ORIGINAL: SILVERTIP-CO
I'll ask this here as its the largest hunt forum on the net I think. Has anyone here killed really big game with 25-06 or 270. I mean big like moose, grizzlers, polar bear, lion, tiger etc.
I'm reshaping my gun life and selling all excess rifles and 'stuff ' to focus on one caliber. Am thinking on 25-06 or 270. Some thing fast flat ea$y on the shoulder and pocketbook as I may sell all my reload equipt too.
Neither of those calibers is ideal for SOME of the game you mention. BUT, of the two, the 270 is by far the best because you can shoot the Nosler Partition 150 or 160-grain bullet from it. The 270 is adequate for all North American game, if you use either of the two bullets I listed and are a good shot. It also helps to know bear anatomy!!
When I lived in Alaska, I used a 270 carbine with the 150-grain Nosler Partition bullets for everything in the state. BUT, I never tried it on big bears!! However, there was a doctor's wife in Fairbanks who used her 270 on Polar bears with good results. Her load was the 150 Nosler at 2900 FPS MV....
For lion & tiger (if there is anyplace left on earth where you can shoot tigers!!), I would use nothing smaller than a .375 or a .416 Rigby!!