which Calibre

[FF/EMT]

I am in the market for a new rifle. I not very saavy when it comes to which calibre is the best for an all around big game gun. I live in a shotgun only area for deer so the only real experience with rifles i have is with my .223's and .22-250 for predator hunting.

Which calibre would you guys recomend for anything from Whitetails to elk, The only limit to shooting distance will be my comfort level with the rifle.

Thanks for any input
Tom

[Wlfdg]

I prefer the 7mm Rem.Mag. That being said, you can't go wrong with the 30 cals. esp. 30-06. Large range of bullet weights to cover the game you want to hunt. Fairly flat shooting. Ammo availability is excellent. You can buy 30-06 ammo in the gas station here.

[thndrchiken]

30-06, 308, 7mm-08, 7mm Remington Magnum, 300 Winchester Magnum, 260, 280. Many, many choices. Most commonly available ammo would be 308 and 30-06.

[okgobbler]

I agree with thnderchiken. .284 or .308 in a standard case such as 7mm-08, .280, .308, 30-06.

[schoolcraft]

deer to elk?

.30-06 would be very hard to beat for versitility. You could also throw in the .284 bullet diameter rounds. .280 or .7mm. Rem Mag.

[Folically Challenged]

ORIGINAL: FF/EMT

I am in the market for a new rifle. I not very saavy when it comes to which calibre is the best for an all around big game gun. I live in a shotgun only area for deer so the only real experience with rifles i have is with my .223's and .22-250 for predator hunting.

Which calibre would you guys recomend for anything from Whitetails to elk, The only limit to shooting distance will be my comfort level with the rifle.

Thanks for any input
Tom

Read this: http://www.chuckhawks.com/caliber_worship.htm

I like the part near the end where he states,
[blockquote]
"What we are left with at present is the spectacularly boring concept of adequacy. It is has been said in different ways over and over again over the last 100 years, and proven for at least that long as well on the game fields, that the entire genre of .270 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .308 and variants, and the 7mm Rem. Mag. all do pretty much the same thing. The difference is more our own ability to accurately place a shot based our familiarity with rifle, cartridge, trajectory, our own self-control, and our attention to proper bullet selection for specific game size, toughness, and impact velocity.
There are very few recorded instances out of tens of millions of examples where an appropriate bullet with proper shot placement from anything in the .308 to 7mm Rem. Mag. genre has failed to do its job on anything with hooves."

[/blockquote]
Good Luck,

FC

[salukipv1]

What are you really looking for? A whitetail rifle that you could take to hunt elk with? or the best all around?

A .270 would be hard to beat for deer, but light for Elk in my opinion. Many guys would say a 300 or 338 mag would be perfect for elk but overkill on a deer.

Anything from .270 Win- .338 Win. Mag. would do the job well.

Get a 7mm WSM,
short fat beltless case, high BC bullets.
read this: http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek064.html

[Colorado Luckydog]

30.06 is hard to beat for a all around North America big game rifle.

[A11en]

I would agree with the .30-06 being the best all around. However, since I bought my .300 WSM (3 years ago), my .30-06 hasn't come out of the safe. You can shoot 130grthrough 180gr bullets. Great for deer through elk! Recoil is only slightly more than the .30-06.

[Hunting the North]

.30-06. Most off-the-shelf variety of ammo available.