your opinion
 

In your Opinion what is the best all around Rifle for hunting
I'm going to be in the market for buying a new rifle but not sure what caliber of rifle to get .
At the moment i got my 30-30 and my late uncles 1916 303 lee enfield British.
I'm looking for a fast straight shooting riffle that i can go from varment to deer to possibly an elk of caribou.

Well when a fellow doesn't really know I suggest a 30-06...

Having sold my 30-06 in favor of blackpowder rifles I will say that if I were to jump back into the centerfires a .270 would be high on my list.

What are you going to be hunting?
If you are just looking for a do it all caliber I would say 308 or 30-06. ( I like the 308) But if you would like something with a little more power I would say 300wsm or 300 win mag. Or my favorite a 300 wby,
But my favorite none mag is a 280 rem.

Varmints through Elk! Thats a very wide range of use for one caliber! A .243 would be good for varmints up to deer. I'd say .270 at least for bigger animals. Sure, you could go with the 30-06, but even it is not ideal at either end of the spectrum!

.243, .270 or .30-06

Small, medium or large ?

I recommend starting with small....................

In my opinion, you ask too much of one caliber to go from prairre dogs to elk! However, if for whatever reason you can only have one caliber, error on the larger ones. As the only rules you would be breaking by using a 7mag to shoot varmits would be of those of economy, you might be breaking ethical rules (maybe the law) by using a 243 on larger game.

Some readers to this post are trying to cover all their bases by trying to get one caliber to be all things just in case they "might" go on their dream hunt to Alaska or Colorado. If the vast majority of your shooting or hunting will be for varmits and eastern whitetail then get a 243. Otherwise I would recommend a second rifle!

Remember, keep to the code "a person can't have too many toys!"
:sign0016:

I respectfully disagree. Many of us have the resources and time to master just one rifle. We often ask a lot of it as a result.

I would suggest this is the market segment where the .30-06 reigns, with the .270, .280, and 7mm RM reasonable alternates.

I somehow managed for years with just one rifle, and the very caliber you denigrate here. A dozen or so deer, half-dozen pronghorns, countless prairie dogs, and three elk later, I added a .30-06 to the .243 that had served me well.

It's the rifleman, not the rifle.

Personally, buying "one gun that can do it all" is a common mistake that a lot of new hunters make.

Unless you live in an area that has everything from prairie dogs to elephants, you don't really need one rifle to handle everything from prairie dogs to elephants.

Frankly, most hunters that don't live in areas that HAVE elk and caribou will never actually save up to go on a hunt for one, so it does them no good to own a rifle capable of taking elk or caribou. But there ARE guys (like myself) that live in areas with limited big game species, but save up to go on hunts in other states. For most people, this is a "once in a lifetime" opportunity, or at best, a couple trips in a lifetime.

If we're honest, a guided elk hunt costs about $3000-5000+, so if you NEED a different rifle at the time you get to go on your ONE elk trip, you can borrow or buy a different rifle for $500 and have the IDEAL rifle for elk, without owning and using the IDEAL ELK RIFLE on coyotes and whitetails.

"A master of all is a master of none" (meaning that a rifle that is "good for everything", likely isn't actually "ideal for anything"). Yes, a .30-06 can take anything in north america, but in reality, it's at the top end of the spectrum for deer rifles, and it is SEVERELY damaging on coyotes. If you're serious about coyote hunting, you really don't want a .30-06.

So, ultimately, if you live up north or out west where going on annual elk or caribou hunts along with your whitetail and coyote hunts will actually be common, then you need to plan for that. In that case, personally I would buy two rifles, say a .243win and a .300WSM or .338win. Just like I have a F-350 to haul stock trailers for the farm, but a VW Jetta to commute to town for work. It wouldn't make much sense to commute in the F-350, but that Jetta isn't going to pull a stock trailer either. If I had to pick one, obviously I'd have to keep the truck, but to make up some mileage, I could get an F-150 or 250, which wouldn't really be ideal for pulling a stock trailer full of 2000lb bulls, and wouldn't necessarily be good for commuting either, but "it CAN do both". Equally, I could get a .270, .30-06, or .308 that would be on the light end for big elk at long range (barely), and would be too heavy for coyotes. Personally, I prefer the two rifle plan.

On the other hand, if you live in say, the midwest, like myself, you really don't need a heavy rifle on a regular basis. Again, something in the .243-.270win range would be a great option for a coyote/deer rig. Then, on that year that you saved up enough to go on an elk hunt, you can buy a .300WSM, go knock down your elk, and either keep the rifle for prosperity, or sell it to regain some of your expense. If you're forking out $5000 to go on a guided hunt out of state, buying a $500 rifle that's ideal for the situation is a much better plan than 1) owning the ideal elk rifle and using it for 20yrs on nothing but whitetails, and 2) forcing your whitetail rifle to work on your once in a lifetime elk trip.

