Comfortable minimum number of guns for effective hunting?

[Rem700]

My list would go:
Shotgun
223 for varmints/predators
7mm08 for up to mulies
7mm wsm for elk and up
Do you think you'll hunt for grizzly/brown bears? That would change my last my pick.

[adkguy]

Thompson Center Encore. 1 gun. 30-06 barrel, .22 barrel, 12 gauge barrel. High quality, wife is happy, and you can hunt anything this side of grizzly.

[ishootkittens]

Originally Posted by adkguy

Thompson Center Encore. 1 gun. 30-06 barrel, .22 barrel, 12 gauge barrel. High quality, wife is happy, and you can hunt anything this side of grizzly.

I love this post! Youre a resourceful man! If you were to up that -06 to a 300win mag you could POSSIBLY whack grizzly too!

I have a 12 gauge, .300wsm, and a .22lr. Some guys would throw a bow in there somewhere but this is a long range forum and would be blasphemous to talk about. I also carry a .45 colt with me.. but that power is optional

[SidecarFlip]

I have to change my synopsis about quantity that I posted way earlier in the thread.

In light of todays current events. Comfortable would be 'as many as you can afford to buy'.......

[one crazy kid]

280 rem or 300 wsm also 243 I think are all good ones to have.

[big mike 2121]

243 up to white tail size...300 win mag for anything else. Unless bear is included, then 338 or 375


and a shot gun for birds

[Engineering101]

Tytalus

You didn't mention birds so I'll not address shotguns. Were I in your situation today (and when I was younger I was), I would have 3 rifles in the following calibers:

1. 22LR (mostly for cheap shooting practice but they will kill a pest or two)
2. 22-250 Rem (cheap, fun to shoot, accurate and will handle up to deer where legal)

And when you want to put that practice you had with number 1 and 2 to use, you drag out number 3 (with a good muzzle brake attached).

3. 338 RUM shooting Barnes TTSXs. With those bullets this rifle will kill anything you will ever find in Canada and only damage it enough to kill it. You can as they say "eat the bullet hole". I shot a small whitetail with this cartridge to test the theory and it didn't hurt a bit of meat. The deer wobbled for 20 yards and fell over. The bigger the animal the harder it gets hit as these bullets usually don't stop in the animal. If it is 3 feet thick it goes through 3 feet shedding energy the whole time. If it is 1 foot thick it goes through 1 foot shedding energy the whole time - but less total energy is dumped than for an animal that is 3 feet thick. Good luck.