Which all around medium bore round?

[Jason_W]

During the last few years I've hunted deer mostly with a shotgun loaded up with slugs. This is fine for hunting the thick stuff where if you can even see 50 yards you're doing well. Next season, however, I may take a break from soaking myself in cedar swamps and park myself in a tree stand overlooking a "clear" cut or power line where shots could be over 100 yards.

I'm thinking that my next rifle purchase (whenever I can pull that off) should be something capable of longer range shots (maybe 250 yards) without having to employ too much Arkansas elevation.

The reason I'm looking at a medium bore instead of one of the smaller bore flat shooters is that I'm thinking positively about the future. I want something that will be a decent powerline gun for whitetail, but will also be more than enough for hunting large game in such exotic locations as Alaska and Africa if I ever happen to get such an opportunity.

The rounds I'm interested in at present are

.338 Win mag (the price is right for Savages chambered in this rifle)

9.3x62mm (the CZ 550 is gorgeous and Privi Partizan sells ammo for relatively cheap)

.375 h&H (because hell yeah, that's why)

I handload and recoil isn't much of an issue ever since I started firing 3" 12 ga slugs from the bench.

 

[RPRNY]

I would add 35 Whelen to your list.

 

[Jason_W]

looks like the whelen and the 9.3 are pretty much ballistically identical. I'm assuming .35 cal bullets will be easier to obtain as well.

 

[Ar180shooter]

Have you thought of a .338 Federal? 210 gr at 2600 fps sounds good to me.

 

[Acera]

A .30 caliber bullet will effectively kill everything on this continent especially at the ranges you are talking about, and all your plains game in Africa as well. They are much easier to obtain and have dozens of base cartridges and thousands of loadings to play with. Hard to find a larger selection of bullets than those in .30.

For Africa and dangerous game, you might want something bigger than those you mention unless you are going for soft skinned cats.

I like what Jeff Cooper said about the .375H&H

Kicks too hard to be generally useful, lacks the flat trajectory for long shots, and is not enough gun for Cape buffalo.

 

[Jason_W]

The .338 Win Mag is looking good on account of the affordable savage rifles in which it's chambered. At the same time, I like 9.3 because it's uncommon enough to be interesting but not so uncommon that ammo and components are impossible to obtain.

Even though I currently own a .308, I find it hard to get excited about the .30 calibers. In my opinion, the .30 cals are to guns what meatloaf is to food. Gets the job done, but where's the Joie de vivre?

Commence flaming from .30 cal fans in 5 . . . 4 . . . 3

 

[Coal Dragger]

Also don't overlook the very useful .338-06, and if you want something a little different the .358 Norma Magnum might be interesting.

 

[Onward Allusion]

What are you hunting? I know it ain't the latest whiz bang, but a 180 gr 30-06 will take out any deer (shot placement) in the distances you'd described. Heck, it'll take out moose & elk at those distances.

Just admit it to yourself that you want (ahem, I meant need) a new gun.

 

[Jason_W]

What are you hunting?

Dreams and fantasies, mostly

Sorry for the melodramatic response

The way I'm starting to look at it is that I don't see too many (if any) legal big game animals so I want something that can take them from a range of 0 to 250 yards even if the angle is less than ideal.

 

[Robert]

I vote 375H&H. And with all due respect Jeff Cooper did not know what he was talking about when it comes to the 375H&H. The recoil is not bad at all, less than a light weight 12ga with slugs. Far better than the 338. My 270gr bullets have nearly the same trajectory as a 180gr 30-06. And while that might not be super flat it is flat enough to take any animal on this planet. And lastly it is plenty of rifle for Cape Buffalo with the right bullet.

 

[Hizzie]

.375 Holland & Holland Magnum

The .338 WM is plain vanilla. The 9.3x62 and .375H&H have nostalgia from more than a century of African use each. The Nine-Three may be more romantic but Holland & Holland's majical mid-bore has far more available options for bullets, brass and factory loads should you get lazy.

 

[RSVP2RIP]

And lastly it is plenty of rifle for Cape Buffalo with the right bullet

Plenty rifle for anything that walks. It (the 375H&H) get my vote. If you handload, you certainly can download it to 38-55 levels for close deer and hot-rod it to take an elephant. I took one deer hunting, and while the gun was a bit heavy for the task, I wouldn't hesitat to drop the hammer on a deer with a 300 gr soft point. It might not expant to full diameter, but it wouldn't have to. Most people who try this say it destroys very little meat. I never got the chance to shoot a deer with it but in africa the guides what you to show up with a 375 no matter what game you are shooting, provided you can shoot it.

