No they never complained just fell over and played real real real dead. To be honest with the barnes bullets meat damage is not severe either.

Got 2 dozen big game rifles in the safes. Love ALL of them for various reasons. Lord said, "One woman!" He never mentioned ANYTHING about "one gun". But for convers sake, I'll leave the rest of my arsenal out & admit it'd come down to either my Rem Custom Shop 700 LSS 280Rem (4.5x14x44 Zeiss atop it) or my latest pet, a Savage 110 something or other 7-08 I had the tube chopped to 18" (it has a 2x7 Redfield atop it). Any Elk inside 400yds of either would get a 160 Barnes from either for his troubles. Any smaller critters suffer a 140 Barnes.

The 280 is a 24" SS on lam stock. When I bought from a Rem Factory Rep 20yrs ago, I was MUCH younger, lighter & stronger! Now I'm closer to 50 than 40 & Id likely pick the lil Savie just because the whole pkg is 7# & carries like a baby in momma's arms. I always said that BOTH the 7-08 & 280 HAD to be great because they had the best of the 270 AND the 30-06 going for them! After years with both, I can vouch such a statement is CORRECT!!! :wink:

Funny you say that...as that is my trusty boomstick. However I have found the Hornady SST to corkscrew and group 4-6''.

Both Nosler and Win Balsitic tips at 140gr are MOA out of it though.

To answer the OP's question I would say a .30-06 in a good bolt gun topped with a Leupold 3-9 or 4-12 scope, and shooting whichever 168 or 180 grain hunting bullets that grouped best in that rifle.


At this stage of my life, I have a pretty good battery of rifles in my safe, but if I had to choose just one for any of North America's big game, except maybe coastal brownies or polar bears, or if its raining, I would grab my .300 Weatherby. Its topped with a Leupold VX-3 4.5-14x40 CDS scope, and would shoot either my Barnes 168 or 180 grain TTSX handloads.


For rainy weather, I'd pick my Rem 700 Stainless/synthetic in 7 mm Rem mag, that is topped with a Nikon Prostaff 4-12x40 with the BDC reticle, and shoot my 160 grain Nosler accubond handloads.

This one would be a relatively easy choice for me - any well built 7mm, be it a WSM (preferred) or long action. Throw a Burris Eliminator on there for confident shooting at any practical range with any load. 139 SSTs for small game, 168 Hunting VLDs for almost anything and then a big Swift A-Frame for Elk/Moose/Bear. Nothing that rifle can't do (for typical North American game at least) be it big or small, close or far. A close second would be a .308 shooting the 178 ELD-X or Nossler Partitions anywhere from 140-180 grains (hand loaded) tailored to the game being hunted.

I missed this comment the first time I read this thread, and I would like add to it by saying "depending on where your bullet hits the animal."


I shot my last two bull elk, each with a single 168 grain Barnes bullet from my .300 Weatherby. Both bulls were the same size 5x5s.


The first bull was standing broadside about 100 yards away from me. The bullet entered in the crease just behind his shoulder and exited behind his far shoulder. There was a 30 caliber entrance hole and about a 3/4 inch exit hole. He ran less than 10 yards and fell dead. There was very little meat damage from that 168 grain TSX bullet.


The second bull was standing quartering to me about 175 yards away. My 168 grain TTSX bullet hit him on the point of his near shoulder breaking the large ball joint where the leg meets the shoulder blade, then went through the center of the elk, stopping in the ham of the opposite rear leg. He basically just fell dead. The upper end of his front leg bone was shattered and most of that shoulder was heavily bloodshot and had a 2-3" diameter wound cavity through that it.


I knew before I shot the second bull that I should wait for a broadside shot, and hit him behind his shoulder, but he was standing next to a fence that I didn't have permission to hunt on the other side, and he was looking at me. I also reasoned with myself that the last Barnes bullet hadn't ruined much meat, so I went ahead and shot him on his shoulder. Bad decision.

That statement is true of almost any hunting round...

I'm a big fan of the ol'e 270 Win and/or the 30 ought 6.

You'll get hundreds of opinions ,you'll have to make the final decision. The problem is there's so many good ones out there. I like the 7mm Rem Mag for long shots.

If i could only have one gun, it would not be a rifle it would be a remington 870 12 ga. combo.

For me, I’d go with a .270 Winchester with one of the new 3-15X scopes. I’d shoot 110gr TTSX and 130gr TTSX and happily take all the mentioned critters with no fuss.