Top two mountain cartridges

[menhaden_man]

I’ll always have a 25-06. Mine shoots the 117 gr Hornady SST bullets like a damned laser. I’ve made several one-shot kills on mule deer and antelope at 300+ yds. Wouldn’t hesitate on an elk either. Check out the energy vs a 30-06 - the speed of the 25-06 makes up for the lower mass (e=mv2). Only knock might be wind drift of the 257 bullet, and so the popularity of the 6.5 CM. Definitely one of those two for your first gun.

Second gun is trickier. Lots of really good 30 cal choices these days.

 

[EmperorMA]

I’ll always have a 25-06. Mine shoots the 117 gr Hornady SST bullets like a damned laser. I’ve made several one-shot kills on mule deer and antelope at 300+ yds. Wouldn’t hesitate on an elk either. Check out the energy vs a 30-06 - the speed of the 25-06 makes up for the lower mass (e=mv2). Only knock might be wind drift of the 257 bullet, and so the popularity of the 6.5 CM. Definitely one of those two for your first gun.

Second gun is trickier. Lots of really good 30 cal choices these days.

I LOVE the .25-06. Killed tons of shit with it, including large bull elk. The DRTs seem to come easy with it.

I have to agree about the 6.5 Creedmoor, though. Flies straighter, for sure.

Back when I was young, a .25-06 and a .300 Roy would have solved most issues. Today, pretty hard to beat a 6.5 CM and .300 PRC.

Nice to see folks who appreciate good things, and the classics. And the recent improvements. They all work beautifully.

 

[Teaman1]

1. 270 wsm

2. 338 win mag

 

[Boiler]

I like bigger calibers, so I've got a 7mm. mag. for smaller game, and a .338 mag. for bigger stuff. Love both of them! IF I could only have two they would be it. Next pair I'd keep would be my .270 and .300 mag. Next pair I WANT are .26-06 and .264 mag. Guns are so fun!

 

[rgrmike]

Rifle 1 should absolutely, without a doubt be a lightweight "sheep" rifle on a short action, non-magnum caliber....

-Rem 700 or Win M70 S/A Action or clone....Bighorn, Defiance, etc.
-standard bolt face
-barrel in the 18-22" range...no longer
-caliber 6mm Creed, 6.5 Creed, 7-08, 308 etc...personally I'd go 6 Creed
-Keep total naked rifle weight under 6lbs MAXIMUM...preferably 5.5lbs or under
-scope 2-10ish power....capped turrets....I'd go Swaro Z3, Z6, or Leupy VX3/5


Rifle 2 go long action, magnum, more of a precision rifle that you can still shoulder fire relatively easily

-Same action as Rifle 1 only L/A
-Magnum bolt face
-22-24" barrel
-caliber 300WM
-total rifle weight no LESS than 6.5 lbs....I'd aim for 7-7.5 to help with recoil and steady your shots
-scope I'd go exposed turrets, learn to dial, look for 14-20 magnification on the top end

 

[Kotaman]

1. 6.5 PRC
2. 300 Ultra Mag

I own about every combination listed on these 5 pages, if if I had to pick two, these are my choices. 99% of my hunts, I’m carrying one of these two.

With that said, I just ordered. Weatherby Back Country Ti in 6.5 Weatherby RPM!

I just realized, I posted this same thing back in March to this thread. So glad I still feel the same way!

 

[DoubleDown]

Non magnum rifle for all 9.3x62. Moderate recoil, little meat bruising.

Magnum in 375 RCM

Lightweight in 300RCM. Remington/Tikka/Ruger action or Pierce titanium, 20” carbon fiber barrel with muzzle brake, lightweight stock.

 

[khuber84]

1) 6.5 prc, sheep/goats can be tough critters and last thing you want to do is chase a wounded one around in the cliffs.
2) 30 nosler or whatever flavor of 30 cal Magnum

A 300wsm with 185 vld or the 200gr edge trl pushed by rl26 at 2900-3000 fps would do everything both cartridges are asked to do.

 

[Donjuan]

Rokslide folks, I'm looking at buying two new rifles as a form of "retail therapy" and looking to discuss rifles as a bit of an escape.

My grandfather (87 years old) has only a few days left. His hunting stories of burly big woods whitetail bucks were what sparked my passion for hunting and wild places when I was a small boy. He'll be greatly missed.

