whats the best all around caliber

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a charging bear? one more application that a .22 wouldn't be a great idea.. add that to range... and you have TWO drawbacks.

deer hunting? a .22 would work just fine

elk hunting? a .22 would be just fine

I never stated a .22 would be the best at everything, only that it can be USED for almost everything which cannot be said about larger calibers.
 
a charging bear? one more application that a .22 wouldn't be a great idea.. add that to range... and you have TWO drawbacks.

deer hunting? a .22 would work just fine

elk hunting? a .22 would be just fine

I never stated a .22 would be the best at everything, only that it can be USED for almost everything which cannot be said about larger calibers.
Click to expand...

Wrong. A .22 would not "work just fine" for deer or elk. You could kill a deer or elk with a .22 but it is a horrible choice.

A larger calibre is a good choice for deer or elk or HD or SHTF or anything else. The only area where a .22 is superior to a .308 or similar calibre is small game.

There is a reason why hunting deer with .22 is illegal in every state. You can kill a deer but you are much more likely to wound it and have it suffer and die later and not be recovered.

It is absolutely unethical to hunt medium or large game with a .22 but clearly you are not a hunter so how would you know that.

By the way, "cheap ammo" and "light weight" are not applications of a cartridge they are attributes of a cartridge.

I made the mistake of being drawn into a debate with someone who has lots of time and little actual knowledge.

I wish you the best but this is pointless.
 
The scope of the question needs to narrow otherwise it is impossible to answer. Even with defined parameters there will several choices of caliber which will fill the requirements. But since we wouldn't respond if we were not opinionated you will get some recommendations regardless. Like...if you were wanting (1) big game rifle for hunting the lower 48 then I would suggest the 30-06.
 
"Wrong. A .22 would not "work just fine" for deer or elk. You could kill a deer or elk with a .22 but it is a horrible choice.

A larger calibre is a good choice for deer or elk or HD or SHTF or anything else. The only area where a .22 is superior to a .308 or similar calibre is small game.

There is a reason why hunting deer with .22 is illegal in every state. You can kill a deer but you are much more likely to wound it and have it suffer and die later and not be recovered.

It is absolutely unethical to hunt medium or large game with a .22 but clearly you are not a hunter so how would you know that.

By the way, "cheap ammo" and "light weight" are not applications of a cartridge they are attributes of a cartridge.

I made the mistake of being drawn into a debate with someone who has lots of time and little actual knowledge.

I wish you the best but this is pointless."

I am a hunter and fully agree that it is not the best idea to use a .22 for medium to small game, which is why I choose to use my 30-30, or 30-06 for that, but that was not the question. if you want to get offended and offensive rather than actually be productive, that is your issue. my knowledge base is quite appropriate for the current discussion, I never claimed that a .22 would be the BEST for anything... only better for more. as far as affordable ammunition and carrying capacity being attributes rather than applications, you're absolutely correct, but they are attributes that contribute to the application of survival, plinking, ...etc.

once again, I never stated the .22 was the BEST for anything... only BETTER for MORE things.. that is the very definition of best all around.


furthermore, to this point you nor others have yet to point out anything that shows the .22 supporters in this thread are incorrect in their (our) choice.
 
Home defense, I would choose a 12 gauge (not a caliber but best for that ap.

large game- depending on area hunted (30-30 or 30-06)

plinking, practice, and small game-.22

carrying- 9mm, or .45 depending on the situation.

if I could olnly choose one, probably a 12 gauge, but seeing as that is not a caliber, it is eliminated from this conversation, the .22 is the only other that can pick up the slack of the others.
 
I have to go with the .308, for the reason Paladin mentioned. Short of elephant hunting, there is nothing the .308 can't do, and it does with mild recoil and stunning accuracy. At 500 yards, with 180 grain bullets, the energy is identical to the 30-06. Add the fact that its a short action and very efficient, .308 for me!:)
 
.22LR is great, but a 30-30 loaded with cast bullets and Unique (pistol) powder is a darn good rabbit/squirrel gun. Loaded with full house loads is a good North American hunter for medium to large game.

It is also a great man stopper.

I love the .22LR, but I would say a 30-30 is the best-all-around rifle. If you are at 500 yards, I have time to get away, but if you are within 250 yards. With a 30-30 you are in trouble. :0
 
My favorite all around caliber is 22LR. The best all around caliber is probably something in the 270-308-30-06 range. I choose 270, but that is me.
 
16"

Pound for pound, 2700 pounds beats 0.02 pounds any day. You want to talk range? Accuracy? firing at a distance of 31,900 meters guns in that caliber could group 15 shots into 200 meters. Takedown power? Takes down whole buildings...not bad.

