Two rifle set for North America hunting, what cartridges would you pick.

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Coop45 said:
I've got a .17HMR that is fun, what is the Mach2 like
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The Mach2s a tad slower, but recoils even lighter and its just as accurate.
Mine.was built on a ruger 10/22 using a 20" 96/22 barrel. It blew up from time to time simply because there wasnt enough mass in the bolt assembly to keep the bolt closed till the pressure dropped. It tended to be exciting to shoot.
Anyway when it wasnt disassembling itself, it would hold some very tight groups, and was a blast to shoot at cans of water.

I also had a 17hmr, and I liked the mach2 better. lower noise, jiggled your sight picture even less, and still shot way flatter than you need for 100-150yds.
 
30-06 and 222 Remington. I have been given to understand, never measured to confirm, that the 222 is just a dimensionally scaled down version of the 30-06, so a perfect pair for twinning. But, 222 doesn't really meet your criteria outline above for "first rifle".

So, 25-06 and 35 Whelen. Again, perfect pairing at the outer ends of the 30-06 family of cartridges.
 
Traveling state to state hunting I would want to carry a round that 99.9% of gun stores would have on their shelf, therefore that supports my thoughts for 223 and 30-06, not every store has exotic rounds and you would be miles/days away from your reloading bench.
 
WisBorn said:
I think the 7mm rem mag or 30-06 bolt rifle is a great start. I would like something like a 45/70 lever. A Marlin guide rifle or 1886 Winchester would be great. The gap is on the small end for varmints. Of course you can use the 7mm for coyotes and prairie dogs. I have killed a few coyotes with mine 7mm:thumbup:
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I went back and read Troy's OP. With the request for a matched pair of rifles for the same feel. I would go with 25-06 rem & 35 Whelen in a Savage Weather Warrior. It would cover North America very well.
Troy thanks for starting the thread. This is a fun question and I have really enjoyed the responses.
 
Even though I have several rifles I would pick the two rifles that I use the most right now and they are the 30-06 and 338-06. For other hunting and problem solving I would use my 22 pistol and Remington pump shotgun. All bases are covered. Interesting thread.
 
For me, with appropriate loadings, .223 and .30/06 would cover everything in North America, except maybe squirrels :uhoh:. I am really impressed with the Ruger American series for low-to-mid budget rifles, though I don't own one. I would get one of each, and top them with Burris Fullfield E1 scopes. All in, around $800 x2.
 
FL-NC said:
6.5 CM and 300 win mag.
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This is along the lines of what I was thinking as well, I might would substitute a .300 WSM with good 200 gr bullets in a rifle that feeds WSMs well.

In reality my two rifle set for almost all my hunting is a Kimber Montana in 6.5 CM, and a Browning X-Bolt in .30-06, and I'm pretty happy with that combo. They both go on all hunts with me, and I use them both for antelope to elk, although I do tend to grab the 6.5 more for chasing antelope and muleys, and the .30-06 more for dark timber elk. With the 6.5 shooting 140gr ABs, and the .30-06 shooting 180gr ABs, the trajectories are very nearly identical, which is kind of nice.

All of that said, I purposely keep my hunting south of Dubois where Grizzlies aren't an issue. If I was specifically going hunting for Grizzlies, I'd have enough sunk into the hunt to pick up another rifle if I felt the need.
 
My current two-rifle set up for hunting anything from coyotes to elk is a custom Kimber 84M .308 Win and a custom Kimber Talkeetna in .375 H&H. I only use tough monolithic copper bullets (150gr to 175gr for the .308, 250gr to 270gr for the .375) and feel that my current choices are ok, but clearly there are many good combinations as shown by this thread. I have a Kimber 8400 WSM with 300 WSM, .308 Win and 6.5 PRC barrels and I'd like to get that rifle set up once and for all for hunting and ideally fill in some gaps that my current two rifles don't cover. 300 WSM makes the most sense to me given the good choices for .30 cal monolithic bullets, and maybe with a Proof barrel.
 
LoonWulf said:
The Mach2s a tad slower, but recoils even lighter and its just as accurate.
Mine.was built on a ruger 10/22 using a 20" 96/22 barrel. It blew up from time to time simply because there wasnt enough mass in the bolt assembly to keep the bolt closed till the pressure dropped. It tended to be exciting to shoot.
Anyway when it wasnt disassembling itself, it would hold some very tight groups, and was a blast to shoot at cans of water.

I also had a 17hmr, and I liked the mach2 better. lower noise, jiggled your sight picture even less, and still shot way flatter than you need for 100-150yds.
Click to expand...
I liked the mach2, dad got a few when they came out. Think lack of ammo is what keeper to unpopular. I have read the mach2 builds pressure the hole time down the barrel, guess it's the reason it was not made in all 22 based guns. I see ammo is easier to find now, so I'm keeping the look out for one. I still have that 17 barrel I can mess with.
 
DocRock said:
30-06 and 222 Remington. I have been given to understand, never measured to confirm, that the 222 is just a dimensionally scaled down version of the 30-06, so a perfect pair for twinning. But, 222 doesn't really meet your criteria outline above for "first rifle".

So, 25-06 and 35 Whelen. Again, perfect pairing at the outer ends of the 30-06 family of cartridges.
Click to expand...
I may have picked a 222 or 223 but the idea of have similar actions, the 243 my replace the 7x57 just because the 375 I chose will work for jobs and up and the 222-223-243 or light stuff.

guys say most states don't allow 223 but I'd th ave the 375 for deer. Really need 4 guns, a rimfire a shotgun small and big centerfire rifle.
 
rdnktrkr said:
Traveling state to state hunting I would want to carry a round that 99.9% of gun stores would have on their shelf, therefore that supports my thoughts for 223 and 30-06, not every store has exotic rounds and you would be miles/days away from your reloading bench.
Click to expand...
yes a very good point, my two choices are harder to fine.
 
WisBorn said:
I went back and read Troy's OP. With the request for a matched pair of rifles for the same feel. I would go with 25-06 rem & 35 Whelen in a Savage Weather Warrior. It would cover North America very well.
Troy thanks for starting the thread. This is a fun question and I have really enjoyed the responses.
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Thanks, it's just something to get people thinking. The 2 gun thing and similar guns just makes choosing harder, but really can show that we don't need much. If in had the money to go state to state is really like 4 guns, but it's hard to pick with all the different laws. Realistically I probably won't ever hunt big bear or moose but is nice to be covered.
 
George P said:
Except, if I am traveling to hunt, odds are I am bringing my ammo with me.
If I wanted to go unique, I would want a lightweight (sub 6#) mountain gun in 6mmBR for predators up to most deer at reasonable ranges and then add a 280AI for the rest.
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stop giving me ideas lol. I have considered the same thing for a few years. A lightweight rifle in a target cartridge. I was going to pull down my 700 to do it to, it was. 7br at one time but the 6br was my idea to. I wonder if it's a waste to get a high end barrel in a light contour of just get a Shaw or McGowan.
 
I had one of the original XP-100s with the mid style grip in 7mmBR. .Also owning a 7mm mag and a 7-08 (all Remingtons) I thought about having a guy I knew in Carson taking that XP and making it into a rifle like I described. Unfortunately, at that time, synthetic stocks for rifles were fairly new, made of fiberglas and not that light. I would have wanted a 18-20 medium bull barrel with flute to lighten but stiffen and something like my US-made Burris 6X compact scope. Weight should be <7# for all day carry after yotes, lopes, and deer
 
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