3 rifle battery

[KDM]

So, I'd like to assemble a 3 rifle battery. Don't hunt, but want to gear up like I do (never can tell...might win the lotto! ). I have a medium in 375 H&H...what would be good light and heavy choices?

My thoughts are .243 Win for a light, and a 416 Rem for a heavy. Whaddya think?

[hunter33]

06 and 22-250

[bcrash15]

If you're considering the .375 H&H a "medium," then you might want to step all the way up to .50bmg for the heavy. There are a lot of good calibers in between (.458 win mag and .416 remington / weatherby to name a couple), but the ammo costs start getting to the point where you might as well be shooting the .50 as the ammo costs just about the same.

On the other end, for the light, you probably would want to get a caliber like .308 or one of the popular .2xx's. I would think a .375 on a deer is overkill, so the lighter gun would probably be the deer, medium game rifle.

If I were to pick in your situation, I would consider the .375 the heavy (it should be able to take everything in North America and just about anywhere), get a medium like .308 or .30-06, and maybe something like a .223 or such for varmints and small game if desired.

[Scorch]

OK, technically a 375 H&H is a medium bore, but it is way more than you would need on this continent unless you decide to go grizzly hunting. So my opinion would be get a smallbore rifle (22 centerfire like 223 or 22-250), and a deer cartridge in the 30-06 class (270, 280, 7mm Rem Mag, 308, 30-06, 300 WinMag, etc). Add that to your 375 and you will be ready for anything from ants to Africa. Of couse you still need to cover the small game and game birds with a 22LR and a 12 gauge.

[FirstFreedom]

If .375 HH mag is medium in this scenario, then I'd go:

Heavy: Either .458 Lott or .50 BMG
Light: Either .243 win or 6.5x55 swede, (or even a .270 win, .280 rem, and .30-06 - these are light compared to .375 HH)

Still, I'd prefer to see a 5-rifle (or more) battery to fill the gaps better. At least a 4-rifle battery. (Not counting rimfires, that is).

[davlandrum]

.257 Roberts (light) and -06 medium. In my book, you already got the heavy!

I know the .257 is kinda in-between. It is either a Heavy-light or a Light-medium. Cool round though.

[FirstFreedom]

That's cheating, dave - that's not what he asked. You have to pick one lighter and one heavier.

[KDM]

I'm afraid I'll have to agree with you, FF, regarding the quantity in my battery. See, I'm looking for a realistic battery that'd cover any potential hunting possibilities. More I think about it, the more 5+ rifles would be indicated: a varmint, light, light-medium, medium, medium-heavy, heavy.

So the goal is to determine which calibers could be called to double-duty. For example, a 375 could be loaded with a 235 grain soft point at 2600 FPS. That'd cover medium deer sized game. A .243 or 267/270 could handle longer ranges. The 416 Rem would be a stopper/bruin-smasher.

Other suggestions are great: 257 Roberts being one of 'em.

[shooter_john]

As previously stated, if the .375 is your medium, 50BMG would have to be your heavy, and how about the .260 Rem as your light?

[davlandrum]

FF - What can I say? .375 is big to me. Maybe not Africa big, but "anywhere Dave will hunt in this lifetime unless he wins the lotto" big.

I would probably go .243, -06, and .375 (since that is already in place).

.243 would work for varmits, antelope, up to blacktails (or southern whitetails), -06 mulies, black bear, elk, .375 everythign else.

[Red_Eagle]

For CPX-1 game, I'd go with either a 223 remington or 22-250 remington

For CPX-2 and 3, I'd go with a 30-06. 150-165 gr for class 2 and 180 gr for class 3.

I think you already have CPX-4 nicely covered.

[KDM]

Red Eagle...I've Googled and Yaoo-ed your CPX-... terms and found nothing. I can extrapolate what is meant, but am unfamiliar with the terminology. Can you please point me to where I can learn more?

[Red_Eagle]

Sorry...I ment CXP.

