Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Any 2, but only 2, hunting rifles...

That'd work for me.

Or, 7-08/270 and 30-06.

6x36 LR Leupold's on top. One powder for either combo, H4350.

If all were Kimber 84 MT's so much the better...

Ruger Hawkeye

light = 243
heavy = 30-06 (or 300 RCM to keep the action lengths the same)

At first I was going to go for my Kimber 7mm-08 for the light rifle, but as I shoot some varmints, I opted for my Sako 75 Finnlight in 260 Rem.

Light Rifle --
Sako Model 75 Finnlight in 260 Remington. For small deer and antelope, I would use the 100 Gr. Ballistic Tip, large deer, elk, sheep etc I would use the 130 gr. Barnes TSX. For varmints, the Sierra 85 gr HP

Heavy Rifle:
Sako 75 Stainless Hunter in 375 H&H. I would use 250 gr. Swift A-Frame for large deer and elk, the 270 gr A-Frame for elk and bear of all sizes.

light rifle
weatherby 25-06 100 gr TTSX

Heavy rifle
weatherby 7mm STW 140 gr TTSX

Will do everything I need here in Colorado

I'm thinking 6.5x55 and .375HH.....

I ran a 270WCF - 300WMg combo in various brands for 30+ years, and I still have a almost 3 yr old NIB 270 T3 SS Lite leaning on the desk & a not very worn M70 SS/syn Classic 300Wmg ...but old age is settling in my bones.

However I took Dober's advice couple years ago on a Swede for a do all with less owiee on the surgically repaired neck & shoulder - mine is a T3 Hunter Grade that shoots bugholes...and I have just about fallen in luv with a another recommendation, this time from my favorite older than I am fart, Mims Reed, who is also suffering from being far older than he feels like between his ears, in a CZ 9.3x62. Both sets of guns and calibers fill the 2 gun anything in North America parameter although the 300Wmg prolly oughta become a 338/375 of some sort to hunt Grizz with.

So I got 2 pairs to play with ....the everyday Wood/Blue shooters are a T3 Swede & a CZ 9.3...and the SS/syn pair are a 270 T3 & a M70 300Wmg. Just don't know when I'll ever shoot the 270 though as well as the Swede is working for me.

So the choice is being made for me by what I can toleralby reliably point at what ever I can come across...and I'm OK with this choice if'n I can still do my part.
Ron

OBTW ...the danged Swede milsurps are lookin like more and more fun everyday.
RV

Think that it would probably be my 25 06 in 700 Remington SPS & my Weatherby Vanguard 7mm Rem Magnum.

Easy for me:

1) .308 Win
2) .375 H&H

Anyway, what I allready have are a 7x57 and the .375

Regards.

PH

What he said!

I guess I would keep a pair of .264 Wm's.

308, 375.

BMT

7X57 & 30-06

Oh, I hate questions like this. Because, I can always think of another set just as soon as I post ...

1. Ruger Stainless Laminate in .30-06 lefty
2. Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70

Of course, my rimfire doesn't count ... for that, make it the Marlin 39A .22LR and throw in an 870 pump 12 gauge.

I could also go with

1. BLR pistol grip in .300 WSM
2. Remington 7600 Pump in .35 Whelen

or I could ... only two? Indecision clouds my vision. That's how the song goes.

I'm like Gringo.

.22mag - 597 Rem auto
.300 WBY - Vanguard

or

7mmWSM - SS/Syn Howa
.375 H&H - Rem 700

These I own.

Light Rifle:

Choose 1: 7mm-08, 7mm wsm, 7mm rem mag, .308 win, 30-06, 300 WSM, or 300 Win mag.

Anyone of those will fit your criteria for a light rifle; they are available in a number of actions, and models, and good factory ammo can be had near anywhere.

Heavy Rifle:

Choose 1: .338 win mag, or 375 H&H

These are the only 2 that fit your needs; available in a number of actions, and have a good selection of factory ammo.

As far as rifle selection goes pick two of the same type action. So pick 2 rem 700's or 2 sako 75 or 85's, or 2 Kimbers, or 2 Rugers, or 2 Tikka's, or 2 Model 70 Winny's. The actions do not have to be the same length, but the same type of action with the safety in the same location is always helpful.

One final thought, that does not get the attention it deserves, is the selection of scopes and mounts. Now I not talking about the brand of scopes, because there are plenty of good makes and models, but rather what you need to do is put some thought into plans for back up scopes.

Unlike somebody that has 6 or 8 rifles in the safe, you will only have 2. So if the scope or mounts on your light rifle goes tits up, you are stuck with using your heavy gun. So plan ahead: select a scope mounting system that allows you to swap scopes will little or no loss of zero. Just about any mount with a weaver rail and good QD rings will allow you to mount a spare scope and go hunting. Ditto the Leupold QR system, and I'm sure that their are a bunch of others.

The point is if you have a 2 rifle big game battery what you need is 4 scopes. The 2 on the rifles and one spare for each, ALREADY sited in.

One other thought is a designated load development scope. For me I prefer scopes for big game that top out at 6, 7 or 8 power. I value having the large field of view at low power more than I like counting the ticks on a animals hide. I have never found a situation in hunting that 7x or 8x on the top end was not enough for a clean shot. But I have found situations where I thought 3x or 4x power on the low end was too high for a quick close shot. But 6 or 7 or 8x power is sometimes too low for load testing and development.

That being said, I have a scope just for load development work. That scope is a Bushnell 10x40 Elite 3200. It is a fixed 10x scope that sells for around $200. It is not used for hunting, but only for handload development. It also turns your light rifle into a "mall ninja" type sniper rig, as the Bushnell has target turrets and mil dot reticle!!

I sure there are other brands and models that would work, but this one has been great for me. I have used it on over 8 rifles over the last 4 years to develop and test handloads.

Good luck with your choice,

Bob

Only 2, mission impossible !

Tikka T3 Lite 300 WSM with Limbsaver pad and Leupy 2.5-8x35 B&C reticle scope.

However, if I needed to cut down to only one, my keeper would be a smoothly operating M70 push feed with McMillan classic stock that has been my main gun for 32 years. It was recently rebarreled with a Bartlein in 7 RM and pleasingly accurate.

Lite---Winchester XTR Classic Featherweight---6.5x55 Swede
Nikon Monarch 2.5-10x42

Heavy---Ruger 77 Hawkeye---338 Win Mag
Nikon Monarch 2.5-10x42


Both, Wood Stocks, Matte Black Barrells, Matte Black Scopes

+1 very hard combo to beat.

I would say choose any two from the list below and I could get by:

.22LR
.30-30
.30-06
.375 H&H

My pick for just two rifles, will be the model 70 Winchester in a .375H&H and the caliber known as the 6.5/06 also a model 70 Winchester rifle.