Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Downsizing, choose 3 Cartridges for Worldwide hunting

Giving a bit of thought to this question a few things come to mine.

Anyone that can hunt all over the world can afford a lot more then 3 rifles, so the only reason for such a limitation is compactness linked to versatility. The cost of 1 airplane ticket round trip to an area 12 time zones away + the cost of the hunt and trophy fees is far more then several other guns. But if a globe trotter wanted to keep only 3 rifles for his travel kit because of compactness such a self imposed limit might make some sense.

So if I had unlimited money and time, and wanted to travel around the big ball to hunt, but only carry one case full of guns (with 3 inside) I'd choose the 22 long rifle, the 270 Winchester and the 375H&H.

My reasoning is as follows;

The 22 LR is super useful for many types of small game and birds, and ammo is easier to find all over the world than many other cartridges. My gun of choice would be a Marlin M39 because it can be taken down easily and fit into the case with a bit more compactness. The M39 is very accurate and holds 17 rounds of Long rifle ammo, but also feeds shorts as well.

The 270 and the 375H&H would both be made on either Winchester M70 Controlled feed actions or Mauser 98 pattern actions and both would be take down rifles.

My choice for a "ONE size fits almost-all" is and has always been a 30-06, but because I can have 3 rifles in this scenario, I choose the 270. My reasoning is that I have killed many elk with 270s and about 3/4 as many with 30-06s and for elk size game, despite the numbers on paper, I have not seen any advantage of the 30-06 over the 270s given good bullets used in both. If I were to go to a larger size animal I suspect I may start to see a difference, but up to 900 pounds of so, the 270 has shown me outstanding results for over 50 years and it lends itself a bit better to pest and varmint/ pest-predators then the 30-06. Because I have a 375H&H in the set I'd use that one any game over what I felt was maxed out with the 270. So again thinking about covering the most bases with only 3 rifles I would place the 270 as my general purpose hunting rifle. For moose buffalo and pachyderms the 375H&H is all the rifle you'd need for HUNTING. For back-up (for guiding other hunters who may not make the 1st shot as perfectly as they should) I'd want a 458 or something in that range, but for my own use the 375H&H is as good a weapon as I could ever desire, again given my choice of bullets. And like the 22 and the 270, the ammo is easier to find on "other places" than many cartridges we may have available in the USA, but when a long way from the USA such a consideration might be important.

So 3 rounds in 3 specific rifles for me it would be the Marlin M39 and 2 take down bolt actions, one 270 and one 375.

Since most of my "serious" hunting is in Africa, and if I was forced to choose three.

338 Winchester
375 H&H
416 Rem

A lot of overlap in that list but I could live with it.

The OP spotted everyone a .22 LR & a shotgun gratis in the original post so you're already covered. 👍

My issue as the OP is that I am moving from the country to a townhouse in the city. Downsizing is the only option I have and the other firearms I own, I shoot a lot more than the hunting rifles, and I need room for them also as well as downsized reloading gear. Ten years ago I would have opposed a thread like this.

In the 90's my PH for South Africa told me all I needed for the world is the 30 06 and the .375 H&H and that has stuck with me. But instead of the .375 H&H I have switched to the 375 Ruger because it feeds and functions perfectly in a standard length Mauser action.

It does indeed look like there is a loose consensus on the 30-06 and .375.

270 Win
300 Win
416 Rem

Although i would be happy with a

7mm08
300 Win
9.3x62

…and you need a 22LR for plinking & a 17HMR for tree rats.

A 30-06 and a 375 are a great combo that cover a lot of situations well. They may not always be the optimal choice in every situation but rarely can they be described as a bad one. If ammo availability is a priority, then definitely a solid selection. Having said that, I chose a 9.3x62 as my "middle" rifle so I kind of split the difference for the sake of this particular exercise.



.

Buy a Blaser R8.
If I had the money to hunt the world I sure wouldn’t be concerned with limiting the number of guns I own.

I've only been doing three anymore. 30-30, 30-06, and 45-70

.243 Win. (dual purpose as varmint and light big game)
280 AI
One of the 375s or 416s

7mm-08: 90% of hunting
.30-06: elk, exotics, dangerous game
6.5 PRC: ranges past 400

Easy peasy:

#1. 270 Win or a 7mm of some sort moving a 1303100 to a 1502875 22” bbl

#2 375 H&H

#3 open space

The more I hunt, the fewer rifles I want.

Before I had the time and funds to go hunting, I spent a lot of time and energy buying rifles, reloading, and experimenting. I should have gotten a part-time job and invested my earnings.

First off, I confess that I do not have world-wide experience. So, for what it is worth, I will offer some "arm-chair" suggestions:

.375 Ruger or H&H
.30-06 Springfield
.223 Remington

Having said that, depending on what you want to hunt, you may also want to include a 7mm-08 Remington. For your particular needs, a 7-08 could take the place of the .223 and maybe overlap some on the .30-06. Of these, I would say the .30-06 is the most practical overall.

This was not in the original question, but I would like to add that the most versatile firearm in existence is either a pump or semi-automatic 12 ga. 3" or 3.5" shotgun with a smoothbore barrel with changeable chokes and a second scoped rifled slug barrel. This can be used for anything from snakes to game birds, varmints, squirrels, deer, rabbits, coyotes, crazed zombies, elk (up to about 120 yds), medium sized bear, etc. No, it is not the perfect gun for every range and every game, but by far it is the most versatile tool for hunting and defense that I know of. Obviously, not suitable for cape buffalo at any distance or antelope at 250 yards, but you get the idea.

for my world:

easy button:

.223 rem
.308 win
.338 win mag

style points:

6x45
7mm-08
.338 fed

old school:

22 hornet
250-3000
300 sav

I like your posts.
Experimenting is almost cultish these days, I am in the cult.
Hunting hard makes you a better hunter, not a brain full of data.

This picture puts a big smile on my face. In many ways the 9.3 x 62 or 35 Whelen makes a lot of sense.

I have a small fraction of the hunting experience you guys have and am coming around to this conclusion myself.
Currently I have 8-10 "deer appropriate" rifles, at least half of those could extend to moose/bear. Downsizing could net me a safari.

As to the OP's subject, others have mentioned it but a Blaser R8 or Sauer 404 with multiple barrels would fill the bill with compactness and class.

If I went that route (and had the $$$) a barrel each in 6.5CM/7mm08, 270/30-06, 375HH/Ruger.

Nice

This is a viable and solid option I considered and may possibly be the ultimate solution for many. Definitely the most practical solution in terms of compactness and modularity.

The main reason I did not go this route is if you had a major malfunction in the receiver assembly or broke the stock, you would be SOL. Highly unlikely, but still a risk. With a matched set of rifles, you have a complete back up with parts interchangeability giving you options.

On page 1 of this thread, I asked:


My question still stands. If you're going truly worldwide, there are all sorts of considerations on what's going to fly in a given country for particular game. The military round prohibition is just one of them.

I remember being told on this very forum that 35 Whelen was not as good a choice for international hunting over 9.3X62, because 35 Whelen was derived from a military cartridge. I don't know. I've never tried to send firearms out of the country to hunt. I don't know where that would leave 45-70 in this discussion. as well as things like 308 WIN, 30-06 and 7X57 Mauser.

I'd also be interested in how the energy-related specifications of some countries change all this. I know there are minimum restrictions on caliber and Ft/Lbs. Are there restrictions that say "this round is too much for this sized game?"