Favourite rifle or cartridge for various big game species?

Some of the threads of late have given great responses to some very interesting topics...

So where you live and hunt, what is your favourite rifle or cartridge that you own or have used, for the various big game or small game species you hunt? And if you travel away from home to hunt other species?

Mine are as follows:

Whitetail Rem 700 6.5x55 Swede
Mule Deer Rem 700 LH 280 Rem
Caribou Sako AV LH 7MM STW
Moose Browning BLR 358 Win or Rem 700 LH 300 WSM
Elk Rem 700 LH 338 Win Mag
Black bear Marlin 375 Win
Grizzly bear Rem 700 LH 338 Win Mag or Browning BLR 358 Win
Bison Ruger 77 LH 376 Steyr
Mountain goat Rem 700 7MM Rem Mag
Rocky Mountain Bighorn and Stone's sheep Sako AV LH 7MM STW
Wolf Browning X-Bolt LH 6.5 Creedmoor
Coyote Ruger 77 RSI 250 Savage
Lynx Magnum Research 17 Mach II
Antelope Rem 700 LH 250AI
Rabbits Ruger 10/22 or Win 69A 22LR
Grouse Rem 1100 28 gauge

Looking forward to using 338-06 and 376 or 416 in Africa, and either 250 AI or 6.5 Creedmoor for axis deer, fallow deer and blackbuck, and the 280 Rem for red stag. If I ever get so blessed, it will be the 7MM STW for ibex and argali in Mongolia, or snow sheep in Russia, and the 376 for bongo.

For Big Game-
Moose, Caribou, Bears, etc- Nosler 48 in .300WSM,

Still wanting a fast .33 or another .375 for no other reason than I want one.

For predators like lynx, coyote, fox- Ruger American in .223REM or a Benelli 12 with T shot.

For small game and upland birds- toss up between my CZ452 in .22LR and a 20ga..sometimes a 12ga for sharp tails. I love my M37 in 20ga for Ruffed Grouse.

For waterfowl- Benelli M2 12ga.

Small stuff, red squirrels, etc.- CZ452 in .22LR or a GAMO .22 Pellet gun.

Wow Gil, you use a LOT of calibers, I dont even own that many rifles

450/400, Buffalo, Elephant, Hippo type animals
9.3 x 74R, Eland, Giraffe, Sable type animals
300 H & H, Gemsbok, Zebra, Kudu type animals
6.5 x 55 , Caracal, Reedbuck, Impala type animals

and in Sweden, the 6.5 x 55 will hunt Deer, Elk, and Capercaillie

in Argentine, whatever my mum sticks in my hands on a particular visit, but everything in Argentina can easily be taken with a 300 H & H or comparable caliber

Best Regards

Jamila

ps hodgeman, you have more shotguns than I, boy, you guys really put us girls to shame on the volume of firearms you own. Congratulations fellows, some real nice rifles and shotguns

I am a 2 rifles guy :wink:!

Elk, Moose & Bear-----35 Whelen with 225gr. Accubonds.
Antelope, Mule Deer & Whitetail Deer-----280AI with 150gr. AccuBond Longrange.

Blessings,
Dan

Ha! After this past season...

Bear, Pronghorn Antelope, Mule Deer & Elk...

The .30-06 Rem 700 CDL with a 2-7x scope, and a quality 165 gr bullet... I used the Ballistic Tip, but the Partition or the AccuBond would have been just as good or better...

Guy

And if a shotgun is called for, my choice is always the 12 ga Beretta 390 semi-auto. I call it "Big Ugly" 'cause it's long and it's perhaps the ugliest gun I own, but I shoot it better than any other shotgun I've ever tried.

Guy

Pretty funny, there's a safe full of rifles & shotguns, and for my big game & bird hunting needs, I could be quite happy with those two, the .30-06 and the 12 gauge... :mrgreen:

Whitetail................ 270 win, 257 Roberts, 300 savage, and anything else just begging to go hunting.
Mule deer................. 270 win, 300 win mag & 340 wby mag.
Elk........................... 300 win mag..........
elk again..........A .340 is in the batters box and will be on the mound next along with a 9.3x64

Africa.......... Have not been but plan on taking two rifles. 9.3x64 for anything and a 404 jeffery for something big and mean.

Bears & moose... Again, not yet but will hope to cure that problem someday. Twood be hard not to take the .340 accumark to Alaska for that wet climate.

Bison.............not on the menu as of yet. If it ever happens I would choose the .340 wby because one can't legally use it in Africa for buffalo even though it would get the job done. So, that rifles only chance of getting a buffalo would be the American bison.

Sasquatch........................ no shoot, just hand him a beer

Up till recently it was my 30-06 Tang safety M77. The 35/AI would have replaced it and still may. Ten came along a M70 in 7mmRem but it's only a back up for the .338Wm M77 Hawkeye which I'm still working with for this fall and oh yeah there's the little 257 Roberts that could be used for White Tails.

For whitetails in the woods, .308 win. and .54 flintlock. Also my Ruger Auto carbine in .44 mag.
For long shots on powerlines and fields either my old M700 LH in 7mm Mag. or my Browning stainless stalker in .300 WM. These also work great in the woods.
For elk I prefer the .300 WM but I've also taken a couple with the 7 mag.
For wild hogs any of the above and my old Super Blackhawk in 44. mag.
For squirrels and turkeys my .40 cal. flintlock. Also my Browning Maxus in 12 gauge.

c. schutte":3796n75u said:

Sasquatch........................ no shoot, just hand him a beer

Click to expand...

