Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game One gun,one load for the rest of your life!!!

My 8x57 custom running 180 TSX's at 2800.

Mine would be the 35 Whelen with 225gr bullets.

If birds and such were included, then the best choice would be a shotgun with slugs & birdshot loads.

One big game rifle? I'd probably go back full circle and shoot a .308 for everything. Of the four .308's I now have, I would choose the Sako M85 Graywolf. nosler partition 165's.

Mine would be my current all around gun which is a Ruger M77 MKII UL in Stainless Synthetic 30.06. Load would be Interbonds in 165 grain. The gun loves them and I love the gun. Scope would be a Burris 3x9x40 with the ballistic reticle. I just can't see beating that combination.

I would choose my Remington model 700, with a Nikon Prostaff scope, in .30-06 for my gun of choice. My bullet of choice would be 180 grain Nosler Partitions.

Another vote for a good .22 LR bolt action, scoped, with solids.

Probably not my first choice as a bear gun, but this is a pic of Bella Twins world record grizzly skull, killed with a single shot .22.(1953)

My .458 because I'm not ready to give up on the dream of going to Africa yet, and when my shoulder won't take the recoil any longer it can be loaded down. Maybe they'll have sabots for rifles worked out by then.

It would be a regress, but a 30-06 loaded with 58.5 gr of IMR4350 and a Hornady 165 BTSP out of my 1978 Tikka M65. A death ray on anything that ever had cross hairs on it. I might substitute for a 168 TSX now, though.

Coyote: I went the opposite direction and used a bunch of different stuff for years.Today,I don't really want to experiment much anymore,and I've been reaching for a 270 or big 7 with good bullets for the last decade or so,almost exclusively.Nothing else gets much of a workout.I haven't shot anything with a 30 cal for over a decade.

Everything gets pretty dead in a hurry

If you were looking for all-around hunting, then you would have a hard time beating either a 7mm Rem Mag w/ 160 gr or 300Win w/ 180 gr. I would choose an accubond and make it come out of the muzzle at 3000fps.

Any animal but BIG bears on this continent and most on the dark continent.

If I had to pick a gun, I would pick a Sako 75 synthetic with a Zeiss 4.5x14-44mm and off I go.

Mauser M-1996 Straight-Pull in 30'06 Springfield plugged with a 165 gr Hornady Interbond over 61.5 grains of RL-19.

It was my first "high powered" centerfire (the quotes are there because I am no longer naive enough to believe that the 30 WCF I had first wasn't "high powered") rifle, and it shoots better than I can.

All my rifles since have proven more or less new-yet-unimproved mousetraps .

Like others have said, I'll keep trying... can't limit myself to just one!

I'm torn between two setups, one that is my passion, the other that just makes sense.

The first:

Marlin 1895G extended mag tube, laminate stock, pistol grip, limbsaver pad and 4 round cartridge trap in the stock (all this can be seen at brockman's) Lupy VXIII 2.5x8x36. Load would be Garrett hammerheads probably the 425gr at 1850. There isn't a thing that walks that I would be afraid of hunting with this setup, also it is magic on little 'bama bucks. Great 'thump' little meat damage and man what a blood trail.

The second that makes the most sense, but is boring:

Solid bolt action rifle in 30-06. Not too decided on the make or model, but the glass would be a VXIII 4.5x14 and the load would be federal's HE 180gr partition or a similar handload with the 180gr partition.


Seem to see a lot of 30-06 180gr partition reccomendations, funny there isn't more of us using that setup...

NULA 375 RUM 22" bbl. 6.75 lbs scope included (3x9) 250 gr. bonded core bullets at 3150 fps and a large bottle of narcotic pain killers.

Rin: You gotta be shidtin' me....

Bobin: I tried the 378 Wby but the actions are very heavy and brass is expensive. I considered the 375 Ackley but decided on something that has factory brass although it is now difficult to find.

Assuming you are meaning just one centerfire rifle, I would have to take either a 7mm Rem Mag with either Remmie 150 factory loads or 160 Partition handloads, or a .30-06 with 165's. If I was pushed farther, it would probably end up being the .30-06. Unless I turned Bolshevik and opted for my dang .45-70 loaded with 405 gr. hardcast or 405 Remmie JFP's at about 1500-1600...which might just happen.

My Winchester 1895 405 WCF
AMRA

My 30-06 and 180 partitions.

My Remington Ti 7mm-08 shooting 140 grain TTSX's.

The mountains in B.C. seem to be getting higher and steeper every year!