Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What caliber to add next?

I'm staring into my gun safe like a guy staring into an open fridge while stuck in his house during quarantine...
All I see is a .22lr, 6.5CM, 30-06, and a .300WSM.

For short action hunting rig, what caliber would you add and why?
For Long action hunting rig, what caliber would you add and why?

Please use the lens of a hunting specific rifle (not tactical, AR platform, or benchrest). What am I missing most?

Thanks!

222 remington for varmints.(wolves, foxes and even deer upclose) 223 527 CZ or Tikka t3x if you can't find a vixen or small browning.

416 Ruger in a Ruger 77 Guide Rifle or 9.3X62 in a CZ 550 in a full stock carbine. This is for Brown Bears, Goats and Bison if you draw Delta.

358win, SA, or 338 mag LA

I wouldn't want to be without a .223.

Just curious, do you mean in a non-AR platform? Because I do have a couple ARs.

Hahaha, that's a good one!
I see your point on the caliber, but I'm not going to hold my breath on the bison tag. Dad's been applying for several decades now.

If you like the AR's that's fine. I've got both an AR and a bolt action .223. I like both but if I were only to have one it would be a bolt.

Nothing in 33 or 35 caliber? 338-06? 35 Whelen? 375 Whelen? These could also be Ackleyized if you're buying a reamer.

For a short action a 358 Winchester? Are there varmints up thataway? 22-250? 243?

For a bigger thump on a long action how about 358 Norma? Neck up a 30 Nosler & you would have a modern 35 Newton.

It's fun spending someone else's money.

I’d buy a 22 centerfire of some kind. I have a Tikka T3 Superlite 8-twist 223 and its fun, cheap to shoot, and works as a great predator calling rifle and understudy to my big game rifles.

Does your hunting create a necessity for a medium or big bore? Maybe something to hunt open country?

I go after anything I can in Alaska -- from ptarmigan to brown bear, from tundra to the Tongass thick brushy forest. Would love to hunt elk and pronghorn 'down south', too, but it's not in the cards yet.

Then I think I’d add a 223 and a 338 Win Mag to what you already have.

Add a 223 and replace either the 30-06 or 300 WSM with a 375. You don't need a 30-06 AND a 300 WSM. Keep the one you shoot best or have the most sentimental attachment to. If I felt like anything in 30 caliber wasn't enough gun I'd skip everything else and go straight to 375. Nothing in 33 or 35 caliber is significantly better than what you already have. I'd buy a Ruger in 375 Ruger, but if you're feeling sentimental then something 375 H&H.

.22 Hornet, .45-70

As much as I like the Deuce and Hornet I would opt for the Fireball.

17 Fireball or 17 Remington or both. Also a 358 win in a carbine bolt gun or possibly the same in a 35 Remington. You've got a 6.5 Creed already but myself I'd still have a 260 Remington and a 7mm-08.

22-250.

45-70 Sharps. Mostly because I was just watching Rancho Deluxe. (And it could be your closer rangen, brush gun.)

Get a fast twist 22-250 and a 338 Win mag.

A 223 AR and a 300 Weatherby wouldn’t be a bad idea or all four!

I'm with the rest of the folks about the bolt action 223. I've got 3 and I couldn't imagine being without one.

As for the long action, Alaska seems like the perfect excuse for a 375 H&H. I agree with JMR40 that the 375 is the next logical step up from a 30-06 or 300WSM. 30 cal for things that won't eat you, 375 for things that will.

1:8 or 1:7 223 or 22-250 for the short action.

Given you're in AK and actually have the opportunity to run into as well as hunt Grizzly bears, 375H&H for the long action.