For Black bear, brown bear, moose, elk, sheep, deer maybe a hog or 2?
If you could pick one common caliber and Firearm manufacture what would it be?

.375 H&H
.375 Ruger (becoming a popular round fast)
.300 Win Mag
.338 Win Mag
7MM
45/70
30/06
.308

I think the Remington XCR Stainless Steel .375 H&H would be good..

.338win mag if I had to have one to do everything.

+1

The Brown Bear definitely throws a wrinkle into that list. That alone would make me think bigger, like the 338 Win Mag. For the rest, 308, -06, whatever... All would make me happy.

How often with you be hunting the different species? If you're spending 99% of your time hunting everything on your list besides brown bear, and go on only a couple of BB hunts in your lifetime, the 7RM, .30-06, .308, etc. will get it down with gusto. If you're spending a lot of time hunting BB, moose and elk, then (I would probably still feel just fine with a 7RM, .300 or .30-06) the .338's and .375's might be more appropriate.

.375H&H will do it all, you can drop down to a 200gr bullet for the small stuff and then when needed go to a 270-300gr bullet for the big stuff and watch them all fall. the only bad part about the H&H is that it can be cumbersome to carry in the mountains. other wise .300win or .300wby mag are all you need.

30-06 or 7mm rem mag. either will (and already have numerous times) take every animal you mentioned.

30-06, 7RM, .300WM would cover everything except the great bears IMO. Anyway, who can be satisfied with one rifle?

The best all around cartridge with minimal recoil is the 30-06 for all North American animals. It's just not sexy any more. My Grand Dad used a 30-06 to kill everything from one end of this continent to the other. This with factory ammo and no fancy bullets.

If I was young and a real serious big game hunter especially of BB I would have a double rifle built in 30-06 and never look back.

If I had to pick one for all those I'd go with a big 7. If I could have two I'd go 270 and a 375.

And yes the 700 XCR in 375 would be a very good one. Personally I'd cut the tube to 23" but that's just me.

Dober

.35 Whelen.

I know it's not on the list. It should be.
.30-06 as a second choice.

.308 Winchester

I'd never have agreed with you... 'til a got a Whelen that shoots so darned well!

Then again, I'm not sure there's a critter out there the Whelen could take that a .30-'06 wouldn't.

But I'm never selling either one!

FC

And I'd have to agree with you!
I loaded some 220gr Partitions for my '06, and they be some BADDDD medicine.

I am looking for an all around rifle as I hunt with an Encore handgun with a few barrels. I hear the 375 H&H has the same trajectory of an 30/06 which make it a good round.

You are right, the 06 has killed all game including Big Browns. Shot placement is key.

well,i own a 270win and a 7mag i think that covers it very well.
if i had to go with just one caliber it would be the 300winmag

Great choice for $700.00 gun.

If you handload the .375 H&H can wear many different hats. The 225 gr Hornady spitzer at 3000 fps will reach out pretty darn flat,or it can be loaded down for milder recoil. On the other end of the spectrum, the 300 gr Partition at 2600 fps should end an argument with a big furry critter in a hurry. It would be my choice if big stuff were on the menu on a semi-regular basis in addition to deer sized stuff.

I would look real hard at the 340 Weatherby. More punch than the 300s or 338, right up there with the 375 using a much better selection of projectiles.

I fully agree. I think the 7-Mags make about the perfect all-around rifle for the average North American hunter. One must remember that a coastal brown bear hunt is usually a once in a lifetime experience, while a deer or pronghorn hunt will most often occur every year... often a couple of them per year in various locales...

I really like the medium bores, but although fun to use on all manner of game, I just find them to be far from perfect on the wind swept plains of central or eastern Montana where many shots can be very long.

In truth, I don't like the idea of just one gun for everything... instead I have matched pairs... a pair of rifles in something like .270, .280 or 7mm magnum on the lower end, and a 9.3, .375 or maybe a .416 on the top side and you've got it all covered - no matter where your passport takes you.

All the rounds on your list could do it all. It's all about the bullets (and the range for say the 45-70).

For what you listed, the 30-06 would be my choice.

This is THE question. I had several long range rifles that did approximately the same thing. I shot them all well, but none great. I finally settled on the boring old 30-06. a 100 year old caliber that everyone has owned 3 or 4 of over the years.

