North America Big Game Rifle

[Skylerbone]

No harm, no foul, I didn't specify. Just wanting the OP to consider all angles before dispensing with a nice collection for a one stop solution that may not live up to expectations. I do applaud your choice but I know Alberta has given me the thumbs down for any handgun excepting one used for competition (with proof of a sanctioned event).

 

[Ala Dan]

Non griz, the .25-06 Remington

Griz, well the .300 Weatherby Magnum does pretty well~!

 

[KodiakBeer]

I've shot plenty of blacktails with a .350 Rem Mag, and didn't feel a bit silly - nor did anyone laugh at me. And I'd feel just as comfortable shooting deer with a .350 in places where no big bears are present.

The .350 (or the .35 Whelen) aren't really magnums, just cartridges with normal powder capacity and bigger bore sizes. You can shoot 180's at fairly long range, or opt for slugs up to 300 grains at closer range.

I think the 30.06 would also serve in most cases, but if you can also shoot much heavier slugs in a short action for dangerous game, why not just go with the .350? Most people (I suspect) don't realize the advantages of a short (.308 length) action for packing a rifle around in miserable places.

 

[JShirley]

Love that rifle, Kodiak.

I have 3 (IIRC- might be 4) 1917s, and two .35 Whelens. Scratch that, my 7mm Mag and .300 Mag are P14s. Close enough for government work, though.

If I have a chance to hunt in Alaska, my Montana 1999-actioned .35 will be my first choice. But a custom 1917 in .375 would get my vote even quicker.

There are lots of rifle/caliber combinations that will work fine for N America. For stopping a moose or big bear at close range, though, as long as you can handle and shoot it well, there ain't too much gun possible.

Buckshot is not a serious solution for stopping any heavy-bodied dangerous game. If it was, you would see African guides using it to back up hunters after buffalo and elephant. But...you NEVER see this.

Autoloaders are also not a serious solution to 50-state hunting. They are more fragile, harder to maneuver, and heavier without giving much more power per shot. And when it comes to something like a 700-lb or larger bear, power per shot is much more important at close range than mag capacity.

 

[Grey Morel]

Its not humane to harvest squirrel or rabbit with a .375 H&H nor is it terribly productive 8<{

Why? would they be LESS dead? would they feel MORE pain?

No.

Your vastly over-estimating the amount of damage that would be done. Small animals like that don't have enough mass to cause expansion in most of those bullets, so very little of the rounds energy gets applied to them - the bullets pass though.

Read the reviews on Midway for the Barnes Solid Copper Spitzer - people are hunting squirrels with a .223 - and not experiencing any meat loss. Why? Because that bullet isn't expending any energy in animal - .22 in and .22 out.

I have hunted Pheasents with a 30-40 Krag, using 150gr FMJs (Legal here to use rifles: I call them in over decoys like a turkey). It has the same effect - bullet passes though with little meat damage - .30 in and .30 out. Never lost a bird - Never even had one take a step.

 

[kludge]

I currently have 24 different rifles and shotguns in various calibers including a .50 muzzle loader, 44-40, .243, 7.62x54, 30-30, 6mm, 7mm REM MAG and a .375 WBY caliber Remington Model 1917. What prompted my question is I no longer have enough room in my gun safe to accommodate everything and am thinking of reducing the inventory. Consequently, have to decide what to sell and what to keep along with a possible versatile replacement for those I would sell.

Keep the .375 Weatherby and load it based on game and distance.

Unless you play cowboy games with the .44-40 its hunting utility is very limited, and the .30-30 can do the same thing and have more range. Personally I'd sell them both and get a .35 Remington - it would be my do it all east of the Mississippi rifle. If you also wanted to add moose east of the Mississippi, then a Browning BLR in .358 Win instead.

The .243 and 6mm are redundant, and unless the 6mm has a tight twist sell it and keep the .243. Assuming it's not a heavy barrel, it can be your MO whitetail gun, sheep gun, varmint rifle, and your coyote gun, etc.

If varmints are not your bag (in the OP you said whitetail to brown bear), sell them both and get a .260 Remington.

The 7mm RM and 7.62x54 are also redundant. Keep the 7mm RM. The 7mm RM will cover you when the .243 runs out of steam, and is a good do it all west of the Mississippi rifle.

Or if you really want to consolidate, get a 7mm-08 and sell the .243, 6mm, .30-30, 7.62x54, and 7mm RM.

So...

Plan A: .50ML, .35 Rem .243, 7mm RM, .375 Wby

Plan B: .50ML, 7mm-08, .375 Wby and if you need to shoot some varmints on a regular or high volume basis keep the .243 or get a .22-250.

 

[Eb1]

No, offense personally, kludge, but that sounds good and all, and well thought out, but wouldn't it be easier just to get a .30-06 and be done with it.

 

[MrOldLude]

No, offense personally, kludge, but that sounds good and all, and well thought out, but wouldn't it be easier just to get a .30-06 and be done with it.

That would be too simple.

 

[kludge]

No offense taken Eb1...

Instead of trying to pick one rifle to do everything, I'm just trying to work with what he's already got, since he presumably likes the guns he already has, and probably has no intention of selling all but one.

 

[Eb1]

Well if he is selling, why not sell them all, buy a .30-06, and have a wad of cash for something else.

I don't know. If he has a 7mm Rem Mag. Then I don't understand the question about a 50 State gun. He has one.

