Chuck R.
Member
Some folks might want a rifle for both the woods and the plains. It seems as the short-action cartridges are the best woods stuff while long-actions do best out in the open. It seems like it would be much cheaper to change the load specs of the ammunition for the game and shooting situation then buy another special rifle for a special shooting situation. There might be multispecies hunters. Do we have a true multispecies rifle and caliber? Some guys might shoot mulies, whitetails, 'lope and blacktails but might also shoot elk or moose once in a lifetime. What do one-12-ga.-shotgun wing shooters do to adjust for different species and shooting situations? Change loads. Change chokes. Can my 12 ga. 28" Mossberg 500 take doves well in the sunflower field over MOJO decoys? How will the same gun fare in a pheasant field or in a duck blind?
Why don't CF cartridge makers offer various short and long action caliber loadings for: Plains and Woods the way we get Dove & Quail Loads, Turkey Loads and Heavy Hunting Loads in shotgun shells?
I'm sure they could factory tailor .30-06, .308, .300 Savage, .270, .257 Roberts and 6.5 Creedmoor for optimal ballistics for the woods in one type of loading and for the open plains in another type of loading in a given caliber. It has to do with the powder charge, bullet weight and bullet type.
Some multispecies hunters may only want to use one special rifle, say in .257 Roberts, inherited from grandpa for everything big game wise. People get attached to single guns and single calibers.
IF I was a one rifle kind of guy, I would simply tailor my loads to the game and conditions.
I take it a step further because it's not just the ammunition/terminal effects, it's also how suitable the rifle/optic package is to the game/conditions.
My open country set-ups, while could be used in a wooded environment are not ideal. Too long, too heavy, and too much magnification for close shooting in wooded terrain. Maybe from a stand with cleared shooting lanes but even from stands I'd like a shorter more compact rifle. I would not take a 24" barreled long action with a 4-16X scope on a deer drive, nor would I still hunt with one. I also wouldn't take my 350RM 20" M7 out to WY for antelope.
You can probably play 18 holes with a putter, but it's not exactly ideal.
Factories make what sells (for the most part), wishing different isn't going to change that. IF you want true flexibility you're going to have to handload for your one caliber, or start buying different rifles to suit your terrain and game.