What's the best all around hunting caliber?

[LUCKYDAWG13]

if its i can just have one gun well then hands down its a 12GA
if its just one Rifle for me its a 30/06

 

[Legionnaire]

I can take everything I'm interested in with a .260 Remington. Gunnerboy was close.

 

[witchhunter]

I haven't owned a 30/06 in close to forty years, but I can't argue with that choice for a guy that only wants one gun for every type of big game hunting in the lower 48. I bet if I lived in Alaska, I would want a .375. Heck, I live in California and I want a .375! There are lots of calibers that will do the job, and I am a firm believer in knowing your gun, ballistics and accuracy. Pick one and go practice at all ranges, in all weather.

 

[MCgunner]

Reload? Why? Shoot the deer, it falls over, go pick it up. No need to track nor worry about blood trails.

IF I wanted to shoot more than once I'd use my caplock SxS.

LD

Well, ya see, Dave, some folks can't shoot, need 20 round mags to have a chance of a hit.

 

[Robert]

The 375 is not over kill at all on medium game and up. It will do less meat damage than most high speed magnums and if you can shoot a 12ga with heavy field loads you can shoot my 375. I carry my 9lbs rifle all day long elk hunting at over 10,000 ft without issue. And I am over weight and have asthma. But we have covered all of this in numerous threads before should one want to look forward them up.

 

[H&Hhunter]

The 375 is not over kill at all on medium game and up.

A .375H&H will blow a deer to tiny little bits and usually cuts a mature bull elk smooth in two. I read on the internet that a .375H&H will dislocate your cervical spine in recoil and flip you end over end three times.

In all reality I've shot a pile of coyotes and small stuff like impala with a .375H&H. It puts a nice little hole in and out and kills them with no drama and very little extra tissue damage. I've seen suni and diker shot with .375H&H's. Most guys will use a 300 gr solid for the really little stuff. It does almost no damage outside of the bullet hole.

 

[Robert]

Mmmmmm now I need to make some 300gr solid loads... Dang it.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Horrific meat damage from a .375H&H on elk!!

Here is a cow that I shot a while back. This was a 270 gr Barnes TSX at about 80 yards.

Entrance wound.

Exit wound.


A .270 with a 130 or 140 will generally do about 3 times that much blood shocked meat due to the higher velocity. The .375 with a heavier bullet 270 gr and up just goes in and out and doesn't do a heck of a lot of meat damage on the way.

 

[d2wing]

All around 30-06 or 7 MM RM. Either one will take nice size deer up to 1/4 mile away with no trouble. I have done it. Either one has sufficient accuracy and energy out to 1/2 mile for some uses. I use shotguns when needed and have used muzzleloaders, don't like either one much or underpowered short range cartridges. Lack of accuracy and killing power limits range too much for me. But they work if you are close enough.

 

[DoubleMag]

What's the best all around hunting caliber?

What's the prettiest woman in the world?
What is the best truck?
Who makes the most comfortable blue jeans?
What is the best tasting pizza?
Bud Light or Miller Lite?

See where this is headed?

Like a bunch of posts here on forums!! LoL Just enjoy it!!

I forgot about the venerable 7mm Mag see around post #22.

However, when I think bears I think, black bears. Soooo.... my vote would be 270 or 25-06. Don't break the bank, or the shoulder (7mm), can go small for varmints and definately sufficient for larger animals. Coupled with one factor not mentioned in the OP, availability of ammo (as our last ammo scare proved)....270

 

[MCgunner]

I use shotguns when needed and have used muzzleloaders, don't like either one much or underpowered short range cartridges. Lack of accuracy and killing power limits range too much for me.

Lack of "killing power"? 12 gauge or .50 caliber? Seriously? Either puts up serious energy, on par with any .30-06 load, just limited in range. My CVA Wolf pushes a 385 grain Hornady Great Plains Minie ball to 1800 fps, something just under 3000 ft lbs, loaded over 90 grains 777. And, the bullet doesn't even need to expand, not when it starts out at .50".

Out here in the woods, i'd have to hire a dozer to shove down all the trees between me and the animal, to get a shot over 100 yards. All depends on where you are hunting. BUT, I don't feel I lack "killing power" with my CVA or even a 12 gauge. Hell, I took a decent 8 point last year at 35 yards with a 20 gauge and 3 buck! I wasn't even shooting a slug on that one. 3 of the 20 pellets went to the head, hard to argue with that. Even the little 20 had enough "killing power". Deer dropped in its tracks.

 

[der Teufel]

My hunting buddy carries a 30-06. I use a .308 and they both work just fine.

