What’s your five? 5 Calibers to do it all...

[Spoonman]

17hmr
6.5prc
300wm
12g
10mm auto

 

[Stonewall63]

260 Rem
280 Rem
30.06
8mm Mauser
338.06
264 Win mag
7mm Rem mag
They all work well for me, however when it comes to rifles of different calibers I'm always ready and willing to expand my horizons even more!

 

[pacowboy]

Hey guys,

I've been watching our threads for a while now and curiosity has got the best of me. With so many great choices out there for LRH which cartridges and calibers really set themselves apart from the rest, if any? Which ones make almost everyone's must have list? The reality is most people can't afford a half dozen rifles or more, so if you had the opportunity to hunt the world for everything from groundhogs to elephants and were limited to 5 cartridges or less what would they be? Just curious which ones consistently rise to the top and if any of the new Gucci cartridges make the cut or we wind up sticking with the tried and true. Feel free to state your reason or uses for each cartridge. I am not looking for a debate. There are no wrong answers. Everyone has there favorites. Just curious if there is any consistency? I think it could help some of the new guys narrow there choices when selecting their next cartridge....

I'll start! 308, 270 win, 300 WIn Mag, 338 RUM, 375 H&H. What are your thoughts???

.17 Remington for fox and coyotes, I primarily have fox in my are and this does less fur damage than the next caliber, .223 for coyotes, .243 for coyotes to deer, 7mm/.300 Wby and .300 Winnie for deer and bear in my area.

 

[chaz440]

.22lr, 6mm creed, 25-06, 264winmag, 12ga sabot slugs

 

[SummitOh]

22-250 , 6mm, 7mm mag, 30/06, 300WinMag

 

[bigcountry8530]

22lr
243
444
50cal muzzleloader
12 or 20 gauge

 

[denobravo]

OK, a caliber is .17, .223, .243, .308, .338, etc.

A cartridge is .17 Bee, .243 Win, .308 Win, .300 WM, 300 Norma, 28 Nosler, etc. (Caliber vs cartridge).

Thanks
The misuse is maddening LOL
I see even gun or ammo companies calling cartridges calibers
glad I am not the only one keeping them separate

 

[ralphjunius]

6mm BR
308 Win
338 Win Mag
375 Ruger
357 Magnum

Also actually: 6XC, 300WSM, 416 Rigby and 45ACP. That makes 9, ha.

 

[rustyshackleford]

22 lr
223/5.56
308
30-06
416 Rem

 

[dgp3006]

6.5 Grendel
30.06 AI
300WM
375H&H
.454 Casull
10mm Auto
Sorry, been watching this thread for awhile now and just can't get it to 5. If absolutely forced it would be the top five. Also assumes 22LR and 12 gauge included.

 

[cardon1122]

That's tough to be limited to just 5. Thinking of all my guns, I'd pick;
17 WSM
6 Creedmoor
338 Lapua
12 Gage
45 1911

 

[WhiteRiver]

.223 - Two legged bears and varmints
.308 - Two legged and four legged bears
7mm Rem Mag - deer, caribou, elk
.375 H&H - moose, deer, big bears
45/70 - brush gun, cabin rifle

 

[SavageHunter11]

Hey guys,

I've been watching our threads for a while now and curiosity has got the best of me. With so many great choices out there for LRH which cartridges and calibers really set themselves apart from the rest, if any? Which ones make almost everyone's must have list? The reality is most people can't afford a half dozen rifles or more, so if you had the opportunity to hunt the world for everything from groundhogs to elephants and were limited to 5 cartridges or less what would they be? Just curious which ones consistently rise to the top and if any of the new Gucci cartridges make the cut or we wind up sticking with the tried and true. Feel free to state your reason or uses for each cartridge. I am not looking for a debate. There are no wrong answers. Everyone has there favorites. Just curious if there is any consistency? I think it could help some of the new guys narrow there choices when selecting their next cartridge....

I'll start! 308, 270 win, 300 WIn Mag, 338 RUM, 375 H&H. What are your thoughts???

We just had this debate at my desk yesterday with some coworkers. My caliber list is .22/5.56, .257, .264/6.5mm, .284/7mm, .338. The cartridges are I picked are all based on what I own and what I would use them for:

