Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What top 3-5 rifles for hunting the world? Gunwriters et al.

Everyone needs to start off with a good 22 rimfire. That should be rifle #1. Proceed from there.

Yes but not everyone needs to have one custom built.

And why not?

I don't enjoy the .22. To me it's boring.

I agree John. One reason I bought the Cooper Custom Classic was that it felt like a CF rifle.

I have a lot of rifles, total 41 at present and NO "international" experience, but, quite extensive working BC-AB "bush" experience. Based on that and conversations with friends who have very extensive experience all over the world, and with my major interest in BC and "Territories" hunting, here is what I would pick from my safes.

1. Fine .22lr bolt rifle, need to replace the Kimber 82C I recently traded...maybe a newer Kimber with 3-pos. safety or a Dakota if I could find one.

2. Have a pair of sts. tubed .30-06 rifles built on Brno 21H actions, with new bolt handles, 3-pos. safeties, Micky Edge MKX stocks, Recknagel safeties, Talleys, Alaska triggers and Zeiss Conquest 3x9s....have the actions and some custom parts, might do this anyway.

3. Buy a custom .375H&H from AHR, Wayne has been so fine in my experiences with him that this is THE place to buy another DGR...OR, I have minty P-64 .375 H&H in a Rimrock, Talleys, IRONS on and use a pair of my Leupy 1.75x6 MHD scopes.

This, is four rifles and I would add my Merkel 96K in 12-12-9.3x74R drilling,scoped, ghost and post and so on and these five would do the job anywhere I can think of.

"Stopping rifles", wellll, I had a Browning Safari FN-LE-,458WM and can shoot it from the bench, but, I think that one of my two .375s is much more practical and so I sold it. I think that field skills and shooting abilities are FAR more important in hunting safety than having a big boomer that one seldom shoots and is heavy to pack around.

For, just Canadian hunting, my choices would be slightly different and I seldom actually use the .30-06s I have as I prefer .270 and .280 rifles and,especially, .338WM and 9,3s.

kutenay,

The line-up would sure do!

There's an interesting story about Howard French, the editor of GUNS & AMMO during what many people consider the magazine's best years. When he interviewed people for assistant editing jobs, the first question he asked was what kind of .22 rimfire they owned. If they didn't own one or, worse, kind of sneered at the idea, they were immediately rejected, as French considered a good .22 one of the essentials of a really well-rounded rifle shooter!

Along with some other rimfires, we have three fine .22 rifles in the house, including a Winchester 62A, an Anschutz and one of the New York Kimbers. (If anything, the newer Kimber .22's were even more accurate than the Oregon rifles.) All three have accounted for a lot of varmints and small game over the years, as well as much "affordable" target practice.

John-
I recall reading in the late 1970s some Petersen/G&A magazine article about Howard French's custom 22. It was built by the Remington custom shop on a 40-X action with a full size stock. In the photos accompanying the article, it was shown with a Unertl 6X Condor mounted. The rifle was really accurate, as one would expect.

French or another of the G&A regulars had a Browning 22 semi-auto fitted with a truck-axle match barrel. I think Hoenig did the work. The wood forend was discarded. It was an experimental search for accuracy that did not materialize.

--Bob

.22-250
6.5X68mmS
8x68mmS
.404 Jeffery

I still have one more choice. 17 Rem .22 Hornet .308Win .22LR .257 Roberts .45-70

22rf
222 or 222mag, I've never liked the short neck of a 223.
7x57 or 7x64
404 Jeffery

Here's my list:

CZ 452 22 lr
Savage 260 Rem, on order
Custom Rem 700 35 Whelen, should arrive later this month.
SS Laminate 375 Ruger.

The 260 and 35 Whelen are going to replace guns I already had in those calibers, we are going to add a 270 or 280 for both my wife and I to use and eventually a 223 Rem. I could do without the 375 Ruger but it such a great gun so it will stay. If I really had to, it could be reduced to the 22 lr, a 270/280 and 35 Whelen.

The guy could save himself a lot of work and buy 5 Kimbers...

