Three calibers for the rest of your days

[AH-1]

1.7X64 brenneke for my steyr
2.7.5X55 for the K-31's and the t/c
3.444 for the win bb 94

3 kick ass rounds

 

[AStone]

I'd go with my friend Schleprok on the 7mm08 IF it was more readily available for those of us who don't reload.

IF it was as available as, say, .30/30, .308 or .30/06, I'd go with 7mm08 in a heartbeat. It's a fine rnd: flat, powerful, relatively lower recoil.

But given that's it's not widely available (for those of us who don't reload) and given the situations that I'm preparing for, I just can't justify it.

I'm leaning towards more widely available rnds these days, out of practical necessity.

Having said that about availability, usefulness, and given fungusmonkey's assertion (based on belton-deer-hunter's assertion) of the inclusion of 12 g in the mix, I'd now like to revise my list of "calibers".

The first two remain the same, while #3 changes:

.22 LR
.30-30
12ga (replaces .45/70 in my original list; with slugs, 12 g ~ .70)

 

[savage sam]

Based on caliber merits alone:

.22 LR (game-getter/plinker). Because ammo is cheap and because it's a quiet round.

.223 Remington (HD/SD, varminting, paper punching). Because ammo is cheap, and it's powerful enough for two-legged varmints, and because it's accurate.

.30-06 Springfield (general-purpose big game hunting, long-range precision work). Because of it's versatility.

All three calibers have great ammo availability.

That said, if I were limited to only three rifles for the rest of my life, I would have to change the last round to the .308 for the sole purpose of having a semiauto with lots of cheap available surplus ammo in case I ever needed to defend myself or mine. So my three rifles would be as follows (all equipped with appropriate optics, slings, etc):

Ruger 10-22 (.22 LR)
Bushmaster 20" AR-15 with A3 flattop (.223 Rem.)
Springfield M1A Standard (.308 Win.)

 

[Dogstail]

O'Conner's advise is still valid

O'Conner, legendary writer of the rifle, " If I could own only one rifle, it would be the 375H&H Mag. , if only two, I'd include the 270 Win."
The 375 H&H remains is the most versitile, widely accepted cartridge the world over even after some 80+ years from African cape buffalo, lion, lepoard to superb cross-canyon elk gun it can't be beat. It is the prefered cartridge in Alaska and will knock a charging brown bear to the ground or lift a 60 inch record moose off its feet & to the ground ( I did so.) Incidently, at my 155lb weight my Rem.700 Safari is not un-pleasant to shoot, a big push but not a painful jab of the 300. mags. Few realize that the 300 H&H and the 375 H&H were always the only two cartridges that headspace on the belt. The public related the belt to "magnum" so it was put on other cartridges (e.g., 7mm Rem.Mag.) as a sales gimick but served no purpose. I've carried my Win.Mod.70 , 270Win. for almost 50 years & shot everything from Elk in NM to jack rabbits, coyote & many mule deer -- never more than one shot. If you have the venerable 270 you'd be very foolish to trade it for any of the 7mm or 30 cal. mags. [PS You can load the 375 to 5,000 lb-ft. muzzle energy & as the saying goes for the 375.. 'you need fear nothing that walks on the planet."]

 

[Texas Gunman]

Narrowed it down to .22 LR,223/556 and 8mm.

Handgun 9mm & .45APC.

TG