I've noticed over the years the way I end up with a specific Bullet/Cartridge/Rifle has changed. In some situations, only one manufacturer makes a Rifle for a particular Cartridge, and obviously that has a bearing on the end result.

So, my original question is, which do you pick first?

1. Do you pick a specific Bullet for a specific head of Game first?

2. Do you pick a specific Cartridge for a specific MAX distance first?

3. Do you pick a specific firearm for a specific environment first?

Then once you made that choice, which is next, etc.

Do you base the choices on "experience" with a similar product or because you have never used one of them(a particular Bullet, Cartridge, or Rifle) and you have no experience with it and just want to try it?

None of the above.....


One caliber and one bullet.Take your pick,they all work if your up to the task.

Jayco.

This may seem arse backwards but, I usually order it like this.

1st the Game / Conditions - (the game dictates the tools for the job)(Conditions dictate the perfomance requirments)

2nd the Cartridge - (game dictates the cartridge range, small, med. or large bore.)

3rd the Bullet - (bullet type is dictated by game, then Conditions, then Cartridge)

4th the rifle - (rifle is built around what I am trying to do in the first 3 criteria points.)

Philosophically, I agree with Jayco. .50 caliber Sharps will do it all! I hear that when you use them on prairie dogs, the other guys start flinching and cussing after awhile. However, I cheat and use a variety of guns. Pick the rifle for the distance, and cartridge to boot. They are a pair from the start. I don't put a Swift in a lever action, nor a .470 in a bolt gun. Some things go together like love and attorneys, so it is with guns and ammo.

Here is my preference.
First........... what game do I hunt and in what terrain. This gives me a ball park for rifle and caliber choice.
Second....comes rifle.
Do you walk a lot with gun at port ready to fire when the Moose/elk or deer jumps up and runs? Do you sit in ambush along fields waiting for game to come out at dawn and dusk? You are a moutain hunter on the ridges or a flat lander walking along coolies looking for elk or deer? Or,do you drive around and shoot from the vehicle? What ever your style is dictates the handling qualities or the lack there of you require in a rifle. A beanfield rifle is hopelesly out of place on a deer drive like a 10 Gauge double waterfowler is on fast flushing huns. A 20 inch Manlicher stocked .308 carbine is not your best pick for open prairie antelope shooting, but great for Moose/elk in the boreal forest or on a whitetail push for portability and fast handling qualities.
Third........ is caliber.
For deer anything between .250 Savage and 300 Wheatherby. For Moose/elk/bear anything between .270 and .375.
Much caliber choice in the above groups depends more on hormones. Do you find fat and short sexy ........or do you prefer classic long and slender? Are you high velocity fan, or a medium/low velocity buff. Small bore nut or large bore enthusiast? All those biases influence your caliber choice.
Also hunting terrain dictates most frequent shooting distances, which narrows down range of suitable calibers for you.
Fourth ............ is bullet choice.
Take a bullet that matches the game. One that gives good penetration, expansion and accuracy at your choosen impact distance on the game you intend to kill. Put them in the heart/lung/spine and it all over. There is a wide range of excellent bullet choices available for your intended purpose. Of the bullets that fill your requirements, pick the one that shoots best in your rifle.

Hot Core ----- I started off a whitetail hunter with a 30-30 Marlin 336 with iron sights and it did me well. I progressed to a .308 BLR and thought I had all I needed. I got the opportunity to go Elk hunting and to Alaska after Bear and Caribou and graduated to a .300 Win mag. A close encounter with 4 big Bears convinced me something bigger was desirable if I valued my hide and progressed to a .340 Wby. Another Alaska trip saw me seeking another "Bear Bore" and along came a .358 STA that filled the bill very nicely for everyting in Alaska and Western US. I then cast my eyes to Africa dreaming of Cape Buffalo and up pops a .416 Rem in Model 70 Win and a .416 Rigby in Ruger # l. ----- To answer your question, the game I am seeking determines my choice of rifle chambering. Now the guy that said one rifle, one bullet, one caliber, what in the hell could be more dull, shucks I bet he thinks of Women the same way. Imagine reloading just one chambering every night after night after night, maybe I should have said rifle. Now don't let your imagination run away with itself. Good shooting.