 

[Jason_W]

Good points in the .375 corner!

The only detractor is the cost of the platform. But hey, maybe life will start actually working soon.

 

[Jaxondog]

375 H&H get's my vote, even though it's not the big kid on the block. If you can hold on for a week or so I am getting ready to unload a few. A 375 H&H in a Ruger No.1 and a Bruno. Also have a 450 Watts in Interarms Mark X I may get rid of also. I'm never going to Africa so I'm trying to talk myself into letting them go. I will post them when i decide what I want for them.

 

[Robert]

I have a Winchester M70 Safari Express. And while not a cheap rifle it is a superb rifle. You can get a Savage cheaper, but imo it is not even half the rifle of the Winchester. Though I tend to be a bit of a fan. If you handload it is really not that expensive to shoot. Well less than factory ammo...

I carried my 10lbs rifle, and a day pack, for 5 days last week on my Elk hunt up around 12,000ft. Never saw an Elk but I never noticed the weight of the rifle. And I am not in great shape at all.

 

[Flatbush Harry]

I have a Remington 700 XCR II in .375 H&H for which I mounted a Bell & Carlson Medalist LA stock in Weatherby configuration. My gunsmith pal glass bedded it and I mounted a 3-9x40 Zeiss Conquest Z-Plex in Leupold QR rings and bases. When asked what I can hunt with it, I responded, "Anything on this planet!".

This 3-shot group, fired at 100 yards with my handloads of 69.0gr of Reloder 15 under a Nosler AccuBond 260gr bullet with CCI LR Magnum primers in once-fired R-P cases shows the accuracy potential of this round.

Good luck,

FH

 

[nastynatesfish]

I'd go 7 rem mag. Will do anything you want. If your looking for more bullet I'd look at a 8mm mag

 

[StrawHat]

Since you handload, I would recomennd you consider the 411 Hawk. A powerhouse and a fairly flat shooter. It also carries one extra round in the magazine compared to the 375.

 

[Swampman]

For North America, .338 Win Mag, if you really think you might get to Africa, go for the .375 H&H.

 

[ColeK]

You might want to look at an 8x57mm.

 

[Hizzie]

Good points in the .375 corner!

The only detractor is the cost of the platform. But hey, maybe life will start actually working soon.

A nice used CZ550 would be one of the most affordable options. An Interarms Mark X or Remington 798 would be a good option as well.

 

[MachIVshooter]

The .375 H&H is a highly flexible, well mannered cartridge that is widely available around the world, and capable of killing anything that walks.

I personally opted for a little more oomph with the .375 RUM, but it won't play nice when downloaded below .375 H&H max levels. Just too much case. The H&H can be loaded down to .30-06 levels and even lower, and even at full power, it's not the shoulder buster that the RUM is. I can shoot a couple boxes of .375 H&H and feel fine, but 10 or 12 of my handloads out of my 7-1/2 lb non-ported RUM has left me with a headache.

 

[dubya450]

I'm on the same page as Ar180shooter. I suggest you look into the 338 fed if you haven't already. I have one in a Kimber Montana and u haven't even touched any of my other rifles since ive had the Fed. Its my choice for a single do it all rifle.
If only the choices you listed, personally id go with the 375

 

[Jason_W]

I know the .338 Federal is a .308 Win. case necked up to take a .338 bullet. I'd love to hear opinions on why it might be a better option than the .338 Win Mag.

I think my biggest concern with the .338 federal is the cartridge's longevity. The other rounds I listed have a pretty firm foothold and while the .338 Fed has a small loyal following, I'd fear it would eventually go the way of the .260 Rem.

 

[Gordon]

I take a different path. Although I worship the .375 H&Hit really is not necessary in the scenario you describe and probably a 30-06 would be ideal . BUT I have found that game in your area of the country is absolutely bowled over by the .35 Remington out to 250 yards and the shooter not so bowled over.
The drop on the spire point bullets I load at well over 2000 FPS from this little carbine can be assured of hitting where I point it out to your 250 yard mark. Recoil is a friendly push even with 200 grain bullets at 2200 fps and not so loud even from the 18" barrel IMHO. My lever and pump .35 Rems lack maybe 50 yards of accurracy from this 600 bolt gun, but still are top of the heap "brush guns" up to 150 yards; they knock game to 400 pounds overat that range with factory Rem Corloktd 200 grain RN BTW.