Med to large game cals and rifles

[longrangehuntr]

I would like to hear what everyone is using as far as cal and rifle for medium and large game hunting. Deer(white,black, and mule), bear(black and brown), elk, caribou and moose. If you reload go ahead and throw that out there as well.

243 new england single shot is my deer rifle. Thinking of upgrading to a 7mm-08, 270 or 3006 in the weatherby, remington, ruger or winchester models. I am thinking of savage as well but not sure yet. I have heard good things about the 25-06 and like what thompson center has to offer.

For large game i use a ruger #1 300 WM but also thinking of upgrading to the ruger guide gun in 338 WM. I know the 300wm is more than enough but i really just want another gun or 20.

I reload for both as well as for everything else i shoot.

Feel free to include muzzleloader with load.

 

[winmag]

I would like to hear what everyone is using as far as cal and rifle for medium and large game hunting. Deer(white,black, and mule), bear(black and brown), elk, caribou and moose. If you reload go ahead and throw that out there as well.

243 new england single shot is my deer rifle. Thinking of upgrading to a 7mm-08, 270 or 3006 in the weatherby, remington, ruger or winchester models. I am thinking of savage as well but not sure yet. I have heard good things about the 25-06 and like what thompson center has to offer.

For large game i use a ruger #1 300 WM but also thinking of upgrading to the ruger guide gun in 338 WM. I know the 300wm is more than enough but i really just want another gun or 20.

I reload for both as well as for everything else i shoot.

Feel free to include muzzleloader with load.

Well, my opinions reflect my own upbringing, & where & how I was raised.
I consider anything 270 & up a hunting rifle, capable of all North American game. With the 270, -06, 300mag (pick one) & 338's being my favorite.
In that same context, anything smaller is an Antelope or varmint cartridge.
Many folks here use a squirrel gun for Griz, & a 338 Lapua for rock chucks past a mile, haha.
It's all personal preference, & the right rifle, & cartridge in the hands of the right shooter, with proper shot placement. Some fit the status quo (SD, BC, Energy, & Speed) recommended for running the numbers, some don't.

I load for everything I shoot, minus handguns, but that's changing as we speak.

I'm mostly a Winchester guy, but there are alot of great choices out there.
I shoot a Lyman .50 with a .490 round ball & a .015 patch as well as a BowTech Assassin with 100gr Shuttle T's. Inlines, & expandable a aren't allowed in Oregon, except under certain criteria.
Everything I hunt with has got to be what I consider "Elk capable" for an all round hunting tool or it goes in the varmint/plinking category. My opinions don't reflect everyone else's here on LRH, but they've been formed with personal experiences.
I just love to hunt. Near or far, & everything in between. I stay within the guidelines that have served my family, & myself for many years. I am opinionated, but I don't push it on people.

 

[JP100]

I would like to hear what everyone is using as far as cal and rifle for medium and large game hunting. Deer(white,black, and mule), bear(black and brown), elk, caribou and moose. If you reload go ahead and throw that out there as well.

243 new england single shot is my deer rifle. Thinking of upgrading to a 7mm-08, 270 or 3006 in the weatherby, remington, ruger or winchester models. I am thinking of savage as well but not sure yet. I have heard good things about the 25-06 and like what thompson center has to offer.

For large game i use a ruger #1 300 WM but also thinking of upgrading to the ruger guide gun in 338 WM. I know the 300wm is more than enough but i really just want another gun or 20.

I reload for both as well as for everything else i shoot.

Feel free to include muzzleloader with load.

Im from New Zealand and my go to gun is a .243 Tikka using 87gn interbonds at the moment theyv been really good. Have taken Red deer(stags over 120kg/260lbs carcass weight) Tahr of a similar weight, fallow deer,Chamois,pigs,goats and feral sheep with this gun . Has been great all rounder out to 300-350yards.

I also use a Sauer 6.5-284 for red deer which is a great caliber, low recoil and kills like a bigger gun. run 129gn SSTs most of the time

Have a .7mm Rem Mag as a long range rig. Its a titan 6 which is a pretty **** gun to be honest. I would NOT buy one(my dads gun haha). had alot of problems with ****** flimsy stock had to fill it with fiberglass to get it shoot any good. Run 162 A-Maxes and they have been good.

My other long range rig is .308 Omark single shot. big heavy target style gun but shoots a dream 0.25inch all day long if I get my act together. run 168gn A-Maxes. only really shot goats with is out to 700yards. great to shoot good performance on goats(most under 60kg/130lbs).

most popular gun sold here is a Tikka T3 for good reason. They are cheap and shoot awesome with 99% of ammo. Most popular caliber here for new guns is proberly the 7mm-08 the .243 was a huge seller a few years back. most longer range guys use big 7mms a few guys are into big stuff like the .338s but they are pretty rare.
Hope this gives an insight into the other end of the planet.