The rifle and bullet depends on the circumstances, I usually have something (rifle) suitable, or that can be made suitable for whatever I intend to hunt, but more often than not the particular game dictates the other two. I usually select a bullet for the task and then see if I can get it to shoot, most of the time the results are satisfactory, but not always.

As an example, I had intended on using 185 grn 8mm core locts for Elk this year, but they just werent shooting well enough in my 8mm, so now its on to plan "B".. I have a c, d, and e as well.

It was easy for me to decide on what cartridge before I purchased it. I asked other hunters what rifles they used for moose and bears, and it seemed that everyone had a .30-06, .300WM, and .338WM, but when talking about bears they would prefer the .338. I chose "cartridge" first, and bullets became important when I got into the .338 ballistics. When I bought it I had no idea that .33 bullets had such a great SD, so I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that I could use some of the heavier bullets for added penetration, which is a good thing when hunting in bear country.

I forgot to mention that when I purchased the only big game rifle, I had already decided that it had to be made of stainless steel. I came to that conclusion after talking to hunters in this area of Alaska.

I agree with the process that starts with picking the game to be hunted, and the circumstances. If it's deer size and up close I might pick my .41 Mag., if not then I go with a rifle. Most times it is just a question of which one do I want to take because all will do the task (25.06, .308, 300 WSM). I took the .308 a few years back for elk simply because I hadn't used it in about ten years. Once I pick the gun then it's back to the game I'm after to select the bullet weight and style.

I begin with terminal ballistics and work backward to the trigger. IOW, how much penetration do I need from the bullet and how far from the muzzle is the farthest I'm going to need it.



So I start with assessing the maximum range I feel confident in shooting at that size game with the animal motionless but angled away and from a field rest. Then I choose an appropriate bullet for the game (usually its bonded or a partition and heavy-for-caliber); then a cartridge that will deliver that bullet with sufficient velocity at that maximum range and shot angle.



While that sounds like I'm making a case for "magnums" it's actually just making a case for shot opportunity. If I turn down a shot I want it to be because I was dissatisfied with the opportunity presented, not because I didn't have the appropriate chambering.



For instance, where I deer hunt the most often the absolute longest shot possible on the property is 225 yds. That's a partition in a .243, .270, .308. /06, .45/70 whatever. Grab a gun and go hunting. And most of my stands offer 75 yd. shots max; less for still hunting. A muzzleloader is as good as a .300 Mag. for deer at those ranges.



Rifles don't matter much to me they all go bang the first shot. But I do like the M7 .308 or old Ruger .44 carbine for still hunting since there are "acrobatics" involved.



So for me it's game size/range, then bullet, then cartridge, then rifle. And I try to remember that the .300 mag will only get me about 75 yds over my .270 and there is some chance I can close the distance on most shots unless I'm stand hunting elevated.



Of course if I want to hunt with a particular gun due to nostalgia or whimsy all the above goes out the window.

Species:
Mountain Goat, Colorado unit G16.
Cartridge:
.270 win., .308 Winchester, or .338 Winchester Magnum.
When comparing ballistics of these cartridges the .338 wins hands down for the environment I will be goat hunting in this september. I encourage the dissenters to check out the Barnes 175 grain XFB. (Barnes Reloading manual #3). I have alot of experience with the 210 grain XFB, hopefully the 175 will also work well.
Rifle:
I have a Sako deluxe in .338, Pre-64 winchester .338, & a Tikka .338 whitetail hunter. The Tikka is the mildest mannered, most accurate of the three so it gets the nod.

Given the fact that you know what you want to shoot.
1)Cartridge
2)Rifle
3)Bullet
This lineup changes if the selection is a wildcat, or a specialty bullet is required, then you may need to select the rifle last because of twist rate, etc.

Some times it comes down to what rifle in the rack haven't I shot or used for a while. Or have I just brought something new and want to use that.

Then I would say it comes down to what type of game and terrain. Last year when I went to AK my 338 Ruger was my choice. The next time it most likely will be my Ruger stainless 416 taylor Unless it is a sheep or bou hunt. Then it well be my 700 in 300win mag.