Five Total;
.22 Long Rifle
.223 Remington
.30-06
.375 H&H
12 Gauge

Five Centerfires;
.223 Remington
.243,.257 Roberts,.260, 6.5x55 or .270 [I really want a .260]
.30-06
.338 Win
.375 H&H

Go and get yourself a Blaser R-8 with two barrels one in 7mm RM and the other in 375 H+H, same bolt head. Scope each one to suit your tastes. Add a 22 RF Blaser dose not make a 22RF barrel for the R-8 yet but my guess they will. And one good shotgun. One rifle two barrels would be very compact and easy to transport and to store. And the 7mm and 375 are very common cartridges.

Somebody tell me why I would ever be stupid enough to limit myself to 5 rifles. Well mabe 5 in most calibers anywhoo. Crap I have 5 chambered in 7x57, why do I need any less?

Good point!

I do tend to limit myself to 50 centerfire rifles, because otherwise the house would start leaking guns, but don't limit myself on rimfire rifles, handguns or shotguns.

After reconsideration, and reading some of the recent posts, here's my new list:

5mm Remington
.225 Winchester
6.5x57R
.350 Rigby
.505 Gibbs Ackley Impoved

There, that should establish me as another discerning, obscure and impractical rifle loony.

If I had to build 5 Model 70s to hunt the world over, I would base the builds on previously offered factory cartridges to keep from having to do too much bolt/magazine changes. Mine would look like this:

1. 22 Hornet (with FW contour barrel, Biesen style stock)
2. 243 Winchester (I'd make this an M70 version of the M700 Varmint Special)
3. 270 Winchester (O'Connor/Biesen copy)
4. 300 H&H (David Miller style)
5. 375 H&H (Echols Legend)

walmart custom 5:

.22 rimfire
.223
.243
.270
.30-06

rifle looney 5:

.17 HMR
.22-250AI
.260
.280
.35 Whelen

I'm all for you, John...shoot that last one much and you'll be looking for another descriptor to replace "looney"!

You list is a lot different from my list. Your choices aren't bad and are logical just not my cup of diet pepsi. Well, I would have to question you on the .225 Winchester. I do like you orginal choice the 9.3X64 better than the .350 Rigby.

I'm Canadian and have mostly hunted Eastern Canada for the past 60 years: New Brunswick (home province), Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario (for the past 30 years) + one trip to Africa for an 8-day visit with two missionary sons in Senegal -- they took me on a "One Day Safari". I used my eldest son's 12-gauge pump with Brennekes. Managed to whack a couple of warthog (he shot most of his warthog with a single-shot .22LR for protein. Brennekes were too expensive for casual hunting).

So, I have NO experience in western-style hunting, though, of course, I can read.

The best all-purpose rifles I've used for MY hunting of big game (deer, moose and bear)in wooded areas, semi-open and clear cuts, and farm land have been: .300 Winchester Magnums and .45-70s (quite a few of each). In addition, I like the mid-bores a lot. I never shoot factory stuff -- only handloads in centerfires. The .22LR and 12-gauge are exceptions. So to leave out shotguns (which I do include in real life), my list would be:

.22LR -- a Remington semi M597 that shoots ONLY the Hyper Velocity Yellow Jackets into a five-shot group that can be covered with a nickel at 50 yards -- in 5 secs., when I do my part! I'll not shoot anything else through it.

7-08 Remington in a Remington M7 or Winchester Featherweight.

.300 Winchester Magnum with a 24" barrel at least, and 26" preferred. All would shoot sub-moa with the right loads at max velocity. Very versatile. Kind of a super-charged .30-06. Since owning .300s (including Weatherby and Norma as well as several Winchesters), I've never returned to a .30-06.

9.3 X 62 as my current medium. In my Tikka T3 (22.4"), ready to go it weighs 7.4 lbs. Ballistics parallel the three .375 H&Hs I formerly owned.

.458 Win Mag. Have owned a couple, and prefer one with a 23" barrel.

.45-70 in a Ruger #1 -- sort of a single-shot .458 Win Mag, though more versatile in ballistics. Have owned 3. My current one was long-throated 15 years ago. Ballistics do equal a .458 Win Mag but in a very handy and light rifle. Handsome to boot.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca