If you had to choose one caliber to hunt all North American game which do you choose?

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The large caliber smokeless express cartridges of the early 1900 were built (including the medium caliber 375 H&H) specifically for the largest African mammals, Elephant, Rhino, etc... I doubt at the times the 375 H&H was considered necessary in Alaska
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...but the men were a bit, shall we say different, way back then....

Todays hunter, oops, I'm so sorry, field person with their neatly clipped nails ever so eloquently polished, latest salon furnished rose peddle ice cream coconut milk hair styling jell and only the finest double tweed Lubloyds of London field jacket would be hard pressed to venture into bar country let alone fire upon such said creature.... even with a .375 H&H... which by the way, also came from Lubloyds......:neener:

Yesterdays hunter would think nothing of b1tch slapping a griz with the smallish pip-squeak 30-06.:eek:

Heck, I would venture as far as to say that yeasterdays hunter would give his left one to have such a powerful cartridge at his disposal!

We have evolved.... :D >:evil:
 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA what about the gret 22lr it will stop a tank
BoomSmilie_anim.gif
 
If you want to know what I am talking about visit the rocket scientists in the combat 22 thread
 
.30/06 is my own choice. But no one would be wrong to prefer a .270 (or .280), 7x57, 7mm Mag, .308 or .300 Mag.

Each of the above cartridges has its own strengths and weakness ... but they are excellent 'all-around' calibres and can handle all N. American big game at reasonable ranges.
 
By the way, even the standard cartridges have evolved...the modern 30-06, bullets, powders, is not your grandfather 30-06.....
 
12 Gauge, can take game from squirrels and small game bird's to deer, elk, and bear.
 
There are a whole slew of rounds that will fit into this catagory, if you go smokeless 45-70, you can up load to kill every thing up to buffalo ang big bears or down load with a lead flat nose to get rabbits. Then again the 7mm mag will do the dame then again the 308 and 30-30 can do it too..........see what I mean?
 
As for 'Barking' Squirrels, I've done it many times.
The one thing I never saw mentioned is stepping on the rodents and breaking necks before putting them in the game bag...

Don't know if it was an oversight, or just repeating something they read, but you MUST ensure they are DEAD before you bag them, or you will get a MOST unplesent surprise when they come around!

Most of the time, Barking' only knocks them UNCONSCIOUS!

It's usually a LONG way from killing them outright, they might die of internal injuries later, but barking usually just knocks them out....
If you don't step on the head and TWIST.... Well, you figure out what holding a running chainsaw by the blade will feel like!
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I have to throw my 2¢ worth behind a 12 Gauge shot gun.
I can stop ANYTHING in North America, Including ALASKA, with a 12 gauge and the 'Right' loads...

Last hunting trip to Alaska, the guides wouldn't even take you out unless you were .300 Mag or larger.
To be fair, it WAS a bear hunt, and those guys like to go home to their families.

Most of the guides were carrying .338 Mags or 12 gauge shot guns.

If it's a choice when a 900 pound grizzly pops out of the brush 10 feet way,

I want a TRANSPORTER!
"Scotty! Beam Me Up NOW!
(and have fresh underwear standing by!)

Actually, at 10 feet you would need a .50 BMG on full auto to stop it before it got to you!
They say 12 gauge with bronze or copper slugs is about the same thing, so I skipped the handgun and carried a 12 Ga. when we were fishing!

Nothing like buck shot and Sabot slugs for smaller game and flying/running lunch size animals!
 
I wouldnt choose a rifle at all I would choose a shotgun instead.. if I must choose a rifle, sadly it would probably be a .22 because it can take small, medium, and some larger game as well...

that is the beauty of variety... different guns for different hunts
 
There are a whole slew of rounds that will fit into this catagory, if you go smokeless 45-70, you can up load to kill every thing up to buffalo ang big bears or down load with a lead flat nose to get rabbits.
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I don't even think smokeless would be required. A 405 Gr chunk of lead moving at 1300 fps has more thump than shows in the numbers. A 12 Ga with slugs would be effective, for similar reasons.

Including great bears does skew the answers though.
 
My choice is the 30-30 for any North American game animal. Then I'll take the 30-06, on any continent, for the animal that might be armed and return fire.
 
Saturno,
Post 70 is hilarious. I agree that the -06 is great for hunting bear. I would just rather have something bigger to stop a bear that is hunting me. I honestly don't think anything will stop a grisly dead in its tracks. Really, the 50 bmg i referenced wouldn't even do it.. it would slide a few feet before it came to a stop:) That 35 you were talking about packs enough of a whollop.

If the bear was dead on the fisherman, I think it got a bit too close for my comfort. I'm not sure where you got bolt action though, there are semi auto -06 out there.
 
what the heck usually no matter what the question someone answers .223 where have these guys gone
 
.223, if you get close enough, have full auto, and have a 100 round drum with a 40mm grenade launcher under the barrel! ;)
 
My choice is the 30-30 for any North American game animal. Then I'll take the 30-06, on any continent, for the animal that might be armed and return fire.
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Your going to be in trouble in Africa
 
338-378 weatherby mag. i love this gun and do not feel that a big magnum is the answear for everyone. but i use this for everything from deer to bears and it has never failed and as long as i do my part never will.
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I guess you don't plan on eating your kill cause there will be nothing left of the animal with this load. I had a chance to shoot this gun. Even with a muzzle brake the recoil was atrocious. I shot once and couldn't believe it. Then I shot it again to make sure it really kicked as hard as I though. After the second I was sure and never will fire the gun again most likely. For a bear though I would consider it an option.
 
I did a once in a lifetime hunt in South Africa about 10 years ago. Only hunted plains game ranging from Bush Buck to Eland. The recommended caliber for this hunt was .375 H&H, .338, or .340 Weatherby. I chose the .340 Weatherby and took a 30-06 as a back up rifle. In day 5 of a 14 day hunt, my rifle was dropped in the rocks and the scope damaged beyond repair. I used the 30-06 the rest of the hunt.

While the .340 WM defintely did its job, so did the 30-06. I used handloads using 200 grain nosler partitions. It performed perfectly and I could not ask for more, nor need more cartridge. The last animal I shot was a large Zebra. 280 yard shot. When they cleaned it, they found the perfectly mushroomed nosler partition bullet just inside the hide on the opposite side of the body in the shoulder. I have been sold on the 30-06 since then and it is now my only hunting cartridge.

The 30-06 cartridge has ultimate availibilty just about anywhere on the planet, OKA 7.62 x 63, is a handloaders dream easily handling a wide range of bullets up to 220 grains, it is accurate, and it is boringly reliable. It has been doing its job well for over 100 years. You can not go wrong with the 30-06.

If I lived in Grizzly country though, I would opt for the .375 H&H for safe measure.
 
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