best all around rifle round

[Orr89rocz]

as far as RIFLE is concerned, i've have to go with a reliable bolt action. One maybe with iron sites on it but with a quick detach scope as well. scope for hunting accuracy but if your hunting dangerous game or any game in close quarters, you can take the scope off really quick to follow up.

Caliber, it have to be a 30-06 or so. proven effective on most everything. Hell they have shot elephants in the head with 303 british back in the day. 30-06 might do that well too. the various bullet weights from 55 grain sabots to 220 grain round noses, you cant go wrong at all!!

another one i like is 338 win mag or 375 H&H for larger game from deer on up. handloaded, these guys can be tamed down alot and effective for deer. hotloaded, they will take down most of the african game (375 will do everything) I think that is a versatile cartridge combo for larger species.

 

[Bartkowski]

odd" calibers, like 7mm magnum

a 7mm rem mag isn't that rare of a caliber around me...but for the best caliber I have to go for 30-06.

 

[worker]

Mil calibers, therefore in order: any rifle in .308, .223
7.62x39, and lastly 7.62x54R -- and of course .22LR


Also

The various 300 magnums all work well, but cost more, recoil more, and produce more muzzle blast. However they also deliver more energy and have a greater maximum point blank range. In truth they are not necessary for the vast majority of hunting situations.

is a quote that I disagree with (mostly because of generalization 'vast majority of hunting situations',
is similar, in my mind, to the argument that some hunter/writer made that 'AR-15' are not needed for hunting --
and that was quoted by anti-gun politician...)

 

[JimmerJammerMrK]

Another vote for .30-06.

 

[BsChoy]

gotta go with the 30-06....ammo is easy to find if you don't reload and will do all games animals just fine up to and including moose and elk. After that I am partial to the 6.5x55 swedish...but you need to hanload that one to get the best out of it.

 

[Charles S]

is a quote that I disagree with (mostly because of generalization 'vast majority of hunting situations',

After 25 years of hunting and a lot of experience with both magnums and non-magnums I stand by the quote. I own and love a number of 300 Magnums including a couple of different flavor short magnums and a couple of long action magnums. I don't believe 300's are necessary for the vast majority of hunting situations. Contrary to what you read in Peterson's Hunting, Outdoor Life, and Field and Stream game animals are not armor plated. Honestly the majority of hunters (myself included) are over gunned for the game they hunt. I believe that the 300s offer a degree of convenience to the shooter that can handle them. I also firmly believe that the 30-06 is the upper limit of recoil for a lot of shooters and a light weight 300 is beyond what the average shooter can handle. My favorite 300 Winchester weighs 7 1/4 pounds with scope and is quite interesting to shoot from the bench.

Since you disagree please explain how the 300 magnums don't produce more recoil and muzzle blast. Explain how they are cheaper to shoot than their non-magnum counterparts.

Since you disagree please name a number of situations where the 300s are necessary and can do something that the appropriately selected non-magnum cannot.

BTW if you are implying that I am stating that you should not hunt with magnums then you are wrong. People can hunt with whatever they choose as far as I am concerned. I was simply answering the question. IMHO magnums are not the ideal general purpose round for North America.

 

[Orr89rocz]

i've shot a factory remington 700 in 300 ultra mag. thought it was gonna rock my world but it didnt kick any harder than my 35 whelen with 200 grainers. maybe it was because the gun probly weighed 9 lbs or so. the long fairly thick barrel had alot to do with it.

i think a 300 wsm or win mag in a hefty gun will prove just fine for most shooters. But then again, do you want to lug around a 9-10 lb rifle? i know i wouldnt mind for most hunts but if i did alot of walking, i wouldnt want that rifle

 

[DiN_BLiX]

I just can't help but keep recommending the SKS. This rifle is just tough as nails, reliable and ammo is cheap. On the power scale it's on-line with the venerable .30-30 Winchester. Not to mention 10 rounds down-range as fast as you can pull the trigger.

Dispite the funds and oppertunity to buy more rifles, i can find one that would make my sks obsolete to me. For all the above mentioned reasons, an sks is a great "utility" rifle.

