Need help choosing caliber
 

Hello all,

I currently do most of my hunting for Whitetails and bear in the North East....with most shots are less then 100 yards.

I am going to start expanding my hunting opportunities over the next few years and need help finding a caliber that would be a good all around Elk, Moose, Caribou round...Shots no longer then 200 yards (I hope)...People have suggested 300 Win Mag, 338 Win Mag, or 338 Rem Ultra Mag. (My 75 year old father still swears by his 06 or 30-30 lol) But these people are as novices as well.

What do you guys suggest???

Before you laugh at the 30-30. I watched a hunting show last night. He went hunting for Moose in Alaska with a lever action open sight sighted 30-30.

Found a mature bull moose. when the Moose was hit it swayed to the left, stumbled and piled up. It didn't go 10 yds.

His next target was a Grizzly with the same gun. He ran out of time, before he could get one, but will keep trying.

I've killed plenty of elk with a 30-30 back in the 60's.

Do I recommend it? No, most hunters want to just take long shots with magnums.

The 30-06 is more than enough fire power for 200 yd shots at elk and moose. If you have a buring desire to step up to something bigger I would start with a .300 WSM or .300 Win Mag and end at a .338 Win Mag. If you mostly hunt eastern whitetails like I do then that 06 is certainly a better use caliber.

For less than 200, a .30-06 would be just fine in my opinion. If I were in your situation and just wanted something different I'd get something interesting. One of those .338s sounds fun. But really, and '06 would do the job just fine.
-Jake

.300 Wby. Mag., or .300 RUM. Good luck

Ohh I think somewhere in that 260 - 375H&H realm will do ok.
Send a good bullet fast enough to satisfy you, and voila.

No bears; 7MM rem mag or .300 win mag.

Bears; .338 win mag

Well it depends on the bear a 800 lb grizzly .338 if a 300 lb black bear a 7mm or .300 mag will get the job done. But honestly I would probably take my .270 for any of the hunts he mentioned. But if I had the itch for a new gun it would probably be a .300 win mag. or a .375 H&H. Then I can go to Africa if the need ever arises. Might need to go take out some rogue cape buffalo or something.:D

.30-06 sounds about right... esp at 200yds or less.

.338win.mag. is a great moose, elk, bear gun.

.325 WSM sounds nice, but not sure it'll be around in 10yrs, and the 300wsm will do everything the 325 will do probably and is already a success and will be around forever probably.

.35 whelen?

Let me pit it this way ,most of my friends and I carry 30 cal 30-06 300 win mag 300 WSM.Been all I needed for over 20 years, except when hunting in thick stuff with a lot of big bears, then I carry a 45/70 guide gun with heavy cast bullets , just because I can get a lot more lead down range quick.We all feel we are armed well enough for Alaska.

Here's a good write up from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game explaining why you don't need a whiz bang ultra mag:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm...nting.firearms

Great article Jeff. I've been preaching that for years. Magnums just make you flinch. A 30-06 will kill anything if you can shoot.

The best gun you can use is the one you have the most confidence in! Having owned 7mm's, .300 win mag's and 30-30's . . . I now use a Savage .308!! I have 3 elk, 5 deer, and 2 antelope in the freezer over the past 2 seasons. The longest shot was 285 yds and the elk fell in his shadow!
It is one of the most popular calibers for bench shooters because of it's inherant accuravy at long distances. Best of all . . . it is fun to shoot. Shooting more means shooting better and you can't do that with a magnum of any kind. At the range they will spook your shot every time you try and squeeze the trigger. Not to mention your shoulder.
So I have the most confidence in the .308. If I ever get a Moose tag, it will go with me. I have used 168, 165 gr and 180's with very good results.

.370 Sako

http://archives.gunsandammo.com/content/tough-enough

9.3x66 = 370 sako, federal loads for it...not sure who else? essentially a 30-06 necked up to 9.3 or .375?

a 286-grain bullet at 2,550 fps

sounds like the lil brother to the 375H&H, could be a great lighter recoiling 375 for alaska/the really big bears.

I actually own a Remington Model 7 XCR (22 inch barrel) in 300 WSM...I have only shot max 125 yards and consistently can shoot one inch groups at 100 yards...using Federal 180 Trophy Bonded Tip. I use it for deer and bear in NY. This year I switched to 165 Noslers but emergency heart surgery in Sept put the kabosh on my season...

Do I have the right set up to tackle elk, moose, and caribou in the future???

I love my .270...:party0007:

45 70 all the way.

Thank-You for another informative post Jeff.

My gun
 

I have been hunting the past 10 years with a Win. 270 and I've shot Mule deer, Whitetail deer, and Elk and it works great. Some people like the 300 or 30-06, but for hunting in Montana I love my gun. It doesn't have much kick, it knocks them down, and the shells are cheap, but it all depends on what you like and what your hunting.
Have fun with it.

AK Jeff is spot on.

In Russia they consider 7.62x54R to be adequate to overkill so there you go...

You already have a gun that will easily take any and all North American game. What you may "play" with is selecting 2 or 3 bullets to match the game you are hunting. For instance; for small game like deer, lopes, even black bear . . . 150 - 165 gr bullet that open quick on thin skinned animals.
Then maybe go to 180 - 200 gr for elk, mooose, brown/grix bear.
As I see it, you already have the gun, what you need is to fine tune the bullet/ammo to use.
Again, make sure you can shoot it confidently without flinching, and here's the most important thing . . . practice, practice, practice! I mean out to 400 + yards. You may never want or have to take that shot, but at least you would have the confidence in taking it ethically and it's fun!!