Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Preferred caliber?

.260 Rem, 6.5x55, .308 Win, .270 Win would be the order I would be considering - partly depends on what you are going to be hunting the most. Run the ballistics on the .308 Win with the 150 grain Accubond, and you might decide you had found your do-everything round, and anything inside of 500 yards would be in trouble with that combination if the person holding the gun did his part (not that I'm advocating shooting past 400 yards, but the .308 with 150 grain Accubond is capable somewhat beyond 400 yards). I was about to write that if I was going to be chasing moose a lot that I would probably go with a .308, but then I remembered that the Scandinavians have killed train-loads of moose with the 6.5x55, so the 6.5x55 or its ballistic twin the .260 should work for anything you would hunt in Montana.

Out of a .260 or 6.5x55, a 140 grain Partition or 130 grain Accubond (or possibly a TTSX if you lean that way) for the big stuff and a good 120 to 130 grain bullet for the medium game would be ideal. Of course, you could also use the big game bullet for everything, and a 140 grain Partition or 130 grain Accubond out of either the .260 or 6.5x55 would do the job farther than most mortals are going to be shooting. Unless you are planning to shoot past 500, any of the four rounds I mentioned should work with an appropriate bullet applied in the right location.

If you're thinking about shooting past 300 yards, you're going to need a rangefinder regardless of what cartridge designation is stamped on your barrel, so I wouldn't choose a cartridge just because it gave me 15 or 20 more yards of "max point blank range." I would be more concerned with performance in the wind (taking into account the bullets I would consider) and how much I would want to practice with a gun that had X amount of recoil.

My 7mm08 is my go-to backpack hunting rifle but I have been eye-ing up a 260, just because. Doubt you'd notice any difference in effectiveness in 7mm08, 308 or 260....or 270 for that matter.

Just don't see the need to step up to 300wm in a lightweight rifle but if that's what floats your boat why not.

Well, I've only hunted in NW Montana all my life, so I might not be qualified to make this statement... But...

Shots are either going to be inside 80 yards offhand where you have to shoot fast and in a hurrylike or they're going to be clear across a windy canyon. It turns out that in either instance the skill of the hunter is far more important than the numbers on the casehead.

I would suggest buying a NULA 22RF and doing your damndest to wear it out.

nothing wrong with 308. Nothing at all.

My pick for my backpacking round was 284.

First, I've never hunted in Montana. The farthest north I've hunted is CO, so you can take my response for what it is worth; which is about $.02. If I were hunting in Montana, I would choose a magnum; either a 300 or 338 Win Mag (or larger). Can't take credit for the idea. It came as from a family friend that was a guide (retired) out of Bozeman, MT. His thoughts were simple...Montana has grizzly bears and he just didn't want to come across one under-gunned. He told me that recoil matters very little when you have a grizzly in the neighborhood. I mostly hunt in OK and have a 300 WM and (although a bit of an overkill) it works pretty well on deer, hogs and it is my primary rifle for elk in CO.

7-08

+1 if you reload. If not, I'd stick with the tried and true 308 since you can sometimes get surplus ammo available in bulk at quite a discount, though it appears the really cheap stuff is gone for good.

Many here at the fire favor the 120gr Nosler Ballistic tip in 7mm and consider it a far superior game bullet in comparison to a most similar weight 30cal bullets, if recoil reduction is an issue. Even if you aren't a flincher, it's nice to be able to practice from field positions and not get beat up from it.

I ain't buyin' it. A 308 loaded with a 180gr Triple Shock is a match for any bear south of the 49th parallel.

The most important thing Ive learned is ................

If you cannot control the flinch, it doesnt matter one bit what you shoot, you will wound most animals instead of making clean kills.

The funny thing is, once you can control the flinch, you will find you dont need so much power, the 7-08 gets it done just fine and then some. The flip side to shooting the 7-08, almost no flinch, win/win.

Hell a 60lb compound bow can double lung an elk with ease and its power is pathetic compared to even a 22 lr.

