Your idea of an all-round rifle battery

[Hog huntin Harry]

What's yall's idea of an all-round rifle battery for yourself ?
Mine would be as follows:

Marlin model 60 chambered in 22lr
Ruger American Rimfire chambered in .22 magnum
CZ 527 chambered in .223 Remington
Marlin model 1894C chambered in 38 Special/357 Mag
Winchester model 70 Featherweight chambered in .270 Winchester
Ruger Hawkeye African chambered in .375 Ruger

 

[Scott.M]

Light & Heavy 223, 1-7"

Light & Heavy 6.5 Creedmoor, 1-8"


Light 30/06 1-10"

 

[Ivy Mike]

Some .22lr that has both iron sights and the ability to attach a rimfire scope. Ruger 10/22 or Browning BL-22

Something in an intermediate small bore caliber. An AR in .223 would be fine, either 16 or 20" barrel. Rail for optics.

An intermediate larger bore caliber like .300BLK or 7.62x39. You have a good option here for most game in N. America short of a big elk, Moose or bear. 7.62x39 approaches lighter weight .30-30 in terms of ballistics. AK is fine here or a .300 BLK upper for the AR in #2.

A full power rifle cartridge for bigger things. .30-06 or similar. Don't care too much because I don't hunt anymore. I'd even be happy with a milsurp. In fact, my Mosin M44 would be perfect.

 

[.38 Special]

I have a Remington 541-T HB in .22 LR, a Ruger Express rifle in .30-'06, and a Ruger Magnum Express in .416 Rigby. That has been my "complete" battery for several decades now.



No picture of the .22, but most of you know what a 541-T looks like, I'd guess.

 

[WestKentucky]

Marlin 60
AR15 18” carbine 223
Marlin 336
Remington 700 (Any long action, I like .270)
Any belted magnum of your choice for the heffelumps and woosles. (Lightweight rifle, super long barrel, steel butt plate)
Traditional muzzleloader of some variety

 

[Iggy]

Stevens Favorite .22.

Springfield Trapdoor 45-70


.40 Flinter for giggle and grins.


Oh, Yeah, I kinda forgot my old Patrol AR-180 over in the corner.

That about covers my needs.

 

[LoonWulf]

Of what I currently own?

Cz457 22lr/.17hmr
Cz527 6.5grendel
Christensen Arms Ridgeline .280AI
Browning A-bolt .375 Ruger

 

[JeeperCreeper]

Ideally, it would be limitless.

If I had to limit myself to the bare minimum and cover all bases:
-22 rifle of any variety
-30-06 of any variety
-AR-15 of any variety

 

[horsey300]

Easy, 1 of everything.
Eta
2 or 3 of my favorites.

 

[MacAR]

In a perfect world where money was no object, I'd have something like this:

1. 22LR Pump or Lever action, iron sighted. For close squirrels/rabbits/misc. varmints (Marlin's excellent 39A would be appropriate here, or a Remington Fieldmaster in a pinch)
2. 22LR Bolt action, scoped. For further squirrels/rabbits/misc. varmints. (A Browning T-bolt would be my dream, but an older Marlin tube fed would do)
3. 220 Swift/ .222 Rem/ .243 Win (pick one) single shot scoped, or bolt action, scoped. For medium to large varmints (Ruger's No. 1 in 220 Swift is my pick here)
4. 7x57 Mauser/.270 Win/ 30-06 Springfield Bolt action, scoped. For deer/larger game (Ruger M77 or Remington 700, in '06 for me, please)
5. 1894 Winchester in 30WCF; for any situation that might require fast follow-up shots on offensive critters. Others would prefer an AR-15 for this use, myself not so much.

Realistically, a person could get by with three rifles:

1. Rimfire rifle of some description, scoped or iron sights. Probably needs to be capable of using shorts, longs, and long rifles, and decently accurate.
2. Lightweight, light caliber repeating rifle, scoped. Bolt action will be most common, but most will choose an automatic here.
3. Midweight, medium caliber repeating rifle, scoped. Again, a bolt will be the common choice. Some folks might like a pump here, and others an automatic. It depends on the area.

