Two Rifles For your State?

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Mr. Zorg said:
I don't think either of those choices are inappropriate for Texas, 7mm-08 was one of my two rifle choices. I don't know where in Texas you live and / or plan to hunt though, nor your rifle and load details you plan to use.
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For me a 07mm-08 is as good and probably better than a 280 AI for Texas.


When it comes to wildlife everything is not bigger in Texas. With deer(low fence) I believe the lack of size is from a combination of over population and Bermann’s rule. I’ve also never seen any of those huge feral hogs you read about on the Internet. In my recollection I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one larger than around 250-300 pounds and those have been very few and far between. I know there have to be larger ones but they are rare.
 
I'm in southwestern Montana. It would be hard not having a 5.56 so that would one. I'm not really into hunting anymore but I suppose the 2nd would be a .375 Ruger or a .45/70 Govt in case I drew a tag or to ward off the 900 lb bears.
 
Legionnaire said:
I appreciate the feedback on the 7mm-08 vs 280AI in Texas. Of course, the exercise is moot, as I have one of each in the safe. Just trying to play by the OP's rules.
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The Norma 7mm-08 ammo with 156 grain Oryx bullet at 2725 fps is my all-around for 7mm-08 but it's been discontinued by Norma. I have a few boxes.

I have a couple of boxes of this which should be even more better for the longer shots crowd.

https://www.underwoodammo.com/colle...osler-accubond-spitzer?variant=18806601089081
 
Legionnaire said:
I appreciate the feedback on the 7mm-08 vs 280AI in Texas. Of course, the exercise is moot, as I have one of each in the safe. Just trying to play by the OP's rules.
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I like the 7-08 as it's plenty gun for anything I would hunt. We have Moose, Elk and Black bear which I don't plan on hunting. Just deer. Less recoil and really accurate. .280 AI is ok, about the same as 7 MM RM which quit using years ago. More noise and recoil which is not needed in my case.
 
.308 Norma said:
I like that. Although, as much as I'd like to have a 375H&H, I haven't dreamed up a reason for buying one for hunting in my home state of Idaho - yet! Give me some time. I'm pretty good at dreaming up reasons for buying a new gun.:D
But the 22 Hornet instead of a 22LR for the smaller of two rifles for Idaho? When I first read that, I thought, "Naw, a 22 Hornet would be okay for Idaho varmints, but it would just explode rabbits and squirrels and such. But then I remembered a guy I knew who used to shoot cast bullets in his way downloaded 22 Hornet. He did real well with it too. It was good out to about a hundred yards, it didn't make much noise, and he killed as many ground squirrels as I did with my tricked out 10-22.
I don't know if that guy ever used his downloaded 22 Hornet for small game or not, but I can't see why it wouldn't have worked as well as a 22LR. Besides, working up cast bullet loads in a 22 Hornet would give me a chance to pursue my other passion - handloading.;)
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22 K-Hornet was my grandfather's preferred cartridge for small game, filling our deer deprivation permits, and killing the random coyote or feral dogs and cats. He had a load that used a 45 grain cast bullet loaded to ~2000 fps. Pretty sure he was using a small charge of Unique for that load. It was basically a reloadable 22 magnum at that point.
 
Michigan is tough to do with just 2 rifles.
We have a shotgun zone (straight wall and BP allowed), huge farm fields, thick cedar swamps and mountains.
Our game ranges from squirrel to 500 lb black bear and bull elk

My first pick would be a AR-10. While not perfect for any one use it is acceptable for any use we have. It is rugged enough to bang around in the swamps but powerful enough for longer shots.

My second rifle would be a Winchester M92 copy in 357 Mag. The reason is versatility.
With full house loads it is good for deer in the shotgun zone and maybe bear.
Hot handloads with light bullets will work on varmints, at reasonable ranges.
Because it is a lever gun it will also load 38 SPL ammo so light loaded 38s with 36 roundball could be used in place of a 22 LR.

Both guns are proven designs with common and inexpensive ammo.

IronHand
 
I swear, every time I see one of these threads I always imagine I am being interrogated and someone is saying to me (in a German accent, of course) “On May eighteenth in the year 2020 you stated that the only two guns you vould need in zee state of Caleefornia vould be zee three zero eight and zee twenty-two. Iss zis correct?” :rofl:

Yeah, I am weird. Anyway, I will go with .308 Winchester and .22 LR.
 
I honestly don’t know if I could narrow things down to two cartridges. I like variety. If I had to narrow it down it would probably come down to keeping the two rifles I like the most which would be my Falkor in 6.5 CM and an AR I built in 6.8 SPC. Those two rifles and cartridges can fulfill any need I have for long range work and hunting.
 
18" AR in 223/556 1:7 twist for longer hunting rounds (home defense, varmint, deer, etc)
280 REM bolt action (ruger, kimber, or win m70) (anything larger than deer)
 
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Ironhand54 said:
Michigan is tough to do with just 2 rifles.
We have a shotgun zone (straight wall and BP allowed), huge farm fields, thick cedar swamps and mountains.
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“Mount Arvon, elevation 1,979 feet (603 m), located in L'Anse Township, Baraga County, is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Michigan.” I guess the definition of mountain is open to interpretation.
Pat Riot said:
Yeah, I am weird.
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I like weird.
 
Born and raised in eastern Kentucky. The terrain is all hills and fairly thick to really heavy brush. I usually hunt squirrels with my 20 gauge anyhow so I myself wouldn’t be all that concerned about a .22 and I almost always hunt coyotes with my 12 gauge. So I feel like I have a little more play as to what 2 rifles I feel I need most. A 75 yard shot is about as far as you’ll get in the brush I normally hunt so I wouldn’t be too awful worried that my 30-30 wouldn’t be enough to reach out and touch the deer I’m shooting at. So that definitely my go gun. And for the 2nd I’d be more likely to pick my 243. Low recoil, fun to shoot, and with heavier grain bullets I could use it for longer shots when huntin around a field (which is the only way you’ll see a shot longer then 75-100 yards)
 
Two rifles...but you didn't say how many calibers ;)

A 5.56 AR to send 22 caliber bullets really fast and far, and a 22 conversion kit for the times you don't need all that energy. That should cover all the varmints.

For big game, a 6.5X47 Lapua would be my choice as I really like the accuracy and low recoil.
 
I would like to thank everyone for your replies to this thread!
Thank you, I have enjoyed reading the responses!!! Lots of great rifles and cartridges.

Safe shooting :thumbup:
 
Florida-30.06, just because I like the caliber. A great stand gun, for boar, deer, wild dog. Something like 270, or even Creedmoor would also do. For "run & gun", thru the woods, a nice lightweight .223.
 
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