I will put my vote in for 308 win, don't think you can go wrong with that. If you feel the need for more I would have that NULA built in 350 rem mag, 180's for deer sized game and all the way up to 250's for the big stuff.

Most guys carry a 44 mag for bear protection, by that standard a 308 win should be more than enough.

It kills me how many "hairy bear and mountain lion encounters" we hear about from the survivors. you spend any amount of time in the sticks, and you're going to have run ins.

I personally have never looked forward to the adult diaper years. If I croak doing what I loved to do ([bleep] off in the out doors) then you can all get wasted at my funeral and tell each other what a crazy bitch I was. Now if I died in a car wreck, that'd be a tragedy.

If I ever did wind up in a situation where I was charged by a grizzly and all I had was my Montana in 308. I'm going to empty it out while I'm screaming "Because I have opposable thumbs [bleep]..."

The .308 will certainly work though I would prefer an '06.

Two points.

First, since it's gonna be a lightweight rig, I was leaning towards a short action and keeping it in a reasonable cartridge so it doesn't kick like a mule.

Second, I have no intention of hunting bear, but since they are about up there, I figured any encounter would be a short-range one, and that a 180 grain bullet from a 308 would probably be adequate to deal with it, providing both bullet weight and bullet diameter. Within a 50 yard encounter range, I would think it would have adequate power. If I was expecting an encounter I would just pack my Guide Gun in 45-70 and be done with it, but I plan on hunting deer and elk but want enough gun to deal with something if it unexpectedly comes up. I suppose if the consensus was that the 308 wasn't enough I could go with a 338 Federal, but the trajectory prolly isn't as good as a 308. I know griz is big and can be cranky, but he isn't armor-plated, either.

While I have only been on one elk hunt in NW MT, and I am something of a "rifle looney", owning all sorts of cartridges just because....well just because.....I'd say 30-06.
Its enough for elk, and with todays scopes, as already mentioned, "longer" distances are not out of the question.
It won't kill your shoulder, but may bite alittle at the bench with extended sessions....But most importantly it will get the job done. Once you find a load that works for hunting, you can always practice with reduced loads, and then just re-confirm zero before a hunt with your full power loads.
Good luck with your choice,
johnny

I like the .308win.. But, I love the 260rem loaded up with a partition..

In an ultralight rifle, .308 is hard to beat.

I like more bullet weight and more velocity but unless you add some gun weight, recoil gets noticeable fast. I've been shooting a Kimber montana in .308 for a couple years. When I was doing load workup, starting loads were pretty comfortable but the max loads came back real snappy in a gun that light.

If your gun shoots max loads accurately, .308 will probably be enough. If you have to back a grain or three away from full throttle to get accuracy, as I do, you may want something "more." Hard to say how it will turn out.

Recoil really only matters during practice, I've never a noticed recoil at all in the woods.

I think a 308 will be fine. Load it with a quality 165gr slug and enjoy. I think the 180's to be a bit past the ideal curve for the 308 and the 150's fall a smidgen short of ideal. Partition,accubond,inner bond or interlock. 2750-2850 fps with a 165 gr .308 slug ought to stack up big game quite nicely.

I have so I'll disagree with you. I've been popped a couple times with a scope, not enough to bleed but I damn sure knew it'd hit me. Smashed a finger or two between the stock and something else. Had a .30-30 (Win 94) stuff my thumb knuckle up my right nostril, or try.

Even if I agreed, what happens in practice is important. If you're used to a particular gun hurting, it can take me quite a while to forget about it, even on the first shot. I have several rifles I sight in mid summer and I don't shoot 'em for 2-3 months before hunting season because of that. Muscle memory, I suppose.

I agree getting scoped sucks, it's only been a problem once and in practice actually (to make matters worse). My main rifle is a kicker, and shooting at the range reminds me it is a kicker, but I've never even felt it in the woods. I agree though, practice well, perform well and perhaps a big kicker makes practicing harder