3 rifles to do it all

[RUMLUVER]

I had a friend of mine come over and ask me just the other day if I had to limit myself to 3 rifles to do everything which ones would they be? Now he said just 3 to go all over the world with. I know what I told him but I'm intrested to hear what others will say so please let me know what you have to say.

[Rocky Raab]

No problem with that one at all...

Assuming we have to leave out the .22LR (which I'd be very loath to do in a real choice...)

Rocky's picks:

A .223 (or equivalent, but they'd be second choices)

A .308 (or .30-06 which might be even better - tossup, really)

A 375 H&H. No other option there. It's KING.

[Tater]

I'd go with a .223, a 30-06 and a large caliber lever gun like the 450 Marlin.

[Big joe]

Rocky's close... I'd go


1. .223 Rem

2. 7mm Rem Mag

3. .375 H& H


I'd go with the 7 Mag because of the smaller bore yet more power than the popular 30's. Seems to fill in the HUGE gap between the 223 and the 375 a little nicer for me. Splittin' hairs ?... Probably, but them's my choices !!!

[RUMLUVER]

It's nice to see what choices others think of when asked this question I hope to see more!:D

[rem 700]

223, 30-06, 416 Rem. Just be sure you have them chambered in Remington 700s and you'll be fine.

[Big joe]

By the way... if you have a 22 rimfire then...

1. .243 Win

2. 7mm Rem Mag

3. 375 H & H

[M.T. Pockets]

You're right Big Joe, the .22 rimfire has to be a gimme.

After that, the .223 on the lower end and .375 on the higher end are easy choices for me.

The one in the middle ? That's the hard question.

I'll go with a .270

[Rocky Raab]

(pssssst...of all the times this has been asked in the various shooting magazines, the ONLY one that ever causes any long "discussion" is the middle one.)

I've said this numerous times, but there is no practical difference at all - in field use, not paper charts - between any of the popular "deer" calibers. They all have about the same effective range, effective accuracy, and usable energy. If you have a favorite, that's great. If not, any of them will do about what any other will.

[Hawkeye6]

There's some interesting choices/preferences listed above. Right now, I'm just going to make a comment. RUM said he wanted 3 rifles to "go all over the world". While I can't fault the selections of a .223 or a .308 or a .30'06 aren't there countries where these "military" calibers/cartrides are illegal?

What would your alternatives for these be under those circumstances?

[RUMLUVER]

I told my friend that I would choose a 22-250, a .264 Win Mag, and a .375 H&H. I would feel comportable using my .338 RUM on dangerous game but there are caliber restrictions in some countries for dangerous game.

[Cariboo]

For world-wide use: .25-06 Remington, .338 Win Mag, 458 Winchester.


If only North America however was on the schedule: 22-250 Remington, 30-06 Springfield , .375 H&H ,

[cowbone]

i use only two different guns. one is a rimmington 30-06 automatic. it has big recoil. when you shoot your deer it makes a big hole. and i also use a lever action 30-30( the best dam gun i have ever had). it will take down any deer you shoot at wether its 100 pound deer or a 1000 pound elephant

[rem 700]

Cowbone, you are one funny person.

[sladek]

1. .243 or 25.06,
2. .325 WSM,
3. .458 Win or .50 Alaskan .............maybe .45/70-120

[jmarriott]

1: 222 rem

2: 7 mm Rem Mag

3: 35 whelen

Should cover most of the basics. The .222 for 200 yards of accuraccy. The flat shooting 7MM mag to reach out and touch something. The 35 whelen for those times when you get the bear or the bear gets you.

[Dom]

i also use a lever action 30-30( the best dam gun i have ever had). it will take down any deer you shoot at wether its 100 pound deer or a 1000 pound elephant

Not to pick a bone w/cowbone, but I will most assuredly let him be behind the trigger on a thutty thutty if he's going after 1000 lb elephant !!

Most have it right, a centerfire .22, med bore deer type, and a big bore.

