Let’s here everyone’s opinion on which caliber they would get for a all round rifle?

[woods89]

Well, I don't hunt in grizzly country, and I go west on one elk trip every other year with a rifle, so my needs are a little different. I'll probably get some undies in a bunch with this, but I could do everything I need with a medium capacity 6mm, I think. I don't have the opportunity to shoot in broken terrain with significant wind a lot, so when I'm out west I want my shots inside 400, preferably quite a bit less.

Without some experience it's hard to say how I would handle the grizzly aspect. I'd probably carry spray, do the best I can to avoid the situation in the first place, and figure that if an attack happens most people are just along for the ride anyways, to a certain extent. I do know that if you asked me to hit an 8'' target moving rapidly towards me multiple times, 1- I don't especially like my odds with anything, and 2-I'd probably reach for my 223 bolt gun, terminal aspects aside.

I'd love to see a realistic bear charge drill done with the average shooter and a range of rifles, including some 30 cal magnums. I think it would be a little eye opening.

 

[Jbehredt]

Eye don’t sea a knead 4 this.

 

[keystone112]

If I could only have one, I think I would lean toward a 300 Weatherby. I don't mind the weight penalty of the long action if I put it into a super light stock. Since I hand load, I could set up great loads for just about everything and even load it a bit light when I wanted to.

 

[axeforce6]

Eye don’t sea a knead 4 this.

Eye here ya

 

[WormSportsman]

.280AI is a great all around cartridge and that would win in my book. I have one and love the rifle and am looking forward to using it on a moose hunt this year with some 160gr partitions.

 

[Gen273]

If I had a desire only to own one big game rifle, it would be a .30 caliber. Probably one of 30/06, 300 WM, or 300 WSM.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

Well, I don't hunt in grizzly country, and I go west on one elk trip every other year with a rifle, so my needs are a little different. I'll probably get some undies in a bunch with this, but I could do everything I need with a medium capacity 6mm, I think. I don't have the opportunity to shoot in broken terrain with significant wind a lot, so when I'm out west I want my shots inside 400, preferably quite a bit less.

Without some experience it's hard to say how I would handle the grizzly aspect. I'd probably carry spray, do the best I can to avoid the situation in the first place, and figure that if an attack happens most people are just along for the ride anyways, to a certain extent. I do know that if you asked me to hit an 8'' target moving rapidly towards me multiple times, 1- I don't especially like my odds with anything, and 2-I'd probably reach for my 223 bolt gun, terminal aspects aside.

I'd love to see a realistic bear charge drill done with the average shooter and a range of rifles, including some 30 cal magnums. I think it would be a little eye opening.

If you ever go hunting with your 223 in serious grizz country please live stream it for us

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Reloads for 300 WM.

 

[EastHumboldt]

30-06. 22” barrel. Handy, light, deadly. Many many many animals and humans have succumbed to it. In real combat situations I might add.

 

[sbaker0029]

If there could be only one, .30-'06.

I'm currently culling my gun collection and it's been tough picking and choosing which calibers and guns to keep.
I've come to the conclusion that if you love guns and hunting it can't be done, you can't just pick one. So I've chosen three bolt guns; .243win, 6.5 cm, and .30-'06. Shooting 100, 140, 180 grains respectively. Hopefully have everything from coyote to caribou and most everything inbetween covered.

 

[TN2shot07]

Personally my vote out of your choices would be the 280 ai but as stated above with the shorter barrel you aren’t gaining a lot on your 7-08.

The 300 wsm will without a doubt make a great all around choice. I’d rather pick up a nice 30-06 and set it up how I want. If you don’t hunt alone it’s much nicer to hand off the 06, most people can handle that without issues and the ammo is cheaper/more available

 

[Rich M]

308
7mm08
6.5

all about the same.

I'd likely go with 308 to have the heavier bullet options if hunting elk.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

you already have two do it all calibers. Ammo is expensive and not really abundant, reloading components (the good ones) are nearely impossible to find, so adding a new cartridge to your aresenal might create more problems than it solves.

If this describes your current guns: the actions are smoth and feed well, triggers are crisp, barrels are accurate, stocks are free floated + rigid, and your scopes are awesome then spend the $ on ammo or tags.

 

[Elite]

Thanks for the input so far everyone. I do agree that the 30-06 and 7mm-08 are great calibers already. But I am always wondering if the 7mm-08 is enough to take a sheep. I know shot placement is everything but stuff happens in the real world especially in the mountains with the wind and environment. I know if I ended up not dropping a sheep in its tracks and it wondered off I would be wishing I had a magnum of some sort instead…

The 30-06 is a cheaper savage that my father bought me when I turned 14 and it has killed ALOT of animals over the last 15 years with no issues. But the trigger is stiff and it is overall getting worn out. So a upgrade would be nice. Figured why not step up a bit and get into a cartridge with a little more punch as I started practising long range recently and hunt a new area that is more open country for elk.


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[ResearchinStuff]

DRT results are dependent on disrupting the central nervous system, which from a statistical perspective is more likely the more tissue you disrupt. Therefore, fragmenting bullets are more likely to produce DRT results than bonded/solid. Magnum or not is largely irrelevant so long as the bullet is moving fast enough at impact to upset reliably. For long range hunting/shooting, the reliability of your scope is extremely important for first round hits, much more so than the muzzle velocity.

There's a great subforum in the long-range section devoted to the durability/reliabilty of scopes. Also, check out the 223 for deer, bear, elk, and moose thread, or the 6.5 creed kill thread for lots more info and evidence on the terminal results of various bullets.

 

[Elkfitness]

If you’ve got the 30-06 and want to upgrade/go magnum, I’d grab either a 300wsm or 300 win mag. I did the same years ago. I went the 300 win mag as ammo was cheaper at the time. But, looking back, either would have been a good choice.


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[wind gypsy]

300 WSM on the high recoil side, 280ai/7saum on the low side.

 

[DoYaPhilMe]

Just bought myself a .30-06 for my do it all rifle. I might reconsider if I go hunting in grizzly country but otherwise this will take care of 99% of my hunts and I don’t have to worry about ammo.

 

[B23]

I've always been a big fan of 30 cals and I think the 300 WSM is one of the best all around do all one gun set ups you can choose.

But, I think that new Hornady 7 PRC slinging 180's around 3000fps will, also, make for a really good one gun do all set up. And Hornady always seems to do a really good job of supporting their new cartridges with factory ammo that shoots very well so if you don't reload it could be worth it for some to wait for something chambered in that new 7 PRC cartridge.

 

[Keener22]

280 AI. 7mm bullet selection, big enough for elk and moose without being overkill for deer sized game. Mild recoil so you can still enjoy a range days for practice.

Or maybe hold off for the new 7mm PRC