Might help if we knew what you are gunning for.
 
My vote is for the .375 H&H Mag.

Not many calibers offer flat trajectory and power combination that can be used to hunt on every continent. Able to take elephant and still be loaded down to a venerable deer or even antelope cartridge.

:)
 
for you guys that are mentioning charging bears, and the .22lr in the same sentence, i have a scenario in which a 22 would in fact save you from a bear charge (if you have a hiking buddy with you)

if a brown or even a black bear charges and all you and your buddy have is a couple of 22 rifles, do not shoot the bear. there is no way it will even slow him down, in fact, a headshot on a charging bear will likely speed him up.

try this, and you likely will live to tell the tale.

dont shoot the bear, shoot your buddy in the butt.

then you dont have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun your buddy.


mods: this is gun humor, plz dont delete or ban me.
 
I am very surprised with the 22 debate. while I agree its a great survival rifle it wont reach out ta 200 yards for a deer and has zero stopping power for a larger critter.

Personally I like the 30.06; IMO its the most versatile and can be used in most any situation with acceptable results. Its flat, and hits plenty hard and the accuracy is definatly there. from yotes ta Moose I wouldnt be afraid to carry my 30.06.
 
I like the 7.62x39, but the .308 would be a close second. Those are just personal preferences though. There's nothing the .308 can do that the 30-06/7.62x54R/7.5 Swiss/7.7 JAP or any of dozens of cartridges can't do just as well.

For all around versatility I'd have to go with the 12 gauge. Within it's range limitations it can not only do everything, it can do everything extremely well.
 
Okay txcookie answer me this. You asked what is the best caliber. Since you posed the question on the rifle section of this forum I'm assuming you meant a rifle caliber which leaves shotguns out. Since you asked about the best caliber I'm assuming you meant bullet projectile properties instead of actual cartridges. Am I right? Shouldn't this thread actually be about bullet diameter such as .264 v .277 v .308...ect? Yeah, I know...I already recommended the 30-06 cartridge instead of recomending a caliber. I got caught up in the whole cartridge instead of caliber argument also.
 
This is the only forum of any kind that I know of where people respond over and over to a logically flawed question like dogs salivating to a bell :)
 
My Vote - The .300 Win. Mag.

I would pick a .308 caliber cartridge for the simple reason that there is a vast variety of bullets available for this caliber.

The .300 Win. Mag. can do everything that the .308 Win. and 30-06 Spfld. can do, and then some. With the right bullets you can extend the .308's effective range by another 200-300 yds. If you hand load, you can achieve muzzle velocities that range from the 30-30 on up to nearly the .300 UltraMag. With the right barrel twist, you can load 240 gr. VLD bullets and nearly equal the .338 Lapua Mag. performance.

The .300 Win. Mag. is plenty accurate, winning plenty of 1000 yd. matches in years past, and is still a popular cartridge for "F-Class" competition. There are cartridges that have eclipsed it, but they are more specialized than the .300.

Many of you have espoused the .22 LR as the cartridge of choice. While I have slaughtered cows with a .22, the brain shot was taken at 3 feet, WAY closer than I would like to let a bear or cape buffalo get. At longer distances, and without the situation control you have with a domesticated animal, the .22 LR is seriously underpowered for big game animals.

Understandably, the .300 Win. Mag. is overpowered for small game. Even loaded down to the minimum, hitting a rabbit anywhere but in the head will leave you with only little mangled chunks for the stew pot. But if you have to, shoot them in the head! Better restricting your small game shots to head shots than your big game shots, right?

Finally, it is a very popular big game hunting cartridge. If you happen to get separated from your ammunition while traveling to your hunting destination, you can usually find factory ammo at a store. Hey, there is probably even someone else in camp shooting a .300 Win. Mag. who would loan you a handful.
 
"Effectiveness or overall performance (speed, trajectory, accuracy, takedown power etc), pound for pound" is the criterion which has been given for determination of "best".

Under that pound for pound analysis, assuming you mean weight of the cartridge, the best one is without any doubt the .22 long rifle cartridge, with .22 magnum coming in a close 2nd place. You can kill a moose with a head shot from a .22lr, and it weighs but a small fraction of what most common centerfire rounds do.

Different criterion will yield different answers of course.
 
I once read.... The 22lr has killed every type of animal in North America. Shot placement is key. This being stated. Im sure it is true. I am also sure that the 22 is very cheap to shoot. its quiet. Etc. I would say the 22lr. But if you guys fight with this post, Ill just give up and say .308 just because. :p
 
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