What I like about it is I can get a wide range of bullets at just about any locations. I can get a 120 gr for Florida Whitetails, I can get a 165 gr for Colorada Elk. or a 200 gr. for Canaian Moose and use the same gun. Hornady even makes a lite mag. If I need that extra punch. And mine shoots a 5/8 inch group at 100. I dont think i can do any better than that off the shelf.

But my everyday deer rifle is a Ruger 44 carbine. good short range(125 yard) gun.

Hoot

Get two rifles. You can afford it, if you can also afford to go hunting for all those species.

I'd want a mountain rifle with a reasonably flat trajectory that came in 8# or a little less - .270, .280, 30-06 or even 7x57. For the bigger stuff, I'd pick a .338 or something similar, in a 9# package, all up. Get good rifles, good glass (fixed power OK), tune them up and make them part of you.

Ditto to Wild Bill and Dober!:)

I could easily see a 30 caliber in any of the top three places. I'd work with the 30-06 and call it (unhappily) good.

.30-06 and yes, it even works on the great bears.

30-06 with loads of 220gr for the big stuff and 150 for small game like deer, 165 and 180 for elk and moose.

Ruger/Remington/Winchester chambered for one of the 30 caliber rounds.

Take out brown bear I would go with 300wsm

.300 Win Mag, of course!!!

If I play by the OP's rules, I guess I would go with the .338WM.

If a person were to only shoot one rifle at game, and practice regularly, He could definitley go forth and conquer with a .338. The catch being that he would have to learn to shoot it properly from the get go, as flinches developed from shooting with improper form, or a scope with poor eye relief, or an ill fitting stock, would handicap the shooter for years.

If you roll your own, you can put together handloads with a 200 grain Hornady that will run 2750 fps or so, and kill deer without shooting up the whole front end of it. On the other hand, even brown bear notice when a .250 grain partition passes through at 2700 or so.

30-06

My choice would be the .300 Win Mag..Just a 30-06 on steroids

Jayco .

You can't ignore the efficiency and versatility of the .270Win..
I would use that for everything you mentioned. When the time comes to spend big money on a brown bear/grizzly hunt, then I would buy a larger second caliber.

I agree on all counts. I'd go 270 Win 375 H&H.

and the winner is....The .340 Weatherby. Anything any 30 cal can do, it can do better. 2nd choice, 375 H&H.

30-06 for me. The 06 has a good balance of velocity, bullet weights, component availability. Second choice would be 7 Rem mag.

.300 Roy for me...

If brown bear was not on the list, I would say .30-06. It's just that those things are so damn mean, and so damn big that I would want something that makes a bigger hole and dumps more energy.

+1 on the .338. Maybe the best all around for North America. Kinda like this one.



Fast Ed

As long as brown bear are on the list, your "all around rifle" will be just short of cannon...

For the rest of that stuff, 30-06 worked for years for many.

22LR

If you don't have a 22, then 30-06 will do.



-

With brown bears on the list, I'd go with the .375H&H, as it can be loaded down to .375 Winchester and .38-55 ballistics easily, and taken up to full bore loads just as easily. And, they tend to shoot remarkably well.

If brown bear weren't on the list, the .30-06 just makes too much sense.

There's a reason that the go anywhere, do anything rifle quartet of a .22LR, .223, .30-06, and .375H&H is about impossible to trump. Toss in a 12 gauge shotgun and a .357 Magnum revolver, and your bases are WELL covered.

From your list of calibers and the game you've listed I'm torn between a Marlin guide gun in 45/70 or the 30-06 in your pick of maker, there are tons of good ones out there. The only limit for the 45/70 is range, and I'd feel better going after big brownies with the 45/70 than the '06, however I know the '06 properly loaded would get it done and limit me less for the other 98% of the hunting i'd do.

.300 Win Mag.

If I had not already had a nice 30-06, I wouldn't have built my 338-06 but I think between the two of those calibers and with modern bullet technology there isn't much in North America that can't be hunted successfully.

Okay I had to do this, get one of these in 30-06 and never look back. Sure wish I had when I was young.

http://www.krieghoff.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=115

Given your choices I'd go with the XCR in a 300 WM. If you didn't include the brown bear I'd say an 06' or 7mm RM.

35 Whelen.

Yup. Or a 30-06.

Another vote for 35 Whelen. Love the one I have and am quite comfortable anywhere in Alberta. We do have a few of both bears here.

I have considered selling off my other rifles except my little Marlin 1894 44mag and my Browning BPS 12g as I have hunted almost exclusively the last few years with the Whelen. Even hunting on the wind swept prairies I limit myself to a max of 250 yards and prefer to get much closer. Crazy or Looney, your choice.

