Which Caliber for a primary Hunting Rifle?

Aquafbody

Adventurer
I'm not sure if a .308 will take down a bull elk heck what about a moose. I have to be Johnny on the spot with my .270.
 

kojackJKU

Autism Family Travellers!
A lot of people shoot moose with the 308 here. Hell people shoot them with 30-30s here. And we know why cowboys invented them. Not to shoot moose. I use a 30-06 here, perfect for most anything here on the island.
 

Brian McVickers

Administrator
Staff member
The performance of off-the-shelf ammunition has improved and advanced so much that some quality ammunition and good shot placement with a .308 can have a broad range of effectiveness.
 

kpredator

Adventurer
People forget that the rifle is just part of the package, good well constructed bullets and good scope is equally
Important.

What did you top your .308 with
 

Longrange308

Adventurer
I have a Bushnell Elite Tactical 3.5-21 50mm that will do the job nicely!
http://www.bushnell.com/all-products/rifle-scopes/elite-tactical/dmr-3-5-21x-50mm-g2dmr

This is the scope I have on my 308 Rem700 SPS Tactical in an Eliseo chassis. Very good glass for the cash indeed. I can get consistent 1st round hits at 1025yards and be able to spot my own shots. Glass is clear, turrets are good, and the G2DMR reticle is top notch without being too busy like the Horus stuff, IMO.
 

Brian McVickers

Administrator
Staff member
Nice rifle Longrange308!
I've got something similar in the Rem700 in 308 but on the MDT Tac21 chassis. I think your Eliseo is probably a bit lighter.

Regards,
Brian
 

Kevin M

Observer
I love my 30-06 but it is more expensive to shoot than the .308, not a problem if you are using it for hunting and not shooting much. The main reason i wish it was a .308 rather than a 30-06, other than the cost of ammo, is that i want an AR-10 would have to stock up on .308 as well as the 30-06. I think it would be convenient to be able to use both platforms with one caliber. Just a thought.
 

Dalko43

Explorer
I would definitely use the 30-06 for elk. The nice thing about 30-06 is its grain range. You can go from 150grain to a really heavy 180 gr. I have heard it called the ultimate North American round because it's literally good for all big game on this continent.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

You can get up to 180 gr (and beyond) in .308 as well, you just need to have the right amount of barrel twist.
 

TGAMO

Observer
I know this is out of the range of the question asked, but what i use for my all-in-one is a .358 Winchester really just an incredible caliber - that most, if not all have forgotten about. I love it and it can be loaded up for Grizzly (I use a 275 grain Australian Woodleigh safari bullet that is Weld Core bonded) or loaded down for white tail. It is made by necking up and annealing a .308, so it is still kinda like a .308 :elkgrin: - Well at least it is still in the family.
 

oregon213

Observer
I love my 30-06 but it is more expensive to shoot than the .308, not a problem if you are using it for hunting and not shooting much. The main reason i wish it was a .308 rather than a 30-06, other than the cost of ammo, is that i want an AR-10 would have to stock up on .308 as well as the 30-06. I think it would be convenient to be able to use both platforms with one caliber. Just a thought.

I've always hunted 30-06's (except for a season using .270 and another as a kid with a 30-30). It's a great round for hunting in Oregon. Lots of power for big game (elk) and the range to take longer shots when needed (antelope).

As for affordable ammo, I've always used surplus for targets and sighting in (finishing with 5 hunting loads). I usually use the FMJ from the CMP 200 round cans of ammo. Keeps it cheap enough that I actually shoot it a fuse bit. I hunt with a Ruger M77 for what it's worth.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,800
Messages
2,878,303
Members
225,352
Latest member
ritabooke
Top