Top 3 cartridges every hunter should own

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Onmilo, your not the only one looking for a 22 Hornet, I've been searching for a model77 in 22 Hornet for a while now, For the Reloader The 22Hornet makes good sense espeacially with the 22lr ammo crises, I could load 3000 rnds with 1lb of Powder. Brass and Bullets are readily available. Makes sense to me.
 
How about this:

Handguns:

.22 LR (my pick is my Colt Woodsman)
.45 ACP, in the pistol designed for it, the M1911
.45 Colt in a strong revolver (I have a Rurer Blackhawk and a Colt New Service)

Rifles:
.22 LR (my pick is a Model 92 Kimber)
.223 Rem for varmints (my pick is a Model 25 Savage)
.30-06 (my pick is a pre-'64 Model 70 Winchester.)

Shotguns:
12 Gauge 3-inch (my pick is a Model 970 Remington)

With that arsenal, you can handle anything in North America
 
.22LR,
12ga
.308 or .30-06

Honestly, there's no other real choices for North American hunting. This 3 gun battery will cover everything on the continent.

That's the exact setup I started with. I figured I had everything covered from rats to rhinos and there aren't many rhinos in my part of the world anyway. There are some loose nuts that might have one that gets loose here in Ohio. Not so much anymore but at one time a person could own just about anything here and lots of things got loose and roamed neighborhoods from lions and tigers to big freaking snakes. I still never felt under gunned with the 3 gun set you mentioned.
 
Since this the "rifle" section:
.22lr, .22 centerfire, and whatever bigger centerfire fits your big game.

That was my thought.

.22 lr for small game.
in my area there are areas which don't allow hunting with anything over. 22 caliber and deer hunting requires above .23 caliber, so I have a .22-250 for long range varmints.

I have more calibers but my go tos are .22lr .22-250 and .30-06.


I think a decent spread would be

.22lr, .223 and .375 H&H

.375 H&H can be downloaded for medium game and can take any big game on the planet.
 
I would say 30-06, 22lr and 12 gauge to cover all bases.

however since I rarely shoot birds besides grouse(for which a 22LR is legal) and I rather enjoy 6.5mms of various flavors, I would say a 22lr, a 6.5 swedish, and a 45-70 would make a very versatile collection as the 45-70 can be loaded with everything from bird shot to 600gr slugs and can range from pussycat to jack hammer loads. 22lr for anything smaller than deer(where legal), 6.5 for elk and smaller and 45-70 for everything from grouse to bison.
 
That's the exact setup I started with. I figured I had everything covered from rats to rhinos and there aren't many rhinos in my part of the world anyway. There are some loose nuts that might have one that gets loose here in Ohio. Not so much anymore but at one time a person could own just about anything here and lots of things got loose and roamed neighborhoods from lions and tigers to big freaking snakes. I still never felt under gunned with the 3 gun set you mentioned.
Your post reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend. For years I lived in a high rise condo in the heart of downtown San Francisco. The plan in the event of a major emergency was to walk or bicycle a certain route that would lead me to close family and friends. I was talking to one of my buddies and he then mentioned that I would be riding past the San Francisco zoo and that with my luck the lions and tigers would have gotten out of their exhibits. Great, I thought. I survive the earthquake and potential goblins up to no good only to be eaten by a tiger.

By,the way, the SF zoo did have a tiger get loose and kill and maul a few individuals who were drunk and/or stoned and were teasing it. My concern is not completely unfounded.

I now live somewhere else where these issues no longer apply.
 
If you are looking strictly at a sustenance type existence then 22, 30-06, 12ga.
Pretty dam boring IMO, I need at least 8 and could add another 8 rifle & handgun calibers without much trouble.

22LR
223
25-06
280
300WM
Some 338
20ga.
12ga
 
My arsenal pared down due to health reasons and early retirement ( loving it now )

1- H&R 999 sportsman solid rib 6" 9shot 22lr ( wife's )
2- S&W 41 5 1/2 22lr with aftermarket grips
3- Ruger Security Six 38/357 6" blued with Hogue grips


4-Izhmash 22 mag Toggle bolt with old Zeiss 6x scope ( just plain fun and accurate )
5- Ruger compact walnut/blue 7mm-08 ( on it's way ) Nightforce 2.5-10x32 illum.


6-Browning Belgium 1970 12ga blonde 28" plain with reamed out L.Mod choke

7-Browning BPS 12ga for home defense

Those do all my shooting wants just fine.

May America always take the high ground and be a beacon to the world.
 
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Going an odd direction here. 357 magnum, 44 magnum, .270 win

357 is great up to deer sized game in either a handgun or rifle, especially up close. Lightly loaded 38s are good for wabbits and skirls.

Same goes for the 44 but in a rifle it can be a brown bears nightmare with some heavy loads. 44 also bucks wind really well on longer shots. 44 special is good on whitetail but is overkill for anything much smaller, but it can be used for potmeat.

270 win is the only bottleneck that made the list but that's only because it's my go-to field gun for groundhogs, coyotes, deer, etc. Any bottleneck from .243 up to about .338 bullet diameter will work really well when pushed around 3000fps. .270 win does that for me with a 130 gr Hornady ballistic tip over a healthy dose of 4335.
 
Top 3 cartridges every hunter should own. What are they.

For me I say 30.06 the king of all beast

270 for deer at a distance

30.30. Cuz sometimes you don't need a 200 yard rifle
Why should I own any of those? They're useless here. Rifle calibers are strictly limited for deer and we have no other big game.

If really want a realistic list, it should certainly be .22 LR and probably an AR in .223. But, building a "have to have" list because it fits your needs or supports what's in your closet is shortsighted at best
 
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This thread makes me want to go dig out my little Ruger 77/22H and renew my friendship with the little Hornet. If we stick to centerfire rifle only I could do just fine with a .223, 7mm of some sort, and just about whatever for a third.
 
Well, my 2 cents , a.22 centerfire,.223 or ,22/250 for varmints, a 30/30 for deer sized game in the woods,medium range and something in .308,or 30/06 for the longer range hunting,and larger game. I would probably stick with something readly available as far as calibers go. because with out cartriges a rifle is kind of useless . Exotic and different are cool,but Im not set up for reloading so Im sticking with easly obtained rounds .
 
In my area, if we ignore shotties and rimfires, I'd go with

.223 in a scoped AR
.30-30 in a Marlin 336
.30-06 in a Win 70

Honest, any one if them would probably cover all my "big game" opportunities in my area (deer and hogs, mainly) but you wanted three so I tried for some variety. ;)
 
I consider the OP's selection too overlapping. To expand to what I consider to be the most useful for the broadest range of game in North America I'd simply look to US military history and select;
-5.56/.223 for little stuff,
-.308/.30-06 for most bigger stuff
-.45-70 for really big stuff, though I'd choose the hotter modern day loads
 
300 blackout
30-06
45-70

You could reliably kill everything on this continent (and most, if not all of the others) with these three.
 
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The three i've got, Have me covered and not undergunned for any season, for any game east of the rockies, unless a polar bear gets REALLY hungry and wanderlust

12Ga shot and slug
50 cal. muzzle loader
30-30
 
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