"Do it all"
For me, do it all isn't doing very much in the way of "bigger" stuff. I suppose i could be talked into a special trip for Elk or Moose but i'm not gathering any points to do so. There's no plan or dream of a Canadian or Alaskan hunt either. I hunt Bucks!
Do it all, to me means taking bucks under a wide variety of situations. Long shots from one canyon rim across 500yds to another or jumping a buck from its bed in close cover. I want a gun that i'm not afraid of, one that i can shoot targets and compete with at the local range against other hunters. It has to be accurate, -1", flat shooting, and have plenty of retained energy out to the range that i feel i can still feel 100% of the time, that i can put it where it counts.
After 45 plus years of shooting most of the cartridges out there in a wide variety of manufactures wares, i've come to the conclusion that for what i'm doing and the country that i'm doing it in, the mighty mid's are just the ticket!
I include but don't limit the mighty Mids to be; the 264 WinMag,
6.5x284, 280AI, 7mmRem Mag, 270WSM, 7WSM, and 270 Weatherby Mag.
With "good" bullets and a gun that fits, plenty of practice, and a certain level of confidence gained, any of these mighty middle of the road buck busters can also take care of any occasional trip for the bigger stuff up to but maybe not including the big bear
I like a straight 6 power scope for a all around user gun. Some guys can't pick up stuff close in with the 6 but i've never had that problem myself and have done so a lot. I'm usually inclined more these days to go with a variable scope, one that goes to 10 or 12X. I do like the idea of zooming in for longer shots on game and also for the needed "bench time" that goes with the program.
My scopes are by Leopold, Redfield, and Burris, good scopes for not a lot of money. Last years Wy trip we had worse than bad weather and i took my muley buck in a situation that made most optics unusable. My Burris scope though was clear and functioning, it allowed me to take a good buck when we could hardly even look at him through our glasses and a rangefinders use was out of the question. That scope is a Signature series 3X12, a good one!
So, for what i do, my all around gun that does it all is a SS Win Mod 70 with a controlled feed action in 270WSM and a Burris scope. Not a bad outfit for the guy who is nuts about hunting Bucks, like me!
Joey