My 3 would be:
1. .222 (or .223, tossup)
2. .30-06 (or .308, or maybe .270/7mm for those countries that don't allow military calibers.
3. .375 H&H Magnum (no doubt, one planet, one caliber)

Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[royinidaho]

As I look on my wall (I leave the auto unlocked at night too) I see:

a 222

a 338 Win cause I gave the 270 to my son.

and a Ruger #1 375 H&H

[JackRabbit]

22 250
270
375
;)

[Skyline]

Well I guess I would have to say that I think Dom has it about right, but I might actually go with a .300 Weatherby in the middle instead of the .30-06 as it packs a little more punch in the gray areas and has more reach for moutnain or plains game.

So:

.222 Rem.

.300 Wby (but I would take the .30-06 and be happy)

.375 H&H

1000 pound elephant! Are you on a calf hunt?

[Evan03]

2506
270
3006


id never be lacking asnywhere and all 3 reside with me as we speak.

all calibers over lap but not to far. the 2506 to take out varmit hunting and kill that possible antelope or deer for dinner. the 270 as strickly deer rifle and possible elk rifle(done it) and the 3006 for the biggest game id ever have the pleasure of setting my eyes on.

[dnapicker]

I think I'd halfta go with the following:
1. 22-250
2. 308 or 30-06
3. 350 mag.

dna

[BILLY D.]

I'LL TAKE MY THREE FAVORITES

22-250----6,5X55-----458 WIN MAG

[gumpokc]

as others mentioned, if the .22lr was a gimmie my tentative choices are:

#1 223 or .243win if .223 was restriced

#2 8mm mauser (30-06 class caliber)

#3 416 rigby

thats for worldwide.

for north AM

223

8mm mauser

50/120 BP cartridge

call me an oddbal if you will :)

[razmuz]

(1) Winchester 270

(2) Remington 270

(3) Savage 270

[RUMLUVER]

razmuz,

Do you realy like the 270 that much or do you think that a 270 can do it all?

[Evan03]

lol

it can do it all but it sure wouldnt be much fun

i got to thinkn that my pick of calibers all over lap alot but thats cool cause due to reloading they would keep me plenty happy everywhere.

i guess even the 270win could do the same but not as well.

id find some light bullets for varmiting, i think sierra makes usper light for caliber 277 bullet that id just have try, think its 90grs. then load up to 150s for elk and id be able to cover the entire feild i hunt in.

[Skyline]

Evan03......the original thread was 3 rifles for 'all over the world'....you would really say .270? If so I can tell that you haven't spent a lot of time chasing grizzlies, browns, polar bears, cape buffalo and some of the bigger and nastier stuff.

Oh and by the way....lets not forget that in many African countries .375 is the minimum caliber for stuff like, buffalo, elephant, etc.

Don't get me wrong I have shot a lot of game with the .270, including a grizzly or two, but I would hardly say t is up to the task of using for everything 'all over the world'.

Oh ya....must be politically correct.......but that is just my opinion.;)

[RUMLUVER]

If I had to choose one gun to do it all I would fall back on my .338 RUM the only drawback is like Skyline said it would not meet minimum caliber restrictions for dangerous game in some countries. Not that it would be under powered for dangerous game in my book but it just wouldn't meet restrictions.

[Evan03]

no i havent chased grizzleis.

i can honestly say that if i was ever hunting africa id be lost with minumum caliber restriction like that. im lost ounce the restriction goes to 8mm or larger.

thank goodness idaho does well with 308 calibers in its large big game class.

Evan

[8X56MS]

22/250
30-06
416 Rem mag
would cover things for me around the globe.

If I just stayed around here though, I would pick
.22 LR
30-30
7x57 Ackley

[TKO]

Well I'm not leaving North America so I don't need a cannon but here it is for what I like to hunt and shoot;

22lr = rabbits, and squirles
.243 = varmits, blacktail, antelope
7 RUM= Elk and Mule Deer, or anything else that gets in my way

[kutenay]

I would take a matched pair of CRF rifles (mine are old Mod. 70s) in .338 Win.-250 NP, with QD mounts and ghost-ring-post irons, with Leupy 1.75x6 HD scopes for about every thing worldwide.

For African hunting, I would add a custom .416 Rem. built on a Classic Mod. 70 with a Sunnyhill dropbox, Micky "Safari" stock and the above sighting/scope arrangement.

For everywhere else, I would drop the .416 and take my Merkel drilling in 12x12-9.3x74R, with custom ghost ring-post irons and QD mounts with 4x Leupy, this using 286 NPs.

