Anything But A .30-06.....

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WrongHanded

WrongHanded

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Just for fun, and to challenge the idea of the .30-06 Springfield being the best "all-rounder" cartridge for big game in North American, let's see if we can narrow down an alternative.

Someone wants one rifle, chambered in one cartridge, to hunt all legal big game species in North America.

You cannot choose the .30-06, so what do you recommend? And if you have a good reason, what is it?

I'd recommend the .375 Ruger. The reason is that dead is dead, and it'll make it dead. (Providing the shooter, yadda yadda yadda)

But the real reason is that the more demand for the cartridge, the higher the levels of production, which means it gets cheaper....for fools like me who have one and actually want to shoot it more. :D

So what's you choice?
 
Depends on range. Hard to beat 338 lapua if you've got some long shots, tough to beat 458 Lott if the distance is shorter. Tough to beat 45-70 under 100 yards, dead is dead. 30-30 has worked as a do all for generations and honestly it's about as powerful as most folks will ever need. I like the 375 ruger, I never shot it but I'm aware of its ballistics.

Hmmmm . so my answer is...

700 nitro express.
Why? I don't know, I heard some critters are tough to kill and I'd just want to be properly prepared .
 
Actual recommendations I've given people have been 7mm-08, 280 rem, and even the 6.5cm with the warning to use the right bullet for intended game. All will kill anything in north America if used properly, and all are great for deer, which is what most people with only one rifle are gonna use it for. And I have recently seen ammo on the shelf for all of them.

Then there's the 35 whelen...
 
If it’s to “replace” the 30-06, then 300 Win Mag, 7mm Mag, 375 Ruger or even 375 H&H would all be pretty good, as would the 280 Rem at the other end of the spectrum. Unless the desire is to make .308 holes in paper, the 308 Win is not a replacement for the 30-06 which, as a hunting round excels with 180-200 gr bullets and is a great cartridge for North American heavy game. I don’t happen to believe in the so-called “all around cartridge” but I do not condemn those who do.

In this day and age, the 30-06 should be considered The Heavy Game Cartridge for the average Joe, those of us who don’t claim to drop elk DRT at 600 yards with the latest 6.5mm cartridge. For the diminishing hunting population who view max point blank range and a bit as ethical distance and for whom the 30-06 with 180s -200s is probably the top end of recoil that they should attempt, it’s ideal.

The insistence that the 308 Win is its ballistic twin is only valid when the two are used with bullet weights once intended to kill fellow humans in a military role. Ironically of course, the 30-06 started life as the 30-03 with old fashioned, big, long 220 grs bullets, and it’s still suited for that. The 308 was created to mimic the 30-06 in a smaller case with the smaller 150 grs bullets that the 30-06 evolved to, and the 308 was the better at it. But there are numerous cartridges that are better, more efficient, lower recoil, and probably more accurate with similar bullet weights, better BC, and better SD than mid-weight 308.

If you are one those that regularly drop elk at 500 + yards with the 6-7 mm cartridges, bless you. The 30-06 really holds no place for you, nor would anything bigger I imagine. If not, the 30-06 is rather a good choice for killing big animals, but several alternatives that do rather well are also available. But then, I still find the 30-30 Win quite suitable for deer and hogs…

Edit/Addendum: I can’t believe I forgot 8x57. Had I not, I would have waxed lyrical. But I did. So I won’t…
 
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Acknowledging that true big game hunting has always involved crossing state lines for me, my answer has become 300PRC, phasing out my 300wm’s. I know I could kill anything I wanted to hunt with less, and given sufficient days, I also know I could get closer - but the 30 cal mags offer anchoring confidence at range which matches my capacity to deliver bullets to vitals. So my big game rifles - true big game, not just deer rifles - are 30 cal magnums.
 
Don't trust published numbers. If you actually chronograph some factory loads 308 equals or exceeds 30-06 speeds with the same bullet weights most of the time. Handloaders can exceed factory 30-06 loads with 308 by a significant amount.

Of course, a handloaded 30-06 cartridge will always have the potential to beat the best 308 handloads by about 100 fps. What does that 100 fps at the muzzle get you? About another 50 yards of effective range. Anything the 30-06 does at 500 yards, a 308 does at 450 yards. And 308 is a 500-yard elk cartridge if the shooter is good enough. I'm not good enough to hit game at 500 yards, so 308 is more than enough for me.

And a 308 handles 200 gr bullets just fine coming within 100 fps of 30-06. There just isn't much need for bullets that heavy from either and I'm not aware of any factory loads.

If I were to choose a replacement for 30-06 that offered better performance I'd nominate 300 WSM. It shoots the same bullets as 300 WM about 50 fps slower. About 200 fps faster than 30-06 and about 300 fps faster than 308. Yet it uses considerably less powder than 300 WM generating recoil that splits the difference between 30-06 and 300 WM. If someone can handle 30-06, then 300SM isn't a big jump in recoil whereas 300 WM might be just too much. The 300 WSM has proven to be accurate, and it doesn't need barrels any longer than 22"-24" whereas most other magnums need 26" to get published speeds. That means a shorter, lighter, more compact rifle similar to 308 can be put together.
 
vintovka said:
I know a fellow who swears by his old sporterized 7mm 1895 Chilean Mauser. His trophy room is packed and even took it on safari.
Click to expand...

I love this cartridge, I think of its vintage it is the best military cartridge. I have a mex and a chilean that got diverted from africa, there was a little dust up with some dutch farmers and england around that time.

I can see how he could do that, much softer over the 8mm and 3006, flatter over 303 and I think better longer ranged, I think those pesky dutch farmers would agree.

I really want to see how far I can go with mine.

My Chilean is just as close to mint as one can get, check out this in the stock. That looks like it was stamped yesterday. Almost too pretty to shoot....almost.

upload_2022-3-8_6-47-31.png

This is the only full length photo I have. The photos do not do the thing justice. It is so dark, so rich, it really looks new.

upload_2022-3-8_6-49-7.png
 
The OP said any game in North America, which I would assume includes bears. If so, a .30-30 would obviously be out if the picture as would the less powerful up to moderate .30 cals. No 7-08’s or even 7 mag though it may be borderline

Since guys talk about bear hunts but there isn’t one in ten thousand that actually do hunt bigger bears, I’d assume it’s things smaller. If that’s the case I’d use a 7 mag because that’s what I have. In fact, that’s the reason I got it. There are a bazillion other choices which will work, but not as well, simply because they don’t have the way cool looking, accuracy enhancing belt.
 
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