How many calibers?

[retrieverman]

I am in the process of limiting my number of calibers that I have to buy and keep ammo for, and I have concluded that 22 lr, 223, 30-30, and 308 will do for what I hunt. I live in eastern Texas and hunt in eastern Texas and northwest Oklahoma, so whitetail deer and wild hogs are the largest animals that I will hunt.

 

[Bitswap]

I have to admit the only reason I include grizzlies was a paronia that I may be stalked by one... thank you Bear Gilis.

I don't think I'll be jumping off a 60 foot cliff into untested waters, drinking my own pee or squeezing elephant turds to survive though. Looks like the 30'ish cal will work.

I think Krimmie has something though. 22lr and .300 Weatherby mag combo. Like they say, in hunting there's no success like excess.

 

[brian923]

well..... why not just buy a 7 rem mag and use it on all Gods wonderful little critters in north america

 

[10-Ring]

I'm very limited in my experience & knowledge of rilfe calibers too, but just like my handguns, the number of rifles in my collection is growing -- so far -- 22lr, 223 and 308. And for my needs, these 3 seem to be my rifle caliber trinity

 

[browningguy]

This is a bad thread that should be closed!

Whats going to happen to me if my wife sees this and suddenly thinks I only need three rifles? Who's going to take the fall for that?

 

[brian923]

how true, how true.... LOL

 

[christcorp]

Have to admit; living in Wyoming there is a lot of hunting. Also a lot of terrain. And while I have many different rifles and guns all together, I pretty have or can shoot just about anything I want with a 7mm Rem Mag and a 22 mag. I could see possibly changing out the 7mm rem mag for a 300 win or weatherby mag. But personally, I prefer the 7mm Rem mag.

With the 22 mag rifle I have; Ruger 10-22, I have taken plenty of rabits, squirrel, coyote, etc.... Granted, sometimes a 22 mag is a little much and a regular 22 long rifle would be better, but I'd rather have the 22 mag and not need it than not.

For the 7mm Rem Mag, I have shot factory loads of 140g to 175g. I have reloaded down to 120g and 100g. I have shot coyote, whitetail, mule deer, wild pig, elk, moose, bear.

In my opinion, there isn't 1 thing in North America that the 7mm Rem Mag can't or hasn't shot. I personally think it is the best all around. Granted, the 300 mags can probably claim the same thing. I think the 300 is too big for some things. I don't think so for the 7mm rem mag. The 7mm rem mag has been considered the most popular magnum rifle yet devised. Cartridges are manufactured not only in the USA, but in Europe, Australia, and Africa. Possibly also other places.

There is no doubt that if I didn't have the money to buy multiple guns and I could only have 1, then it would be the 7mm rem mag. There will always be debates on this. Especially for the military type crowd that thinks the 308 and 30-06 walk on water. They are great, but they just aren't as versatile as the 7mm rem mag. In north america, anything another rifle can do, the 7mm rem can also. From breakfast to sniper. Later... Mike....

 

[1911 guy]

Rifle and shotgun.

Get a 12ga to deal with small game and varmints. Slugs will do you for deer, too. Then get a .35 Whellen for everything else.

Or, get a .22WMR for small game and varmints if you want to stick with all rifles, a .308 for deer and such, and something on the order of the .35 for big and dangerous things like brown bear.

 

[martinc64]

A .22 rifle
A 12 gauge shotgun
A 30-30 lever action
A 30-06

I know you wanted to keep the number as small as possible but I do not think 4 is excessive really.

.22s are dirt cheap. Good for practicing and plinking for fun.

A decent 12 gauge can be found for a reasonable price and is very versatile. Also an excellent HD weapon.

A 30-30. Good brush rifle for deer and similar sized game. Besides, you're an American and americans are supposed to have a lever action 30-30. Its a rule or something.

A 30-06. We fought two world wars with it. It has been successfully used to kill every game animal on this continent (and most other continents as far as I know). Ammo is available everywhere ( When kids set up lemonade stands they sell lemonade and 30-06 ammo).

Ok, I am only partly serious but I think my ideas still have a bit of merit.

 

[deadkenny]

The only 'problems' going with a rimfire other than .22LR are that it will be more expensive to shoot and many places make a distinction between 'rimfire' and 'centrefire', so the fact that you have a 'more powerful' rimfire doesn't help if you have to use centrefire.

Having a .22LR and a .300 Mag sounds like a good idea, until you have to carry the .300 Mag and / or shoot it from a bench or prone position when alot less cartridge would get the job done. If you can manage 2 centrefire cartridges, I would still believe something like a 6mm (lightweight rifle) and then a .300+ (or maybe a 7mm mag). The only 'problem' with a centrefire .22 is that many jurisdictions specify something larger than .22 for non-varmint game. Tweak accordingly based on your hunting and recoil tolerance.

BTW, an earlier exhaustive list of 'common' calibers appears to have missed the .33 (.338 Win Mag for one). Also, there was a list with .30-30 and .308. I believe one could safely drop the .30-30 if the objective was to minimize the number of cartridges and still cover the entire range of uses.

 

[Nameless_Hobo]

If you reload, .30-06 has litterally everything. You can load 100 grain light rounds for squirrel and rabbit, and 220 grain ass-kicking loads.

For bear, get a 12 gauge with a 3.5 inch chamber, stoke it with 3.5 buckshot and slugs.

You can now kill everything from birds, to rabbits to grizzly, if need be.

I won't suggest you go after grizzly with a .30-06, mainly because if you can afford to do so, you can afford a more powerful rifle to hunt with. However, I will say it's possible.

A .22Lr will be good to have when you save up the money to buy one. Mainly because .22Lr is cheap and plentiful.

 

[Bitswap]

If you reload, .30-06 has litterally everything. You can load 100 grain light rounds for squirrel and rabbit, and 220 grain ass-kicking loads.

100-220 grain bullets with the same twist rate?

Any thoughts on a muzzleloader for a shtf weapon?