Which Caliber for a primary Hunting Rifle?

SunFlower

Adventurer
There is almost no difference between a 308 and 30-06 for shooting elk.

I have owned only 1 bolt action "deer" rifle in my life and its a 30-06. I have shot about 15 whitetails, 2 elk and 2 mule deer.

They all died from a single shot. All were with a 165 grain bullet.

Don't listen to all the hype and hysteria regarding caliber and bullet.
 

zimm

Expedition Leader
ok, lets say 300 yds, one shot. lets see who drops a nice size moose.

why not just make it 1/2 mile? since youre as likely to be shooting moose at that range as 300 yds.

you said a 30/30 cant kill a dog. i bet i can kill your dog at 300 yards, one shot. i hope its a newfoundland, it'll be easier to hit than a jack russel.
 

plainjaneFJC

Deplorable
So it wont kill a dog? Does that mean we could take a shot at you with it? Its easier to kill a 70lb dog than a 200lb human.
I own a modified Brazilian mauser in 30.06. It is heavy as hell, with a nice cheap tasco scope, but its super accurate and has taken down many moose in the 20 years that it has been in the family. 30/06 is a great round for most everything. I have been lusting for a new lightweight, stainless barrel rifle and have been looking at other rounds but I keep going back to the 30.06 for many of the reasons mentioned here, variety of the loads, ease of accessability of the rounds etc. I know people here hunt moose with a 30/30....not big enough to kill a dog, let alone a moose. there are so many injured animals every here from people hunting with these pea shooters.
 

KiwiKurt

Explorer
why not just make it 1/2 mile? since youre as likely to be shooting moose at that range as 300 yds.

you said a 30/30 cant kill a dog. i bet i can kill your dog at 300 yards, one shot. i hope its a newfoundland, it'll be easier to hit than a jack russel.

So it wont kill a dog? Does that mean we could take a shot at you with it? Its easier to kill a 70lb dog than a 200lb human.

Anchorman-well-that-escalated-quickly.jpg
 

KiwiKurt

Explorer
Yeah.....not sure I'd see the humor in talking about putting a projectile through me in person, either.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

plainjaneFJC

Deplorable
Ha I made that comment because I hear all the time that so and so caliber will just piss a man off, but not stop him. My general response is "ok, stand there and let me shoot you with it then". I meant nothing serious.
 

KiwiKurt

Explorer
ah. gotcha. yeah people's general mis conceptions of ballistic truth can be a bit interesting, at times.....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Jerry Ward

Adventurer
I exclusively use a .308 in an M1A platform for all of my meat hunting; with the exception of a .22LR for small game. I don't reload and have never felt the need to work up a pet load for any reason whatsoever. Factory ammo is offered in a wide variety of bullet weights/types, so there are plenty of options available right off the shelf. It can be found in almost any small-town hardware store, is relatively inexpensive, and can be used interchangeably with the 7.62mm NATO round found in some military sniper rifles and belt-fed weapons. I've personally harvested critters ranging from whitetail to bison with no problems. Hope this helps...Jerry
 

Brian McVickers

Administrator
Staff member
I had forgotten about this thread but it's great to see it still going.

I wound up getting the 6.5lb Mountain SS chambered in .308

The more research I did I found the differences in .308 and 30-06 to be so small that I either one is great.
I chose .308 based on the price and availability of ammunition and that I have another rifle in .308 that is more of a precision target gun. Having both in .308 gives me one caliber to use between two platforms.

Here is the Mountain SS
IMG_2793.jpg
 

Cascade Wanderer

Adventurer
That should be a great, lightweight hunting rifle. Very practical. Looks like a quality piece of gear. I've used the .308 a lot.

Regards, Guy
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,539
Messages
2,875,662
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top