Favorite do-all rifle

[memtb]

now that's a great all arounder!

Thank You…..I'm pretty darn partial to it! memtb

 

[kgarrett]

Gunwerks Nexus in 300 PRC shooting 208 gr LRX. If I ever get to go buffalo hunting in Africa, I'd have to borrow a rifle, but for everything else it should be plenty.

Course it's a switch barrel and I also have a 6.5 PRC barrel for it as well . No matter, definitely my current favorite and the last rifle I'd give up.

 

[Critter Picker]

If I could only have 1 rifle it would have to be my TC Encore. I have several barrels for it that would cover all my bases.

 

[Brushcutter]

My mother bought my father a Savage model 99E in .308 Winchester in 1960 on his 30th birthday. I tried more than a few times to get him to shoot other rifles/cartridges unsuccessfully over the years. His last hunting season was 2015 at the age of 85. He gave it to my son. As for me, my .280AI built around a Defiance action with a minor hesitation while glancing at my X-Bolt in 7mm-08.

Wow! My dad bought his 300 Savage 99 about 1970 when we came home from visiting grandparents one evening to find a bear after our turkeys in the backyard pen. His deer rifle till then was a 44-40 Winchester (sadly, traded for the 99). When Dad quit hunting 10 or 12 years ago, he gave the 99 to my son. 20 years ago I got a 99f in 308, put a 2-7x Nikon on it. It fits me wonderfully! Feels like I could almost shoot birds on the wing. With about 15 other rifles that would be fine for deer, the 99 is "my deer rifle ". Often, elk too.

 

[NorthernShot]

Best do all RIFLE…? That's a hard one for me. I guess for me it would have to be my Remington 700 BDL in 30-06 Springfield. I've really been loving my Weatherby Mark V Ultra Lightweight in 6.5-300 Wby Mag as my do-all and it's really been amazing at killing everything it's pointing at for the past 2 years. But my 30-06 has done the same thing with 165 gr Accubonds cooking out the barrel at about 2950 fps for the 10 years preceding me starting hunting with the 6.5-300 using 127 gr LRX.

The reason my Remington 700 in 30-06 would get the nod is it's a 22" barrel instead of a 26" + muzzle break which makes it easier to handle in the bush and to hunt Bison in BC there's a caliber restriction and the minimum is a 175 gr bullet that retains 2000+ ft-lbs at 100 m. So switching my load to a 175 gr Barnes LRX is going to be a fun reloading challenge now!

 

[K.E.C. Darkside]

My first 2 rifles I bought, both are
Model 70 Pf. #1 is 264WM. #2 is 300WM
I have 2 hands l would cheat and grab both.

 

[casey36]

Mine would be my custom 7mm STW on a 700 Remington. Last rifle i would ever part with. Shoots under .50 groups with just about any bullet I've tried.

 

[unclecroc]

My ruger m77 25-06. It will dispatch any critter I want to kill. Me and this gun get along like peas and carrots,I am very confident with it in my hands and I think confidence is half the game.

 

[ObiJohn]

I can't see what any modern bottleneck cartridge from a .270 on up to a .338 Win Mag, including the 6.5 PRC, 7.8 Western, 7 and 300 PRC couldn't handle in North America. Where I'd pick on the spectrum depends on edge cases and personal preference. I don't know if there's a significant difference across the spectrum that would affect the outcome of an opportunity.

Out of what I have that's ready today, my M70 Classic in '06. My Mausingfield M7 SA in 6.8 will be the do-it-all tomorrow, perhaps with a spare .338 WSM barrel.

 

[memtb]

I can't see what any modern bottleneck cartridge from a .270 on up to a .338 Win Mag

Well, don't stop there. There's other pretty good cartridges/calibers that are a bit larger ……that will also work pretty good! memtb

 

[catch 22]

Probably a little different choice, either my stainless Ruger #1A in 6.5×55 or my Webly & Scott 7mm-08.

 

[ObiJohn]

Well, don't stop there. There's other pretty good cartridges/calibers that are a bit larger ……that will also work pretty good! memtb

"All around", in my opinion, means not at the extremes. I know, the .375 H&H is seen as a universal African hunting cartridge but IMO it's not a good all-around cartridge for North American hunting... too much recoil for most hunters, unnecessarily powerful for most situations. In North America what can it do that a .338 Win Mag, or even a .30-'06 can't at the same distance?

Hard to beat the '06 for southern whitetails from a. Lind, tracking northeast whitetails in the Adirondacks, mulies and elk in the western plains or mountains, etc. The selection of factory loads with bullets ranging from 110 grains to 220 grains, plus handloading, makes this a supremely versatile cartridge.

Didn't Jack O'Connor, the .270 advocate, say, "There's nothing wrong with a .30-'06?"

 

[kgarrett]

"All around", in my opinion, means not at the extremes. I know, the .375 H&H is seen as a universal African hunting cartridge but IMO it's not a good all-around cartridge for North American hunting... too much recoil for most hunters, unnecessarily powerful for most situations. In North America what can it do that a .338 Win Mag, or even a .30-'06 can't at the same distance?

Hard to beat the '06 for southern whitetails from a. Lind, tracking northeast whitetails in the Adirondacks, mulies and elk in the western plains or mountains, etc. The selection of factory loads with bullets ranging from 110 grains to 220 grains, plus handloading, makes this a supremely versatile cartridge.

Didn't Jack O'Connor, the .270 advocate, say, "There's nothing wrong with a .30-'06?"

I take your point about the 30/06 for NA, though I would suggest the recoil of the 338 Win Mag and 375 aren't too dissimilar. https://chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm States 35.2 ft lbs vs 37.3 ft lbs and an identical recoil velocity of 16.3 comparing 225 gr with 300 gr.

I prefer the 280 AI, 7 rem mag or 300 prc over the 30-06. I had a 30/06 in a Win Model 70 and it was a nice rifle, just didn't really excite me to use it. My 300 prc does.

At that, at least is part of the point for each individual. While there are real, significant differences between them, I think anything from a 270 to a 300 magnum would make a **** fine, versatile hunting caliber in North America and the differences are mostly overblown when discussed or written about. And, if you can handle the recoil, the 338's and 375's are excellent too.

For me, the 7 mm's seem to be the sweet spot for an all around caliber. However, I don't really need one of those since I've got a 6.5 PRC, 300 PRC and my 375 H&H is soon to arrive. If I was going to stick with one cartridge and rifle, I would have been well served by my Fierce Edge in 7mm RM.

 

[lancetkenyon]

My 7RM. The least custom I have, but it is the ONE rifle I will never part with until I hand it down.

Passed down to me by my late father-in-law on his last day on Earth with the request to build it up and kill an elk for him with it.