Looking for a unicorn

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Booger66

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I'm looking for a caliber that might not exist.(I reload) Looking for a thumper round accurate up to 200yrds. In bolt action. With a barrel length of 16-18" able to take down anything in N. America, Canada, and possibly Alaska.

The 45/70 Is lever only (damn)

The 450 Bushmaster has a few inherent problems caused by it being made for an AR platform.

The 375 h&h would probably be unpleasant in an 18"barrel.

Is there a caliber that I don't know about that fits? Or am I wrong about any of the calibers I've mentioned? Thanks in advance
 
What about considering a nice 35 Whelen?

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This rifle is extremely compact, and don't let anyone tell you a 35 Whelen won't do the job. Take a look at the damage a 35 Whelen did on an elk, by @35 Whelen

The perfect elk rifle.

Townsend Whelen more or less designed this cartridge with 250 grain bullets in mind, but many have used 275 grain bullets, and these bullet weights are still available.

Woodleigh Bullets 35 Caliber (358 Diameter) 275 Grain Weldcore

I can say my 35 Whelen's knock me out of position bench testing. The rifle comes off the rest, moves the rest, knocks my elbow out of position, and even with a shorter scope, smacks my shooting glasses. Is that thumper enough? And I am only testing 200, 225 and 250 grain bullets, the 275 grain bullets have to be horrible.

It comes in bolt actions, maybe you can find one with a super short barrel.
 
Agree, .45-70 is nice for that and at 200 the rangefinding isn't critical. It's accurate to miles, but the drop (and therefore rangefinding) gets serious too far out.
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Plenty of 1960s era factory (US) sporterized Siamese Mausers around. Not super cheap anymore ($5-700 IIRC lately) but they are strong, pretty good all around.

Several configurations, and I bet the action size is common so you could change the stocks out for something weatherproof (or get a more beat up one, update it) if you wanted.
 
Not sure anyone makes a Nitro Express in bolt action? I do recall some tv hunter taking down bear to elk to moose with .30-30 just to prove it could (and it did). Not recommending it, just sayin so long as the camera guy has an auto loader and 5 oz of lead backing you up then why not.
 
If you’re the type that likes to tinker, .458 SOCOM barrels are available for a few of the more common bolt actions. It uses a .308/.243/etc size case head.

Uses the same bullets are your .45-70 and is great in a 16”.
 
Valid points above but...

The 375 h&h would probably be unpleasant in an 18"barrel.
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Why? It will have less energy out of an 18” barrel than a longer one...to a point.
 
While my 7600 Carbine in .35 Whelen isn't exactly pleasant with its 18½" barrel, it's still very tolerable to hunt with. 9.3x62 can be considered as a variation on the theme. OTOH, I've taken quite a few 200-250yd DRT-shots with .45-70 without a rangefinder and comparing case capacity to bullet diameter, it works very well from shorter barrels.

If you insist on bolt action, it'll either be a custom job or a second hand rifle. For up to ~200yd I'd take a serious look at Marlin 1895. The oddball Baikal MP-221 (Artemida) SxS double is kind of cool for shorter distances but getting the POI:s to match on both barrels can be difficult. One of the most interesting customs I've seen is a Lee-Enfield rechambered and modified for .45-70. The ultra fast, close-to-cock bolt action combined with a 10 round magazine and a thumper cartridge is nothing short of awesome.
 
someguy2800 said:
I’ve been thinking on this one for a compact bolt action

https://www.375raptor.com/

Varminterror covered all the others I was going to suggest.
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I've got one of those in the works, just waiting on the barreled action to come back. I figgure it makes a nice pairing with my .375 Ruger.

vtsteve said:
If you’re the type that likes to tinker, .458 SOCOM barrels are available for a few of the more common bolt actions. It uses a .308/.243/etc size case head.

Uses the same bullets are your .45-70 and is great in a 16”.
Click to expand...
Another one I'll probably build at some point, Tho I'm also considering the .375 version.
Loved my .458 AR, but the case has enough capacity to make gains when not constrained by the ARs bolt head. Still I'm not sure it's got any advantage over a .458x2 (even a .458Win) like VT suggested, and the rebated rim may be a problem if it isn't taken into consideration.
 
DocRock said:
And the 30-06 with 220s.
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My preferred load from the '06. There's a reason I call my Rem 700 my "stopping rifle", and out to 200 yards that rifle/bullet combination will stop game in its tracks. You will NOT shoot it for the "fun" of it. However, the recoil is quite unpleasant, at least to me. If the old '06 doesn't have enough "thump" for you, what about a .300 or even a .458 Winchester? I've owned both through the years, and they both can be classified as "thumpers", especially the 458. Either of those will fit the bill, and as someone else said, nothing is going to be pleasant out of a short barrel. Recoil, report, and muzzle flash are going to be pretty harsh. Heck, a 16" 30-30 is loud enough, let alone something in '06 or bigger. Just something to consider. I will say that, having owned some "short rifles" (a 16" 7x57 Mauser and an 1894 trapper spring to mind), the handy length, light weight, and "pointablility" is very appealing and makes them very enjoyable to carry through the woods and in the tight places where a longer rifle would be ungainly. Perhaps you can find something in Ruger's American Ranch line that will fit the bill for you? I think they also make (made?) a scout rifle in some of the heavier calibers that would be of interest to you.
Good luck with your search.

Mac
 
Your going to have to handload for the .458 Winchester if you insist on a bolt action.

That way you can get more like 45-70 ballistics out of the cartridge and give you less blast from the muzzle.
 
LoonWulf said:
I've got one of those in the works, just waiting on the barreled action to come back. I figgure it makes a nice pairing with my .375 Ruger.


Another one I'll probably build at some point, Tho I'm also considering the .375 version.
Loved my .458 AR, but the case has enough capacity to make gains when not constrained by the ARs bolt head. Still I'm not sure it's got any advantage over a .458x2 (even a .458Win) like VT suggested, and the rebated rim may be a problem if it isn't taken into consideration.
Click to expand...

The rebated rim was a little wonky to deal with. Ejection isn’t spectacular, but it does work.

Finding a magazine that fed it properly was a challenge as well. I had to put a 3d printed spacer in a fairly expensive AI magazine to compensate for the short COAL. Alternatively, you could convert to AR mags but that’s a bit of work on a 700.

I went with the SOCOM personally because it was a purpose built rifle for 550gr+ subsonic loads and I wanted more room in the magazine for the big bullets.

You’re probably right about .458x2 American being a better fit for general purpose use.
 
Booger66 said:
Or am I wrong about any of the calibers I've mentioned?
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The .375 H&H or .375 Ruger is pretty much ideal medium and large game caliber IMO. You are talking wanting hard hitting round on potential grizzlies I'm assuming since you mentioned Alaska. Any good round for dealing with one of those with a degree of certainty is of course going to be unpleasant. An 18-20" heavier contour barrel, brakes, limbsaver, etc. If you still can't handle the recoil or the cost of ammo you probably shouldn't be hunting grizzlies. The current Savage 110 Brush Hunter kind of fits that bill, .375 Ruger, stainless 20" barrel. Bout $650-700 which is cheap for a new dangerous game caliber rifle right now. Been looking at that among other Savage offerings except factory 375 ruger ammo is $3+ per round....
 
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