243 & 30-06 for all N.A Game?

[357smallbore]

I have a Stevens 110E in 243 topped with a 4x scope. I have a Savage 110 in 30-06 topped with a 2x10 variable. 243 is my light caliber and the 06 is my heavy caliber for hunting every small, medium and big game species N. America has to offer.
Anyone agree or disagree. I am not against any other calibers as I'm sure there are varying opinions. I just have settled on these two as my favorites and go to calibers.

 

[Hookeye]

Had a lot of stuff over the years, but came to same conclusion.........

have a .243 and .30-06, both bolt rigs.

Both synth stocked.

 

[gotboostvr]

Sounds about right to me.

243Win should cover varmints, predators and medium game well.

30-06 should take medium and larger game, especially loaded with 180+gr bullets well.

 

[Barbaroja]

I have to disagree when it comes to small game. Add a .22lr in the mix and were in business though.

 

[357smallbore]

Sounds about right to me.

243Win should cover varmints, predators and medium game well.

30-06 should take medium and larger game, especially loaded with 180+gr bullets well.

I load my own. 243's are loaded with either speer / n. partitions (70, 85 and 100gr) my 06 is loaded the same in (165, 180 and 200gr)

 

[357smallbore]

I have to disagree when it comes to small game. Add a .22lr in the mix and were in business though.

I have a Ruger rifle chambered in 22 wmr for the little stuff. It's topped with a 4x scope.

 

[Barbaroja]

Then I’d say your set from mouse to moose. It’s nice to have it all covered with a few guns. For some reason I keep ignoring that and buying one for all occasions.

 

[Berserker]

I keep thinking about what rifle to get next, not because I need one. I bought 243 for coyote, but just shoot paper. For deer/bear 30-06 and 4570. Though about 300 win mag, for the heck of it.

But ya, 30-06, will probably do anything you want.

 

[Hookeye]

I have other rifles, but my .30-06 and .243 are finally set up the way I want them and that makes me like em even more.
They aint going anywhere.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

.30US (".30-06") is the king of cartridges, I've always thought. Why I only have one, a Springfield 03A3, is a mystery. I think it's mouse to moose, shooting 90 grain cast bullets very slowly for the smallest of game, or a chamber insert that shoots .32ACP, and up to 220 grain bullets for anything else. For "anything else" I like a 180 grain round nose bullet.

For a two-gun combo for everything I'd pair my .30US with my Savage .30WCF (30-30) over 20guage shotgun combo gun. The .30WCF with it's smaller case capacity shoots lighter/light loads a little more efficiently. So for me it would be .30US/.30WCF.

 

[LoonWulf]

There's a pile of combination that will work, and the .243 and .30-06 are a classic option.
I personally don't use my .243 and don't own a .30-06 any more, but I still like them both.

 

[BreechFace]

Hard to argue with 243/30-06
Me it’s 223/280ai

 

[gotboostvr]

Hard to argue with 243/30-06
Me it’s 223/280ai

I'm beginning to think the 280AI might be just about the perfect do-all. It'll shoot almost as flat as the 243, and pack a similar punch as the 30-06. Shame it's not more widely chambered in factory rifles.

 

[LoonWulf]

I'm beginning to think the 280AI might be just about the perfect do-all. It'll shoot almost as flat as the 243, and pack a similar punch as the 30-06. Shame it's not more widely chambered in factory rifles.

Love mine.

They may not be super common, but all of the the ones that are available are quite nice, and any .280 can be set back and rechambered fairly cheaply.

 

[JeeperCreeper]

No, if either were good, the military would still use them or have picked them up.

Go 338 Lapua and 6.8 spc.




...kidding. I really didn't want to say that just to see the eye-rolling.

I think that's a great 2 caliber set up

 

[MikeInOr]

I went for 6.5x55 and 30-06 but I don't know if that is any more or less of a well rounded choice than .243 and 30-06. There are a lot of excellent cartridges out there and a lot of good pairs to cover pretty much all hunting senereos. I like the .22 lr suggestion to round out the small end but a .22lr pretty much goes without saying in my gun safe.

 

[Charlie Martinez]

I'm with the 22LR suggestion. A 22LR (instead of the 243) and the 30-06 would cover it all. Up to about 40 or 50 years ago the entire battery of most hunting households consisted of a 22LR, a 30-06 (or 30-30) and a 12 (or 16) gauge shotgun.

 

[jmr40]

I could make that combo work, but it wouldn't be my 1st choice. IMO 243 is a 'tweener round. It may be near perfect for deer, but is too big for anything smaller than deer, and not big enough for game bigger than deer. It isn't very versatile.

Of course everyone needs a 22 RF. But when we get to centerfires I'd also want a 22 for varmints up to deer size game. From deer to moose, elk, or bear just about any centerfire cartridge 26 caliber and up will work. The 30-06 is as good as anything, but certainly not the only choice that would work.

 

[Sav .250]

There may be more/better combo`s but those 2 will get the job done. Top 5 for sure. IMO.

 

[Garandimal]

Good balance, and a 'uge envelope.

Went one click closer to the center w/ the 6.5x55 and .270 WCF.

(But then, I like elegant cartridges... and am a bit of a recoil wuss.)






GR

 

[Hog huntin Harry]

Your setup will work fantastically for N.A game. I personally would use a Ruger American Predator chambered in .223 Remington and a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight chambered in .270 Winchester. .223 Remington for everything from backyard pests to whitetail deer, .270 Winchester for whitetail on up to grizzly.

 

[George P]

Your setup will work fantastically for N.A game. I personally would use a Ruger American Predator chambered in .223 Remington and a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight chambered in .270 Winchester. .223 Remington for everything from backyard pests to whitetail deer, .270 Winchester for whitetail on up to grizzly.

Not every state allows .22 centerfire for deer though; many have a minimum of 6mm
I could see a light 6mmBR for the first followed by my 7mm mag for the second..................

 

[Legionnaire]

If you are limiting yourself to two centerfire rifles, that combo will do as well as any. I don't own a .30 cal anymore, giving them all up in favor of 7mms. Not sure what I'd pick if limited to two. .223 and .280AI maybe, or .243AI and .280AI, or .243AI and .375 Ruger.

I think it would be easier to pick three: .223 at the low end, .375 Ruger at the high end, and any one of several 6.5 or 7 mms in the middle.

 

[BigBlue 94]

I recently said that 5 guns could cover everything in the world

22LR
243
375 H&H (or 30-06 or 300mag)
45acp (or 9, 40, 10mm)
12ga

 

[stillquietvoice]

In my younger days, I used 3 different 06's, 22lr and 12 ga. It covered everything for me. Now post injury, I use 223/5.56, 243, and 7mm08 it covers everything, 22lr is a given.