What's best one caliber hunting system

[jeepmor]

I see that rifles like the .308, 30-06 and 30 Win Mag can all employ the same bullets. As a reloader, I prefer something like this for simplicity in inventory and loading versatility. Are there other good contenders in this category that offer this kind of range. I want varmint to elk capabilities, the first two can fit this nicely I think.

I can get my wife a .308 or .30-06 for varmint, deer and elk, depending on the loadings. While I can go with the 300 mag for all of the above and up into big alaska bear or moose.

I'm wondering if there are other rifle groups out that that offer the same versatility to me as a reloader who can stock pile varying weight rounds that can be setup in all three if desired. I don't see much groundhog hunting happening with a 300 mag, but you get the idea.

If not, then I will probably go this route for hunting deer and elk and start looking into 223s or varminting.

Please share your thoughts. I'm outfitting for my wife and I this season and don't want to purchase too many rifles this year just to go easy on the budget, so versatility is key to start.

jeepmor

 

[db_tanker]

just as the .308 dia bullets goes...so to does the wonderful 7mm.


you have the 7-08, 280 Remington, 284 Winchester, 7x57 Mauser, 7mm Rem Mag and 7mm WSM if your tastes go that way. Also you have the 7mm Weatherby as well.

I cannot fail to mention one of my favorite TC chamberings, the 7-30 Waters...but thats a bit harder to come by in things other than single shots...there are some lever guns still chambered out there...but hard to find.

Not to mention that there is a VERY good choice in bullets in 284 dia.


D

 

[Clipper]

I'm a quarter-bore guy...

...Loved the .257 Roberts. That was Jack O'Connor's pet caliber before the .270. And I was all set to get a .25-06 until the .25WSSM came along. So I just bought a Winshester M-70 in .25WSSM, and wouldn't hesitate to use it on anything I will ever get to shoot in Michigan, deer, black bear and maybe an elk (if I ever get a permit), but I also plan to shoot my share of woodchuck & coyote.

 

[rbernie]

+1 for 7mm. I can use it for everything from varminting with 100gr frangibles to big-n-heavy stuff with 175gr premiums, and there are oodles of chamberings to use these bullets in light, medium, and ultraboomenblitzen loadings.....

 

[dakotasin]

varmints thru elk isn't realistic.

if you load a gun down enough to make it useful on a prairie dog town, the poi will be so different it won't be useful as a practice tool.

best bet is to get 2 different chamberings w/ similiar ballistic behavior. 22-250 for prairie dogs and a 7 rem mag for elk. or something similiar to that.

 

[griz]

If you will allow me I'll be the party pooper here. I just don't see a real advantage in standardizing on one caliber for everything from varmints to elk. Granted you could span that range with a 30 or 7, and possibly other choices. But unless you are going to standardize on a single rifle, it would seem cheaper to get different calibers for different tasks. My reasoning is you will buy different bullets for varmits and big game anyway, so for the cost of another set of dies you can have the advantage of a much cheaper varmit bullet instead of flinging a couple hundred Partitions at little tiny critters every year. The only way I can see a savings is if you cast the varmint bullets, or don't take many shots at varmints. Then it would make sense to me.

 

[rbernie]

Some theoretical examples of the concept:

• I use a Hornady 139gr bullet in my 7-30 Waters singleshot for whitetail doe hunting over a feeder, use that same bullet in my 7mm08 for hunting mule deer on foot ranges at from 50 to 250 yards, and use the same bullet in my 7mm Magnum for hunting antelope at 200-400 yards.

• I use a Nosler 175gr Partition bullet in my 7mm08 for hunting hogs on foot at ranges not exceeding 100 yards, and I use that same bullet for hunting elk in my 7mm Magnum.

Doesn't matter if I use one rifle or four - the theory is that I can reduce the number of loading components that I stock and use by picking and choosing differing chamberings of various power levels within the same caliber. The key is to understand the design velocities for the various bullets and pick-n-choose the chambering and bullet to match the game.

