For a hunting rifle what would be your choice of only one hunting rifle?

[frankenstein406]

Rem 700 pre x mark in 35 whelen

 

[Art Eatman]

Out west, my '06. Down in south Georgia, my .243 carbine.

 

[browningguy]

30-06

 

[golfshot72]

For Upstate N.Y. 35/336 Marlin. I guess my 270 Rem 700 would fit the bill for anything else.

 

[Liberty1776]

Well, seeing as how you axted.... it would be hard to choose between my 03-A3 sporter 30-06 (made it myself) and the Vanguard sub-MOA in 7mm Rem Mag. Either will do it, all day long, any of those species...

 

[bugs1961]

300 Win Mag if you reload. I've shot over a thousand rounds with everything from 110 Speer spire points at Montana prairie dogs to 200 grain Nosler Accubonds. Even some 165gr Missouri Bullet Company lead bullets designed for the 30-30. All shoot well. The lead bullets are quiet and kick like a .22. Great for pest control.

 

[cpt-t]

((( 30-06 ))) You use to be able to go to Wall-Mart or your LGS and buy factory loaded ammo from 55 gr to 220 bullets befor the present ammo shortage. I don`t think you can even come close to that with any other caliber. My choice would be either a Savage of a CZ bolt gun. And if you reload it just gets to a better choice.
ken

 

[wally247]

For South Dakota I would say .243. Yes there is elk hunting, but chances are you will never get a tag. Also bison, but you better have a big checkbook. That leaves whitetail, mule deer, antelope, coyotes, mountain lion, and prairie dogs. Seems like a .243 would do the job without compromising too much.

 

[WVRJ]

The question was for a hunting rifle what would be your choice.I would pick my Remington 700FS in 300 Win Mag.Light enough to carry,accurate enough to shoot a long ways.

 

[umc180gr]

.30/06 Model 70 , pick your year

 

[M1GarandDeerHunter]

Wellll, seeing how you asked and all, 30-06 Springfield in a M1 Garand rifle.

 

[StrawHat]

Wow, quite a lot of votes for a 30 something. I have always been a fan of vanilla, when it comes to ice cream. For rifles, I tend to like a bit of variety. As such, the 30 somethings are a bit small for my idea of an all around rifle. In a similar vein the 45-70 gets a lot of hype (or over hype) and doesn't fit either. The idea of the 348, 9.3 and the 35 Whelen are interesting. Getting a bit of weight and bigger bore is always a good idea. If I were to settle on one, for North American game, I would look long and hard at the 405 WCF. A 300 grain bullet at 2200 fps from factory loads and capable of loading to black powder ballistics for smaller stuff, to me it would be about ideal. Not everyone's cup of tea but a good choice none the less.

 

[stringnut]

30/06 would be the caliber. Will stick with my 35 year old Ruger m 77. Have others, but, that one stays forever.

 

[jvberryjr]

I had the same question as the OP about a year ago. I ended up getting a Ruger American in .308 with Nikon Prostaff Scope (4-12x40). Entire package less than $450!

 

[ZGunner]

30-06 with .308 as a VERY close second.

 

[Robert]

I have my do all rifle. Winchester M70 Safari Express in 375H&H. I can down load it to 06 levels or I can load it with solids for Cape Buffalo. One world, one cartridge.

 

[HexHead]

My .257 WBY Magnum would do it all. .300 WBY might be overkill on some.

 

[huntsman]

I thought Jack settled this years ago with the .270

 

[Beach Nut]

Here's a another vote for the .30-06. I love my Marlin 336 in .30-30 too but the .30-06
will reach out a little farther for those long shots you take in wide open areas at distances
longer than 150 yards. I have a Savage 110 in .30-06 and have no regrets about buying
or using it at all. It is a nice budget tackdriver.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I'd have to go with Fionn MacCumhaill, my pre-64 Model 70 Winchester in .30-06. This rifle, in it's previous lives went to Africa several times, as well as Alaska. One of the previous owners managed to mount a Redfield peep sight behind the rear scope base, so if the scope goes sour, you can pull it off and use the irons.

 

[tdoyka]

t/c encore, high plains gunstock with limbsaver pad, 444 marlin in a 21" mgm heavy factory barrel with bellm's muzzle brake and you can choice the scope.
remember, i have had a stroke, right side is no good, this will work!

 

[MCMXI]

The .308 Win is by far my favorite rifle cartridge but I would have to admit that the .30-06 Sprg is more versatile. However, I wouldn't pick either if I could only have one. I would pick a .300 Win Mag/.300 WSM for the US, or like Robert, a .375 H&H if I were planning to go to Africa. The rifle would be a Kimber Montana or Talkeetna.

 

[bannockburn]

Another vote for the .30-06, preferably in a Winchester Model 70.

 

[Scooter22]

A 30-06 will do it all with a .308 right on it's heels. One advantage a .308 has is availability of surplus/white box ammo at cheaper prices. I have several of both but if I had to have only one these days I'd keep the .308 just for the surplus ammo option. The 30-06 might have the advantage for the largest game animals but for most of us in a bad situation the animals will be two legged.

 

[DM~]

Absolutely, without a doubt 30-06...

DM