Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles The best all around rifle for around here

For me it's a Supressed Kimber Adirondack in 6.5 Creedmoor. Light,quiet,neglible recoil. Flat shooting and deadly with 120 grain GMX or TTSX bullets.

What about your choice?

Its mighty hard for me to nail the best rifle for me to just one rifle as there are so many excellent choices but if I'm forced to say my choice I'd go with a Kimber Montana .308 Win. My style of hunting envolves much hiking in steep/rugged terrain to get to my hunting area so every ounce counts in my case and i do prefer a CRF rifle like the Montana but i can also think of several other lightweight bolt action rifles that would also fit the bill. I have hunted a Savage 110 Stainless lightweight Storm .308 Win and a Proof Research Elevation .308 Win that are also excellent choices and I am currently waiting on a new Christensen Mesa FFT .308 (5.5lb) which should be a winner 👍......Good hunting...Hb

A good 308 win is something I'm very content with. I've seen it perform wonders with 165 and 180gr bullets taking bull elk and an nice Shiras moose at 300 to 400+ yds and also at close ranges. It just works and it's widely available. Currently I have it in the Ruger scout rifle, Winchester 100, and BLR.

There is no " best" for me. There are several that essentially equal in performance. 257AI is my favorite, at least right now

Whatever I decide to take, liking a 99 in 284 a lot right now.

There are 1000"correct" answers to this question.

Hard to beat. I've used one to kill deer and bear from a few feet to 350 yards.

Great for poaching the ozarks huh...

NAH, only 1

A Remington 700 in 300 Savage would be my single, all around, rifle if forced to choose only one for here in MN and WI. A close second would be a Savage Model 16 in 7mm/08. Catching up is a Savage 10 in 260 Remington.

If outside the mid-West considered, then a Browning A-Bolt in 300 Win mag. It fits me well and makes my poor shooting look better than it is.

Probably my Savage 1899A short rifle in 303 Savage. Very good shooter, well balanced, and great carrying, withbseveral loads dialed in for it from 110gr HP for pests up to 170 grainers for bigger game.

I'm not a dangerous game hunter, or in dangerous game territory and most of my shooting is fairly short range, so the lack of megasonic loudenboomer supernukemag power and trajectory isn't a big deal to me.

“Best” is subjective. Around here, some guys hunt the heavy woods, some hunt long pipelines, and some hunt both. Tough to go wrong with something moving a .400+BC spitzer at 2,800 to 3,100, being 6.5mm to 7mm. The 6.5CM, 7mm-08, 270W, and 280 are always solid picks that are relatively easy to shoot in a sporter-weight bolt action.

Having said all that, the one I grab most often, especially when I don't know for sure where I'm hunting, is a magnum-weight SS/Laminate .308win Ruger. It's heavy, but balanced, and so easy to shoot with their 2-stage target trigger. No real recoil to speak of, and the 150 NAB/NBT combo at 2880 tracks well with the long range duplex in the Leupold. We don't hike a lot around here (private property hunting), so the extra weight isn't really a big deal for me. I've got lightweights for times when I want to walk around.

Used a Rem. 700 Classic 270 Win. for almost 40 years when chasing Whitetail bucks in PA and NY. Worked in the woods, the fields and on power lines. Last couple years have been carrying a 308 Montana.

Variety is the spice of life. I enjoy shooting my 260, 6.5 Creed, 7mm-08, 270, 300wsm. But if I had to pick just one It would have to be the Tikka T3x Lite in 270.

For around here ....... my first choice is my Rem 700 CDL 25.06 with a Speer 120gr Hot-Cor in front of a full house of RL22 or 25. My second would be my daughters Rem 700 .260 with a Sierra 120gr Pro Hunter in front of H4350. All we hunt here in my part of NC is deer and coyotes and both of these do an excellent job with either.

Around here in the Great Prairie it should be my 260 Ruger FTW but I am still more often found with my 458 wm loaded with cast fn. Also the old Springfield 35 Whelen cries from the closet and we go walking together with a 280 grain cast on duty.

Ruger 77 international 250 savage with 100gr remington or hornady ammo.

Yep. That pretty much describes my needs with the heavy woods being mainly mountainsides and the longer ranges being crop fields. I prefer a lighter weight, short action, light stock, with a touch forward balance. I prefer stainless and/or coated because it seems I'm hunting in the rain as much as in the dry. I prefer a blind mag with wiggle room on OAL but can live with bdl or AICS. The short action Fieldcraft with 22" sporter contour meets all my preferences.

"around here", deer are the main focus for me. Coyotes are always on the hit list. I use a lot of different chamberings but I feel like the 6.5 caliber is perfection for deer and the design/availability of 6.5 CM is about as good as it gets for a short action. Of course it works well for coyotes. Light recoil, great bullet choices, good case design, available....makes it very shoot-able for hunting and range work.

All that's nitpicking for my preferences....a light short action is a great all-around for around here.

I have a new to me Sako 300 Win mag on the way. I have been looking for an early one for a long time. I’m eager to see how it shoots.

Give me a 30/06 & a good 3x9 scope. I did that 50 years ago & never looked back.