Dangit JB, I think you are right.
Just going from memory here in the wilderness. [:^)
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Dangit JB, I think you are right.
Just going from memory here in the wilderness. [:^)
The 250-3000 IS the parent case of the 300 Savage so then the 250-3000 IS the parent case of the 308, or Grand-parent as it were...dde18
I'd say 06 as well. A remmy 700 bdl in 30-06 was my first rifle. Man that thing was sweet.
Like has already been said... It'll kill anything on this continent at short OR long distances.
Readily Available ammo.
Etc etc.
As has already been said, if you want a caliber that will pretty much do it all with the ultimate in over-the-counter availability, the .30-'06 is what you are looking for. Is it the best (insert critter name here) caliber? Maybe not. Will it adequately take every critter in North America? Darn tooting'.
That being said, my deer rifle is a Remington Model 700 BDL in .30-'06. It has taken whitetail, mule deer, antelope, & an elk along with numerous coyotes & other smaller critters. Would I use it on black bear or moose? Without a doubt!! On grizzly bear? I would but hesitantly. Not because the gun won't do the trick but because after seeing three grizzlies while in Glacier National Park last summer, the closest at less then 50 yards, I'm not real sure I would be real excited to hunt one period. Those suckers are BIG!!
As for a sweet shooting little caliber I have really grown to like, the 7mm-08. My wife has one and I steal it whenever she doesn't have a tag but if you don't reload then ammo availability is an issue. The .308 is another similarly great round but again with availability of ammo.
Just my two cents and worth what you paid for it.
Be sure to let us know what you decide.
I personally shoot a 257 Roberts in the Remington BDL, as an all around caliber the 30 06 is gonna be hard to beat. However I don't think I would want a charging grizzly on the other end of my little 257 even with 120 gr partition
I'd want a howitzer for that situation.
BKB
Aim for the right eye.
We all know what P-hole aims for ... I just hope it's a boar! ;)
4 pages in a rifle calibre and we haven't gone off topic. That's got to be a GH record.
My big old balls itch.
BKB
Well, you got one adjective out of two correct ... (and that one ain't "big"). ;)
Well I will throw my 2 cents in, I for one like being a little different. The 30.06 is a great round but for DRT on deer I have yet to see a better round than the 25.06 heck I have 2 of them. I also have a .270 WSM and with a Barnes tsx I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a elk with it. Now that I have said all that I just ordered a semi custom .325 WSM that should be ready in about 7 months so that may end up being my new favorite. I know the elk I killed in 2011 was hit with 7 mag barns tsx in 165gr and he never took a step. The bullet broke his shoulder and went up into his spine. I guess my point is there are all kinds of choices and many of them work well so just buy several of them that is what I do.
Well, I think some here are missing the point. I also love the .25-06, .270 and the .308, etc, etc, etc, but the question is, if there could be only ONE rifle, what would be the best caliber to be able to kill any big game animal in N. America? I will stand by the .30-06 as the best SINGLE rifle to own due to it's versatility, ammo availability and economical advantages. I seriously doubt your could pick a better caliber for an ONLY rifle.
I didn't read it as he was buying his only rifle. I read it as he was buying his first rifle. Big difference.
Besides, who do you know that hunts that only owns one?
BKB
ME for many years.
QUOTE:
I don't see any mention of more than one rifle now or in the future. He's gone all these years without a rifle and has only hunted with a shotgun. I assumed this recommended rifle was to replace the shotgun now that rifle hunting is allowed ... yet he wants it to be versatile enough to take other big game if he decides to go that route. Nowhere does he mention he wants separate deer rifle, antelope rifle, elk rifle, bear rifle and dragon slayer rifle recommendations. I took the request as a "one-gun-does-all" recommendation. To that, I recommended the super versatile .30-06.Quote:
I now have a good excuse to buy a (as in singular) rifle.
My question is, what caliber rifle would you recommend? I'd like something that would be multi-use that I could use if I ever go hunting for some other species of big game or the chance to hunt somewhere that is a lot more open country that Indiana is.
