaving the 308 behind after the 165 grn realm is true but if the largest thing to kill is something like Elk then its simply not nessesary and there are much better choices if it is. Advantages of the 308 are real and tangible as well but I wont go into the details, you all know what they are.

I agree with those who recommend a .270 Winchester. It has been used to take every game animal in North America hundreds -- probably thousands -- of times, and that includes elk, moose, and the biggest bears, although it is lighter than most would recommend for those animals. It's better than the 280 because ammunition and brass is more widely available for the 270. Even if you handload all the time, it's useful to have a caliber for which you can easily find factory ammunition in a pinch.

The 7mm magnums have more power and blast than you need. The 30-06 would also work well, but it has more kick than you need for deer-sized animals, and it won't work as well on far-off small animals and varmints as the 270 will with its 130 and 110 grain bullets. That's true for the 308 too -- it's pleasant to shoot, but it's not really a very good varmint rifle.

The problem with the 257 Weatherby is that with it, again as with the 7mm magnums, you are getting yourself more blast, noise, and kick than you really need, and you are limiting yourself in availability of ammunition and brass.

There's a reason Jack O'Connor and others praised the 270 so highly -- it does the job, without fuss.

[ 09-11-2002, 23:24: Message edited by: LE270 ]

As a one gun hunter(soon to be anyway) I chose the .308 mainly as I like short actions and it is quite a versitile cartridge. I would however recommend a .300 Win Mag. It has the power to take anything in NA and can be loaded to resemble .308 and 30-06 if you don't need the punch of .300 Win. Mag. loads. if you don't hand load there is plenty of factory ammo available and if you do brass, bullets , and dies are all available and reasonably prices. I will admit I like the idea of a .270WSM as a real go anywhere do most of everything rifle.(I think .270 is a bit light for the big bears.)

Nick, it's not as bad as all that!

I started hunting with the .30-06 thirty years ago at age fifteen, and I've used it for a surprising number of blacktail, mule, and whitetail deer plus elk over the years. It's a GOOD CARTRIDGE, no question about it.

It's also something of a Sacred Cow, and I think there's more mindless rhetoric repeated about the .30-06 than any other cartridge. The number one mindless chant, repeated by nearly every gunstore clerk in the country, and by legions of hunters who simply aren't familiar with any other cartridge is, "There's NOTHING more versatile than the .30-06!"

Well, let's see........ The .300 magnums, as a class, shoot exactly the same bullets that the .30-06 does, only at 200 to 300 fps. or more velocity, which results in a flatter trajectory and more energy delivery at all ranges, etc., etc., making these cartridges even more versatile than the .30-06. To say otherwise would be the same as saying that the .300 Savage is more versatile than the .30-06 is. Following the same sort of logic straight down the line can lead to no other conclusion.

As far as I'm concerned, all of the .338 magnums, plus the .375 magnums are more versatile than the .30-06 is as well.

AD