Don Fischer
New member
As much as I like my 6.5x55, I'd take a 7x57.
Best North American hunting caliber?
- Thread starter snowwhite204
- Start date
varmit_master
New member
My vote 300 wby . Love that gun. I have 350+ brass on hand and 300+ bullets on hand. Vm
2muchgun
New member
Originally Posted By: FitchBeen a fascinating read. There are a number of cartridges that work well on all game.
But after thinking about it, and reading the arguments for all the different cartridges, I am another vote for the .30-06 Springfield in a good sporter with a 3-9x40mm scope on it.
There isn't a big game animal in North America that hasn't been killed with a .30-06. Are there better cartridges for particular animals? Heck yes. I can't think of an animal that the .30-06 is the best for, but it is good enough for anything that might be encountered, and not impractical overkill for animals down to ground hog size.
I saw one comment that it beats up deer meat too much. Frankly, with all due respect, that's just a matter of bullet choice and shot placement.
Ammo availability is nearly universal. If a country store sells any ammo at all, it will have .22LR and .30-06.
One can buy a nice new .30-06, boxes of ammo as needed, and hunt with it for a lifetime with out shooting the barrel out of it. My '53 Model 70 shoots holes touching 3 shot groups after 53 years (it's 11 years younger than I am) of being carried through the woods by my Dad and myself with only minor work (barrel floated, bedded, trigger adjusted, and new recoil pad added). The rifle/cartridge is one of the easiest to reload for in my experience. It isn't fussy, components available in huge variety and high quality.
At 10 lbs it is easy to shoot and doesn't beat me up.
Anyway, for me, that's it. Fortunately I don't have to limit my self to just one rifle. The others are optimized for various game or ranges and aren't as good overall as the .30-06.
Fitch
Nice rifle. I have a 1953 Model 70 in 30-06 also. What load(s) does yours like?
I have been running 165s with 57gr IMR 4350 for some time now in mine........
But after thinking about it, and reading the arguments for all the different cartridges, I am another vote for the .30-06 Springfield in a good sporter with a 3-9x40mm scope on it.
There isn't a big game animal in North America that hasn't been killed with a .30-06. Are there better cartridges for particular animals? Heck yes. I can't think of an animal that the .30-06 is the best for, but it is good enough for anything that might be encountered, and not impractical overkill for animals down to ground hog size.
I saw one comment that it beats up deer meat too much. Frankly, with all due respect, that's just a matter of bullet choice and shot placement.
Ammo availability is nearly universal. If a country store sells any ammo at all, it will have .22LR and .30-06.
One can buy a nice new .30-06, boxes of ammo as needed, and hunt with it for a lifetime with out shooting the barrel out of it. My '53 Model 70 shoots holes touching 3 shot groups after 53 years (it's 11 years younger than I am) of being carried through the woods by my Dad and myself with only minor work (barrel floated, bedded, trigger adjusted, and new recoil pad added). The rifle/cartridge is one of the easiest to reload for in my experience. It isn't fussy, components available in huge variety and high quality.
At 10 lbs it is easy to shoot and doesn't beat me up.
Anyway, for me, that's it. Fortunately I don't have to limit my self to just one rifle. The others are optimized for various game or ranges and aren't as good overall as the .30-06.
Fitch
Nice rifle. I have a 1953 Model 70 in 30-06 also. What load(s) does yours like?
I have been running 165s with 57gr IMR 4350 for some time now in mine........
NYyotekiller
New member
My vote goes to the 7mm-08. Low recoil, great bullet selection with high ballistic coefficiency, and can kill everything up to a mule deer effectively. Just my two cents.
While hunting in Quebec we visited a small general store, to check our bear kills. On their shelf were .338 Win Mag, .300 Win Mag, .30-06 a few different bullet weights, .308 Win two bullet weights, .303 British (a Canadian favorite), .270 Win, .243 Win, and .30-30. IMHO being able to buy ammunition in east bum*uck is an important consideration for your main hunting rifle.
If I had to choose one it would be .30-06.
Good luck
Jerry
If I had to choose one it would be .30-06.
Good luck
Jerry