CXP-1: Varmints and predators. Bullets fragment or expand to maximum on
impact. (223 rem, 22-250, 220 swift)

CXP-2: Thin skinned, Medium boned game such as deer, antelope, and black
bear. Bullets designed for rapid, controled expansion.
(30-30, 270 win, 30-06)

CXP-3: Bullets are designed for delayed, controled expansion in heavy muscle
and bone, and thick hide. Game are brown bear, elk, and moose.
(300 win mag, 338 win mag, 350 rem mag)

CXP-4: Large dangerous game. Mainly African, but you could include some
Alaskan game if you wanted to. Extremely large hard to kill animals
Elephant, hippos, cape buffalo.
(375 H&H, 460 Weatherby mag, 600 Nitro)

Alot of cartriges cross CXP classes depending on what load they're using. For example, If you had a 243 winchester you could use a 75 gr Hornady V-max to hunt coyote, then switch to a 100gr Speer Hot cor to hunt deer. Or you could use 150 gr Spire point in a 308 winchester to hunt deer, then switch to 180 gr loads for elk. It's all just a rating scheme to help hunters match the bullet to the game.This has been a real problem in the past.

[Mike Irwin]

.22-250 or .223 Remington as your light.

If, as you say, you want to gear up as IF you hunt, then I think the .50 BMG is kind of unrealistic. Hunting to me means portable with no real need for a crew of gun bearers to set up the firing position and mount the artillery.

Personally, I'd make your .375 your "heavy," as it is fully capable of taking elephant and Cape buffalo.

Then, you need a new medium.

.30-06 is the obvious choice, as would something like the .280, the 7mm Mag., or one of the .300 Magnums.

[KDM]

Thanks, Red Eagle. Lots of info came up. Chuck Hawk's site is always great.

I always thought a 375 was a medium, not a heavy...then I got to thinking about it and yeah, it should be considered a heavy hunting rifle. My problem was the differentiation between a "hunting" rifle and a "stopping" rifle. A 375 will take any game animal. Might not stop a determined charge, but it's a great hunter. I needed to better define what my heavy would be.

Although a stopping rifle would be fun (and still might get one ), I can see the H&H fits the bill as the heavy. Now, with everyone's input and the CXP classifications, I can pin down the medium and light.

[Mike Irwin]

If you want a "stopping" rifle, then you're in the realms of the .416 Rigby and up.

A TRUE "stopper" would be along the lines of one of the English Nitro Express cartridges in .450 and above in a double rifle.

There are some bolt rifles that can be considered to be true stoppers... .458 Win. Mag and .460 Wby Mag. are on the edge of that list, a .425 Wesley Richards would be a great choice (IF you could find a rifle, brass, bullets, etc.). The .500 Jeffrey and the .505 Gibbs are also true bolt-action stoppers, but suffer from the same problem as the .425.

You could always have someone make you one of Ross Seyfried's .585 Nyattis, but those things are absolutely fierce.

Then there are the proprietary bolt cartridges like T-Rex and A Square.

Probably the BEST way to get into a stopping rifle is get a No. 1 Ruger single shot in .416 Rigby or .458 Lott.

No special chambers, no custom crap, and relatively easy to find brass and components.

[Red_Eagle]

You actually could get away with just getting one rifle for light and medium if you got a 24 or 25 caliber. The calibers I'm mainly talking about are 243 winchester and 6mm Remingto in 24 cal, and 257 Roberts and 25-06 in 25 cal. Advantage: You could hunt preditors/varmints or deer just by switching loads. Disadvantages: They're not exactly notorious brush busters if you move into an area with heavy cover. And hunting game in the CXP-3 class is pretty tough. Although I have heard of people successfully taking elk with the heavier primium bullets with the 25-06.

[Hemicuda]

My dad just read this post over my shoulder... then asked, "Is that guy nuts? .375 H&H isn't medium caliber"

pretty much summed up MY thoughts...

If it was me, I'd adjust my thinking... .375 H&H large, 30-06 Sprg medium, and .22-250 Rem. small...

[Mike Irwin]

To the British, the .375 H&H was very much a medium caliber.

