Bocajnala

I started with a Marlin .44 mag (what Dad has available) then went to a Marlin .30-30. Eventually my grandpa gave me a .30-06 R700. Then I got a .30-40 krag, a mosin nagant in 7.62x54r, then I started buying other rifles to play with including Remington 760s and 7600s, Savage 99s, various bolts and some singles.

I've enjoyed them all.

My R700 in .30-06 goes everywhere with me. ButI typically find myself carrying a lever of some sort. A Savage 99 or Marlin. With the 06 as a back up. I like to try different things each year, but almost always take at least one with the .30-06

-Jake

sconnyhunter

My first was a WIn. Model 94 in 30-30, next was my moms Win 308, then a Win. 670 in 243, next was a Ruger M77, MKII 308, then a 30-06 and Finally a Ruger M77 MKII in 7mm Rem Mag.
I've had the 7mm since Bill Clinton was in office.

Berserker

Lots of great calibers, and can you really own to many?
I've got more than one type of hammer and screw driver.

While I have romantic vision of the old friend, I like to try new stuff.

though I may be in position with what I own, to not be picking anything up for awhile unless I get to hunt elsewhere. With 30-06 and 4570 I got last year, I covered with hunt deep woods. Got 243 for hermits.

SilverbulletM70

Started deer hunting with a 30-30, then used an SKS for a few years before switching to a 1903 30-06 as my main deer thumper. I now have at least one in every caliber that I consider worth owning, for the most part. The difficult part now is trying to decide which rifle(s) to bring with on a particular hunt. The 6.5 and 7-08 are my current go to deer rounds with the 7mm WSM (if going real long) and 338 Win are my main elk thumpers. The other 30 cals are relegated to steel targets for the most part anymore. If I could only have 1 forever more though, it would be the simply amazing 7mm WSM. Throw some 150s in there for deer, 180s for big game or a 168 Berger as a good "all-arounder". This round isn't even breaking a sweat at 500-600 yards and it's accurate/effective out to ranges further than I'm willing to take a shot at a critter. Long way of saying yes, I can honestly say I have tried/own more than 4-5 rifles.

MudderChuck

Three times now I bought into somebodies hype and bought what was supposed to be an improvement and wasn't. All of my go to rifles are .308 or 30-06. Some are getting way old. I have a few that collect dust. I've had three that I sold and wish I had back again. Some unlikely rifles are really accurate, I have a model 70 featherweight ,308 that is a serious straight shooter, you wouldn't expect it to shoot that well with the light barrel, but it is as accurate as any rifle I've ever shot.. My Garand is also a straight shooter, surprisingly so, I check my zero by cutting 1/4" sticks at a hundred yards, B-Square mount and fixed 6X40 Kahles scope. I shot my 7MM mag on three occasions and parked it, it kills in front and cripples behind, no fun at all to shot from the prone position.

My old Remington model 8, Rem 35 caliber (9 mm) is older than I am. After breaking the second firing pin, I had some extras made up, other than that it is still killing Hogs. 200 grain bullets at 2000 FPS, actually a pleasure to shoot, recoil is moderate, comparable to a semi auto shotgun, gets the job done out to 150 yards.

They keep trying to reinvent the wheel, IMO many/most of the old calibers will get the job done and most rifles shoot straighter than the shooter does anyway.

hardcastonly

yeah, been there many times, back in the 1970s I saw a buddy impressively drop two deer in very rapid succession at about 200 yards with a marlin 444,
he used 240 grain soft point bullets
I went out and bought one, it worked ok, it worked better after I found 265 grain hornady bullets,
but after awhile in the later 1980s I upgraded to a marlin 45/70 , and got into casting 350 grain, bullets and eventually upgraded to a 450 marlin BLR, when they came out with those in about 2000, using 405 grain bullets,
accuracy and stopping power were marginally better after each upgrade, as group sizes shrunk and bullet weight increases and AS I GAINED MORE EXPERIENCE AND SKILL,
the results I got improved.(group sizes became more consistent and slightly smaller, with each change)
now I'm not about to suggest there was anything wrong with any of those calibers, or rifles and,
I doubt any deer or elk would not have dropped if hit well with any of those rifles.
certainly all those rifles would shoot under 2" bench rest groups and the BLR is consistently under 1" three shot groups off the bench rest,
but I don,t know anyone who can keep a consistent 2" or less 100 yard three shot group shooting from a field position,
so I doubt any deer or elk would notice.
but I certainly felt each upgrade was worth the money
if your hunting the thick timber, where shots tend to be on walking elk at well under 100 yards, in my opinion
, Its hard to improve on the effectiveness of a 450 marlin BLR loaded with a 405 remington bullet over 50 grains of imr3031 with a 215 fed primer

tatonka

A man can't have too many guns.. too many girl friends, yes....too many guns, no. More seriously, my Dad loved the .270. He got me a 30-30 for my first deer rifle but when I saved up enough I bought a .270 when I was 16 years old. I broke the stock on it about 20 years later and bought another...it is the Winchester "Winlite"..I think the first rifle they offered with a synthetic stock. I've been shooting it a long time...can't remember when I bought it, but it has to be close to 40 years now. I can't count the number of deer, antelope, coyotes, etc. I've shot with it.

