google7

Well thanks for all your responses . I'm pretty much sold on the 270 I've read and been told that it is a flat fast longer range rifle than my 303 British
But now my buddy tried to sell me on a 25-06 what do you guys think about that one

Sheridan

Take a look in your local Walmart or sporting goods store at their ammo selection.


I think you will find it very enlightening.

homers brother

I'd like to know which paper to watch to read about someone using a .17 Remington on a coastal. I do still have friends who live there, one of them on the subsistence hunting board, and I know he carries an AR-15. I also know that he doesn't hunt brown bears with it. He doesn't hunt brown bears at all, but rather Fox, Wolverines, Wolves, and Caribou. In my forays into Canada, one tends to find a lot of surplus Smellies and Mark 4s in .303 killing everything up to and including moose.

Invariably here, any time a poster asks a question about calibers and even remotely mentions the possibility of hunting elk, certain members of the hunting community immediately assume that a violent encounter with a hulking grizzly is inevitable. Consequently, nothing smaller than a .300 Magnum is acceptable. Yet, it remains that most of these idle dreams of elk and caribou will never come to fruition, but the chance and the advice from others drives them into more gun than they really need or will ever handle well.

Let's not forget to mention that not everyone has the resources to diversify our batteries the way some of us have. Although I own at least one each of the "big 5", If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't have selected those calibers. Aside from the usual .22 Rimfire and 12 gauge shotgun, I'd have chosen the .223, the .280, and the .338. With them, I could confidently hunt anything on this continent.

It remains though that if I could afford just one rifle, it'd have to be the .30-06. No, it won't do varmints like a .223 or .22-250 will. As a deer/pronghorn cartridge, it can still be a bit on the heavy side. As an elk/moose/caribou cartridge, it's among the best. If expansion were one day in the cards, most of its shortcomings could be corrected with the addition of a .223.

I certainly hope that new members here don't read some of the stuff some of the rest of us post and leave at the end of the day thinking they're going to have to win the lottery to be able to afford all the gear the rest of us insist is necessary. A good rifle, a good pair of boots, a license, and a warm coat are all one really needs.

DROX

Homers Brother,
Google 7 asked for opinions, I gave mine, you didn't like it so here we are! I still believe a more appropriate tool for the job is the way to go. You should speak to your friend on the AK subsistence board, I'm certain he will share with you real live incidents that may surprise you. I worked in bush AK for over 17 years and in those years I have seen and heard of incidents that people like you will never watch or read in "papers."

BRUSE

The 30-06 would be a great choice since it has the widest selection of ammo.

homers brother

Had you just given yours, what you say here would be true. What you did, in fact was give your opinion and then ramble off about how the OP should was asking too much of one caliber (he didn't ask about that) and then attempt to color things with your version of ethics (he didn't ask for that, either). Here's a newsflash for you, not only is the .243 legal in most states, some also allow .223 (or even the .22 Hornet) for big game. Regardless of my opinion regarding that, it's not my place to introduce it to a discussion where the participants might live in a state where it's allowed and where they make it work.

I thought the first part of your original response made sense. It was the rest of it that was unnecessary, unsolicited, unqualified and which I disagreed with. Unfortunately, that kind of content is all too common here. One poster can't resist that little jab at another poster telling him that the rifle he's so proud of or is considering buying is a piece of junk, the caliber he picked is "unethical," ... Some comments simply are not helpful or relevant.

HDMontana

I have the privilege to live in elk country. I have used a 7mm for coyotes to elk. Has worked well for me. Very long shots on elk would benefit from a larger caliber but the most of my elk hunting has been done with bow in hand.

Nomercy448

The .270win or .270WSM will suit you very well for your needs. Yes, it's going to be hard on coyotes, and it won't be legal in some states for big game (meaning larger than deer) where a 30cal or larger is required, but in general, the .270win or WSM are fantastic cartridges.

Personally, for someone living in the midwest, a .243win is probably the ideal "do-all" cartridge. We're really talking about game between prairie dogs up to lighter big game like whitetail and mule deer. For a coyote/deer rifle, there are very few choices that will better suit these tasks than the .243win (this coming from someone who definitely doesn't call themself a fan of the .243).

Add in elk country, then the .270win is probably in the running for ideal. Not too over powered for coyotes, but just enough stuff for elk, and a great deer round. No, it's not necessarily ideal across the board, but compared to say the standard answer of the .30-06, you're likely to be hunting coyotes more than elk, so the lighter bullets will be nicer on hides than the '06. Yes, the '06 would have the advantage for bullet weight and power on elk, but the pelt damage on coyotes will be a more common concern than stopping power on an elk.

Topgun 3006

Guess what caliber I would tell the OP to pick, LOL!!!

google7

Well thanks everyone you all have enlightened me and gave me good info on which Rifle to buy in the near future
I live north of the border so my hunting grounds have a wide range