Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles One rifle for North America...

Reckon I could say mine would be your old one, Ha!!

Beat me to it. End of debate even though we are on page 6.

Might as well jump in here with my opinion which few will agree with.
Modest recoil, capable of taking any game in North America with the exception that I would be a bit nervous against big bears. (but it would work)
Easily available components for loading, and something I have already done.
Remington 700 BDL converted from 270 to 338-06, 22 inch #4 Shilen match barrel and Shilen trigger.
That's my go to for the rest of my life.

That'll work,with,oh say, a 210 or 250 gr NP.

Or split the difference and use a 225 gr NP.

I took a dummy round with a 210 Nosler to a Smith and asked him to build a rifle for it.

Excellent!

I would have to go with Tikka T3 Hunter Stainless fluted barrel chambered in 30-06. No plastic stock and still light enough to carry all day.

Tikka T3 30-06 or .308.

Drop it in a Mcmillan Sako pattern stock.

Add a Nightforce, with Talley lightweights.

Done.

Then instead of acquiring a bunch of rifles that are essentially duplicates, I would use extra $$ for hunts.

Being I just acquired one, the ruger gsr in 308. It has to be a 30 caliber. No twogay70's here. LOL

.350 mag, covers everything.

Depends on if you have Alaska residency.

If not an Alaskan resident (and required to have a guide with back up gun for brown bear), the 30-06 is hard to beat. Those 168 gr Barnes bullets move plenty fast and flat enough and penetrate far above comparable weights of traditional style bullets, and there will always be 220 partitions, even some 240 woodleighs for short range work.

But if you are an Alaskan resident and not required to have a guide; and faced with the possibility of tracking a wounded brown bear through thick brush or want to anchor that 70" moose before it can die in the nearest swamp . . . I'd start considering that -06 case when it's necked up to 338 cal and can launch 225 grains as fast as the 30 cal can launch 180 grains. The 35 Whelen gets even better with heavier (300+gr) bullet options and ability to handload 38/357 pistol bullets for varmint to medium game. Other great options are of course the 338 WM, 350 Rem Mag, 358 Norma, 9.3x62, 375 H&H or Ruger, or the 375-338 Win Mag (Taylor) wildcat.

Winchester M70 Stainless Featherweight in .270 win is what I've got so that's what I'll go with.

Moose is a distant pipe dream and big bears are off the table completely. Elk, deer, black bear and pronghorn are much more attainable. Not to mention the .270 is a damn fine coyote rifle.

Ruger Hawkeye 308 Winchester.

Old used sako 30/06

I love this statement.......

No truer words have been spoken here....

Budget of $1000
Seen scope combos worth more than that .... Just sayin

I believe it goes like this:

Fella gets his first "deer" rifle and picks ammo based on an ad in Field and Stream. "Hmmm, maybe I'll get the green box "this year"....

Then come the customs, reloading, pushing the schit out of every load and grain of powder.

Then a pile of schit in the safe and on the bench.

Then starts narrowing down what "overlaps" in his mind.

Then down to one load per rifle, that's it. Not monkeying with every bullet and powder combo out there searching for the holy grail.

Finally realizes that through all the R&D and skullphucking that's he's actually become quit proficient with anything that has a trigger.

Finds out that there wasn't much he couldn't have done with the first one he got 25 years ago. Confidence level through the roof now.

Applies the other "KISS" principle, dumps all the baggage, buys a standard rig and factory ammo.

Lives happily ever after........




Read a post on here years ago that basically told that story, interesting perspective and too true to be funny....

Even though I'm a lefty, I'd also go with an M70 in .30-06...but I'd want my old standard grade. Since it's my only rifle, I'd probably upgrade the scope to a nice NIB Zeiss 4X I have laying around.
Bob



I DO like my semi-custom 77 Hawkeye though, rebarreled with a 24" .30-06 tube

The gold standard: 30-06.

However, mine is a left handed Ruger Hawkeye 308win.