I notice you say five rifles for "big game".
In my opinion, you don't need that many.

So I'd throw in a .22 rimfire in a good quality bolt action for starters. This is needed for small game and general plinking.

A .223 for coyotes, varmits & general stuff that needs killin.

A .270 for deer, antelope and sheep sized game.

A .300 mag for elk, caribou & larger sized big game.

A .338 for the biggest critters such as brown bear or moose. In my opinion the only reason to go much larger would be if Africa is on your aggenda.

Ideally, all the guns would be near identical bolt actions, with Leupold scopes, built to fit you, and accurized.

I would assume that you will not be able to go out and buy all five at one time. I would buy the following rifles in the calibers indicated in this order:

9.3x62 It will handle anything in North America at any reasonable range

22LR Handles all you target practice and small game needs

7RemMag or .30 cal magnum of your choice Long range hunting (there are some places where you just ain't gonna get any closer!)

.375HH Just the ticket for Africa and really big bears (The 9.3x62 will handle the chore if someone invites you along before you get your .375)

12ga shotgun-your choice of action There are some places where you can't hunt deer with a rifle and you are gonna need a good bird gun.

All the centerfire rifles would be Mausers or M70's CRF. The 22LR could be 10/22 or the Ruger bolt action. Leupold scopes are very popular, but Weaver's Classic scopes are extremely good for the money.

The rounds you picked are very similar in use to those I've picked, but the 9.3x62 is a factory loading. Good luck with your arsenal. Ku-dude

Given the understanding that I don't spend much time shooting varmits at range my 5 gun battery for North America is:

1) 223 in a highly specialized flat top AR-15. Heavy bbl, Smith Ent. brake, tubular hand guard, 6.5-20 Leupold VX-III. (Also have an M$ top end with permanently attached brake for plinking around).

2) 308 M7400 Remington used as a handy field gun in the East where noise may be an issue for the land owner.

3) 300 WinMag M70 ... plain jane synthetic stock, blue field piece. Point was to feel goods about using it.

4) 338 Win Mag pre-64 M70 CRF custom rifle. Magneported Kreiger bbl, McMillan pilar bedded stock, DGR sights and Leupold QR mounts with a 2.5-8 Leupold VX-III. Weights in at 8 1/4 pounds ready to shoot. Holds 1.5-2" groups at 300 yards rested on a pack.

5) 375 H&H on a Japanese Weatherby WeatherMark Mark V. Fitted with Leupold QR mounts and a Zeiss Conquest 3-9. Cycles like a dream ... groups better than 1/2 MOA.

If I lived in the West ... would swap out #2 for a 257 Roberts or a 270.

Other than that ... the only thing I've needed to change is the ammunition. Have not had good success with the short range performance of Nosler BTs. Like Partitions in those rifles that like'm.

Don't forget the pump 12 gauge field shotgun. Will add more than several weeks to your hunting every year.

Five for North America?

Get a .35 Whelen and a .257 Roberts and call it done.

Or any other similar variation will work.
(9.3x62 + 6.5x55)
(.338 + .270)
(.300 Win Mag + .243)
etc., etc., ...

Then again, far be it from me to keep a rifle lover from getting five or more of these wonderful things that occupy so much of our thought. Hey, we're all in this together...

[ 12-30-2002, 08:12: Message edited by: Wismon ]

if you're staying in NA I'd say you don't need more than the following:

A 22LR is great for just plinking and practice, plus it's cheap to feed.

A heavy .223 (Savage) will give you great performance without wearing out the barrel. And ammo is everywhere. Just be very careful about what rate of twist you get. This is on the top of my list of rifles to buy.

A "sporter" 300 WM (or 300 WSM if you reload). I have a Browning A-bolt Stainless Stalker which shoots less than 1MOA. This will take care of everything in NA. The 150gr bullets are not overkill on most deer. You can stoke it with 220gr Roundnose or 200gr GameKings and provided you know how to shoot take the biggest bears. You might be more confident if your guide has a .375 over his shoulder, but it's by no means necessary.

If you every get to Africa you have lot of choices. I'm working that myself right now. I think the 416 Remington is my top choice.

That's 3 rifles in NA, and a 4th if you ever get to Africa. I guess you could bring along the 416 for a brown bear if you want, but the 300WM will do fine.

Watch out for gun-creep!!!