 

[Al LaVodka]

.30-06 Ackley Improved

The obvious answer is the .30-06 Ackley Improved. It is STILL a .30-06 factory cartridge-shooting rifle except when you might want up to 100 feet per second more thru a pinch more powder and a more efficient fire-formed case to reload as in for Kodiak or Polar Bear without the "magnum" recoil.

May I just say... DUH!

http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/w3006imp.html

Al

 

[Skylerbone]

30-06 and some Hornady SuperFormance for 200+ fps without magnum recoil. It actually chronys faster than spec. in my testing. No more collection to clean, no more load development...yep, too simple.

 

[Robert Wilson]

Its not humane to harvest squirrel or rabbit with a .375 H&H nor is it terribly productive 8<{

Nonsense. Having shot the heads off of rabbits with elephant rifles, I can promise you that it is both humane and productive. Not that the OP asked anything about squirrels and rabbits, mind you.

 

[surfinUSA]

Just an old bolt action 30-06 and a sporterized 8mm mauser as a back up.

 

[Clipper]

I guess I'm just old school, but with grizz in the lineup, I guess my first choice would be an old Winchester M-71 in .348...If I couldn't find one, then I'd look for a Mauser actioned .375H&H.

 

[Skylerbone]

My point was to emphasize an extreme, I realize the OP was not looking to consolidate ALL of his rifles but rather pare down for med. to large sized game.

As for squirrel with a .223 having .22 in and out, better check your calipers if you want to get technical and shooting them with an elephant gun is really just a waste at $6.00 a squirrel vs. $.06 a squirrel.

Lighten up guys, the point was to strongly suggest he keep a few big bore rifles instead of relying on just one besides, everyone needs a back-up.

 

[crslght]

With all the back and forth and varing opinions, I thought I'd check with a guy who makes his living as an Alaskan bear hunting guide. Following is his comment:

"A 338 or a 375 is the most popular Bear rifle in Alaska. If you're hunting interior grizzly a .338 is great."

Since I already have a .375, looks like I'm set.

As far as my problem with not having a big enough safe for all my weapons, the suggestion of storing the rifles in hard cases, of which I have about a half dozen, and the bolts in the safe, that seems to be the way to so. Just a bit embarised that I didn't think of that one myself!

Cheers and thanks to all!

 

[Skylerbone]

Just take care to keep moisture at bay when storing in cases. Might want to look into longterm storage bags from Z-Corr, about $14 each.

Glad you've chosen to hang on to your collection for now, hate reading those regretful posts.

 

[geologist]

For hunting big game in Canada I usually just take my Mauser action, BRNO 600 30-06 with 180 gr ammo. 2nd from the right.



If the possibiilty of having to shoot a bear at short range exists then I take it's big brother, BRNO 602 .375 H&H - second from left. 6 big rounds in the magazine is a good thing.

 

[Jake1996]

what about a 264 winchester magnum with 140 grainers you can down some sizey animals and with 160 grainers anything you wish on this continent as it beats the 270 win and the 30-06 and matches the 7mm remington mag

 

[crslght]

Just solved my problem with attaching photos so thought I'd add one of my gun collection. Plus two more that aren't shown.

 

[Skylerbone]

cr, that is WAY TOO MANY TVs for one room! Too bad about the Misery move, then again, lower taxes and rifle hunting for whitetails...or was that going to MO to hunt then coming back to sanity...either way, very nice collection.

If you want to attach large photos write down the photo's info ie. "rifles 1", hide thumbnails, right click, properties, right click the URL, select all, right click again, copy, click "insert photo", delete what's in the address bar already, right click, paste.

Probably everything you did minus hiding the thumbnail. (if you want us to not have to open another window;-)

 

[StrawHat]

Some good suggestions have been made. The idea of the 35 Whelen or Brown Whelen is one of the better. Great choice of bullets, good velocity, not much recoil and one more round in the magazine than a magnum that may or may not equal it ballistically.

Some have suggested the 45-70. I like them, still have a few. Commonly chambered in rifles way too heavy for the cartridge but still a popular choice.

I would suggest something in the 40 caliber area, the 405 WCF. Not a magnum but described as being too big for this continent. Not a lot of them available so you might need to have one built but still a great cartridge. Makes into a nice lever rifle and has been made into a decent bolt rifle.

 

[CraigC]

I agree on the .405. My late model Winchester 1895 shoots sub-MOA with factory Hornady's and almost as well with my handloads using Woodleigh 300gr Weldcores. It can be downloaded to utilize .41Mag bullets or stoked with 400gr Woodleighs to duplicate original .450/.400 ballistics. These guns are still fairly plentiful with several variations available. Mine is of the first batch of .270's that were returned to Miroku for conversion to .405, serial number 12. It just needs a peep sight. The newer models are D&T'd for a receiver sight made for the `86.

 

[StrawHat]

CraigC,

Very nice 1895, much nicer than my ratty old one.



I have the rifle buttplate on mine. With factory loads it is no where near as bad as most write or quote. You know you've pulled the trigger but it is manageable. I also don't shoot it from the bench!

As for loads, while I have a box of factory stuff, I much prefer to reload it and treat it as a modern 40-72. I am happy with 300 grain cast bullets on top of 28 grains of 5477. I don't have a chronograph but that should be in the 1700 - 1800 fps range. Plenty for what I need and if not, I have that box of factory.

The other option for those looking for similar ballistics is the 400 Whelen. 30-06 blown out to handle 410 diameter bullets. Not much neck so get a smith who actually knows what he is doing. Properly chambered and reloaded, there is no problem with headspcing. A M98 or one of the American bolt actions make into nice rifles with this cartridge. Keep it around 7 pounds or less for a nice woods or all 'round rifle.