RE: Big Game Battery
ColoradoElk,
Entertaining thread idea, I'll work with you on it, but I’m afraid I can’t give you a definitive answer.
Per your parameters, here is the over 270 “line up” (I do have one of those --- teen years rifle):
.308 (often present for target practice trips)
.30-06 (camp rifle, sometimes subs for the .308 at target practice, as fall approaches)
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338 WinMag (2) [was definitely my favorite in my 20’s]
375 H&H Mag
416 Rigby
458 Lott
[Nevermindany smoke polesor pistols.]
The 375 H&H is like an eager hunting dog waiting in the kennel, the one that sees you coming, gun in hand, and is the first one to the gateas if to say“take me, you've seen me hunt and I' always do good!" When I open the gun safe, sometimes I listen to that appeal,many timesI don’t. Generally, I strive not to have a “one size fits all” favorite for big game, I think it clouds judgment.
I strive to set my rifles up the same: actions (bolt), safeties (2 position w/lock down), scope sight ins (200 yards with quick detach mounts), iron sights still on barrel, trigger pulls (3.5 pounds), and stock fits (just right) to where they all feel and pointandoperate similarly. Sometimes my choice for a given hunt involves choosing a rifle that I am working on building up experience with. Honestly, I actively avoid allowing myself to become sentimentally attached to any one of them. I want to be confident with any of them, but NOT attached. They all have good "video replays" attached to them.
In choosing the first choice rifleand then the back up riflefor a given hunting trip, I look at the expected conditions, topography, and nature of the animal I’m after and go from there, making sure I err on the side of having a margin to spare. While the" kill" may not be the quintessential part of the hunting; to the extent that it is a part, I strive to accomplish the kill with as definitive, overwhelming, smash-mouth hit that anchors them on the spot, with that sweet heavy K-THUD body hit that you can hear from 300 yards away. No running off to die somewhere else, as I am just not into “archery hunting” with a rifle.
I strive to consistently hunt (and live) per my tag line,
but hey, that is just me.
BTW, I could easily adopt your tag lineas well (too few people think that way), but it wouldn't be original and it would get to be a bit long though not as space consuming as some of the archery equipment lists I see in tag lines.