I'm shooting for a 2 rifle battery and so far, I'm sitting on:

3 - 223 Rems
1 - 22-250 Rem
2 - 25-06 Rems
1 - 270 Win
1 - 280 Rem
1 - 7mm Rem Mag
1 - 30-06 Spring

and looking at:

338 Win
338 RUM
375 H&H

So it looks like I'll only need 3 more rifles to complete my 2 rifle battery. That way, I'll be able to pick out any two I want!!! So it looks like you may need 33 guns for a complete 5 rifle battery. <grin>

If you're set on 5, I'd go:

22 LR - Ruger 10-22
223 Rem - AR-15
25-06 Rem - Rem 700
338 Win
416 Rem Mag

How come it's soooooo much easier to settle on someone else's battery?

I think Steiny nailed it. Except instead of his 300 mag, I'd get a carbine length 308 like a Model 7 or Ruger RSI for a pig and woods gun. The 338 will handle most of the 300's duties.

Gotta keep tellin you guys, for North American game hunting for the following situations;

Under 200 yard timber hunting, and something that will hit with plenty of authority, you really need to put a lever action 45-70 into your 5-gun battery.

Fast handling,
penetration plus,
plenty of whomp,
perfect for deer, elk, moose, and hogs!

No joke, this cartridge should not be dismissed. It has a very distinguished resume.

[ 12-31-2002, 01:20: Message edited by: Elkslayer ]

ElkSlayer, I'll not dispute the 45-70 is a darn good round... I'd prefer one in a bolt action carbine though! Actually I have a WSM that I'll probably re-barrel to 350 RM... that's a darn good elk round too! Big holes are good!

i'm with nebraska on this one, buy @100 or so rifles then glean out your favorite 5.

[ 12-31-2002, 05:49: Message edited by: Curtis_Lemay ]

1. .223
2. .260 for deer & pronghorn
3. 7mm Rem Mag / .300 Mag all-'rounder
4. .35 Whelan for Bear, Elk, large plains game
5. .375 for versatility

This gives you a good variety of useful rounds, with enough overlap to serve as back-up.

You could hunt Mule Deer or Elk with your 7mm/.300, and take the .35 as back up.

Whitetail or Pronghorn, use the .260, backing it up with the 7mm / .300.

I like your basic battery, but I like the .260 more for variety of factory loads, and the .375 for versatility. Of course, you could buy a .308/.30-06/.300 and a .375 and do it all.

I am going to limit mine to strictly centerfires and for N. American game.
1. 17 Rem for varmints and predators
2. 243 for long range varmints
3. 7mm Mag for antelope/mule deer/whitetails
4. 338 Win Mag for elk
5. 45/70 for black bear and deer in the brush.

Hey Greg... could you give us guys a break and shrink your buff picture so we don't have to wait so long to load a thread you've posted on...?

Thanks.

Thanks for all the ideas and keep them coming.

But I don't plan a maximum of five rifles only. Just five go to guns for the majority of my hunting. I love guns and especially rifles too much for that. Their like potato chips you just can't eat one.

Limiting one's self to only 5 would be unecessary self- flagellation or the rules created by some nefarious socialist bureaucrat (i.e. Hillary Clinton).

Good Shooting,

HBB

22-250 for Varmints and such

.300 Win mag for everything, including varmints and such

.45/70 Guide Gun for just kicking around in the bush

Here's what I would opt for:
1. .22RF (I've got several, but favor a 10/22)
2. .223 (I've got a light handy one for predators and a heavy barrel for varmints)
3. 6.5X55 for deer/antelope and similar sized game (I keep a .243 in the safe to act as a backup for #2,3 and to serve as a loaner). For me, the 6.5 does pretty much everything I need without a lot of fuss, plus it's unique enough that I find it interesting. Everybody has a .270 or '06, but not to many folks packing a Swede here in the southwest.

Those are what I have, here's what I need:
4. Since I'm planning an African plains game hunt, I'm leaning towards a .338 WM to cover the top end. Plus, this will round out my NA rifle battery really well.

And finally:
5. If I go back to Africa for DG, I'll probably end up with a .375 or a .416 of some flavor, but for now I just don't see the need.

I figure I'm pretty well rounded with a .22, .223, 6.5, and (hopefully) .338. If you're not counting .22s, shotguns, or muzzleloaders, I suppose I'd be happy with three, but don't tell my wife that

5 rifles to look after all the situations I will encounter in ab-which will pretty much cover NA for types of conditions and game hunted

22 LR who can live without one
22-250 medium/long range rig
270 Win in lightweight rifle Can handle any deer ituation and sheep hunting
7mm Mag(any of many) for deer hunts where you might run into elk/moose
338 Mag for Elk/Moose/bear hunts where you might run into deer.

