Four centerfire hunting rifles for the world.......go!

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High Plains

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You have four to pick for anything you want to hunt and there is no ammo shortage. Here is my list.

22-250 Rem
6.5mm Creedmoor
300 Weatherby
375 H&H

I know everyone would also probably want a 22 Long, a pistol chambered in something starting with a 4, and a 12 gauge shotgun.
 
470 nitro express

30-06

6.5x55

.220 Swift.

I tried to keep them all over 100 years old but the centerfire .22 messed me up, swap it for the .22 LR and I’d be just fine though.
 
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223
6.5CM
308
375 Ruger

Those would be my picks. Any 22 centerfire will work for varmints but I chose 223 for the versatility to use my AR as both a varmint rifle and SD rifle

I don't think it really matters nearly as much as we like to pontificate about on gun forums when it comes to an all around big game cartridge. In reality anything 26 caliber and up will take any big game animal in North America. It comes down to personal preference, how far we want to be able to take shots, and how much recoil we want to tolerate. I chose 6.5 CM and 308, but there are no really bad choices here. In fact I could easily just pick one and narrow my list to 3 firearms.

I chose 375 Ruger over the classis 375 H&H because it will fit in a standard long action rifle plus it beats 375 H&H performance slightly.
 
.22-250
.25-06
.300WM
.458WM (could be convinced otherwise on this one)

No 6.5mm just because. Although I think the .25-06 actually fills the gap between the .22-250 and the .300WM better than any of the 6.5mm chamberings.

Yeppers, I could go along with those 4 choices, although I'd substitute 3 of them with:
257 Weatherby instead of a 25-06, a 308 Norma Mag (of course) instead of a 300 WM, and a 375 H&H instead of a 458 Win Mag.
And I also would need a .22LR and a 12 gauge.
 
With what I've already done a bit of it...

.223Rem
.308Win
.375H&H

No real need for a fourth, unless you count .460WbyMag and have you eyes roll like a slot machine after the recoil of every shot. I just might add .300WinMag for looooong shots or substitute .308 with .30-06 if it didn't mean additional length and weight for the action.

I'll go with these three, then.
 
17HMR
222 Remington
30-30
30-06

The '06 is my favorite, as many have stated. But, it's a mite heavy for some things, like groundhogs. The Deuce is great for that, though I only got mine this year I love it and it's been a dandy varmint gun so far. Same for the 17; I really like it for smaller stuff out to about 125. The 30-30, of course, needs neither introduction nor justification. Sadly, I'm without one at the moment. I hope to remedy that this year; a single shot Savage is really piqued my interest lately.

Mac
 
.220 Swift,
6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenaur
30-06 Springfield
375 H&H, .416 Rigby or .404 Jeffry...I don't have any experience with big bore safari rifles, so would definitely get some input from the experienced were I to hunt cape buffalo, rhinos or elephant.
 
.223 ar (1:7 twist) for varmint to deer (varmints include hd).
6x284 savage m16 (1:8) for really far away varmints to deer/larger deer family.
7stw remage (1:8) for really far away everything
.458 soccom (ar) for really big everything. (Willing to consider substitution of #4 for .375 Ruger but this is calling me hard)
 
.220 Swift,
6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenaur
30-06 Springfield
375 H&H, .416 Rigby or .404 Jeffry...I don't have any experience with big bore safari rifles, so would definitely get some input from the experienced were I to hunt cape buffalo, rhinos or elephant.[/QUOTE]
That's easy, it starts with a 4 and ends with a retina detachment................
 
That's easy, it starts with a 4 and ends with a retina detachment................
I literally lol'd at that, but...I don't think the recoil would be that bad. I shoot a 3.5" magnum shotgun for turkeys and I'm only about 170 lbs. Sure, the shotgun and I recoil but my hat and glasses sometimes stay where they were. And I learned the hard way to not crawl up the stock and get too close to the scope (that's why mine now wears a reflex sight). Here's a comparison using http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php:

3.5" Shotgun:
Input parameters: Bullet weight 984 grains (2.25 oz); Velocity 1200 fps; Charge 34 gr; Firearm Weight 8 lbs
Recoil: 72.3 ft-lbs and 24.1 ft/sec.

.458 win mag:
Input parameters: Bullet weight 500 grains; Velocity 2100 fps; Charge 74 gr; Firearm Weight 8 lbs
Recoil: 79.9 ft-lbs and 25.4 ft/sec.

I weighed my turkey gun and it is about 7.8 lbs. My understanding is that most big bore rifles are heavier than that. Make that rifle 9 lbs and recoil velocity and energy are very slightly less than the 3.5" shotgun.
 
The latest I have seen for turkeys is a load of #9 tungsten in a standard 2-3/4" shell; no need for shoulder bruisers and kills then dead out to 50 yards
 
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