1 rifle..what would it be

[WyoAces]

giant34buck got me thinking. if you had to choose one rifle for all game. Stretching from a safari in africa to a pig hunt in California. Over to a elk hunt in colorada and a antelope hunt in wyoming. ONE rifle that is all you could have to cover all game. What would it be? just some food for thought.

 

[264Magnum]

416 rigby. take africa out of the equation and i'd go with the good ole 338 win mag.

 

[Foreman4x4]

.375 H&H, as it's the minimum in several African contries and ammo is universally available. Take Africa out of the equasion, and I'd opt for a .300 mag, with my favorite being the .300 H&H. I'd shoot 200's at the big stuff and 165's for everything else. I'd sure hate to think I was ever limited to one rifle though.....

 

[kingfish]

With the exception of the big African game such as Elephants Rhino,Cape buffalo, and such I would choose the 270 weatherby mag for everything else...

 

[SoTX]

.338 Ultra Mag

"We MUST Hunt"

 

[Boman]

.340Wby mag unless you include African Dangerous game if you do then the .416 Rigby

 

[sremim]

Good ol .30-06

 

[bigbull1]

338 or 300 Mag.

Ed

 

[Bazy]

With Africa out of the picture it would be the good ol .270 Win

 

[muzz]

300 ultra or the 338 ultra

 

[nmtaxi]

I say, if you can afford to hunt all over the world, fork out a few bucks and buy a few rifles ;-)

 

[oldoregon]

.30-06, or .270 if africa wasn't a choice. .338 otherwise.

 

[Chef]

There isn't one rifle caliber cartridge that would be fine for elephant and buff in Africa, that wouldn't be overkill on pronghorn.

The added recoil and weight wouldn't be justified nor enjoyable.

Now, up the ante to TWO rifles and you've got a serious discussion.

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"

 

[WyoAces]

ok...one rifle for north america

 

[MrBaitnFish]

.338 win mag for north america, and I've used it on pronghorn. Include africa and it has to be the 375h&h or any of the .400's(rigby, remington, jeffery). Even for north america I'd still prefer a .375 or 9.3 If you ever want to hunt coastal grizz.

 

[HunterHarry]

.300 mag...either one
I dumped my 10 foot brownie with my Weatherby ultralight in .300wby.
Elk ? No Problemo.
I also reach out and touch blacktails and muleys across big canyons with it.
That is my choice.

 

[Chef]

.45-70 Government

I can load it light(300gr) for deer etc... and load it heavy (540gr super hardcast) for the big bad boys up north.

Besides, I'm a lever action guy. I currently own a lever action guide gun in the .444 Marlin caliber. I love it. I've harvested light Coues whitetail with a 240gr to a 6x6 bull elk with a 305gr.

I would be a little bit hesitant to hunt them big browns with it though, I would feel much better with a .45-70

-----------------------------------------------
Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"

 

[studpile]

.300 RUM

 

[mtmuley]

I would have to agree with the .338 Ultra. With lighter bullets it shoots flat, and with heavy bullets it still carries enough energy to take the big stuff. Also, it tends to be extremely accurate for a bigger bore rifle. mtmuley

 

[saminwy]

30-06 in a model 70. i would really miss my .243 for p-dogs and coyotes though.

 

[AZBuckSnort]

kingfish,

Do you have a .270 Weatherby Magnum caliber rifle? I often see you post replies to questions about rifles, calibers, & bullets for western hunting and recall you tend to stick with the .270, as do I, but I always assumed it was the .270 Winchester. Could you have been touting the .270 Weatherby all along?

I'm thinking of getting a new rig and have been considering the .270 Weatherby or the .270 WSM. Don't need either but just have a hankering for a new addition to the battery. What do you think?

 

[chasendeer]

For north america I would do like good old Jack O'Conner, and go with the good old trusty Winchester model 70 in 270 win.
Jay

 

[HunterHarry]

Pretty ballsy to hunt Polar Bear, Grizz, & Big Kodiaks with a .270!

 

[Utahn]

I would choose the 30.06

 

[kilowatt]

300 Weatherby has been with me for 35 years now, could go anywhere and not worry (Cape Buffalo)now that is a different story.
Used a Custom Built 7x57 Mauser for many years and the Weatherby as a second rifle.

Brian

 

[elkantlers]

300 WIN MAG. WITH A BULLET RANGE OF 110GR TO 220GR YOU HAVE THE WHOLE ANIMAL SPECTRUM COVERED. HOWEVER YOUR PUCKERING STRINGS WOULD BE TESTED IF YOU WENT ON A BROWN BEAR HUNT WITH ONE.

 

[Wyomingben]

Its kind of a silly question, I would say the biggest caliber made, if it kills a Cape Buffalo it would surly kill a antelope.


Something like a .338 or bigger I would say.