LOL. did you see any of these fellows when you were in Oregon ?

myself

whitetail and antelope 257 wby
black bear and mule deer 300 wby
elk and moose 340 wby

wife

whitetail, antelope, elk 270 win

unfortunately that is the only animals we have hunted

When we vacationed in Canada's NW territories, we saw Brown Bear, Caribou, Sheep, and Moose. You men who live in Canada live in some beautiful hunting country

I'll make this real simple:

All Big Game animals, a Kimber Montana in 6.5/300 WSM and a 140 SGK at 3050 fps wearing a Leupold M3 3.5-10x40mm scope using the 300 WM 190 SMK turret cap.

Everything else, a worked over and suppressed Remington Milspec R5 223.

Birds, and Rabbits, either my 16 ga. or 12 ga. Remington Wingmaster.

Rodents, a High Standard 22 Supermatic Tournament or a FN 5.7.

For deer and antelope I've relied on what I would call the medium 7's, my 7x57, .280 Rem I got rid of and 7mm-08. I have killed plenty with my .30-06 and a nice whitetail with the .348 Win.

In Washington we have to choose a weapon so all my elk hunting here has been done with archery and .50 cal muzzleloader, with the muzzleloader accounting for every elk I've shot. When I hunted elk in Montana and Idaho I packed the .300 WSM.

I've hunted bear with my .300 WSM, .450 Marlin, .35 Whelen and .348 Win. But after seeing Blkram's post I may have to pull the .375 Win in a Marlin out if I draw a spring bear tag.

I do very little bird hunting but when I do it's usually a .22 for forest grouse or my Dad's old 870 20 gauge. I have a nice o/u 12 gauge I've taken a couple times but it's been years.

Africa saw the 7x57 take two Impala, a Blesbok and a Gemsbok. The .35 Whelen took a Warthog, Kudu, Zebra and Wildebeest.

The one gun that goes on almost every out of state hunt, Guy will like this, is my old Remington .30-06. I figure it'll take whatever I'm hunting and if some weird thing happens with my ammo I can most likely find .30-06 in a lot of places.

Wowed

Savage 111 in 30.06 white tail and black bear

Savage 12 in 22-250 yotes

Mossberg 935 - 12 ga for Turkey

Fausti O/U Pheasant

Benelli ps Super Sport 20ga. For grouse/rabbit

@Guy my boys have 2011 Ducks Unlimited dinner guns. They use them for everything! And love them. The 2011 gun is the cost reduced 390 with DU upgrades (walnut, nickel, and engraving). Check them out some time.


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I like the .270 win for medium sized various big game and my 7mm rem mag for bigger than medium various big game. I really don't have a rifle for the various big game that want to eat various humans. :grin:

I'm really liking the 240 weatherby these days for anything mule deer size and smaller, including barbary (aoudad) ewes. If I want bigger for rams or elk a 308 or 280 gets the nod. My favorite elk rig is a TC omega 50 cal, taken my last eight with it.

Jamila,

it isn't a competition and I hope that you ladies and others do not feel intimidated or that they are not keeping up with anyone else just because they do not have or use as many rifles or cartridges. I didn't start my own list on this thread with thoughts of such a diverse battery. It grew as I went and realized what I have used for what and where. This list didn't happen overnight either; there's 30 years listed here! And I still believe in the saying, "beware the man with one gun, as he knows how to use it!".
Please keep in mind that I worked in the industry and made my living by selling firearms, scopes, reloading components and archery equipment. To instill confidence in customers, I felt I needed to have the experience to be able to talk intelligently on the subject, and where and when inexperienced, find out the proper information to give the customer, but also take the time to learn more and gain more experience.
It's fun to see what other people use! And what to think about for upcoming hunting trips to new destinations for new species of game.

C schutte,
While there are stories of Sasquatch here, I have not seen or heard one, or found sign. Since I am allergic to beer, I probably won't have one on hand to give him. Hope he likes jerky! LOL

Hunternyny,
Yes, I am very glad to be able to live and hunt here. It is great!

Lefty315,
You'll have a blast hunting black bears with the 375 Win! I know I did, and I need to pull it out and use it again this spring. Out to 125 yards, it thumps 'em good! Actually does pretty good on moose out to the same distance.

Great responses, thanks!

Blkram said:

Lefty315,
You'll have a blast hunting black bears with the 375 Win! I know I did, and I need to pull it out and use it again this spring. Out to 125 yards, it thumps 'em good! Actually does pretty good on moose out to the same distance.

!

Click to expand...

I still have a supply of Hornady 220's on hand that shoot well enough. I've always been tempted to try a 255 Barnes Original or a Hawk bullet, but haven't yet. What are you running out of yours?

I have been using the 200 gr factory load for most of my hunting, as I acquired a good supply when I first got my rifle in '96. When using hand loads, I use the Hdy 220 gr as well, with 32.2 gr of IMR4198 and WLR primers. Produces approx. 2000 fps out my rifle and 2364 ft-lbs of energy. Produces 1" groups at 100 yards.
Also trying get some of the HSM ammo with this bullet to try. I have some of the Sierra 200 gr fp's that I need to try still.

I did try the Barnes 255 gr original, but it was so slow, it was kicking dirt over 2' low at 100 yards compared to the 200 gr factory load.