In theory, a battery of three rifles in appropriate calibers will take everything from squirrel to moose in N. America; I prefer the first five I listed because, as we all know, "variety is the spice of life".

Mac

 

[Scott.M]

And I only mention the 30/06 in case I should fell the need to chase big bears or moose again.

For me today, a 223 for deer and a 6.5CM for long range deer sized critters, or something bigger than a deer would work well. If you said 308 instead of 6.5 I would be inclined to agree. Though it ain't near as polite as the Creedmoor.

 

[Terry G]

1. Colt LE6920
2. Ruger 10/22 with 'scope
3. Browning BAR .30/06
4. Mossberg lever action .22
5. Ruger 9MM Carbine

 

[George P]

Remington 541 in .22lr
Ruger No1 RSI in 243
Remington 700BDL in 7mm mag

 

[CapnMac]

A range of things in centerfire
Something about 5-6mm
Something about 7-8mm
Perhaps something in the 10mm range.

Which could look like a
22-250 or 25-06
260 or 270 or 280
308 or 30-06
And a 45-70 or 444 (or a 416 in serious moose country)

A rimfire is almost a requirement.

 

[Frulk]

If I was making a line up of what I currently own:

Ruger PR in .22 Mag
Savage 99. .243
Winchester 94 .30-30
Ruger M77 .30-06
M1A Scout 7.62 NATO
Savage 99 .358 Winchester
M77 .44 Mag

I realize there’s some overlap with the .308 and .30-06 but since there’s apparently no wrong answer I chose them both because I favor the 06 caliber and the M1A rifle for historic/patriotic reasons.

 

[SharpDog]

.17 WSM Volquartsen Semi-Auto

Magnum Research .22 lr Magnum Lite (gotta have a .22lr)

.223 AR-15 with 6.5 Grendel and .50 Beowulf uppers (one rifle, 3 monsters)

Howa HS Precision 1500 in 6.5 CM or other light 6.5CM (main hunting rifle)

Steyr Scout Jeff Cooper Edition .308 (gotta have a .308, would change the scope)

.300 Win Mag long range target rifle with .308 caliber xchange.

.338 Win Mag Medium weight hunting rifle

.375 H&H Alaskan rifle

.458 Winchester African Rifle

.50 Barrett M107A1 (In case your moose is driving a pickup)



https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/howa-hs-precision-carbon-fiber/

 

[Grumulkin]

1. A rimfire of some sort. It's almost un-American not to have a rifle in 22LR but my choice is the 17 HMR. It's good on anything from mice to raccoon with better range and accuracy than a 22LR. I've had a 22 WMR and wasn't impressed.
2. A Blaser or a Thompson/Center Encore with barrels in 223 Remington (or 22-250 Remington), 300 Weatherby Magnum (or 300 Winchester Magnum) and 375 H&H Magnum.

That combination would enable me to hunt any land animal in the world and it would fit in luggage that would not get me any extra baggage charges on an airline.

 

[Hookeye]

.22 cz455
.223 mixed manufacture AR
.243 Rem 700
.35 rem Rem 760
.3006 Steyr Prohunter
.50 TC Hawken Silver Elite

Boring but covers my needs

 

[jmr40]

Tikka T1 in 22 LR

A 223 of some flavor for varmints and SD. Deer in a pinch. If I had to choose either a bolt gun or AR and couldn't have both then an accurate AR that was scoped to do double duty. But probably one of each.

While I'll never need one I'd choose a 375 Ruger in either the Ruger Alaskan or African configuration for bigger stuff.

For all around hunting from deer to moose, elk and any bear in the lower 48 just about anything 26 caliber and up would work. Make mine a Tikka T3 in 308. If limited to factory rifles. If I can have 2 then another one in 6.5CM. I have a Winchester 70 in 308 that is my go-to rifle right now, but it isn't factory.

 

[d2wing]

1. CZ 452 .22 LR
2. AR IN .223/5.56
3. Tikka T3 in 7-08.
That covers it for me. I can see the attraction for other choices. We have Moose, Bear and Elk. I don't plan on hunting any of them but the 7-08 would cover it if I did. I still hunt Deer.