These units are, and have proven to, make a super battery for the varied conditions we can encounter on a yearly basis in my country.

BR

I would LOVE to. How do I do it. It's my picture and it annoys me. I was thinking about removing it. Most sites automatically shrink the pic when it's in the signature.

Never mind. I think i figured it out.

Last try.

Thanks Greg... you're a gentleman!

BA

I shoot two 5 rifle batteries. The first battery is 1. 22 mag 2. 30-30 3. .300 Win 4. .340 Wby 5. .416 Rem. The Second battery is 1. .257 Wby 2. 7MM STW 3. .338 Lapua 4. .358 STA 5. .416 Rem. These batteries have a tendency to change, depending on what project I am working on. Happiness is a new chambering with all the reloading equipment, powder, primers, bullets and time. Good shooting.

HI,

I have ask myselk the same question and have come to the 416 Rigby. The reason is very simple. It can drop anything around and also can shoot very flat, I also am going get it in a a weight that is managable,rifle weight.The bullet selection is wide and is a easy round to reload.And if ever you want or can take a trip to Africa it will handle any game there as well. I beleive it is better to be be over guned yhan being with a questionable round. Thanks,Kev

You originally said 5 CENTERFIRES, but in NA you really don't need that many centerfires.

I'll start by saying you need a varmint caliber, a deer size caliber then a caliber for elk and larger. That means THREE CALIBERS, not five. Ok got that out of the way.

Then you can add a brush gun and then a 'fun' gun.
So now we have FIVE!

Also, you can add a .22LR and a 12 ga shotgun as those are ALWAYS needed for plinking, playing shooting games, small game and bird hunting.

Now a word on case sizes. NOBODY in NA 'needs' a MAGNUM case for anything. It's all hype and ego driving that train!

So my picks for 5.
1)Varmint caliber=.223
2)Deer caliber=.25-06
3)Elk+ caliber=.338-06
4)Brush gun=lever action in .44mag to match your sidearm.
5)Fun Gun=for me it would be the .444Marlin as it can replace #3 too!

There ya go! Three to take care of business and two more to replace the others when you learn to 'hunt' rather than 'snipe!'

I realize that you say the 300 WM kicks too much but I think if you were to try 165 grain bullets in a average weight rifle (not a featherweight) than you would not think it kicks too much.

With that said, here are my choices:

1) Bolt action Stainless/Synthetic, 26" and a VariX-III scope in 300WM. Load 110-150 grainers for Coyotes, 165/168 grain for deer and antelope, then if you're elk hunting you could go with a Barnes 165 or 168gr XLC or if you don't mind a little more recoil if you're elk hunting then load up a 200 grain Nosler.

(You don't need the 257 Roberts as the 300WM can do everything that the 257 will do for you.) I think its a good idea to practice with your deer/elk riflewith your on varmints.

2)For whitetail/Elk in thickets or black bears in a swamp you could use a 12 gauge with slugs. Get a Remington 1187 with a rifled barrel and open sights or a low power scope. You can also get other barrels for the gun for shooting birds.

3)In case you ever make it to Africa you could decide on that rifle when you decide to go to Africa. (I don't know much about African big game rifles)

4).223 w/ 26" heavy barrel would be fun for varmints and paper punching.

I think your selection of Savage, CZ 550 series, and Winchester Model 70s are all wise choices.

Good luck on you firearm shopping.

For big game hunting in North America 5 may be enough, I use:

BAR Gr. IV in 270 (only in nice weather)(140gr. loads)
Custom Mauser in 275 Rigby (same as 7x57)(154 gr. loads)
Ruger 77 RSI carbine in 308 (150 gr. loads)
BAR Gr. III in 30-06 (180 gr. loads)
BLR in 300 Win Mag (165 gr. loads)
Dumoulin on a FN action in 338 Win Mag (250 gr. loads)

Oops, that's more than 5 and I didn't count the drilling in 9.3 x 72R or the 3 Martini action rifles. Oh well, I'm sure I could get down to just five if I really had too, thank God there's no reason to.

If a person really was being practical (shooters seldome are or we wouldn't own so many guns) three rifles will do everything. If I was bankrupt and had to keep my three rifles to continue to hunt, they would be .220 Swift (this could be a .223, but the Swift is far better on coyotes and that's my main varmint.) The second gun would be a 7mm Mag, this would handle everything except the big bears, moose, etd. The third would be .375 H&H, use it for the big stuff and you'll be set for Africa. Actually, if you were only hunting plains game, the 7mm would work and you could spend the money saved on trophy fees. I'm taking my first trip to Africa in May- I'm taking a 7x57 and my .375, probably don't need the .375, but I've owned one for 20 years and haven't shot a head of game with it.