 

[sansone]

gosh it's hard to pick just one. kinda like picking just one tool to keep in the shed. you didn't mention if recoil was an issue. that would narrow down choices. you did mention cost so how about a savage .308? frugal choices both. // I just noticed cartridges are what you want discussed, not rifles. same pick

 

[greyling22]

can I vote for the .22 as well? I know of no other rifle you can also fish and bird hunt with and still eat the meat. I don't think it is legal, but dove tastes just the same off a power line as off the wing. they're fun too and you can take your girlfriend out shooting too.

I'll also vote for the 30/30 to sound like less of a backwoods hick. you can have a lot of fun with handloading that one.

 

[SpeedAKL]

I'm a big fan of .308 Winchester. It's relatively affordable for a higher-power cartridge, recoil is reasonable, it has solid power (though .30-06 hits harder downrange), and it is extremely accurate with great ballistics.

 

[aspade]

There are any number of good all around hunting rounds, most of which are so close to each other as to defeat the purpose, but cheap range ammo narrows it down to the milsurp calibers.

.308, .30-06, 7.62x54R. 8x57 and .303 if you don't mind cleaning up after corrosive primers. 6.5 Swede was - and is - a good one but the surplus ball is scarce and not very cheap any longer.

If I could only have one, it'd be the .308 - and I suspect it would work well on the bad folks who said I could only have one.

 

[christcorp]

I can't believe that no one has really spoken up and defended the 7mm rem mag at the best all around rifle round. There isn't 1 thing in North America that it can't take down; from small critters to moose and bear. It's a widely available round anywhere you go; including Canada, Europe and Australia. With the round selection, you are almost never over gunned or under gunned. You can shoot it effectively at just about any distance the normal person would shoot for game purpose; 500 yards. It isn't nearly as expensive of a gun or round compared to some of the 300 and up magnums.

There is no doubt in my mind that if I could ONLY have 1 rifle, for whatever reason, then it would be a 7mm rem mag. Of course I don't have to have only 1. In which case, to round out needs and such, I would add a 30-30 for short distances on large animals and a 22lr/mag for small animals at short distances. Add a 12 guage pump like a Rem 870, and you have covered just about any scenario you can think of.

I know there's a big following for the 308 and 30-06. In their time they were great caliber. I shoot/shot many rifles in those two calibers. Now, they are just a "Good" caliber. But hey, that's what opinions are for. later... Mike...

 

[Charles S]

Mike, reread my first post in this thread.

 

[Brian Williams]

Right now my all around rifle is a Win 70 compact classic in 7mm-08, and it could some day be replaced with a Mini mauser or CZ in 6.5 grendel.

 

[MT GUNNY]

30.06

 

[christcorp]

Sorry Charles; I overlooked where you mention the 7mm rem mag as one of the leaders. My bad. I have hunted a lot in the eastern USA and south. In those areas, the 308 and 30-06 will suffice. Having live in the Rockies for about 20 years, both calibers are pushing it. My first year here I was using a 30-06. When I saw the deer and elk on the other side of the draw or meadow at about 300+ yards, I knew I was in trouble. Needless to say I went and checked out some of the magnums.

I agree that the 300 and up magnums can be a bit of overkill. Although I shot a Weatherby 30-378 once and thought it was about the coolest thing in the world. Especially if you want to shoot something over in the next county. But I settled on the 7mm rem mag cause I can go from a 100 grain to a 175 grain and shoot prairie dogs all the way to sheep, elk, moose, and bear. When you can still maintain 1700-1900ft/lbs at 300 yards, with 3000+ft/sec out of the muzzle, there's pretty much nothing it can't take down. I've used it with 130 grain in Texas on Whitetail and it was perfect.

Again, the only thing that would make it a little on the "Not Perfect" scale, would be a shot at about 50 yards. It can easily be done, but in the thick brush of Texas and similar, it's nice to have an open site 30-30 for such a short distance. However, the 7mm rem mag will do it with practice. Later... Mike...