 

[d2wing]

I agree with you Mcgunner for your use. I don't consider a short range cartridge good all around, I thought the OP mean for every hunting situation including big bears and more typical ranges. The 30-06 has been proven in tests previously posted that it is one of the very top rounds for bear stopping and the only common round that tested that high.

 

[Gun Master]

Best Hunting Caliber ?

The .30-06 hands down !
You can get loads appropriate from varmints up through deer, elk, and grizzly or polar bear.

Next would be .308 .

 

[MCgunner]

I agree with you Mcgunner for your use. I don't consider a short range cartridge good all around, I thought the OP mean for every hunting situation including big bears and more typical ranges. The 30-06 has been proven in tests previously posted that it is one of the very top rounds for bear stopping and the only common round that tested that high.

Well, whatever the .30-06 will do, the 7 mag will do just a little better and without much, if any more felt recoil. But, I haven't even fired my 7 mag in probably 6 or 8 years. i have used my .308, though. Short range or long, I like the .308, especially in my little Remington stainless M7. I'm really more in to the gun than the caliber, tell ya the truth. But, it does do the job. If I had to hunt big brown bears, of course, I'd want something bigger, maybe rebarrel that Savage 110 from 7 mag to .338 Win Mag. But, I'll never have to bother with grizzly bears down here.

 

[Legionnaire]

Short range or long, I like the .308, especially in my little Remington stainless M7.

Hey, I resemble that remark! My go-to hunting rifle for years has been a Model 7 (blued) in .308. Mine sits in an HS Precision stock and wears a Leupold Vari-X II 2-7X compact. I've taken a lot of deer with that gun! And just bought another M7 in .260 Remington. Looking forward to trying it out this coming season.

 

[d2wing]

I am thinking about downgrading to a .308 myself. Plenty for my uses and very accurate. Plus less recoil and cheaper ammo. Guess if I can hit man size targets at 600 meters with an M14 which I have, I should be good to go. There are so many good choices I can't make up my mind on which gun to buy. Still, if there was a chance of a grizzly in my future I'd keep the 06. And I'll keep the 7MM in case of something way way out there. Hard to argue against any of those three.

 

[grovey]

Grown men will never be able to agree on such a subject. My thoughts are that we have access to a lot better bullets these days, so that evens the playing field quite a bit. I'll stick my neck out and say it would be based on the 06' case, and the rest is preference.

 

[Zeke/PA]

I used a .30-'06 with great success for years.
If I could own only one rifle, it would be my choice thumbs down!

 

[H&Hhunter]

Once we get to an adequate power level and penetration ability with a round/ bullet combo. Is there really a wrong choice? Once we've attained the basic requirements of being able to send a bullet into the vitals of an animal, any animal we are likely to hunt. The only thing that remains is to adjust our hunting style so as to make our chosen caliber/bullet combo work for us.

 

[Robert]

I still want a nice M70 Spotter in 30-06 or 35 Whelen.

 

[brainwake]

I am a .270 guy....It shoots a little flatter than the 30-06 or 308. But those are great choices too. And to be honest, I have yet to take a shot where the difference between those calibers would matter.

I also don't hunt in Grizzly country. I think if I was up north, I would want something a little bigger too..

 

[anothernewb]

I could be wrong, but it seems like after anyone ever gets done testing - it's once you hit that .30 caliber threshold there's just something about the mechanics of it that has such an incredible range of game potential. I'm not ballistic engineer, but there just seems to be some critical point where you balance force, stable bullet design, and low enough velocity and pressure that a firearm lasts a long time too. Couple that with a reasonable case volume and that will give you a wide range of powders to push a variety of bullets.

but I think 06 becomes synonymous with "best" simply because of it's ubiquity. it has all of those characteristics, and the most important one. availability. you can go into just about any place that sells ammo and find '06 on the shelf.

Between an '06 and a 12 gauge. I really don't think there's anything couldn't take in the western hemisphere that crawls, jumps, runs, or flies. Add in a fishing rod, and virtually any edible animal in north or south America could be on your table. Granted, some of the extremes on either end might a tad overkill, or push the limits; from #4 shot on a squirrel to 200+gr on a polar bear. However, if I know if I had to be limited, those would occupy 3 of the top 10 slots in my must have list.

 

[bpl]

For medium to large game... 30-06 is clearly the most versatile. For small game, 22lr. For birds and such, 12ga.

 

[HB]

28" arrow has worked on everything from squirrels to deer for me. Still haven't hit a dove but can't say I haven't tried

HB