The best guns I think are

.22 for small game
22-250 for Coyote, Fox, etc.
.270 for Deer & Antelope
.300 Mag for Elk, Moose
45-70 for Bear, Dangerous Game

I have the first 3, and use the .270 for elk, but if money was no option and I had time to learn to shoot a hard kicking gun I would have all 5.

WB

 

[hntnnut]

I would say .416 Rigby. And if Africa Was out of the equasion I would stick with my trusty ol .270 win. Winchester featherweight w/ Leupold vari x 3 2.5-8 useing premium bullets

 

[boneaddict]

30-06 period!

 

[eelgrass]

If I could only have one rifle for Cape Buff on down, it would have to be.......(insert drum roll)....a bolt action!

That is kind of a silly question.

I guess it would have to be my .300 Win Mag. Sure wouldn't want to shoot a .458 the rest of my life.

Steve

 

[Boots2]

Owned two 270s and three 30-06.

Loved Jack O'conner and the 270 never let me down however the 30-06 have been good to me too. Fun to shoot, good confidence in the arm. Make that ultimate confidence. Even the wife shoots one. And she is under 140 pounds.

 

[kaintuck]

have top stick with my 6.5x55 swed mauser m/96.......she has the accuracy, and correct bullet weight in every need for north american animals......and she don't kick my hat off!

 

[polarbear]

.300 win mag! Versatility, knock down power, great long range etc.

Eric

 

[rost495]

Regular 338 Win Mag. Very common ammo. Modest recoil, power enough to have a safety margin. Large enough selection of bullets. Flat enough trajectory. Get it in a falling block, tweak it up to accurate, I can get a few inches more barrel at same OAL.

One gun for everythng?? Wheres the fun in that. Wife told me in November I needed a gun to floor a whitetail in its tracks in the swamps we started hunting. 223 left a bit to desire. The 308 was nice. But not real power. The 300s all have long barrels as does the 338. Perfect reason to order a 50 Beowulf for my AR lowers....

 

[CRODOG]

Well the one gun for everything....300 ultra mag...North America A-Bolt 30-06...







MATHEWS LX 28" 64#
MUZZY ZERO EFFECTS
TRUGLO
NO PEEP
GOLD TIP HUNTER PRO'S 5575
MUZZY 3 BLADE
SCOTTS LITTLE GOOSE

IT'S BETTER TO HAVE IT,AND NOT NEED IT,THAN NEED IT ,AND NOT HAVE IT!!

 

[elk_horn]

North America 270WSM

 

[fisrtcoueswas80inches]

i have a new 270 wsm in the line up, havent shot it yet but should be sweet, as to my choice, i would go with a 300 ultra, can load really light and really flat shooting or really heavy for the bigger stuff.
Casey

 

[couesmaniac]

30-06 no doubt CM

 

[Huck58]

World wide, .375 H&H.

 

[cpugsie]

300 Weatherby Mag for North America.

 

[Weatherby]

378 Weatherby or 375H&H. I presently own one of each. Would probably go with the Weatherby 9 times out of 10.

 

[Phantom Hunter]

If I could only have one rifle to hunt world-wide it would have to be my buddies .416 Taylor. Now if I could only get him to part with it......

Phantom Hunter

 

[DeanX]

30.06. Enough knockdown power for anything in the US and easy to get ammo.

 

[B_F_E]

7mm Mag.

 

[Wildman]

I have to admit that I'm not "balsy" enough to go after a brown bear with a .270, but I'm not sure I'm "balsy" enough to shoot a .40 caliber at prairie dogs all day long either.
Actually, I'm pretty much in this situation. I have a Remington Model 700 .270. I load it with 62 grains of H4831 and 130 grain Nosler Partitions for deer and would trust it on elk- although I have used 150 grains on elk. I can also load it with 90 grain Sierra hollow points for varmints. It is hard to find that much versatility in one gun.

 

[summitx]

it would have to be my Browning 300wsm, because it is all I got

 

[Deadred707]

I would take my winchester model 70 300 wsm because in has the stones to do the job over my model 70 25-06 or my savge 308 or my model 94 32win.specal

 

[fisrtcoueswas80inches]

lol summtix, thats a good reason to choose that rifle!
Casey

 

[Utahn]

30.06, ammo sold all over the world

 

[m00num]

7mm Remington Mag, does it for me.....

 

[elkslayer54]

My 300 RUM. I have seen them boys kill water buffalo with a bow. I ain't scared to shoot one with my 300 RUM!!! LET THE SMOKE FLY AND THEN THE HAIR FLY!





FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU! Walk soft and carry a 300 RUM,

 

[camuleycrazy]

I would go with the 338 Rem Ultra. With a muzzle brake mine does not hurt to shoot and sure packs same power! Anything smaller requires conditions to be near perfect for a clean kill and that rarely happens when Bear or Elk hunting.

 

[shortmag]

.300 WSM, it's appropriate for deer, potent elk medicene and up to the task on most African species. And the recoil is moderate so shooting to the point of aim is not a problem.