I have tentative plans to hunt mountain goats in British Columbia this summer (all depends if my friend who can host me can get the time off work in mid August) and one of these days I will either get out west to hunt elk or finally draw an Ontario elk or moose tag as well. Long story short, I'd like to add two rifles to my safe with future "mountain hunting" in mind.

Criteria

1) I can't ever see myself shooting beyond 400 meters at an actual live animal in field conditions
2) The Browning X-Bolt is my preferred rifle platform so it would need to be chambered in that rifle
3) I can afford to have two distinct rifles so would like each focused on each niche

Rifle One) Deer/Mountain Goat/Sheep

Rifle Two) Elk/Moose

Thanks for "playing along" and for your input.

1 270
2 338 win mag

 

[sneaky]

I've got a 7-08 and a 280AI. They do everything I need.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[lyle_destroys]

I shoot a tikka t3x lite 300wsm that is scary accurate. With a leupold vx3i it's very light too, that would be my pick.
For the smaller side I have a older m77 .257 bob that i love. 25 cals are underrated IMO and I think it's about ideal size for deer/antelope. 25-06 is also great. Would probably go with another tikka if I was buying new though since I've kinda fallen in love with them.

 

[Osteodoc08]

1. 6.5CM or 7mm-08
2. 300 WM

 

[Wiscat]

I have done exactly what you are looking to do. I started with the 300 and have several animals on it. This year I added a similar 270 for a lighter caliber. Both shoot incredibly well.

 

[Dirt Wagon]

I went with the 270 & 300wm to keep things simple on buying ammo, even though I can reload....

If i were to buy just one, I'd go with the 280 Ackley Imp. It's close to the 7mm mag in power that it covers your heavy game, plus it can shoot standard pressure 280 rem for the lighter game.

 

[deerkiller]

I went with the 270 & 300wm to keep things simple on buying ammo, even though I can reload....

If i were to buy just one, I'd go with the 280 Ackley Imp. It's close to the 7mm mag in power that it covers your heavy game, plus it can shoot standard pressure 280 rem for the lighter game.

IF looking at a "one and done" cartridge because of somehow not having loading supplies and needing ammo the 7mm RM was and still is the most popular belted magnum cartridge for dies and ammo since around 1980 or so - no longer a fan of that one but fact is still fact

 

[longbarrel]

1. .270 or .280 (1925; 1957)
2. .338 win mag (1958)
everything you need was invented by the 1950s, lol. Your grandfather will relate to these choices.

 

[TwoTikkas]

I have done exactly what you are looking to do. I started with the 300 and have several animals on it. This year I added a similar 270 for a lighter caliber. Both shoot incredibly well.
View attachment 121994View attachment 121992View attachment 121993

Is that flat dark earth on the 300?

 

[tdot]

6.5 Sherman Short
338 Sherman Short

After lots of research and playing with different cartridges, I'm building this pair of wildcat cartridges into a switch barrel rifle right now.... so I guess I'm hopeful that this is the right combo. Time and testing will confirm.

For a mountain rifle, personally I've found two things other then weight are super important. Short barrel and time behind the trigger in all different positions.

The short barrel is as important to me as weight. So my max length on this build will be 22". If I'm happy enough with the results, then I'll cut another 2" off. I couldnt find a pair of factory cartridges that had the performance of the Sherman's in a short action.

 

[deerkiller]

6.5 Sherman Short
338 Sherman Short

After lots of research and playing with different cartridges, I'm building this pair of wildcat cartridges into a switch barrel rifle right now.... so I guess I'm hopeful that this is the right combo. Time and testing will confirm.

For a mountain rifle, personally I've found two things other then weight are super important. Short barrel and time behind the trigger in all different positions.

The short barrel is as important to me as weight. So my max length on this build will be 22". If I'm happy enough with the results, then I'll cut another 2" off. I couldnt find a pair of factory cartridges that had the performance of the Sherman's in a short action.

should be easy to find factory if you lose or forget your ammo ...

 

[Mulyhuntr]

should be easy to find factory if you lose or forget your ammo ...

I wonder what percentage of people actually run into the scenario where they either forget to bring the MOST important component to their hunt or somehow lose their ammo? I bet the % is EXTREMELY low.