Best all around rifle caliber advice - Page 4

bt380 · October 12, 2013, 10:56 PM

30-06 for sure as stated above for two big reasons, cost of rifle and cost of round. Can buy a decent used rifle (after a real gun smith checks it out) on the cheap. Split the cost of the smitty. You do want to buy it, but they also want to sell it. Buy their ammo at 1/2 price. Ask to look at their log book if they reload to tell what kind of rounds they have been shooting that you can also show to the smitty. Try to get one from some one that doesn't reload to eliminate several potential problem factors. Check out the storage location and what they carry it around in. If it is in good shape, the gun is probably also in good shape. If it is beat up, and the gun has dings, skip the buy.
-
ps: start looking at estate sales.

darkgael · October 12, 2013, 11:13 PM

Yeah, very probably the best all around cartridge choice is .30-06. Similarly, the best all around caliber is .308 inch. There are an almost bewildering number of .308 caliber cartridges as well as more bullet weights and types than any other caliber - from 110 grains to 250 grains.
Pete

jersurf101 · October 12, 2013, 11:16 PM

The one round I have always been able to get in the "panic" is .270 win. My .270 win has been a deer slayer. All of the calibers mentioned are good. The only bad thing is not being able to shoot if and if you don't reload you rely on factory ammo. .270 win is my choice

Kachok · October 12, 2013, 11:59 PM

Since we are talking readily available ammo I'll skip the usual speech about the 6.5mms and the virtues of the 25-06. Here is what we have at the local Wal-Mart.
30-06: Very versatile medium and big game cartridge, unfortunately excessive recoil makes it unsuitable for regular target use or high volume varmint hunting.
270: Faster and flatter then the 06 with a tad less recoil though still a bit high for extended range sessions or varmint blasting. Considerable less versatility on large game vs the 30-06 which is capable of using much heavier bullets.
243: Dandy little dual purpose varmint/deer cartridge, if you are not hunting in elk country this one wins hands down, recoil is light and downright enjoyable. Fast flat and accurate enough even for small varmints, great for getting the kids out shooting too.
308: Highly efficient 30 caliber making nearly the power of the 30-06 in a short action package burning less powder making for less recoil and muzzle blast, a solid all around choice if you are not extra recoil shy. Does not shoot very flat but if you can account for a little drop it is a great cartridge.
7mm Rem Mag: A very high intensity cartridge capable of 30-06 killing power and 270 Win trajectory. Great for medium/big game at long range but it is a little excessive for anything else, too much barrel wear for high volume shooting. Recoil is sharp and no fun at all in light rifles.
300 Win Mag: Big Game masterpiece 180gr bullets with the trajectory of the 243, crazy excessive on deer I don't care what anyone says but if you need to take a moose on the next ridge you could do no better.
30-30: a very different cartridge, instead of focusing on being light/fast the 30-30 is heavy/slow, sound old hat but those slow flat point bullets kill deer as fast as anything inside woods range and it does not blow up all your deer meat at close range like a high powered magnum would. Recoil is reasonable but trajectory is lacking for varmint work. The best part of the 30-30 is the compact handy lever action rifles it comes in.
7mm-08: This is my pick given the criteria, the 7mm-08 shoots reasonably flat, rivals the 270 for energy and killing power while functioning in a short action and all that for a very mild level of recoil and near zero muzzle blast even in 22" tubes. Try as you might you cannot find anything bad to say about the 7mm-08 it is darn near perfect.

Been there · October 13, 2013, 03:23 AM

The .243 best suits your stated needs for everything other than Elk.
7mm08 if you want to include elk.
Ammo is not hard to find & if you get into reloading in the future, as both are based on the .308 shell, brass is cheap & ubiqutious.

Sarge · October 13, 2013, 07:31 AM

Get the 30-06 and a basic reloader. Master the rifle and never look back.

bt380 · October 13, 2013, 10:13 AM

Re-read the thread again and it seems the majority leans towards the 270 and 30-06. Trying to plug in the perfect gun for the one size fits all is like which is the best self defense pistol or which is the perfect single stop shot magic bullet. I don't think you can get here from there without settling. The primary eliminator here is the dollar.
-
Look in your region where you will in reality be hunting and let the game that you will be going after be one of the drivers. Since the dollar is driving the rifle, the dollar will probably drive the game you will be going after.
-
Look at the cost of the rounds (not using this hopefully temporary shortages). If the dollar is part of the equation, re-think about reloading unless you would be happy with a hand held leeloader. Reloading can get expensive once you have bought all the adjunct equipment.
-
Here are three web sites that will help in an over view of the 270 vs 30-06:
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/Outdo...ageCharts.aspx
http://www.chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm
http://www.internetarmory.com/rifle_hunting.htm
There are other sites but they all start to look alike other than lay out and colors. There are some little things I agree and disagree but in the bigger scope they are ok for this stage of your selection choice.
-