Thanks for all the info guys. At this time I just looking for a rifle to use in case they allow the use of them for deer here in Indiana. I'd like to make it as multi-use as possible so that I don't necessarily NEED another one if I have the opportunity to hunt in other locales.
We all know that guns get lonely in the gun safe and need another of the same type to keep them company, and if you have two guns together in a dark safe, they tend to get together and multiply. (At least that's what I tell my wife when she see's how many guns I have in there.)
I'm guessing that I'd just stay with the one for quite a while since unless I travel, there won't be any need for anything else, and I just don't have the money I used to before having the kids to start buying guns that are species specific like all my shotguns are. I have a shotgun for deer, one for ducks and geese, one for turkey, one for pheasant and rabbits, etc...guns are just too damn expensive any more to get that way with rifles since I'd only be able to hunt one thing with it here.
If this does go through, and it sounds like it's going to, I'll let you know what I get and then we can start the bullet conversation. :toothy
Another line of thought.
You could get an AR and then get diff uppers for it.
Prob. is Niner ... he stated money is tight!
Ruger American Rifle, best deal going in the gun business right now. You just can't beat it for what you get in quality and accuracy. My next choice if money was tight would be the Weatherby Vanguard it is also a fantastic rifle that won't break the bank.
Posthole, as for the hunters with only one rifle...technically that would be me. MY only rifle is my '06 affectionately called The Terminator. That being said, I stole my dad's 6mm and use it for hunting coyotes but I have used my wife's 7-08 when she isn't looking. And just so we are even more in agreement here, both my boys shoot 270's.
So I guess I am in the minority with only the one rifle (not counting .22's) but am beginning to think I need to get around to changing that.
My old 06 is named 'Meat in the Pot'.
and here I thought naming stuff was a southern thing.
BKB
Mine 30.06 is called; "Old Reliable". Of all my rifles it's the only one I ever named.
.30-06 is Betsy.
.270 is Sweetness.
New blue muzzleloader is "Blue Bell".
Can't find an appropriate name for the new .257 Wby Mag yet. I thought of Obama (constantly snuffing the veritable life out of all that it touches), but couldn't make myself do it.
My 700 BDL is called Chocolate Thunder :)
My 700 BDL in 25-06 is named Death...
Mr. Roberts for my little 257.
Well, they are fairly famous. What with having a major role in the Ten Commandments and what not... Thank goodness for lambs blood.
I'm sure every one'o youse know where the stools are kept ... why don't ya'll head over that way and I'll catch up to ya'.
Chocolate Death. Prolly about a 500 caliber.
BKB
as much as he talks out of it, I'd put it about howitzer diameter.
I was talking about his butthole, not his dingus.
BKB
Thanks Postie ... well, for that last part anyway. ;)
Troy, thanks for the suggestions. It's not that I have to get a bargain basement gun, but I can't justify $1500 for a rifle used, at most, two weeks a year. My initial thought was the Remingtion 700 SPS, but I'll check out the others as well. I shoot left-handed but I don't have to have a left hand gun.
You were right on about the Ruger being a good deal. Cabelas has them on sale right now for $390, and the all-weather is $450.
The Weatherby is $550 and the Remmy is $630.
Look for a left handed rifle, they are out there and sometimes you can get a good deal on one as they don't get a lot of attention.
The good news for you is that the Ruger American is offered in left handed rifles. That is a relatively new offering from them.
6 pages and still on topic....
Someone write this date down!
The Anschutz 22 I have is left hand, but I tried to shoot a left hand Remington 870 once and it was odd to me. I've used a righty so much that the safety being for a lefty really screwed me up.
I checked out the Weatherby's on the web and they all have a "right palm swell" so that rules them out. It looks like it's going to be hard to beat the Ruger with the price difference and both of them coming in a lefty model. That is unless there is a big difference in quality between them and the Remingtons.