What is the best all around rifle caliber!!!

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If I could only have one rifle for the rest of my life, it would probably be in 7mm. Not sure if a 7mm-08 or a .280 Ackley ... maybe the 08 because of its comparative efficiency when loading down for small game.

Fortunately, I don't have to make do with only one. Three would be doable: .22LR on the low end, .375 Ruger on the high end. The middle cartridge might be the 7mm-08 ... or maybe a .260 Ackley ...
 
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Assuming that I could have only one rifle (a silly assumption), for both hunting and LR Precision shooting, I'd probably go with either my .308 Win, with varying load depending on application or my 7mm RM with 140gr-175gr bullets, again varying with the intended use. However, I'm an old fart with an old school outlook. Your mileage will almost certainly vary...and I respect that.

Harry

PS- Fortunately, I'm not that limited and have calibers from .223 Rem to .375 H&H, because they fill different roles. I will say that the .375 H&H makes a really nice Prairie Puppy Puree.

:)

H
 
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cdb1 said:
There isn’t one. Geography plays a role. For example take whitetail deer. In Alberta they weigh two to three times more than Texas non-high fence whitetails. Or if I lived in Namibia maybe my 6.5x55, which is a great all around cartridge for Texas would not be so great.
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Curious why you'd say the 6.5x55 wouldn't be so great for Texas? IMO it's one of the finest hunting calibers of all time.
 
Anywhere in the world it’s unquestionably a .375H&H, in North America it’s unquestionably a .375H&H. If you are in the lower 48 only the .30-06 will do anything you need. If you own the pair you’re in high cotton. If you wear a man bun the 6.5 CM is your Huckleberry.
 
30-06. I own less and more powerful calibers that are better suited to specific applications, but you can't beat a 30-06 as an overall jack of all trades rifle in North America. The widely available ammo is also a huge advantage.
 
Jack O'Conner killed a lot of game animals with the .270 Winchester.

Walter Bell killed over 1100 elephants with (in some combination) a .303 British (SMLE), a .256 Mannlicher (6.5x54mm Mannlicher-Schonauer) and a .275 Rigby (aka 7x57mm Mauser). He also used those three rifles to hunt the meat animals in Africa) between 1900 and WWI. One considers if they can kill elephants efficiently, they should work for North American game. Even large bears.

Understand an ability to deliver the shot where it is required AND a knowledge of animal anatomy is needed. One does not just 'throw a bullet' anywhere and get good results. Another facet is the calmness or self-control to wait until the shot can be delivered properly. All of those things require practice and study.

My choice is a 7x57m Mauser in a strong action. A 7mm/08 or .280 Remington in a strong action would probably be just as good. Bell's favorite rifle was the .256 Mannlicher (.256 being 'land' diameter rather than the larger 'groove' diameter). This cartridge at the time of adoption (1903) was about the same as the 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser of the same time; a 156 or 160 grain FMJ at about 2250 to 2350 fps.

So my universal rifle would be in the category of a full strength cartridge (2200 - 2500 fps) with a bullet of near .300 sectional density. Between 6.5mm and .30 caliber. Probably a .30-06 as ammo is fairly easy to find anywhere.
 
Archie said:
Jack O'Conner killed a lot of game animals with the .270 Winchester.

Walter Bell killed over 1100 elephants with (in some combination) a .303 British (SMLE), a .256 Mannlicher (6.5x54mm Mannlicher-Schonauer) and a .275 Rigby (aka 7x57mm Mauser). He also used those three rifles to hunt the meat animals in Africa) between 1900 and WWI. One considers if they can kill elephants efficiently, they should work for North American game. Even large bears.

Understand an ability to deliver the shot where it is required AND a knowledge of animal anatomy is needed. One does not just 'throw a bullet' anywhere and get good results. Another facet is the calmness or self-control to wait until the shot can be delivered properly. All of those things require practice and study.

My choice is a 7x57m Mauser in a strong action. A 7mm/08 or .280 Remington in a strong action would probably be just as good. Bell's favorite rifle was the .256 Mannlicher (.256 being 'land' diameter rather than the larger 'groove' diameter). This cartridge at the time of adoption (1903) was about the same as the 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser of the same time; a 156 or 160 grain FMJ at about 2250 to 2350 fps.

So my universal rifle would be in the category of a full strength cartridge (2200 - 2500 fps) with a bullet of near .300 sectional density. Between 6.5mm and .30 caliber. Probably a .30-06 as ammo is fairly easy to find anywhere.
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l’ve got a Zimbabwean buddy who’s dad grew up in Kenya in the 50’s. Back in those days a guy could make a living shooting ivory one at a time. You could shoot a bull bring in the ivory then be issued a license and go shoot another. For economic sake he used a Winchester M-70 in .30-06 using 220 gr solids. He killed 50 plus bulls with that set up.

Read Game trails by Teddy Roosevelt. He killed all sorts of African big game with the new .30-03 from the sounds of his descriptions he was also a horrendous shot. The fact remains that a high sectional density paired with a good solid bullet will penetrate deeply for a given caliber.

I’ll take a .375H&H with 300 gr solids as a minimum for African thick skinned DG, thank you very much! If I were to be carrying a .308 or a .30-06 in the African bush I wouldn’t feel naked by any means but I’d be choosy about which animals I’d pick a fight with too.
 
I have to go with .308. It is probably not the best at any one thing but it does just about anything you want it to do well. The thing that pushes the .308 to the top for me is the large variety of bullet weights that you can shoot out of the gun and the availability and cost of ammo.
 
The obvious correct answer to the original question is 300 Win Mag.
It does everything.
I've taken rabbits, turkey, deer and Bear with it.
It's also a military sniping round and capable of stopping vehicles.
Great on groundhog as well:neener:
 
Huntolive said:
The obvious correct answer to the original question is 300 Win Mag.
It does everything.
I've taken rabbits, turkey, deer and Bear with it.
It's also a military sniping round and capable of stopping vehicles.
Great on groundhog as well:neener:
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Little bit too blasty for garden pests though, and loud to shoot in the basement come wintertime.
 
The best all around cartridge is the 3.5-inch 12 gauge. I can select ammo from less-lethal to an appropriate load for any critter from dove to brown bear.

:D:p
 
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