By the way, we've had 2 Savage 110's in my family, both shot great and both developed feeding problems after a few years of hard use. Both rifles would fail to hold the cartridges in the magazine if there were more than 2 shellsin it. This sucks when you're hunting.

.22
.270 Win
.300 Win Mag
.338 Win Mag

.12 ga shotgun (perferably something like an 870 you can change barrels on to shoot slugs and shot)

My all American battery would consist of

1 22 Long Rifle
2 220 Swift
3 280 Rem
4 300 Weatherby
5 375 Weatherby

and for up close good measure, a 12 guage w/slugs alternating w/00buck.

That should keep Gremlins and political hacks away from anybody's door.

My idee is:
223 - M70 post 64 w 3x9x40 light weight stuff
243 - Savage M112V - put your big scope on this one, like a 6.5x20 and make it the serious varmit rig w/ 70 - 75 gr bullets
6.5x55 - Classic M70 w/ straight 6 scope for most of your big game hunting. If you want one even better, look for a 264WM
300 of your choice. Mine is a H&H but I can live with any of the real mags (i.e., no short mags) except the 30-378, too much boomenshutzer for me. Put a 3x9x40 on this one too.
Now you've got one to play "gun trader" with. Buy one, shoot it and either replace one of the first 4 or trade it and get another one until you have the perfect 27 gun battery.

.22 lr
.243
6.5x55
.280
.45-70

Buy a good 270, 30-06 or 7mm mag. Spend the rest of the money to go hunting. After you've used it for awhile you will be better able to tell what suits you.

5 rifle battery:

1. 22 LR rifle

2. 12 gauge side by side shotgun with choke tubes

3. 30-06

4. a big bore for bears, moose and elk in timber. 9.3 x 62, 375 H&H, 416 rem or rig, 458 win mag, 45-70 etc would be fine.

5. a handgun for use in camp, such as a short barreled .357

My current battery.

#1 Volquartsen 22 Magnum
#2 22BR built on a Rem 700 action.
#3 7.82 Lazzeroni Patriot
#4 9.53 Lazzeroni HellCat
#5 450 Marlin built on a Rem 700 action

The only other rifle I really think I should have is a nice 223....just for the cheap ammo, etc.

The only rifle I currently "want" is a hot little .25 bore...if Winchester/Remington would get off the pot and bring out either the SAUM or the WSM in this bore-size I would be very

i currently have (in rifles):

22 WMR in a 22" contender carbine
6.5x284 in a 24" encore carbine

next on my list is a 338-06 for the encore
if i ever start with varminting (move further west) i'll add a 220 swift barrel as well

i also intend to get a custom or semi-custom stainless bolt action on a high quality synthetic stock for mountain hunting . . . probably in 300 WSM. that would complete my 5 rifle lineup for NA . . .

(well, i'll also be getting a 209x50cal muzzleloader barrel for the encore, as well)

if i ever go after buffs in Africa, then i'll add a 416 Rigby, probably in a ruger #1

and speaking of #1's, i've always wanted one in a .257 roberts - don't really know why

and speaking of wants - i've long had a liking for sav 99s in 300 sav

my wife currently has:

ruger 10/22
ruger m77 in 7x57 (which we want to restock, at minimum, and possibly rebarrel - but we'll keep it a 7x57)
encore 260 rem in 22" barrel

we'll be getting her a 17 HMR contender barrel this year and are looking at getting her a 308 win barrel in the near future.

we also have 3 shotguns: my 12 Ga Benelli Nova and her 20 gauge Rem 870 featherweight, as well as my very first gun - a 20 gauge stevens youth model

and of course, being TC junkies, there are also some TC pistol barrels: 10" 30-30 cont., 12" 17 HMR contender, and 12" 44 mag encore barrel (which i intend to replace with a 454 casull custom barrel)

For North America I could get by with 4:

1. Bolt Action 22 LR
2. Bolt Action 22-250
3. Bolt action 30-06
4. Bolt actiom 338 Win Mag

This would cover EVERYTHING in north America quite handily. My problem is that I love rifles and have all of this......and much more! Filling in ALL the gaps

This one's easy and I have them all!!!

1) 22 lr
2) 7mm mag
3) 35 Whelen
4) 22-250
5) 12 ga pump or semi