Info on good big game rifles?
 

Hello all! i recently bought a .308 WIN and i know that can do elk and below but what about higher game like moose or caribou or even buffalo? I know the limits of a .308 are elk but i would like to go higher some day. What is a larger caliber gun that could possible be used for something as small as deer too? Can my 50 cal muzzle loader help at all? Thanks in advance:fighting0007::happy0001:



(also, are 30-06s and .308s different much?)

The 308 will work on anything you mentioned, with the proper bullet and shot placement. There is not much difference in a 308 and a 30-06, not enough to make a difference, a animal definitely cannot tell the difference in the two. As far as going bigger, the only gun bigger that I would own, and do own is a 338 Win mag., but it isn't needed if you have a 308. I have one but hardly ever use it. I shoot a 280 Rem and have killed every thing from coyotes to Buffalo with it.

The 308 will handle anything you mentioned, however if you're looking for an excuse to purchase/own another rifle the 338 would be a great candidate for the game you're looking at. I've used the 338 on deer as well and it worked just fine.

A 308 even with factory rounds will harvest any North American game animal if the shooter does their part. Hand loaded it is very versitiable even as a varmint rifle with the little 100gr. bullets.

I also like the Winchester 300 Mag, for some long range hand load shooting.

:D Al

yup plenty big enough. it's shot placement that is important.if you can't put the bullet where it is intended the highest of calibers are inafective. I shoot a .270 and it will work for any big game animal in north america. that said,I would not take a five hundred yard shot at a moose. if I were not very confident in my ability to make the perfect shot ,I would refrain from taking it.

Like others have posted, your .308 Win (and .50 cal ML) will handle any of the animals that you mentioned, IF you use the right bullet and put it in the right place, from a reasonable range.

Caribou are smaller that elk, and, at least the ones that I've seen, are not hard to kill.

For North American game, a .308 Win would not be my first choice for coastal Alaskan brown bears, but a .308 Win shooting a 180 gr bullet has more energy at 100 yds than either a .460 S&W shooting a 300 gr bullet or a .500 S&W shooting a 500 gr bullet at 50 yds, and all three of these cartridges have killed these big bears.

I just bought a .308 Win but mainly for ringing steel at our range. My .308 used about half as much powder as my .300 Weatherby, and it rings the steel gongs just about as loud as the .300 B does.

The 308 will do all that you ask. If you want bigger, a 340 Bee is the ultimate.

My experience with elk thus far has been that most of us shoot far too much gun for a 150-200lb whitetail deer, as most of the popular "deer rifles" are right on the money for elk - such as the .308win.

Buffalo go a lot heavier, but for what it's worth, when I was a kid back home, if any of the wild buffalo herd we managed would get loose, the practice was to shoot them, rather than try to recapture them, and we almost exclusively used 30-30winchesters in Marlin and winchester leverguns. The two I've taken for sport have been with a .45-70, so not a LOT of difference in energy, but a LOT of difference in trajectory than a .308win.

BUT!!!!

Nobody should ever really need a good excuse to buy a mid-bore rifle. A 338win mag or a .375 H&H would be perfectly good selections for a mid-bore rifle, especially if large bears are on the menu. And of course, if you don't have a controlled round feed rifle in your safe, that's as good of excuse as any to add one. ;)

308 and a 50 cal muzzleloader with the right loads would be fine for anything in north America. A bigger rifle in 338 or bigger would be perfect for the biggest bears. But with your set up you should be ok.

A 308 with a 180 monolith (Barnes, Etip, GMX Trophy Copper etc...) will kill any moose or smaller critter with a clean, accurate, broadside shot anywhere inside of 400yds. (& yes big bears have been taken with it but prudence says when the game might get pissed & come looking for you, use MORE gun than is necessary!)

As for the 50cal mzldr, with a plethora of loads & bullets available today, you can kill ANYTHING on the planet given reasonable distances & proper bullet placement! :happy0001: