If you could only pick one...
 

I know there's been threads like this before but I'm bored and the forum is kinda slow right now...so,

Only one rifle to do it "all"...deer, antelope, some elk, occasionally pigs and coyotes, some black bear. Nothing in Alaska or Africa for this rifle.

I'm going to say a 6.5x284 with a nice 140gr Accubond. Custom (stiller, Borden or defiance) action, carbon barrel in a McMillan Hunter stock with a Leupold VX-6 3-18 scope.

I think that would be a decent hunting rifle for a one gun arsenal...

What say you?

Been asked before and I'm gonna say it again.

Thirty Aught Six

I'll stick with my SSG 69 in .308, shoots sub MOA out of the box. It does anything I want it to do and I've been shooting .308 or 30-06 for 60 some years so the ballistics are pretty much burnt into my brain. The 150 or 165 grain will put down most anything shootable here, maybe a 180 for Red Deer or Hogs. The Kahles scope is what came with it, I figure the people at Styer (and the Austrian army) know what works.

I like to stick with military size ammo for the simple reason, if the fit ever does hit the shan, NATO ammo is more likely to be available. Battlefields are often strewn with useful stuff.

My go bag has a folding FN FNC (AK 5) in it. Basically a better Kalashnikov, in .223, built for punishment (built like a brick) and cold weather proven. Takes standard NATO (STANAG) magazines. Battlefields are often strewn with useful stuff.

I am a bit paranoid, I've been places that were business as usual one day and turned to chaos the next day. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

What rifle? Optic? Bullet?

A Remington 700 BDL, or Winchester Model 70; in 3006. I'd top it with $200 in glass from Nikon or Simon's. The thing about hunting guns is they get scratched, and loaded and unloaded all day long. They get soaked in the rain and snow as you sit there waiting for the deer to walk by. Some times you give them to friends to use. I don't want anything really nice to use as a tool like that. I reload Ballistic tips, but for off the shelf ammo Power Points in 150 grain are a great round for deer or black bear. They are my "goto" off the shelf ammo for about $18 bucks a box.

Since we're talking the lower 48, my pick would be the 270 Winchester, topped with a 4-12x Leupold or Nikon. You can handload bullets from 80 to 180 grains to suit any hunt, but if you don't handload or don't want to mess with different loads, a 130 grain properly constructed bullet would be suitable for just about everything you could hunt.

I love my Rem700 chambered for the 280Rem topped off with my leopold 3x9 scope shooting either Hornady 139gr SST or Nosler 140gr BT Bullets.

Not a particular fan of the .308 Win. I do own 2 but IMO the 30-06 is much more versatile especially when talking heavier bullets for elk and big black bear. The .270 is a dandy cartridge but not usually all that accurate with the heavier bullets. It shines with 130 grain bullets but in my experience the accuracy drops off considerably as you get into the heavier weights and IMO a minimal cartridge for elk and requires good shot placement.
I have a bunch of rifles by Rem, Browning, and Win but the one that I find myself using more and more is my Tikka T3 Lite in 30-06. This rifle is light, accurate and the bolt is slicker than snot on a door knob. I have it topped with a Burris Fullfield 3-9x with a BDC reticle that works very well out to 500 yards.

For me it's my trusty old sporterized Argentine Mauser 98 with yes, it's old tip off mounted Galaxy 4X scope. Ammo Hornady 165 Interbond or whatever it's called. But for yotes I'd rather use a lighter bullet.

7mm Mauser on a Remington long action.