 

[Random 8]

My Norinco JW-15 with see through ring mounts and a fixed 6 40mm scope. A CZ 452 would do the same with a little more refinement, the irons are of good quality on both. Squirrels to gophers to raccoons.
AR carbine or A4 20", not heavy barrel, with a 1.5x4 Vortex which I have. Because 'murica and brush coyotes.
Either a heavy, 20" or longer AR, or pick your poison bolt action heavy .223 with a 4x12 large objective. I'd probably grab a Savage, but most modern BAs have sufficient accuracy. Varmints and such, farm country coyotes. I currently use a RRA NM A4 in this role.
Military Mauser rebarreled to .280 Rem with 3x9 glass. If I really wanted all around, it would be 30-06, but the .280 fills the bill for whitetail and such as far as I care to shoot.
Savage 99 with vintage weaver tip-off 2.5X fixed over Marbles gold bead irons in .300 Savage. When I want a slim, trim, sexy rifle effective on deer to 150 yards or so and want to do it with class.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

What's yall's idea of an all-round rifle battery for yourself ?

Well for me it would be:

Ruger 10-22 in .22 LR
Ruger American Rimfire chambered in .22 magnum
NEF Handi-rifle in .223 Remington
Mossberg Patriot in .223 Remington
Mauser 98 rechambered to .308 Winchester
AR-15 in 7.62 x 39mm
Savage Axis II in .350 Legend
Remington 700 in .358 Winchester
Winchester 94 in .45 Colt
.54 flintlock, longrifle

LD

 

[Bfh_auto]

I like rechargeable batteries.

10-22, 357mag, 240wby, 280AI, and a 300 WSM.

90 percent of my shooting is covered by 357 and 240wby. The rest are just for fun.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Even though these threads come up a lot, I do still like them. I find myself answering differently even as little as a few months apart.

This analysis is steeped in geographical, legal, and preferential variety though. Of course some folks prefer more guns in the course of their hunts but I believe this thread is about covering bases with as few as is practical as opposed to as few as is possible.

To explain, here is my list.

22 Short- Most of my 22 LRs will also shoot Shorts. Pest and vermin control behind my semi-urban house.

22 LR- I have many examples but favor the Remington 572 and 552. Truthfully, I only need this cartridge for dispatching hogs in traps for the economy of ammo. Otherwise I would just use the one below this one. The 572 and 552 are also good for shooting shorts when you want to be quiet.

22 Magnum- I have a Remington 597M, Henry Pump, and Ruger 10/22M in this cartridge. I like the 22 Magnum a lot but not for any kind of pragmatic reasoning. It is because there are areas I hunt where hog can only be taken with certain weapons during certain times and I have deemed 22 Magnum to be the best choice. If it were practical, I would use the 22 LR most of the time but since I have to have a 22 Mag to engage the most in my hunting I have heavily invested into it. If I was going for bare minimum, I would skip over the 22 LR altogether and go straight to 22 Mag.

450 Bushmaster- I have an AR and a Ruger American Ranch in this cartridge. I favor it because I hunt in the straight wall area of MI where it is legal but bottleneck rifle cartridges and the longer straight wall cartridges are not. It is a formidable round that is capable of taking most game on the continent under 200 yds. It is also good in GA where I might use a 35 Rem otherwise, the 450 is as good and probably better in all scenarios.

I could end it there if I wanted to. This could cover all my hunting across the continent except in areas and seasons where shotguns/muzzleloaders are mandated. (Which I also hunt in but the OP specified rifles) All my hunting to this point would be centered around those cartridges and rifles. I also use a 30-06 Rem 7600 but dont enjoy it any more than anything else I could also use.

 

[gotboostvr]

In theory my 22wmr/20ga Savage 24 and a 280AI yet to be named that I've got my eye on.

I've got other hunting rifles and shotguns, but as far as different types of game coverage to number of firearms, I'd say that's about as good as it gets.