Gotta try this... but adding a touch of what it should be chambered in... this touches close to home as the wife and I have thrown out the idea of when we would sell the house and move into a condo lately and I have told myself no more than 7 or 8 guns at that time.
Ok 22 lr and 12 gauge already a given... although 12 gauge for ducks and geese in a Benelli Super Black Eagle III (according to all the goose hunters we see up here, it definitely seems to be the shotgun of choice. I always ask the guides and hunters i meet) and my 20 gauge Benelli ultralight because it's a dream to carry all day pheasant hunting at 5.2 lbs.
243, 6 mm or 257 Roberts AI... for coyotes, whitetail deer in the bush and open areas in between bushes, etc.. A short barreled gun... easy handling and quick. Nice for antelope too. The 243 I used for deer this year was a M77 Ultralight. Nice to carry and I was in and out of the bush. 2 years ago it was a Sako Finnwolf hunting pockets of brush in fields and coulees. I just can't get behind the 308 Win for some reason. It's worked for me but I think when I first started hunting I seen more failures of the 308 then success from friends. I have never owner a 260 or 7mm-08 but can't see a reason why they wouldn't be in the hunt.
I didn't list a 204, 22 hornet, 223, 220 swift, 22-250 etc etc etc only because while you can (and I have used the 223 on deer once) I just feel that it's a one purpose field a bit. Good for gophers and coyotes, etc, but even with good bullets (I personally) just don't feel right taking them for deer (not the 204, etc). To me the benefit of those cartridges are that they are good and/or cheap for practicing with. But up here 223 ammo is pretty much the same price as 243 ammo.
280 AI, 6.5 RPM or 6.5 x 284... in a super lightweight such as a WBY Mark V Titanium (5 lbs and under without scope) for sheep hunting. The lightest thing possible to carry when hiking up a mountain top but still hits hard. (I don't have an RPM yet... but sure eyeing up that WBY Backcountry Ti at 4.9 lbs...)
7 WSM or 300 WSM in again a lightweight gun for whitetail / mule deer in the open prairies where your going from coulees and bush to open fields. Can do it in a lightweight gun such as Browning Mountain Ti or Kimber Montanna 8400 etc. Lightweight to carry all day but has the hitting power for long range AND... can also serve double duty just as well for elk and moose when your walking/pushing bush and then it's the end of day and your sitting on point somewhere. (Not to say my next cartridge choice can't also do this). While I like the 6.5 PRC, 6.5 Rem Mag, 270 WSM... the 7 or 300 WSMs just seem to be fantastic all around rounds and the more I play around with my 7 WSMs the more I am leaning to it as one of my have to have cartridges.
300 WM, 300 WBY or 300 RUM... in a normal weight rifle... more for driving roads, checking out fields, or where you walk out to sit behind a round bale and watch for elk coming out (200 - 600 yard shot) or watching over a big slough trying to call in a bull elk. I think I'm at 9 or 10 rifles in total chambered in these 3 cartridges alone. I think the 300 WM was my first love but it might have been Jaclyn Smith (and the young pups will be going who???) I gotta give honorable mentions to the 325 WSM here though as I have one in a Browning Mtn Ti. It's a dream to carry (6.25 lbs scoped) and with moderately hot reloads it outperforms the 338 WM out to 100 yards. Also a honorable mention for the 28 Nosler. I re-chambered a Sako Finnlight to 28 Nos. and with the clip it's proven to be a good all around gun especially when driving the countryside. Plus... it will reach out a long ways and touch something!!!
Lastly... although I doubt I will ever get a chance to go to Africa... a 375 Wby Mag. Why the Wby vs the H&H???? Of course the .375 is the minimum acceptable caliber but the Wby hits harder. If you run out of ammo, you can shoot regular 375 H&H ammo out of it so you can still hunt. But the same argument can be made for the 375 H&H AI.
But the one caliber no one mentioned here is a 50 cal muzzleloader. In Saskatchewan, if you get drawn for antelope you really really want to go out in muzzle loading season if you want a trophy. (It's before they smarten up and herd up here anyways - lol). Or even mule deer right before the rut.
With the possible exception of a dedicated varmint cartridge! memtb