For deer and black bear any of the rifles 6mm or above well work just fine. For the larger critters elk and above I think I well use something 7mm and above. Not that I could not kill with a smaller one but.

So I use what ever I dam well want to use with what ever bullet I have that is good for that caliber.

Absolutely excellent answers from all of you. Good to see a diversity of responses.



Back when I first started, it was with good old "Hand-me-downs" from my Father. Rolled a lot of Game and Varmints with those old firearms in calibers some of you may not even be aware of that even existed. Like a 303Sav or 22Sav High Power. Good gosh, that was a l-o-n-g time ago!



I've pretty much had myself convinced I really only like a particular kind of Rifle. It seems to make good sense to have the "functionality" of them as much alike as possible so you don't goof up fighting a SAFETY at the wong time. Well..., a look in my Safe disproves that self-induced belief. I've got all kinds of different manufacturers of firearms.



Same for cartridges.



Bullets...HAHAHA I can put some Gun Shops to SHAME!!!



But, I'm at the point in my hunting that I really enjoy trying different Bullets on Game and see just how well and differently each design performs from manufacturer to manufacturer. Don't really like to recommend a specific Bullet until I've made a couple of dozen kills with it and that can take some time.



So, I'd guess #1 for me would have been the Cartridge. And #2 the rifle to fire it in. I remember looking for a S&S 308Win M70 for about 5 years and never could find one in a Gun Shop at a "reasonable" price.



So, that seems to relegate the Bullet to #3, but only because I've already got the Firearms and Cartridges I want to try them in.

For me it has to be a scoped bolt action because I shoot them best. From there, I want a heavy-for-caliber bullet at 2,300-2,700 fps and zeroed for 150 yards. Right now, those criteria add up to a 308 and a 35 Whelen. Ideally, this rifle would take cheap factory ammo that is widely available, which is pretty much true of the 308. From that it should be obvious that I hunt in the brush most of the time, but that formula is more versatile than you'd think.

Hope this helps, Okie John.

I consider the quarry and the environment. For me, the former dictates the caliber (and I mean "caliber," not "chambering") and the latter dictates the type of rifle (bolt or lever). Once I've decided on the caliber, then I consider the chambering. Do I need sustained velocity over long distances, or will my shots be in close quarters ("close" being relative, of course) requiring a short burst of speed. After I decide on a chambering, then I decide on the actual bullets I'll try.

Whether or not I already had the gun never mattered. Often, I'd have guns built for specific hunts. I still do.

Take care.

Russ

I have found that such selection processes end up far more complicated than they need to be. I've gotten but simpler in my approach to this stuff over the years.

I select a cartridge first based on it's performance capability on a wide variety of game, plus it's general availability and shootability. Wildcats are absolutely out. They bring nothing to the table but complications and hassles that I don't want or need.

I then select a rifle (read action) based on it's suitability to the cartridge selected, as well as it's reliability, user-friendliness in the bush (for example, I want to be able to get the bolt apart without tools or gimick proceedures), parts availability, as well as it's ability to lend itself to fine accuracy. The rifle, as a whole, must be perfectly balanced and it must work well under all conditions -- from rainy late-season elk hunts here in Oregon to dry African conditions.

Bullet selection is easy, especially since there are so many really great bullets available today. I generally pick one good premium bullet and stick with it for everything from Texas whitetails to moose and eland.

Which brings me to my standard hunting rifle -- a custom-built .300 Win. Mag. on a Model 70 action with a McMillan stock, a 24" Kreiger barrel, and a 3.5-10X Leica scope. I shoot handloaded 180 gr. Nosler Partitions out of it at just under 3100 fps., and this package is not only totally reliable under all conditions, it's totally predicatable and deadly on all sizes of N. American game, as well as all African plainsgame and cats -- at least 95% of the world's big game. I only feel the need for a bigger rifle on coastal brown bear, cape buffalo, etc....

The rifle is reliable, simple, and rugged; replacement parts (if needed) will always be available; the cartridge is versatile and widely-available; and those 180 gr. Partitions are not only astoundingly accurate, they're consistent, perdictable, and quite lethal.

Why complicate things when you don't have to?

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