If you could have 1 rifle round

If you could have 1 rifle round

  • .22 (LR, Mag, Hornet)

    Votes: 21 6.1%

  • 5.56 (.223)

    Votes: 20 5.8%

  • 243

    Votes: 9 2.6%

  • 270 (ANY OF THEM)

    Votes: 6 1.7%

  • .300

    Votes: 3 0.9%

  • .303

    Votes: 3 0.9%

  • 30-06

    Votes: 66 19.2%

  • 30-30

    Votes: 6 1.7%

  • 7mm

    Votes: 6 1.7%

  • 7.62X39

    Votes: 23 6.7%

  • 7.62X51 (.308 WIN)

    Votes: 134 39.1%

  • 7.62X54

    Votes: 8 2.3%

  • .50BMG

    Votes: 3 0.9%

  • Other (please list)

    Votes: 17 5.0%

  • Good ole’ 12 gauge still tops all

    Votes: 18 5.2%
  • Total voters
    343
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Savage 24, O/U in .22lr 12ga. Although not the best at anything it can do everything.
 
I voted .308 but strongly considered going with .357 magnum in a lever action rifle. Both can be hand loaded with a wide range of bullets and have a ton of load data available.

If you've only got one rifle then it needs to be able to hunt the widest range of game possible. To me that means rabbit through hogs up to deer or even elk. The .308 would do better at the higher end of the scale but I think the .357 using .38 special ammo would do better at the lower end of it and I think I'd be hunting a lot more bunnies than elk in the long run. And quality .357 in 147 grain flavor is a reasonable hunting/antipersonnel round out to 150 meters or so. That's pretty versitile for a round I can also chamber in my sidearm.

I actually chose the .308 because I can hand load bullets as light as 100 grains in it and get similar performance as .38 special but the top end is much higher than I could ever hope for from .357 and the range is 3 to 4 times as far.

But either would be good.
 
Well, since I have an SLR and a bolt in 308, and that particular round can do whatever a sane person should need to do...heck, why bother bucking the majority? :)


D
 
If I were only allowed one, I think my .257 Roberts would be the one. I almost listed .308, though. But, I don't hunt anything bigger than hogs and deer.

I can't live with just one, though. I mean, how am I supposed to hunt squirrel with a .257 Roberts? I guess the vote don't include shotguns and handguns. But, I just don't think I could do it with just one rifle. The closest thing I have that would come to all around capable is my .357 magnum carbine. I have light .38 loads that can double for .22 and heavy magnum loads for it that shoot strong enough for deer/hog out to 100 yards, so perhaps I should ammend my choice to the .357 magnum. I think I could get along better with it, though it's not a long range gun and I'd be SOL on some of the shots I've made out west, and it's not exactly bench rest accurate.

I do handload, so I guess if I were FORCED to live with one rifle, I could delve into the world of squib loads for whatever I chose for small game. The .257 might be a good squirrel rifle with a cast bullet of 100 grains moving abut 900 fps at the muzzle. Don't know if I could make that load happen, though. I might make the .308 do that, too, who knows. Thankfully, I'm allowed more than one rifle for more than one application.

I ain't interested in "shf" or military applications or killing people. I'm a hunter, plain and simple, not a mall ninja or survivalist wanting full auto firepower, thank you. So, my choice would be a manual action for versatility, not a semi auto.
 
Only one round??? :what: :what: :what: Do I have to carry it in my pocket like Barney Fife? Can I reload it?

Assuming I'm allowed to reload my one round, a 7mm mag would be my first choice. 6.5x55 would be my second. I'd prefer to have at least 100 rounds (and a bunch of reloading supplies) for each though. They suck for home defense but then again that ain't much of a need most of the time and they'll do in a pinch. They are fine for hunting and SHTF.

If I was in the east or midwest I'd go for the 45-70 or .44 mag though... more useful for SD/HD applications, and just as effective for hunting at shorter ranges.
 
.50BMG. If you're going to do something you may as well do it right.

If I didn't have other calibers to feed I could probably almost even affort to shoot .50.
 
5.56mm because most fighting is done at close range and because even if I hit somebody at 400-500 meters, they're going out of the fight to tend to thier wounds.


BALLS!!! Tell that to the terrorists around the world who pre-tie tourniquets and keep right on blasting away. 7.62 is a much better choice for a fighting rifle. Hands down.
 
7.62x39, because it's just enough for most anything I'd need without being too much. 308/7.62x51 NATO is unnecessarily powerful for most jobs, as is 30-06 and others of its ilk. Given a little more momentum (more market presence), I'd probably choose 6.8SPC over 7.62x39.

I can drop deer, hog, and (presumably) just about any hominid within 200-250 yards with 7.62x39. What more do I need?
 
358 hawk in an '03 sporter. If the 375 ruger works out an african model MK II.
 
I picked the .308, though the 7.62x39 is a close second choice. I'm still slightly distrustful of anything Russian. :scrutiny:
 
.308 can do it all.

Any kind of .308. I'll take a good scoped bolt gun first if given a choice.:)
 
.308, probably in an autoloader-but a boltie wouldnt be so bad. You could load it down and use it as a singleshot for small game, and load it up with good bullets for big game. Surplus ammo for shtf and practice is availible. It takes common bullets, and ammo is availible in any sporting goods store, as well as the us military.
 
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