October 12, 2013, 11:13 PM	#77
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	Caliber Yeah, very probably the best all around cartridge choice is .30-06. Similarly, the best all around caliber is .308 inch. There are an almost bewildering number of .308 caliber cartridges as well as more bullet weights and types than any other caliber - from 110 grains to 250 grains. Pete __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

October 13, 2013, 07:31 AM	#81
Sarge Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: MO Posts: 5,457	Get the 30-06 and a basic reloader. Master the rifle and never look back. __________________ People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

October 12, 2013, 10:56 PM	#76
bt380 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2012 Posts: 331	30-06 for sure as stated above for two big reasons, cost of rifle and cost of round. Can buy a decent used rifle (after a real gun smith checks it out) on the cheap. Split the cost of the smitty. You do want to buy it, but they also want to sell it. Buy their ammo at 1/2 price. Ask to look at their log book if they reload to tell what kind of rounds they have been shooting that you can also show to the smitty. Try to get one from some one that doesn't reload to eliminate several potential problem factors. Check out the storage location and what they carry it around in. If it is in good shape, the gun is probably also in good shape. If it is beat up, and the gun has dings, skip the buy. - ps: start looking at estate sales.

October 12, 2013, 11:16 PM	#78
jersurf101 Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2013 Location: Eastern NC Posts: 553	The one round I have always been able to get in the "panic" is .270 win. My .270 win has been a deer slayer. All of the calibers mentioned are good. The only bad thing is not being able to shoot if and if you don't reload you rely on factory ammo. .270 win is my choice

October 12, 2013, 11:59 PM	#79
Kachok Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2012 Posts: 304	Since we are talking readily available ammo I'll skip the usual speech about the 6.5mms and the virtues of the 25-06. Here is what we have at the local Wal-Mart. 30-06: Very versatile medium and big game cartridge, unfortunately excessive recoil makes it unsuitable for regular target use or high volume varmint hunting. 270: Faster and flatter then the 06 with a tad less recoil though still a bit high for extended range sessions or varmint blasting. Considerable less versatility on large game vs the 30-06 which is capable of using much heavier bullets. 243: Dandy little dual purpose varmint/deer cartridge, if you are not hunting in elk country this one wins hands down, recoil is light and downright enjoyable. Fast flat and accurate enough even for small varmints, great for getting the kids out shooting too. 308: Highly efficient 30 caliber making nearly the power of the 30-06 in a short action package burning less powder making for less recoil and muzzle blast, a solid all around choice if you are not extra recoil shy. Does not shoot very flat but if you can account for a little drop it is a great cartridge. 7mm Rem Mag: A very high intensity cartridge capable of 30-06 killing power and 270 Win trajectory. Great for medium/big game at long range but it is a little excessive for anything else, too much barrel wear for high volume shooting. Recoil is sharp and no fun at all in light rifles. 300 Win Mag: Big Game masterpiece 180gr bullets with the trajectory of the 243, crazy excessive on deer I don't care what anyone says but if you need to take a moose on the next ridge you could do no better. 30-30: a very different cartridge, instead of focusing on being light/fast the 30-30 is heavy/slow, sound old hat but those slow flat point bullets kill deer as fast as anything inside woods range and it does not blow up all your deer meat at close range like a high powered magnum would. Recoil is reasonable but trajectory is lacking for varmint work. The best part of the 30-30 is the compact handy lever action rifles it comes in. 7mm-08: This is my pick given the criteria, the 7mm-08 shoots reasonably flat, rivals the 270 for energy and killing power while functioning in a short action and all that for a very mild level of recoil and near zero muzzle blast even in 22" tubes. Try as you might you cannot find anything bad to say about the 7mm-08 it is darn near perfect.

October 13, 2013, 03:23 AM	#80
Been there Senior Member Join Date: October 1, 2013 Location: New Zealand Posts: 110	The .243 best suits your stated needs for everything other than Elk. 7mm08 if you want to include elk. Ammo is not hard to find & if you get into reloading in the future, as both are based on the .308 shell, brass is cheap & ubiqutious.

October 13, 2013, 10:13 AM	#82
bt380 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2012 Posts: 331	Re-read the thread again and it seems the majority leans towards the 270 and 30-06. Trying to plug in the perfect gun for the one size fits all is like which is the best self defense pistol or which is the perfect single stop shot magic bullet. I don't think you can get here from there without settling. The primary eliminator here is the dollar. - Look in your region where you will in reality be hunting and let the game that you will be going after be one of the drivers. Since the dollar is driving the rifle, the dollar will probably drive the game you will be going after. - Look at the cost of the rounds (not using this hopefully temporary shortages). If the dollar is part of the equation, re-think about reloading unless you would be happy with a hand held leeloader. Reloading can get expensive once you have bought all the adjunct equipment. - Here are three web sites that will help in an over view of the 270 vs 30-06: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/Outdo...ageCharts.aspx http://www.chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm http://www.internetarmory.com/rifle_hunting.htm There are other sites but they all start to look alike other than lay out and colors. There are some little things I agree and disagree but in the bigger scope they are ok for this stage of your selection choice. -