high-powered rifle?

Question

Whats a good hunting rifle? Maybe strong enough to take down a bear but still be good for normal deer and game hunting. Great Acc. is a must.

Answer 1

The term "high-powered rifle" is used by the media as a adjective to elicit shock and fear among the firearms-illiterate public.

It basically has no true definition, it just makes criminals with guns sound scary. Please try and refrain from using it.

The rifle caliber you are looking for is the good old USA .30-06 rifle.

Good for deer, good for bear, good for people too.

Plus, your choices of rifle are nearly limitless and you can actually find .30-06 ammo in whatever little town you may find yourself in when you realize you forgot to pack you ammo.

Answer 2

I own many firearms, alot of them used primarily for hunting. If I was to buy just one; it would definitely be the 30-06. Again this is only if I had just one. The 06 has reasonable recoil and the ammunition is incredibly variable for the game you want to take. If you ever desire, you also have great latitude in reloading. Another factor is that it is undoubtedly the most common round for medium and large game, therefor, you can find ammunition anywhere ammo is sold. The 06 does have its limitations; I personally wouldn't try to kill a brown bear or muck ox with it, but other than that I would trust it to about anything with the right ammunition. I promise you, you cant go wrong with an 30-06. Good Luck..

Answer 3

What kind and size of bear? A firearm powerful enough to drop a whitetail is not necessarily powerful enough to drop a brown bear, especially not some of the larger variants such as the Alaskan Brown Bear, Grizzly Bear, or Kodiak Bear.

There really isn't one rifle that is great for both whitetail AND bear, unless you are hunting smaller black bear. You can kill a bigger bear with a smaller caliber deer rifle, but it's not as guaranteed.

Now, that being said, my cousin hunts deer with a Winchester chambered for .45-70 Govt., which really is a round for bigger game, such as bear or moose.

With a deer, you basically are trying to hit it in the heart. With a bear however, especially a big bear, you want to break it's front shoulder and bring it down that way, preferably also getting enough penetration to have that be a killing shot as well. So most common deer rifles just aren't big enough to do it.

I'd say look at some magnum loads, like the .300 Weatherby Magnum maybe, or a .30-30 Winchester Magnum. Maybe the .338-378 Weatherby Magnum or .338 Winchester Magnum? I'd probably bump it up to the .375 Weatherby Magnum myself. But if you want to know you are going to bring down the bear too, I wouldn't go any lower than a .416, but that's just my advice. Take it as you will. I know shot placement is just as important as anything else including bullet size and muzzle velocity, but I like knowing that a dangerous target like a charging grizzly is going to drop when I hit it.

I might be the only person who suggests such high calibers, as they are definitely overkill for a deer, but I just wanted to throw out some thoughts on bear.

Answer 4

like evil pronounced, the corps will instruct the suited a thank you to shoot. As for inner maximum rifle, 30-06 is exceptionally damn extreme capacity. The ammo runs $12-$30 a field now days and the excess FMJ is even costly. attempt finding around the internet for low priced greater available surplus ammo. you could base a weapon off that. in case you circulate to a pawn keep you may get say an previous Mouser for $60 and shoot all day. undergo in thoughts, that the basics of marksmanship be conscious to all rifles no remember high quality, action or age. have exciting Semper Fi

Answer 5

If you're buying a new rifle consider the new .338 Federal. It should fit your needs. The tried n true .30-06 is also an excellent choice as is the .308 Winchester.

Good luck.

H

Answer 6

The 30-06 or any of the 300 magnums should do the trick. The 270 Win or 280 Rem would work fine if you are a good shot; as are a host of less common rounds like 6.5x55.
I do not mean from standing and prone etc. not from the bench.

Answer 7

The 30 06 is the most versatile round. Use 150 to 180 gr for deer sized game & 220 gr for Bigger stuff like Grizzley, but beware that, this would be a minum load on GRIZ & the like.........

Answer 8

With the availability of mil-surplus ammo on the market for practice shooting, a .308 Win. (7,62NATO) or a .30-06 would be your better choice for your 'one' gun. For hunting any large game animal, you also have a wide choice of factory loaded hunting ammo.
As many high-quality rifles there are on the market, from Remington, Winchester, Ruger, Weatherby, et.al. you will have to choose fro yourself. Go shopping around several firearms' dealers, and check out all their inventory.

Answer 9

Grizzly IX gave you excellent advice, the .30-06 or .308 are great choices. The collector in me says you should get a nice old 1903A3 Springfield with a good bore. Iron sights all the way!!

Answer 10

The tried and true 30-06 will take most game in North America. Shot placement and bullet construction are as important as muzzle energy.