Having said that, I still think the 30-06 is probably the best all around caliber. You can work up loads from 110 to 220 grains if I remember right. And it won't make you wince when you pull the trigger. I've shot deer, elk, moose, and caribou with an old Model 70 I have (with open sights). If I only could have one rifle, it would be a 30-06. I thought I needed a .270 WSM when they came out so I bought a Tikka. I'm going to sell it. Kicks like a mule and doesn't kill things any deader than my old .270 or 30-06. Differences in ballistics between the .270 and 30-06 are negligible.. Work up a load in either of those calibers with a premium bullet and you can hunt anything in North America except maybe a grizzly...I want a cannon if I go after one of them!

hardcastonly

I received a brief e-mail asking why I seem to be promoting the 450 marlin BLR
Im not promoting any caliber or action type, simply pointing out what I see rather frequently, used.


while earlier in the thread,and in other threads, Ive stated Ive used a SAKO 375 H&H carbine hunting thick timber hunting elk.

well thats a good observation
Ive used BOTH rifles and the 375 H&H sako manlicher carbine similar too these pictures

my late hunting partner vastly preferred the 358 win BLR
(mostly Id bet because the 358 win was available when he started hunting elk and the 450 marlin only came out after he passed on)
well Ive watched a great many guys hunt, the thicker timber slopes where ranges tend to be well under 100 yards and you certainly don,t want any game you shot running any distance,
heavy bullets in the 30 caliber and larger in the 180 grain or heavier range work rather well.
and you certainly are unlikely too, get your choice in distance or the games stance or choice of shot angle.
many prefer those larger bore Marlin and browning lever actions, as you can get a very rapid second shot.
two factors come to mind here
(1) few guys I know have ever needed a rapid second shot
(2) even fewer have developed the well practiced skill of rapidly working a bolt action while your in recoil,
from the first shot and not removing the rifle stock off your shoulder.
I find most guys are faster making a follow up shot or at least having that second cartridge re-chambered with a lever action,
and while that might seem to be an advantage, once you have developed the knack of using a bolt gun with out removing it from the shoulder,
while working the bolt, I feel the advantage is negligible if it exists... especially when I rarely see a second shot from either rifle is required.
like I stated, pick what YOUR familiar with and COMFORTABLE useing....your un-likely to make a bad choice.

mrbb

yrs ago I would have frimly agreed with this
but after a LOT of yrs have past with folks calling me to buy gun collections and from estates
I found myself with so many guns, I didn;t know what to do with them all, pl;aces to put them keeping track of them, and CLEANING and maintaining them
had/have them spread out in 3 homes now and in the past 5 yrs I have sold off a good 150 or so and still think I have too many!
still cleaning out things I know I will never use, and or really want
but when your offered a bunch of guns cheap its hard to say no to them LOL
and as such, at some point in time, I some how ended up with I way too many guns for any one man I think
I have SO many guns anymore I have never even shot, that its crazy
and again, YRS ago, I NEVER thought I would own a gun I didn;t shoot, never mind a few dozen of them
NOT complaining here, but am confirming it is possible to have too many, guns!
start to become work , and tat that point I think its TOO many!
and NO I have NO plans to GIVE any away! LOL

Daveboone

My first deer hunting I did with a 12 gauge JC Higgins bolt action shotgun. Back in the 70s, many hunters used a huge mish mash of whatever was in the family. Dad had a 8 mm Mauser, and I garbage picked most of a model 94 30/30, which we rebuilt. So my first actual deer specific gun was either the 94 or the Mauser, depending on what he wanted to carry. I shot my first buck with the Mauser, and after that (because it was so dang heavy with Dads old Herters stock, and open sights limitations) bought a Ruger 77 in .308, which I had for very many years. I have a slew of 30/30s, a savage 99 in .308, and a Browning 1886 45-70, all of which I have taken deer with as the whim hits me. Over a period of years though, I have resurrected the Mauser with many upgrades: New trap door magazine, TImney Trigger ,drilled and tapped with a scope mounted, competion firing pin and spring, removing the old open site hardware, and a Hogue synthetic stock.
So I guess I went full circle, as the old Mauser is kind of new again, and shoots better than ever...several years ago I shot a moose with it , hopefully again this September, and it will be going to South Africa with me in 2020. Ballistic wise though, the 8x 57 Mauser is very close to the .308 which I am a a great fan of, which is very close to the .270 and 30-06. You cant go wrong with any of them .