 

[Mannlicher]

compromise with calibers always means you are not optimized for a specific task. Just buy a couple of rifles suited for what you are going to be actually hunting.

 

[redneck2]

.270. Shoots flat as most any varmint rifle. Kills elk

 

[kennyboy]

Probably 7mm mag. Accurate, flat shooting, powerful.

 

[db_tanker]

I can't help but disagree with what some are saying about this.

First off...original question was aimed at getting the ideas of what calibers out there, that use same diameter bullets, but have diffrent purposes.


Jeepmor wasn't looking for that one rifle caliber that can do it all. As others have said...he is wanting to make purchasing components a bit easier on he and his wife.

First choice would be, indeed, the 30 calibers. By and far the largest of selections. This one he has already brought up and was wanting other ideas.

IMO as well as others on here and around the world is the 7mm. Another FINE choice would be the .257 dia.

He is actually saying he will have diffrent rifles for diffrent purposes, but all with the same bullet diameter...a Winchester or Marlin lever gun for woods...a bolt rifle for the longer shots...perhaps a semi-auto for plinking and fun or SHTF/HD-SD...All will be diffrent calibers, but the nice thing is all can use the same bullets and even, in some cases, use the same powders and primers as well. Perhaps get a progressive or turret press with removable die-blocks and have one for each caliber already pre-set for each individual rifle.

This sounds like an efficient and logical way of taking care of a need.

D

 

[Tony Williams]

Ca you still get Remington Accelerator loadings? If so, they allow you to fire saboted .22 cal bullets at very high velocity from a .30 cal. You can deal with the varmints that way.

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum

 

[jeepmor]

Thanks

30 caliber or 7mm look like my best contenders. Thanks for the input, now I actually have to decide. And since I started this thread, I've been hunting with my uberhunter brother. He did not help me decide, he just told me a 270was plenty for the lower 48. He's in Alaska and is a gun afficionado to say the very least.

He just bought a 338 magnum Browning A-bolt with a Leupold VXIII scope at such a deep discount I nearly cried, lucky little poop. Less than half price. He says he uses his 450 Marlin for moose and bear. Again, he was not much help, he buys guns, buys bullets and shoots and hunts. Reloading has never crossed his mind.

jeepmor

 

[KINGMAX]

270 IS GOOD, but not that good

A .270 is a great round, but it won't be the most reliable when it comes to the higher end game like a large Elk or an Alaskan Brown Bear. You need a large hard hitting round to get some good penetration with enough power to break some bones. Relying on just one caliber to carry your needs, I couldn't think of just one. The 270 is my choice for what I hunt around home, but I don't hunt large Elk nor Brown Bear either.

Good Luck

 

[Dr.Rob]

30-06 if you are talking antelope-elk-moose and black bear. 150-220gr bullets at reasonable velocity.

You can kill any varmint with a 30-06, you aren't meat hunting. And as for pelts, a 30 cal soft point will barely open up on a small animal like that at 100 yards or so. It's a clean kill.

If you have dangerous game on your menu, .375 H&H is the way to go. Even loaded 'light' it's not got the velocity to destroy a lot of meat, it delivers medium velocity heavy for caliber slugs. The deer won't care that you overgunned. Not too much for moose, minimum for dangerous game.

 

[Karbon]

.270wsm was my recent selection for just this and I love it. I have a ton of threads on this topic.

However it was a tough tug-o-war between that and the .30-06. 140 to 220 grain availability. Can't go wrong with it.

 

[OldSchooler]

I see that rifles like the .308, 30-06 and 30 Win Mag can all employ the same bullets.
Same diameter, yes. Bullets vary in construction according to purpose.

I can get my wife a .308 or .30-06 for varmint, deer and elk, depending on the loadings. While I can go with the 300 mag for all of the above and up into big alaska bear or moose.
A .300 Mag for varmints? I'd get .308' for everybody and one .300 MAG for the off chance that I MIGHT go to Alaska, maybe once.