In fact, pretty much anything under the .425 WR Magnum was a medium bore.

[Scorch]

I always thought a 375 was a medium, not a heavy

To the British, the .375 H&H was very much a medium caliber.

I guess it all depends on what game you're after. If you are going after big toothy things with fangs as long as your thumb or tusks as long as you leg, I sure would not hesitate to pick up a 375 H&H.

But let's clarify something: there is a difference between a "medium bore" and a "medium rifle". Small bore includes everything up to about 35 caliber. Then came medium bore up to 43 caliber. Then you have "big bore", or "large bore" as the Brits would say, 45 caliber and above. This said nothing about energy and power, it just describes the caliber of the weapon. So the Brits, who owned a large portion of Africa, needed something more descriptive and came up with "light rifles", "medium rifles", and "heavy rifles" based on energy guesstimates. This had the sometimes confusing effect of classifying rifles of medium bore as heavy rifles, as in the case we have been discussing.

As for the 3-gun battery, I still say that unless you plan on going to Africa, you are set on the heavy end, now get the light and medium rifles. And don't forget the 22LR and a 12 gauge.

[Dave R]

Maybe if you're hunting dangerous game in Africa, the .375 would be a medium.

But if you're limited to North and South America, then the .375 is definitely a heavy.

For our continent, I would go with a .308 or .30-06 for the medium, and a .223 or .204 Ruger or .22-250 for the light.

[KDM]

Hemicuda...that made me laugh! I guess I am a little nuts, but in a good way. Ever'body wants more gun!

Scorch (and others) summed it up for me quite nicely. There is a distinction between heavy rifle and heavy bore. Given the pedigree of the H&H, it'd be impossible to argue otherwise. With that said, I'll leave the 375 as my "heavy".

Still want a eargesplittin loudenboomer stopping rifle, though.

[Mike Irwin]

Even the British were very imprecise about their classifications of what constituted a "heavy bore" vs a "heavy rifle."

You'll find the terms used interchangably, or not, depending on the time and what reference you're reading.

There were even subclassifications of what constituted a heavy rifle in some parts of the empire (India or Malay) vs. other parts of the Empire (Africa).

[mrawesome22]

With that said, I'll leave the 375 as my "heavy".

Nah, I'd leave it as medium.

.458WinMag as heavy.
22-250Rem as light.

[BusGunner007]

So, I'd like to assemble a 3 rifle battery. Don't hunt, but want to gear up like I do (never can tell...might win the lotto! ). I have a medium in 375 H&H...what would be good light and heavy choices?

My thoughts are .243 Win for a light, and a 416 Rem for a heavy. Whaddya think?

You've picked just the right caliber rifle to make this choice a difficult one...
As some have said, the .375 H&H can be used as both a medium AND a heavy in North America, and you said you don't hunt! That rifle will hunt everything, so you don't need another hunting rifle ( my opinion ) .

As someone once told me and I've said here before, "You could hunt everything in North America with a .308 and a .45-70."
Well, the .375 Holland & Holland you have covers those.

Now, you still need a light and 'medium' rifle?

LIGHT:
How 'bout a .223/5.56x45 NATO autoloader such as the AR15?
Versatile for targets; defense; varmints; etc.
Change uppers to get even more versatility!
If you win the Lotto, you'll be in Hog Heaven with some of the cartridges available for this platform.
A bolt-action .223 would seem to be a bit boring - maybe.

MEDIUM:
.308/7.62 NATO caliber in a bolt-action would be a great choice for precision shooting...power and range without killing your shoulder ( especially when prone ).
The ArmaLite AR10 autoloader would be a good choice if you didn't mind having two autoloaders in a military/police cartridge and similar operating platform.

Then again, if you have a bolt-action hunting rifle in .375 H&H, adding the autoloading AR10/.308 and a .45-70 lever-action would give you a pretty good choice for different platforms and of course, as mentioned, you'd just HAVE TO HAVE a .22LR and a 12-ga. to round out the battery.

This is fun, isn't it?!