If I had to focus on one rifle...

I have a soft spot for .358 rifles but as "do it all," they lack the range.
I'd chose my .358-caliber mildcat. It uses around 62.0 grains of medium-speed powders (RL-15, IMR-4320, AA-4064) to send a 250-grain bullet from the muzzle at a median velocity of 2715 fps. That's 4092 foot-pounds of muzzle energy; will completely kill just about anything that walks, crawls or slithers across the face of Planet Earth. At 2624 fps, that same 250-grainer is still moving at 2035 fps and still has 2300 foot-pounds of kinetic energy at 300 yards. If we had only one firearm available to us, we'd need something to kill food. To kill food, we'd want to be close enough to essentially eliminate a missed shot. I ain't much of a shot, so I'd be sneaking-up on the meat to a lot closer than 300 yards so as to lower the chances of going hungry tonight. This is the way it was when my dad was a kid in the 1930s. Uncle Eddie or Uncle Frank would go into the woods after school to bring home something for the stewpot. If a rabbit or two or several squirrels didn't make it into the pot for dinner, there was no meat that night. Life was a hillary in the Depression...

For defense of self and home, I'd more than likely go with a Black Rifle. Have heard just the scary looks of one will have criminals run away and hide. Something about that "protruding pistol grip" scares the obama out of them...
 
Well, it's a toughie for sure. So, the rifle would be custom based on Win Pre-64 action, field weight, 24" inch barrel, chambered in .338-06
The second choice would be a nice hunting weight Mauser action .375 H&H with 22" inch barrel.
 
.300 min mag you have a wide selection of bullets for reloading if god forbid you are in need of ammo while on a hunting trip .300 mag ammo is easy to find out west
Sorry everyone, I answered already and said 280AI but Eagleeye post made me think harder about the 300 mags. I love several of them for probably being the kings they are overall. 338,300, 300WSM etc.. Great pts made for choosing them. Fun question
 
If I was recommending one to anyone it would be the 300 Win Mag for anyone out west. Me personally, I'll take my old 760 pump in 270. I've been using one since I was shorter than it is tall and in the timber or brush it is like an extension of my arm, just feels natural and I can really make it talk fast without having to ever worry about it jamming like an autoloader. Also I'm comfortable stretching it out to 350-400 and could probably stretch it a little farther if it was all I had. These days my 45-70 and my 7mm STW get used more, but one is an 18" barrelled, open sighted close range stopper, and the other is a heavy 26" barrel, muzzle braked long range tack driver that sucks in the timber.
 
I'd chose my .358-caliber mildcat. It uses around 62.0 grains of medium-speed powders (RL-15, IMR-4320, AA-4064) to send a 250-grain bullet from the muzzle at a median velocity of 2715 fps. That's 4092 foot-pounds of muzzle energy; will completely kill just about anything that walks, crawls or slithers across the face of Planet Earth. At 2624 fps, that same 250-grainer is still moving at 2035 fps and still has 2300 foot-pounds of kinetic energy at 300 yards. If we had only one firearm available to us, we'd need something to kill food. To kill food, we'd want to be close enough to essentially eliminate a missed shot. I ain't much of a shot, so I'd be sneaking-up on the meat to a lot closer than 300 yards so as to lower the chances of going hungry tonight. This is the way it was when my dad was a kid in the 1930s. Uncle Eddie or Uncle Frank would go into the woods after school to bring home something for the stewpot. If a rabbit or two or several squirrels didn't make it into the pot for dinner, there was no meat that night. Life was a hillary in the Depression...

For defense of self and home, I'd more than likely go with a Black Rifle. Have heard just the scary looks of one will have criminals run away and hide. Something about that "protruding pistol grip" scares the obama out of them...


"If" you're a handloader and like versatility, a large case capacity, .358 cal. is a great option. Obviously, as a handloader you can load it to any power level....from "squibb loads to "fire-breather"! As a plus, as a .358 dia., a vast array of handgun bullets are available for lighter, less expensive loads.....including cast bullets. Also, there is a better selection of bullets designed for big game, than was available just a few years ago!
 
God forbid that this should ever happen, but I've been wondering... like so many of you, I've been fortunate enough to accumulate a broad spectrum of rifles (and I hope I'm not thru yet). But if I had to really focus in on just one to put all my effort into - time, money, load development, shooting time, research - which rifle, or which caliber would it be?
The one I go to most often, the one that has instilled the most confidence!
 
I couldn't bring myself to wax poetic or even be too long winded on this. If I had to limit my time, attention and resources to one rifle... It would be the one I had with me at the moment! Inasmuch as I often have more than one with me, I would focus everything I have on the one I'm on at the moment.
 
I couldn't bring myself to wax poetic or even be too long winded on this. If I had to limit my time, attention and resources to one rifle... It would be the one I had with me at the moment! Inasmuch as I often have more than one with me, I would focus everything I have on the one I'm on at the moment.
 
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