Please share your thoughts. I'm outfitting for my wife and I this season and don't want to purchase too many rifles this year just to go easy on the budget, so versatility is key to start.
As the others have illustrated, there are several "common" bullet diamaters and a legion of calibers/rifles for them:

7MM (.284), 6MM(.243), 5.5MM(.22)

There's also "oddballs," like 6.5MM. .303 British, which we can discount.

Each of these have major and minor players and their devotees. As an example, like db_tanker, Im a big fan of non-magnum 7MM's, but then I never liked Alaska all that much and have no intention of heading back. All the "Mag Fever" is lost on me.

For the sake of simplicity, let me toss in my recommendations thus:

Two .308 bolties, auto's or pumps (whichever you prefer) for general work,
One .300 Mag boltie just to have "in case" (OPTIONAL: wait to purchase until the "Big Trip" rolls around)
One 0r Two 6MM/.243 bolties/single shot's for light work, like varmints, coyote's, etc.

That way youre only working with two calibers, all the time.

Then, be ready for the wifey (or you) to NOT like the blast and kick of the .308, in which case you'll need to look at downloading/downsizing. She just may fall in love with the .243...

 

[Brian Williams]

I am thinking about a 358 Win but you could sub a 35 Whelen. I prefer a short action, and a 358 win would be great for most game and it could have an insert for 357mag or be loaded with 357mag/38spec bullets for little stuff.

a 35 would not have the bullet selection that 7mm does or even close to 30 cal but you would only need a few loads to cover all the bases.


My preference is to have a few guns in different calibers that will do most everything. I would rather have 3 Win model 70s as Compact Classics in 22-250, 7mm08 and 358 Win. Then I would have the same manner of feed and operation with all three.

 

[billybob]

7 x 57 is one SWEET shooter.

 

[teCh0010]

I'm in the two rifles camp.

I have a .243 and 9.3x62. Between them you can hunt anything in NA.

 

[db_tanker]

Somthing else that no one has brought up...

Get an Encore...you can swap barrels all day long with it...scope stays with that barrel...and an encore can chamber any centerfire from a hornet to a 458 Winmag or 500 Smith and Wesson...


I prefer Contenders for the weight and the fact I can shoot rimfires with it...but as you can see my caliber selection with my TC's...I can take most any critter in North America...about the only thing I wouldn't try to take would be a brownie...not because I don't trust my 45-70, but because I can't load it up to a proper velocity to waylay the beastie, at least in my oppinion.

And some of the wildcat calibers available from Mike Bellm or JD Jones can make you a firm believer in those single shots from New Hampshire.

D

 

[KimberTLE.45]

30-06 for sure! You can load anywhere from 55GR to 220 GR.

 

[Geno]

dbtanker said it best!

Encore. It's the only "system" that has been lsited here, as defined by interchangable barrels/calibers. (Unless I ddn't see or skipped some). Best of all, the T/C barrels are inexpensive, and ALL come with a 100 yard 1 M.O.A. or smaller gaurantee (pistol or long-gun). It doesn't get better. I would start with a 7-08 Rem. and handload.

I have owned T/C Contender pistols and carbines, as well as T/C Encore pistols and rifles. Let me tell you...wow with bullets of 120 Gn. you can get near 7mm Rem. Mag. velocities with good handloads. I would put it up against a $1,200.00 bolt action rifle any day for accuracy comparisons. If you want to go after boar, get some 150 Gn. bullets, or even 160, if you need, 175s, but I suggest not heavier than 150.

Best for last. Even if you buy a used T/C firearm or scope, T/C will back it for life. Even used! I know this for fact. They did so for me, even when the breakage was MY fault. Wow!

"Bias-off" button pressed

Doc2005

 

[Karbon]

The TC's are a great way to go, if all you need is the one shot.

I like the option of another round ...just in case...

 

[OldSchooler]

How quick is a follow up shot with something like the T/C, or even a Handi Rifle?? 5 seconds. Seven, maybe? That seems like it would do, especially when you consider the versatility of interchangeable barrels in the T/C.

I hope to find out one day soon...