[deermeister]

Only three, eh?

If I had the means to hunt worldwide:

1) 30.06

2) .416 Rem Mag

3) .470 Nitro (a double rifle, of course)

A man can dream, can't he?

[fabsroman]

I am surprised at how many people have picked the .375 h&h as their top caliber/cartridge gun. Now, I know most of us do not have immediate plans to hunt Africa or dangerous game in Africa or the Americas (e.g., grizzly), but if I had to pick three rifles today and those were the only three I could pick ever, I sure wouldn't want to limit my oppotunities at a later date should I win the lottery and be able to hunt in Africa.

My picks would be:

1) .220 Swift or .25-06
2) .300 RUM even though I currently have a .300 Win Mag that I love
3) .416 Rigby or .458 Win. I wouldn't want a .375 h&h if I were to hunt elephant, lion, leopard, cape buffalo, or grizzly. I think a .375 h&h is great for most African game, but when something I am hunting could possibly kill me, I want to make sure that I am carrying enough gun.

Since I reload, I could tailor some of the loads for the particular game being hunted.

[goldbelt]

first post here so hello to all. If I had only three choices it would have to be as follows: .30-06/.375 HH / 416 rigby.

[fabsroman]

Welcome to the board Goldbelt. I think you are one of the few on this thread that did not pick a .22 caliber cartridge on the small end. I wonder what life would be like if the gov't restricted us to three rifles during our lifetime? Never mind, I know it would suck.

[kutenay]

I have owned/used six different .375 H&H rifles since I bought my first one in '82. This was my primary caliber, loaded with 285 GS and 300 NPs over IMR-4350, while working in very remote Grizzly country here in western Canada. I worked alone and was in places where air medevac was often not possible, due to weather and I did this sort of work from 1965-1993.

Based on that and the various guns I and many of my colleagues used and still do ( I retired at 55 a few years ago), I would NOT bother with a larger caliber than the .375 H&H for dealing with Grizzlies; in fact, I currently use two lever action .45-70s with hotloaded Swift A-Frames and Kodiaks for this purpose.

I have shot .458 Win. and .416 Rem. rifles and the weight necessary to keep the recoil within manageable levels makes these rifles simply too heavy to pack all day in typical Grizzly habitat; the rifle, in this situation, belongs in your hands, not on a sling. Actually, I prefer my .338 Win. rifles to my single, remaining .375 for this very reason and I used Browning Safari and P-64 Mod. 70 rifles in .30-06 for years without any problem, as did many of the oldtimers I worked with.

Elephant rifles have their place, but, unless you can shoot your big boomers regularly, I think that the recoil makes them inefficient for most hunters and the .375 H&H WILL stop a Grizzly up close without major fuss, even it kicks pretty hard.

[Duffy]

Leaving out the .22 LR, my picks would be:

1) .243
2) .30/06
3) .416 (but I doubt I'd ever have the opportunity to use it)

[Headhunter]

223

280

375 H&H

Let the chips fall where they may.

Headhunter

[REA]

.22 long rifle

30/06 Springfield

.375 H&H

[Andy L]

223
30-06
416

[DON WALKUP]

22 cal centerfire (any of them)

.308 winchester

12ga 870 remington with rifled slug & smoothbore barrels

got 'em all already...don't need any more

if i can't kill it with one of those...it is armored and on tracks...

[grayghost]

.223
.280
.416 (Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo only) otherwise .375 (Lion/Brown Bears)

[ammoman16]

.223 or .22-250
.300 Win Mag
.416 Rem

[RASteele]

1). .30/30 Win (fun, functional)

2). .338 Win Mag (with handloads, becomes very versitle)

3). .375 H&H (again, handloads and versitility)


Each of these will nicely overlap each other, allowing for small game hunting (head-shots are a must) up to taking out that willey M1 battle tank that I've been stalking for two years...:D

[shooterjon]

22 Rimfire -243 - 30-338 with these three I can take every thing on this continent from Mice to Polar Bears.

[barreledaction]

1 - 22 long rifle
2 - 25/06
3 - 375 H7H

[Rapier]

Centerfires:
260 Rem capable of varmits to deer
338 WM capable of deer to all NA game and most African game
458 Lott for all dangerous game

I own all three and that is the very reason I own them.