which Calibre
 

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

RE: which Calibre
 

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.

RE: which Calibre
 

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.

RE: which Calibre
 

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

RE: which Calibre
 

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.

RE: which Calibre
 

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

RE: which Calibre
 

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

RE: which Calibre
 

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

RE: which Calibre
 

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.

RE: which Calibre
 

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

RE: which Calibre
 

.270 the min up to the big .300, depends on your ability to handle recoil and your accuracy with a rifle.If you will primarily hunt deer, than a 30-06 will be ideal. However, if you plan on hunting elk more often than I would go with a .300 or .325WSM

RE: which Calibre
 

I would look at a 270, 30-06 or a 7mm mag. IMHO, I would stick with more of theclassiccalibers, because the ammo is quite a bit more abundant and cheaper.Any of those three can get the job done on a deer or elk.

RE: which Calibre
 

.270 -90 to 150 gr used for just about everything.Nothing in the lower 48 it wont kill.30-06 good too,but I reload and I am a speed freak,I like the .277 a little better ,both fine .

RE: which Calibre
 

What I am looking for is a rifle that would mainly be used for Whitetail/Mule deer, that could also be used for elk if the opprtunity ever presents itself. I had been looking into the 7mm mag, but also have a friend telling me to go with the 300 win mag. Like I said earlier this rifle hunting is fairly new to me, so thanks for bearing with me.

Tom

RE: which Calibre
 

Personally I feel the 7mm Rem Mag is a great all around deer to elk cartridge. However the 7mm-08 and 308 are great all around loads also anddo a fine job on elk using the Hornady Light Magnum loads. They are also light kickers so you don't beat yourself to death at the range or deer hunting.

RE: which Calibre
 

With the the Magnums you've mentioned, the main benefit is extra range. By spitting the bullet out of the tube faster, the projectile will drop less in the same distance than a bullet shot from a non-magnum cartridge. For instance, the .300 Win Mag in the following example shoots roughly 5½ inches "flatter" than the .30-'06 does at 300 yards.

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/comparative_ballistics_results.aspx?data=R300W2*R3 0065

This also translates into terms of "power". If you'll notice the part showing energy in ft.-lbs.,the .300 Win Mag will be carrying the same amount of energy at 400 yards, asthe .30-'06does at 300 yards. Naturally, if you're shooting them both at the same distance, the .300 Win Mag's bulletwill have more energy.

Now, whether this makes the .300 Win Mag "better" than the '06, has been the subject of volumes of debate for decades, and it's not likely to end anytime soon. They'll both kill deer awfully dead, awfully quickly. And they've both been proven to be wonderully effective on elk, too.

What's not debateable, however, is that the .300 Win Maguses a lot more powder to do what it does. The result is greater muzzle blast, and more recoil. Also, many manufacturers equip rifleschambered for magnum cartridges with longer barrels, so there canalso bea difference in weight and handling characteristics. You'd do really well to go to your local gun range and shoot both a standard and a magnum rifle before you select one.

When choosing between the two, I'd ask yourself what the hunting conditions are like where you'll be most often. Are you shooting across wide-open plains, or do you come across your deer in ravines or timber, where the shots are closer?. What's the average distance that you shoot, or will be shooting? What's the longest distance that you actually practice shooting? If you find the answers are often 300 yards or more, thena Magnum cartridgewill probably be a better choice. If you're usually under 300 yards, I'd recommend going with a standard cartridge.

RE: which Calibre
 

Go with the .270 great all around bullet

RE: which Calibre
 

1 thought may be to buya deer rifle, and down the road if/when you do go elk hunting, you may be in the place to purchase a more specialized elk rifle, and if not you could still whip out that deer rifle and still do pretty well with elk.

Btw, I think if you're liking the 7mm Rem. Mag. and a friend is saying get the .300 Win. Mag. that debate is still ongoing, either would be fine, and if you like the 7mm, go for it.

I had a .270 Win, so when I wanted a magnum, I bypassed the 7mm and got a .300 Win. Mag. put a little spacing between the two. But I do think there is no need for a magnum on deer at less than 300yds. heck even deer out to 500yds would be no problem for a .270 Win.

You know the .270 WSM and .300 WSM are quite popular, I think the .300 WSM more so, maybe you should consider any of the WSM line....I've said it before the .300 WSM is like a newer .30-06, so if guys are saying .30-06, your friends saying .300 win mag. etc...

its a tough call, any will work, let us know what you end up deciding...

RE: which Calibre
 

.270, 308 or 30-06 would be my choices, my personal pick would probably be the .270.

Paul

RE: which Calibre
 

Don't know how many Elk you've got in S.E. Minnesota;), but if Elk are definitely on the menu I'd recommend you go with the most virsital cartridge out there...the 30-06. However, my personal preference would be 7MM-08 as we don't have many Elk in Texas either and I figure "if" I ever got a chance to Elk huntI'd just load a little heaver /tougher bulletfor my 7mm-08.

firstshot
---------------------------
Make your first shot count1

RE: which Calibre
 

Since you,ve been shooting a 22 250 I recomend the in no order 260rem 7mm08 308win 338 federal 6.5x55. Its simple you already have and shoot a rifle in a short action you presumably shoot well. Get another 1 in the larger caliber. A million moose have fallen to the 6.5x55 in Europe ought to be enough elk here.

RE: which Calibre
 

.30-06. Well known all around cartridge. Buy ammo in appropriate loads anywhere, even borrow from hunters in the field. When you get around to acquiring more specialized rifles the .30-06 will continue to provide a useful function as a back-up to the specialized gun.

RE: which Calibre
 

30-06, readily available ammo anywhere in the world in case you go in a hunt and forget . Cheap to buy too, wal mart has 150 grain federal shok for $12.99, good way to get proficient by shooting alot and not going broke.

RE: which Calibre
 

I second this.. I own a model 70 (wood/blue), 270 and have shot lotsa white tail, mule deer and elk with it.. No issues with its capability or "adequacy" to kill hooved game.. The 270 is the best kept 'Secret' strong enough for a man but made for a woman...

Having said that I would be equally happy with a 30/06, I would just get used to that caliber and rifle.. Ideally a great match to a 30/06 would be a a Leupold Vari-X III with Boone & Crocket reticle. I don't own an arsenal and probably never will, too many other things to spend money on like a new bow.

RE: which Calibre
 

Actually one more thing I'd like to add and sorry about the thread drift..

After many years of hunting I have come to the conclusion that bullet construction is very important.. After using a bunch of different lead bullets (premium and generic), I am blown away by the Barnes TSX bullets.. Our hunting group started using them about 4 years ago and Its amazing how tough they are and how much damage they impart.. We seldom recover Barnes bullets but when we do they are together and expandedas advertized.. In the leaded days, we retreived way more lead bullets and about half of those didn't stay together so well, they DID do the job (I can't say they failed), but I am impressed with how the Barnes just don't break up like the leaded ones..

We bulk load up 140 grain 270 TSX for 4 of us and 2 more in our extended group want in.. I know, I know you're supposed to tweak the load to your gun, but nobody in our group's complaining with the accuracy from the generic load.. My gun and ammo is still more accurate than I am...

RE: which Calibre
 

I know plenty of hunters here who have taken elk with .7mm-08 factory loads. Same goes for the .270 and the .30-06. There seems to be a general feeling here that more elk have been taken with the .30-06 than any other cartridge. It's all about shot placement.

As for the .300WM, I have a buddy who hit a big Muley buck at the base of his skull across a canyon (maybe 400 yds.?) and pretty much blew his head off. That's a lot of juice!