• 22 K-Hornet: Might be my favorite cartridge on the list. More wallop than a 17HMR and 22WMR but not so much that it tears small game like rabbit and squirrel up like a 223/5.56. It's also (in my opinion) the best rifle caliber to hunt turkeys with if your state allows. My 22 K-Hornet has been slaying turkey for 15 years now. I can not even put to words my fondness for this caliber. If i could ever find (or build) a left handed, straight pull, 22-K-Hornet rifle, I would happily pay a small mint for it.
• 6.5 Grendel: Definitely my favorite AR platform cartridge for hunting. It's big enough for whitetail inside 300 yards but it's not so big that it would destroy larger varmint (coyote, badger, fox, etc) pelts. Before Hornady released the 6mmARC, Grendel was (again, in my opinion) top dog of the long range AR calibers. Mine is outfitted with a 26" barrel and the handload velocities are impressive and even though it doesn't have a muzzle brake, the recoil is very minimal with the Superlative arms adjustable gas block when tuned correctly.
• .257 Blackjack: This caliber is still pretty new to me (only finished the build at the end of 2020) but from what I've seen the 257Blackjack is going to be one of my favorite rifles going forward. My 257 Blackjack fills the gap between my Grendel and the next cartridge on this list 280A.I.. Where my Grendel would fall short on energy at 300+ distances on smaller big game (antelope, goats, sheep, whitetail, etc) and my 280A.I. would run the risk of being a bit too much, the 257 Blackjack does an excellent job of delivering lethal energy without major damage to the meat. Only downside of the 257 Blackjack, as of writing this, is that the selection of higher BC bullets is minimal and expensive but hopefully with the market where high BC being king, we see more plentiful and affordable options for a high BC 257 caliber bullet.
• .280 Ackley Improved (SAAMI spec): When the question gets asked, "What would be your Do-All-North-American cartridge?", the 280 Ackley is my go to answer. With ballistics 95% that of the popular 7mm Rem Mag with less powder and recoil and a great selection of bullets, I really believe the 280 Ackley is the best all-around hunting cartridge. Mild enough to take small antelope is needed, powerful enough to take moose and caribou inside of 200 yards, and perfectly suited to chase big muleys and elk all over North America. With Nosler getting the 280 Ackley approved by SAAMI and the increased interest in the caliber I am seeing, I hope it's only a matter of time before the 280 Ackley is the long-action version of what the 6.5 Creedmoor is for actions.
• .338 Lapua Magnum: I have a love/hate relationship with my Lapua. I love how easy it is to load, how 300gr bullets make 1000+ yard shots laughably easy, and the loads of energy the bullet has out to 1500 yards. On the other side of the coin though, even with reloading, shooting a Lapua is expensive, recoil and/or muzzle blast can be jarring, and everyone and there dog begs to shoot "the sniper rifle" at the rifle range when I bring it out. All that aside, objectively I can say the only continent that I feel the Lapua would be under-gunned in is Africa and only with the biggest of game. In North America, there isn't a game animal on land that is so big that I would want anything bigger than 338 Lapua. In my state we might have the biggest of all North American game, Bison. I know multiple Bison in my state have been taken with 338 Lapua and the animals rarely make it far. While the 28" barrel mine sports wouldn't be ideal for brush and bear hunting, I wouldn't be wishing for more energy with the caliber at least.

If it wasn't apparent after reading my five selections, I definitely don't gravitate to, what some would call, traditional cartridges, but I think you could argue you will not get the level of versatility in a traditional cartridge as compared to something a bit more non- typical. Every cartridge I listed I own and I selected each one based on weeks of research trying to find the perfect cartridge for the job I needed to be done because when it comes down to it, our firearms are the tools of our craft of hunting. I use to be a car mechanic by trade and I know better than most that good tools are almost always worth ever penny and then some and I take the same approach in my rifles as well. I will happily pay $150 for a Snap-on or Matco ratchet rather then use some Craftsman/Husky/Harbor Freight version that will cause more frustration than it's worth. Just like I'm willing to pay more to build a rifle or reload a cartridge so when the time comes to pull the trigger, I can harvest my animal as easily and as efficiently as possible. It's not elitism either, its simply paying money for the better product to be able to do the job at hand easier and more efficiently than with something less. Don't be mistaken either, I'm not made of money. My last build, the 257 Blackjack, took almost 18 months to slowly fund and purchase parts for. With a little patients and some financial discipline you can have top quality gear.

If you're still with me by this point (I wrote a book of a post), thank you and know this is all my opinion. I don't proclaim my list as THE list that is superior to all others on this post. Others will have criticisms and opinions and they are no more right or wrong than my own. Thanks for reading my post, this was a fun exercise in writing and articulating my own personal top five calibers to do it all.

 

[BamBam1200]

You're not alone! I'd have to invest in California Closets for my wife to have room for as many pairs of shoes, as I have centerfire rifles!

LOL...... I have to agree aswell. Support is need for gunaholics. I need another safe. My girlfriend & best friend don't understand my gun logic. Was only going to buy 1 more rifle. Now debating on 3 rifles & another hand gun.

You're not alone! I'd have to invest in California Closets for my wife to have room for as many pairs of shoes, as I have centerfire rifles!