1 gun for all???

[TH]

I would choose something in 30 cal. The reason being is bullet choices. You can shoot a 100 grain bullet for varmints all the way up to 240 grain heavys. That being said you need to pick a case that would be able to push the big bullets. I would recommend a 300 win mag or 300 weatherby. If your in a pinch and do not have time to reload you can always buy them off the shelf. I would make sure you get a 1-10 twist barrel in order to stablise all bullets.

[oneluckypops]

Just as I suspected, there are several calibers that can fit the bill. Originally I was thinking about going with the 270 wsm, all though my brother has tried talking me out of doing that caliber from day 1. So I have been since thinking about the 7mm rem. mag.

Should the bullet type hender any decisions on the caliber? I would really like to use either a berger or a barnes bullet.

ok time to start researching the calibers that have been spoken of.

Thanks again all

OLP

[oneluckypops]

Originally Posted by TH

I would choose something in 30 cal. The reason being is bullet choices. You can shoot a 100 grain bullet for varmints all the way up to 240 grain heavys. That being said you need to pick a case that would be able to push the big bullets. I would recommend a 300 win mag or 300 weatherby. If your in a pinch and do not have time to reload you can always buy them off the shelf. I would make sure you get a 1-10 twist barrel in order to stablise all bullets.

Excellent point you make. I would defintly like the idea of being able to use the gun for Coyotes aswell, Lord knows we have a ton of them around here.

[Varmint Hunter]

When you include elk hunting & 1,000 yards to the equation many of the lesser cartridges just don't seem to fit the bill to me. I'd suggest a 300 Wby as a reasonable compromise between your minimum and maximum anticipated need. It is also easy to get factory ammo in 300 Wby if that's important.

[bigngreen]

My short list would be 270 WSM loaded with 165 Matrix, 300 Win Mag with 210+gr Berger, 300 Norma Mag with 230 Berger OTM and the 338 Norma mag with a 300gr Berger OTM.

I really like the 338's like the Norma or RUM due to the payload you can deliver and they are just sweet to shoot. I shoot the 270 WSM and it take care of a bull elk this year at 865yrds with ease, actually rocked him hard and at my elevation I wouldn't even hesitate to drop one at a 1000yrds. Deer don't argue with it at all!!!!

[Scot E]

In your situation you have to plan for elk and realize you are going to be overkill for whitetail. Not sure how far you plan on shooting elk. Also, is this going to be a carry gun or a heavy LR rig? Both are good questions to have answered IMO before you start narrowing down cartridges.

Elk can be taken with almost any caliber but it sure is a safer bet to be .30 or higher. This is especially true when you start to increase the distance a bit.

If it were me and I was looking at a 1/2 mile gun (90% of hunters can't shoot well enough at this distance and 95% of opportunities are going to be at or under this range) I would build a 338-06AI. This is an excellent cartridge and approaches 338 Win velocities with quite a bit less recoil. They are very easy to load for and will shoot most anything well and don't need a brake. They have great barrel life too. The 210-225 grain loads are where it is at. The swift 210 grain sirocco has an excellent BC and great terminal performance. You could load down for your whitetails, there are some good 185 grain bullets, or just put them down quick with the same load you would use for elk.

If it was going to be a longer range gun then you have all kinds of options. I personally would still stay 30 or 338 caliber.

[R.C.Saul]

I say tell your dad what you plan to use it for and let him surprise you.