What riffle is the all around gun for any game?

Question

I reload. What do I need to be safe to big bear hunt, and white tail and have still meat to eat. It needs to be economical and be able shot it, not have it kick the snot out of me. I now shot a 300 WSM and love it, but don't think it is enough for the great bear(grisely). If you give me a Cal. please give Max. and Min. bullet wt.s along with FPS.

Answer 1

I have 2 odd 6's in my safe but I love my 7mm Rem Mag and I have had that all over North America.

Answer 2

No such thing, but if you want a little more comfort for big bears and yet not feel completely ridiculous with deer, you might try a 9.3x62. A 285 grain Nosler Partition or something similar will give you comfort for the brownies, you may still be able to find the 232 grain Lapua Scenar, or use a bit too much with a 250 grainer for deer, with the former loaded to about 2400 fps and the latter lightly not much faster. Despite being older than the 30-06 (1905), its case is almost identical, and brass can be bought or it can be fireformed from 35 Whelen or 30-06, so you can tell it won't burn tons of powder and bruise you like some of the smaller magnums. It has a top-tier reputation in Africa as well, and John Taylor gave it glowing reviews, which he seldom did for bolt guns.

Answer 3

What rifle is the best(?) all around gun for any game? If you mean caliber, in North America the .30-06 is hard to beat, as is the .308 Winchester. The new .338 Federal caliber shows promise. In Africa the .375 Holland & Holland is considered the 'minimum,' even though the .30-06 is also used there. For Grizzly bear you want the heaviest bullets: bare minimum, 180; 200 or even 220 grain are better, and use quality hunting brands: Barnes X, Federal, Hornady, etc.

As far as rifle make, the Remington 700 series is hard to beat.

H

Answer 4

Consider 300 Weatherby, little expensive and kicks a bit, but its flat shooting with zero at 300 yds, has about 4000 ft. lbs of energy at muzzle and bullet weights between (factory loads)150 g at 3500 fps and 220 g at 2850 fps. If you already reload you can use the same bullets you already have. It is the minimuim I'd use for bear and the maximuin I'd use for deer. Also the factory used to make 110 g loads for varmint you may still be able to find bullets.

Answer 5

"What riffle is the all around gun for any game?"

While most will tell you to use a 30.06, I personally think the 45/70 or 450 Marlin calibers are much better suited for all around game.

Marlin working with Hornady has come up with some excellent stats for lever action rifles. While the 45/70 is a good choice, I would highly suggest the .450 Marlin as it carries much more range and much more punch to the target. With these rifles you can effectively take the bears you seek at 100 to 175 yard ranges using the hornady loads. 300-500 grain bullets will be your selection as they offer alot of configurations.

Here is one of the Marlin Rifles and I would suggest you look on these pages at the others.

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/xlr/1895MXLR.aspx


Now kick is something to think about indeed. When using one of the above calibers, the kick will be about the same as a 375 H&H Mag. We can all thank limbsaver for their efforts in the recoil field as their product will set the recoil of the .450 Marlin at about the same as a .243 Winchester round. Incase you dont know, the .243 is often used by women and children as their first hunting rifles. They hardly have any kick at all compared to that of a 300 Mag.

Here is a Link to the Limbsaver company and the products they make. I have one myself on my Marlin .450, and also on my .458 Lott Mag. I would not fire either of these guns without it again.

http://www.limbsaver.com/Products/Firearms/Slip_On_Recoil_Pad.aspx

Now as far as damage to the meat you seek ! The evolution rounds are basicly partition pointed bullets. They carry alot of hit, but I have never seen over damage done by my 450 Marlin. The 45/70 should be no different at all, just alittle less distance you will be able to shoot. I hunt Whitetail, Boar, Bear, Lion & Capes with my Marlin .450. I have taken all of the above with it, and never have I had to much damage done to the meat. Infact, my 300 Wby Mag does more damage but once again has far less impact.

I hope this helps. Good Luck & Happy Shooting !

Answer 6

A 30-06 will kill most legal game in America from deer, elk, coyote, Black bear, and other game of that nature. And it's a favorite through out the mid west. Ammo is amazingly easy to find and is relatively cheap but ranges from $15-$30 depending on grain and brand.

Answer 7

Myself I would go with the tried and true 30-06 They are awsome all game guns with bullet weights ranging from 55 grain sabots 4080FPS to the very heavy 220 gr. when hunting white tail I would use a 165gr pointed soft point and for grizzly I would use the 220 gr @ 2410 FPS

Check out: http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/

You can compare up to 3 different calibers its pretty cool show velocities, energy, and bullet weights and construction side-by-side awsome tool!

Answer 8

That is a question you have to answer for yourself. Follow the following link to the Remington BALLISTICS chart: www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics
This site allows you to compare three different calibers and loads to find one that will work for you. You might want to use your current caliber and load for the first choice since you already know how it performs. Then you can use the 2nd two choices to compare the velocity and energy to your current caliber to find the one that is more powerful.
Suggestion:
1st line: 300 WSM......2nd line: 300 Remington Ultra Mag........3rd line: 338 Remington Ultra Mag
The last part of the link that Yahoo left off is: ammunition/ballistics

Answer 9

I would go with the .375 H&H, lightest bullet weight-200 grains, heaviest bullet weight-350 Grains. But the 300 Grain is the most common, and widely used, and can be run about 2550 FPS.

Answer 10

You've already got the rifle you need. You COULD go to, say, a .338 lapua magnum, but pretty much all the calibers bigger than your .300 get pretty pricey to reload. I'd hunt bear with my .30-06. My dentist got a HUGE moose with his! Just hunt with what ya got, ignore the gunwriters, and develop proficiency with your rifle. Proficiency breeds confidence.