300wsm

OK I will play. Get a NULA 375 RUM 22" barrel shoot 250's @ around 3150. Powerful, flat shooting and light weight, about 7 pounds all up. Yes it kicks a lot but that never seems to be a consideration at the 24 Hour CF. If you want to be real world and practical then get a Big 7 ala Dober and BobinNH. Real wisdom there.

If you could afford to hunt everything in North America you could afford a few rifles. But for the sake of answering the post, my ho-hum answer is a stainless-synthetic bolt rifle in .30-06. 104 years old and still the most versitile round out there.

For a light rifle with minimum recoil, I'd choose the 7x57mm Mauser cartridge. However, due to your mentioning the "brown bear" (you didn't mention the "polar bear"), then that changes the requirements.

While a .30/06 or a 7mm Remington Magnum has and can take either an Alaskan Brown Bear or a Polar Bear, you'd be far better off with at least a .338 Win. Magnum, .375 H&H Magnum or, as a last choice, the .375 Ruger.

I recommended the .375 Ruger last because both the .338 Win. Mag. and the .375 H&H Magnum are VERY "established" cartridges and places to buy ammo for either one is a well-established fact whereas the .375 Ruger is still somewhat questionable as far as whether or not it will still be around in 10 years... and the distribution for ammo for it is not well-established.

Since bullet placement is "THE" supreme determination of making a "good kill", the lack of recoil of the 7x57mm Mauser makes it a good choice for an "all-around cartridge". However, I feel it's a bit "light" for the big bears. However, with good bullet placement, it WILL take either a Brown or Polar Bear... but it's NOT the "stopper" that the .338 or the .375's are.

Of course, the mild little 7x57mm cartridge doesn't have the considerable recoil that the .338 or either of the .375s have either.

Yes, I "know"... there are some members of the board who claim the .338 Winchester Magnum's recoil "isn't so bad". And this makes me wonder if they've ever shot one. I hunted for over 40 years with a pre-'64 Model 70 Winchester in .338 Win. Mag. and I am here to tell you that my "hot" handloads (210 gr. Nosler Partition at 3020 fps) jarred the heck outta me... and I'm not "recoil-conscious". But that was shooting the .338 "off-the-bench". In hunting situations, one never notices the recoil or the muzzle blast.

I "retired" the big Winchester seveal years ago in favor of either a .300 Savage (Model 99 Savage rifle) or a 7x57 (aka "7mm Mauser" or ".275 Rigby") in a Ruger #1 International (with a Mannlicher-type stock) and never looked back. Either rifle/cartridge combination has less than HALF the amount of recoil of my .338 Win. Mag. shooting my handloads.

In fact, as many here have suggested, why not buy TWO new rifles... one in 7x57 (perhaps a Ruger #1) and one in .375 H&H Magnum or .375 Ruger? Then you can use the light rifle for everything except the "big bears".

Yes, it will cost you an extra $1,000 or so for the second rifle and scope... but that amount of money pales into insignificance compared to the cost of a hunt for the Kodiak or Polar Bears. Give that idea some thought, my friend...!

Jus' my 2�..............


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I'll probably never be able to afford a Brown bear hunt, but I hunt everything I can with a 300 win mag and 200 NPs. I'm quite sure if I showed up in a brown bear hunting camp and told them this is the only rifle I hunt with and I showed them I could shoot it well, that they'd be pretty comfortable and so would I.

.338 TO .375

I'm pretty much in the same camp, just with a 338 Win and 210gr Partitions instead. I may consider a 250gr for Brown Bear, but the chances of needing to do that are slim as I doubt I'll ever hunt them.

30-06

220gr al the way down to 110 pick your game.

As you read about the sucess on here that so many people have hunting so many different kinds of game with so many different cartridges,the thing that jumps out at me is that there are a great many "all round"rifles and cartridges available today.

I would not select an all-round cartridge on the basis of one or two brown bear hunts,the same way I wouldn't choose a 500 Jeffrey to hunt Africa because I might shoot one or two buffalo.

As Phil Shoemaker points out,a good 30 caliber like the 06 with heavy bullets kills brown bear pretty well.For that matter I sorta doubt a heavy well constructed 7mm bullet is gonna do one any good either..

....cartridges I like are the 30/06,the various 300 and 7mm magnums,the 270,280,etc.