So again, ultimately, there are different cartridges available for a reason. Different cartridges are suited for certain applications better than others. Get a rifle that's ideal for the game you'll primarily be hunting, then evaluate how well it fits other applications.

Honestly, that's why everybody swears by the "5 gun list", that always reads something like "12ga, .22lr, .22-250, .30-06, .375H&H". With those 5, you really have a fairly "ideal" rifle for every application on the planet, even though the .30-06 or .375H&H would WORK for everything on the planet (obviously overkill for anything small).

Homers Brother,
I denigrate nothing as in the hands of a "skilled" marksman the 243 is deadly! Heck, for that matter native hunters in bush Alaska use the .17 Rem to hunt brown bear; less damage to the pelt. And to make your point, the 30-30 has accounted for thousands of elk and caribou, so Google7 would need no other rifle. However, I also believe you, like these native hunters, are more the exception than the rule!

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

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


I think you will find it very enlightening.

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.

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."

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Out here in Montana, the 7mm Remington magnum has served me well for coyotes to elk. Just my 2 cents. If I lived farther east I think a 270 would do everything that I would need.

Any of the 7mm from 7-08 up to 7 Rem mag.

One gun? A modern rifle in 6.5 X 55 is an ideal rifle to go from varmits to elk. Especially if you handload. You can go from bullet weights of 85 grains on up to 160 grains. There are some wonderfully constructed bullets out there for almost any job you can imagine. It can be loaded pretty hot in a modern rifle, but modest speeds and slow burning powders generally give fine results. It can be a truly accurate round.

If you don't handload, I'd suggest starting with a .243, and add a 30/06 to your battery as soon after as you can afford it.

Or, buy a used .243 and a used 30/06 and you'll probably have enough to get decent glass.

But, I love my 6.5 X 55's, all 5 of them!

That would be a good choice IMO. Probally as close to an all around caliber as you're gonna find.I took this off another site see if this helps you.

.25-06 users.....
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I am in the camp of "Nomercy448". Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending upon how you look at it??) I live and hunt in a state where the only "medium" game are white tailed deer and feral hogs. As far as coyotes? I am not into keeping the hide. I just want these non-native to Alabama critters dead. And we don't have "wistle pigs" either.

My rifle of choice is a 30 caliber. It is chambered for the 308 Win. cartridge. In fact, it ain't too bad on coyotes using a 110 gr. "plinker" load that I worked up.

Having said that, I do plan an elk hunt before I go "toes-up". So I jumped on a great deal on a friend's "one-trip out west", barely used (5 shots through the barrell), custom shop, Rem. 700 in 338 Win. Mag. Man what a shooter ! Anyway, I figure that if I never go, I'll get my $400 back.

I have two favorites. 300 Win Mag and the 270 Win. If I was to choose an all around rifle and only one caliber I think I'd have to take the 270 Win for everything I normally hunt. Which includes up to Elk sized game. It has some of the best down range ballistics for run of the mill factory ammo plus I've already killed everything with a 270 win that I have using the 300 win mag and a lot more of them having the 270 win longer.

Variety is the spice of life.

.30-06 with accelerators will take varmints, load accordingly for the size of big game from there. 7mm mag will also do the job if you're not selling the pelts.

Load and range should be within ethical specs for the game you are hunting using a rifle for everything. Don't take a 1000 yard shot on an Elk with a .30-06 when a .50 bmg will do the job better. :guiness:

for one all around rifle for north america i think id be looking at 6.5, 7mm-08, 308

I sold mine years ago but I'd say the .270. Ammo is fairly easy to find. Like others have said, I too use several calibers for what and where I'll be hunting. I live in the flat lands of Texas where a close shot may be 250 yards and a long shot can be 750 yards. But if I were to have only one rifle to do all the hunting that I can, I would go back to the .270.

7mm-08.

Both taken with one shot, behind the shoulder, at about 80-85 yards, DRT, using 140 gr. Remington PSP Core Lokt's...:) Haven't had a chance to try it on anything bigger than a whitetail, yet...

I agree. I'm not a big advocate of the one gun for everything concept either. Anything Ideal for elk is going to be pretty heavy for prairie dogs and anything ideal for small varmints is going to be pretty light for elk. If you try to split the difference right down the middle you end up with something that isn't ideal for either end of the spectrum. What game exists where you live and what are you going to hunt "most". Buy a gun and caliber based on that. For example, I wouldn't spend the next 10 years shooting ground hogs with a 300 win mag because one day I dreamed of going on an elk hunt with that same gun. Besides, if you can afford to routinely pay for elk hunts then surely you can afford at least 2 rifles. Savage makes some bolt actions that function and shoot very well for not a lot of money. A .223 or 22-250 combined with a 30-06 or 7mm mag would cover you for practically anything in North America.