If you had one caliber of rifle....

[dukhnt]

What would it be? I am sure this question has been asked before. But I am mainly a shotgun shooter and am in the market to get a nice rifle that could be handed down when I am gone. Is there a caliber that could be used for anything from coyotes to elk? Thanks.

[ESSGuy]

30-06, plenty of bullet options plus every mom and pop store will have a box of ammo if you forget yours. Wait till the ballistic guys and the magnum guys start to chime in before you decide.

[Siwulat]

+1 on the 30.06. More than enough gun for probably anything on this continent.

[lawdog]

Easy call for me. The 30-06 can do it all.

You will never have the ideal rifle at the far ends of the small and big scale if you truely want a one gun answer, but the 30-06 is adequate on the ends and excellent in the middle. Plus its a proven commodity having been around FOREVER...

[shortfatguy]

300 win mag. If you want a non magnum caliber there are plenty of better options than a 30 caliber bullet.

[B-man715]

As mentioned, the ol' 30-six does it all

Can't go wrong with it. With the new reduced recoil rounds even a young kid could shoot it comfortably (if the gun fits).

There are others such as the .270 and .280 that fit the bill too, but heavier and lighter bullets can be a little harder to find.

I have a .300 win mag and a .270 wsm that can kill everything as well, but more often than not I hunt with a .270 or 30-06 and would recommend either if you had to limit your gun collection

The .300 win mag would do a number on a yote LOL

[O.T.C.]

30.06

[Bear55]

Very few big game calibers won't do it all as long as you aren't hunting in Africa.

[pikestabber]

For me it's a .270. I'm an expert by no stretch of the imagination, but I've read reports from "out west" hunters that seem to prefer it for elk and such, and I know it's a great caliber for deer. 30.06 is a nice choice, too. I also have friends that have "upsized" and swear by a 7mm mag as an all around gun that will drop deer on the spot and handle a bull moose with ease.

[Powerstroke]

.308 for me. I find it to be perfectly adequate for anything up to bear and elk and plenty of energy out to 350yds, even if you don't shoot that far.

30-06 is also a solid contender with puses and minuses. It does have slightly more power and energy, but if you hunt under 300yds than all you're buying is more recoil. Thats the same argument against the .300 Win mag. Flatter shooting, maybe. less than an inch at 300.

I will say you will find tons more ammo options in the 30-06.

[shortfatguy]

Why would you chose a 308 over a 260, 7mm-08, 243, 280, 284? All are ballistically superior to the 308. Not ripping on you or anyone else. Just trying to understand what people look for when they buy a new rifle.

[Powerstroke]

As someone who is not a gun guy, it was a .30 caliber that I settled on because it was easy to shoot, easy on the wallet and matched up with anything you mentioned.

I have no idea what makes any of the other's you've shared "ballisticly superior", but of them I had only heard of the .243 and the 7mm-08 prior to my research. I would have never considered the .243 as an everyday elk gun. I did look into the 7mm=08, but in the end I settled on the .308. Thats where my research led me. I don't reload so factory ammo made a difference in my decision.

[leech~~]

Why would you chose a 308 over a 260, 7mm-08, 243, 280, 284? All are ballistically superior to the 308. Not ripping on you or anyone else. Just trying to understand what people look for when they buy a new rifle.

Because everyone dreams of big hunts for Elk, Moose & Brown Bear when they buy their first "big gun". But years later when reality sinks in and you really only get to hunt Deer or maybe Black Bear up at the farm. You can't buy these calibers 260, 7mm-08, 280, 284 at Walmart!

[eyeguy 54]

270 or 30-06. both are sweet.

[leechlake]

I wish my 85 year old dad was web savvy. Here would be his response:

35 Remington with a 1-4 scope with a post reticle. 200 grain "brush buster" bullets.

If anyone here thinks they are right with their choice the above response would have been standard 40 years ago, with the 30/30 thrown in. What will it be 40 years from now?

[BobT]

30-06

[hugonian1]

My 30-06 is collecting dust.

Really like the Tikka T-3 Lite 7mm. Sweet rifle.

[eyeguy 54]

I wish my 85 year old dad was web savvy. Here would be his response:

35 Remington with a 1-4 scope with a post reticle. 200 grain "brush buster" bullets.

If anyone here thinks they are right with their choice the above response would have been standard 40 years ago, with the 30/30 thrown in. What will it be 40 years from now?

46 years ago shot my first deer with a rifle. 270 with 4 power scope. (ND, open country and woods) Nephew owns it now. dad had a couple 30-30 also. I gave one to son and BIL has the other. I actually bought a 243 in 1976 and put a lot of venny in the freezer with the 80 grain bullet over the years.

[lawdog]

So let's summarize, a whole bunch of people say 30-06 and then several people name several different options with no real consensus among the dissenting minority who tries to say not the 30-06. Draw your conclusion accordingly.

[leechlake]

there's a zillion rifle calibers that do wonders on medium sized game like deer and once you get something like a 270,30-06, 308, 270 there's basically zip difference. The 06 offers a wider array of bullet weights.

[delcecchi]

I wish my 85 year old dad was web savvy. Here would be his response:

35 Remington with a 1-4 scope with a post reticle. 200 grain "brush buster" bullets.

If anyone here thinks they are right with their choice the above response would have been standard 40 years ago, with the 30/30 thrown in. What will it be 40 years from now?

My dad would have been 100 last year and he replaced his 30-30 with a 30-06 pump and a tip off scope mount in the 50's or early 60's. The 06 killed deer and moose, no problem.

[leechlake]

geez, my dad vs your dad contest?

My dad's original Marlin 35 Remington was stolen and purposely found a used one to replace it, also I made a mistake the scope is a Weaver 2.5X fixed power. He was a killer with the 35 Remington, dead is dead.

[delcecchi]

geez, my dad vs your dad contest?

My dad's original Marlin 35 Remington was stolen and purposely found a used one to replace it, also I made a mistake the scope is a Weaver 2.5X fixed power. He was a killer with the 35 Remington, dead is dead.

Sorry if it came across that way. I didn't mean it to.

I think pretty much the whole crew of guys my dad hunted with (had a shack east of askov, almost to the Wisconsin line) used the '06.

My uncle on the other hand had a 25/35 on the farm that he had shot a few deer with. Not much of a hunter though.

[eyeguy 54]

lol...... leech

[Powerstroke]

The 30-06 is a fantastic caliber, although its quite a bit overkill for deer. Thats not a knock on it at all. A very good argument made by the "260, 270, 280" post is that there are smaller calibers that will do just as good of a job with less recoil, up to half.

That being said, if you wanted a gun that can kill any big game in MN, the 30-06 will do it. If a deer is the biggest thing you're after (no elk or moose) consider a lighter shooting rifle in a slightly lesser caliber that will deliver similar or better ballistics (ie energy and flatter shooting).

The most important thing is to find the rifle you shoot best and put the best piece of glass on it that you can afford, unless you like open sights. In that case, rock it out. My dad continues to do his best hunting (not shooting) with his WWI 7x57mm Mauser with iron sights. Something about those iron sights puts him on the deer every time.