 

[trebark]

My three rifle battery....carry-rifle and two prone guns:

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-280-updated-32771/

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-260-mcr-59628/

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/my-300rum-mcr-70809/

 

[trebark]

Well, my opinions reflect my own upbringing, & where & how I was raised.

I consider anything 270 & up a hunting rifle, capable of all North American game. With the 270, -06, 300mag (pick one) & 338's being my favorite.\

My opinions don't reflect everyone else's here on LRH, but they've been formed with personal experiences.

I am opinionated, but I don't push it on people.

So if I were to say 270anything sucks...you'd just let the statement stand? ;-)

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Since you said brown bear I have to go ahead and say 375 H&H or 375 Ruger in there little guide gun.

But here is whats wrong with your post, you did not specify a range and this being a long range hunting site, I (us) would have to assume you mean "at long range". Therefore my opinion as to what would suit all of those things at long range is is a 338 EDGE or bigger!

My personal rifles (pistols) are 243 savage striker for areas where its shotgun or pistol only. 300 wsm in a medium weight rig for general hunting. Heavy 264 win mag for targets and cull deer in the summer and a heavy 300 win mag for the 1k plus big stuff. That's my plan as it stands now, If I had to choose one for everything you mentioned it would be my 300 wsm just because of the versatility, but it has limits and 1k is pushing the rig the way its set up now.

 

[winmag]

So if I were to say 270anything sucks...you'd just let the statement stand? ;-)

I don't think that's your style. Your a pretty reserved guy when it comes to stepping on toes for the sake of stepping on toes. Even if your not a 270 fan, you usually find a polite way to say it,(^^^) or you refrain from comment all together.
It's your opinion, & not stated as fact, & it's not pushed on people. Why wouldn't that stand?

 

[Tjurgensen]

I shoot a Tikka T3 stainless in a 270 WSM. Shoots great and could kill anything you would want to in North America. It's a great gun. I don't reload for it at the moment but I hope to be able to soon.

 

[jkupper]

I have a 220 Swift, 243 win, 30-06, 25-06, and a 7RM. I have taken deer with all of these rifles. My longest shot so far, on a game animal, was 516 yards with the 7RM. I have made 400 yard shots with the 30-06 and the 243 on both antelope and deer. I have not used the 25-06 much because it is my wifes gun, but she and I have killed deer out to 250 yards with it. My longest shot with the 220 is 200 yards, and I do not like to shoot deer much past that distance with that gun, though I did kill a coyote with it at 425 yards last year. My longest kill shot so far on any animal was 730 yards on a coyote with the 243.

I have found that all of these rifles are adequate deer killers as long as the load and distance to the target are kept in mind.

I reload for all of my rifles. None of them like factory ammunition very much.

Of all these rifles, the 7 RM is the newest, the one that I have shot the least, but also the one that I am most comfortable with. I would not be afraid to shoot a moose with it if the distance were 400 yards or less.

 

[dave elliott]

ok , my one rifle for the north american continent is my mod 70 super shadow in 300 wsm. i shoot winchester power point 180 grains and nothing else. my scope is a ziess 3x9x40 conquest with the z-plex reticle. now my newest creation for blacktail deer here in washington state is a marlin x7 in 25-06. the scope on this is a redfield revenge 4x12x42.its all ready to go shooting hornady 117 gn interlock bullets. cant wait to hunt with it.

 

[D.Camilleri]

I started my hunting career with a 3006 at the age of 12. By eighteen 20 I bought a 7mm mag and was happy until a big black bear I hit in the shoulder at 600 yards with a 160gr partition got away. I also finished a very large black bear that my dad made the first hit on with a 338 win mag that broke the bears shoulder but didn't enter the chest cavity. My last shot at about 100 yards did put the bear down, but the bullet never made it to the off side of the chest cavity. The next year I bought a 338 win mag. It killed with authority and I used it for over 10 years until the 338 rum came out. I had to have one and bought it. With no real need for two 338's, I changed the 338 win mag into a 300 rum and that is where I stand today. 338 rum and 300 rum does all I need to do and both are usually DRT. Oh yeah, everyone needs a 22-250 for coyotes and prairie dogs. Now that Wyoming has made legal 22 caliber center fire with 60+ grain bullets for deer and antelope, I think I will still choose my big guns. I don't like tracking.

 

[Red Sparky]

If center fire rifle hunting for deer or elk I use either my Winchester Mod. 70 in .270 Win or The Rem. Mod. 721 that got handed down from my grandfather to my father to me it is also .270 Win.

For varmits it is the Rem Mod. 722 in .222 Rem. again handed down the line to me.

My weapon of choice is my T/C .50 ML.

I think that is going to be taken over by the Hoyt Charger.