How many calibers?

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Bitswap

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I'll be the first to admit my knowledge about various rifle calibers is very limited. This looks like the perfect forum to get expert knowledge on this.

I pose the question: how many calibers (and which) would you use? The lesser number the better.

For hunting: squirrl, rabbits, coyotes, deer, elk, black, grizzly. Is it possible to have two calibers, or three, that will cover these without destroying the meat? I realize with proper shot placement, a 22 will take down a black bear, but I want to be realistic about this.

Thanks,
Bit
 
1st two suggestions are spot on but the third should be more like the 30-06 or the 7mm mag. The griz can be a PIA to take down quickly
 
.22LR for Squirrel and Rabbit

.223 for Coyote

.358 Win. for Deer, Black Bear and Elk

.375 H&H for Grizzly (better safe than eaten)
 
In my somewhat limited experience:

squirrel, rabit
.22

coyote
.223

deer
.243, .270, .30-30, .308, .30-06

black bear
.30-30, .308, .30-06

grizzly
.30-06, .45-70 (best to be safe rather than sorry)

elk
No idea, but a .308 will probably do the job, or a .30-06 for sure.
 
squirrel, rabbit: .22lr
coyote: .22lr is possible with CCI Velocitor, .223 or .243 is more of a sure bet
deer: .223 or .243winchester depending on state regulations
bears and elk: .300 magnum

.22lr, .223 or .243, .300win
3 cartridges, done
 
Instead of giving you my line-up or some type of normal gun line-up (usually arguing over .30-06 vs .308, etc).

I am instead going to try and give the most economical way to get your hunting line-up paid for without your wife getting involved in what your spending (well for the most part), while still not sacrificing anything in terms of quality of caliber and firearm :D

Here Goes;

.22LR for squirrels (10/22 is pretty cheap $250 for a great one)
12 gauge for all birds, rabbit, small-medium sized game (Remm 870 $270)

OK just a plug but I have to say that I am leaning towards 7.62x54R for all mid-sized to larger game (or anything in N. America just short of Alaskan Grizzley) just because you can get the ammunition and M90/91 Nagant (Russian-type-sniper-rifle) firearm all for under $100 out the door w/ your 40 rounds of soft point ammo. You cant mess with that! And the ballistics are identical to .30-06 :D

So I am sure people will flame this one but everything under $700 w/ some ammo its not a bad deal if you really dont have the $$$ to buy the big name guns (aka Browning, Berreta, etc) in the high dollar calibers that cost $25,$40, $50+ a box. Food for thought.
 
squirrel -- .22lr
rabbit -- 12ga or .22lr depending on range and hunting type (burning cane field or spot-and-stalk?)
coyotes -- .308 or .22-250 depending on your preferences
deer -- .308 or 6.5x55 depending on your nostalgia
elk -- .300 Win Mag, though one of the most commonly-used rounds in Colorado (among locals) is the .308. All us outta-staters think we need a cannon :)
black -- whatever deer cartridge you use
grizzly -- .338 Win Mag or .45-70
 
Well, for an extreme spread -

22 LR for small varmints.

458 for everything else. I load 458 from mild 45-70 to 500gn solids on top of 72gn of 4895, which will pretty much kill anything that walks on the planet.

I wish it were that simple, but like many on this list, I used a dozen or sow cartridges.

You could probably get it down to 2 practical rounds by picking 22 WMR and 30/06. WMR will kill farther than 22lr, and bigger game. I killed more than a few coyotes with 22 WMR, calling them in close.

30/06, properly loaded will take care of any animal in North America if the shooter does his part.
 
I don't know what's ideal, but I've got a .22, a .223, a .35 Whelen, and a .45-70, and I think that'll about cover it all.
 
The reason there are so many calibers....

and cartridges is that no one or two is entirely satisfactory for everyone in every possible situation.

Common rifle calibers are .22, .24(6mm), .25, .26(6.5mm), .27, .28(7mm), .30(7.62mm), .32(8mm), .35(9mm), .37, and .45.

There are at least two, and in some calibers as many as a dozen different cartridges commonly available in each caliber.

One could, if one chose wisely hunt all North American game animals with just two calibers, one light (small), and one heavy (large).

However, limiting oneself to just two calibers means that in many situations one is using either too little or too much gun. Too little gun can cause problems, by not using enough to ensure clean humane kills. Using too much has drawbacks of it's own, including meat loss, increased recoil, and increased cost. In addition, if the large caliber chosen is a hard kicking cartridge, many shooters will not practice enough to become properly proficient, which also leads to problems in the game fields.

Here in the USA, the only limit on how many calibers you can have is limited only by your personal choice, and your pocketbook.
 
well, I guess I could use a .30-06 for all of them, although it might be too much gun for the squirrels. Seriously though, I think you could get through that list with a .22 and a .30-06 with no problem.
 
You should probably have a .22LR for the small stuff, as well as some inexpensive target practice. You should be able to cover the rest with 2 centrefire cartridges. Before you select those 2 cartridges, you should be aware of how powerful a cartridge you feel comfortable shooting. Also note that the inclusion of Grizzly will tend to skew the desirable 'power' of the larger caliber choice upwards. In addition to the list of game animals, you should also consider the terrain that your hunting will be done in, as that will drive the desirability of the particular ballistical properties.

Having already covered off the .22LR, that leaves 2 more, one of which should be a 'varmint' to 'small game' class cartridge and the other would have to cover the 'rest' of the range up to and including Grizzly. A number of .22 caliber centrefire cartridges (e.g. .22-250 or .223) would do fine for varmint, however, moving up a bit to .243 Win or 6mm Rem would allow you to use the same rifle for smaller game as well as varmint. Having decided upon .243 say for your smaller centrefire, You'll want to go a fair bit larger for your second choice of centrefire. Something like .338 Win Mag would quite adequately cover everything else, although it might be a bit more powerful than you might like to shoot regularly. If that's the case, you might decide to go with a 'powerful' cartridge in a somewhat smaller caliber (e.g. .300 Win Mag or 7mm Rem Mag) or go with a larger caliber at a lower velocity (e.g. 35 Whelen).
 
Cajun bass has it. All you need is .22 and .30-06. Everything under 20 pounds use the .22.

Alternative to a couple of rifles you could use a 12 guage shotgun for everything which will give you more versatillity but less range. A properly set up 12 Gauge is the Swiss Army knife of guns and can hunt everything in North America, although not as effectively as a .22 and .30-06.
 
Thanks!

Great Responses! Looks like everyones pretty much on the same page on this. I reload, so to reduce costs, I asked the question. I probably should have added "you get one shot", but from the responses looks like you all already thought of that.

I'm not far off: 22lr, 223, 308. Don't want to start a 30-06 vs 308 thread, but I'm selling my 308s and now have a choce between the two. Got the dies for 308, but another set for 30-06 won't be bad, just the sizing die I think.

I'm going to look into one of the larger rounds too, like the 358, 300 and 45-70. Much appreciated.

Bit
 
how about
6.5mm Grendel - a light 90 grain tnt for squirrel, a heavier 130ish grain for everything up to deer.
and either...
.450 bushmaster
or
.50 beowolf for the elk and bear.

...although I really think .17 Mach 2 or .22 LR would be better for squirrel and rabbit. Ive heard of 6.5 Grendel taking elk.
 
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