“Just Right” Rifle for North America

[sschefer]

For the record, I like the idea of using a heavier bullet, but If I had to choose within the set limits, it would be the 270 win.(using Hornady 140 gr. SST ammunition) With the exception of the great bears of North America, the 270 cal. using said ammo, would be a suitable for taking moose and elk size game. The .277 cal. 140 gr. bullet has good SD & BC, meets the 3000 fps MV and only falls short about 32 ft/lbs of energy of the specified need of the Just Right Rifle. The animal will never know that he didn't get the full dose.

I have two 270's. One is a 270 WSM and I really like the round. It' dropped a big bull Elk a couple of years ago at just a little over 400 yards. I was using a 150g Nosler Accubonds (factory loads). I can't find those anymore so I've dropped down to the 140g ABLR's.

[canadian reloader]

For where I live and what I hunt.( black bear, moose, deer, caribou) it just doesn't get much better than the 7mm Weatherby mag. When you can launch a 175 gr bullet at 3150 ft/sec from a 26" tube they just don't stand a chance. The bigger 7mm's may get 70-90 ft/sec more but use up to 20% more powder along with the recoil and throat erosion.JMO

[badapple]

am i alone in the fact that i have a different rifle for just about every type of game and hunting scenario? but i guess if i had to choose just 1 it would be my first 45.70

[galamb]

I would tend to agree with the article.

The fact that I use a 7.08 for Eastern Moose (my VGII Sporter) loaded with home rolled 140 grain Swift A-Frames means that for "lesser game", which in Ontario is deer and black bear I actually have a little more than "I" need (so I hunt them with a 243 unless the bears are incidental to hunting moose).

I never knock anyone that feels the need to shoot a 30-caliber ending in magnum (especially since I sell firearms) I just never personally saw the need.

[eford]

For where I live and what I hunt.( black bear, moose, deer, caribou) it just doesn't get much better than the 7mm Weatherby mag. When you can launch a 175 gr bullet at 3150 ft/sec from a 26" tube they just don't stand a chance. The bigger 7mm's may get 70-90 ft/sec more but use up to 20% more powder along with the recoil and throat erosion.JMO

A man who has hunted big game all over the world told me he has taken just about everything in that category in North America with his 7mm Weatherby using either Swift A-Frame or Scirocco bullets. He also said it is probably the best of the 7mm magnums. How can I dispute his claim when there are lots of trophies on the walls?

[sschefer]

OK, I'm going to settle this once and for all... Ha, like that's gonna ever happen... No seriously, everybody knows a long action 30 caliber rifle will take any non-dangerous game in North America. Will a 270 or a 270 Wby or a 270 WSM do it just as well, maybe, probably, certainly. You fill in the blank.. I'm going with probably but certainly not maybe. If you think you need more then you probably do but please refrain from using a 50 BMG on a prong horn goat, it makes a hell of a mess.

Hope you see the humor in this, that's all it is...

[Stacy]

I guess I couldn't really argue with Boddington's perspective for all game in the lower 48. It will work for most Alaskan game too.  I shot a cow caribou a couple weeks ago with a 7mm-08 using 140 grain Accubonds and that's running the 140s slower than the stated 3000fps. It worked okay. I used the 7mm-08 because I haven't killed any game with that caliber and it is a winter meat hunt and bears are not out and about.

When bears are out and about, I prefer to use a minimum of a 30-06 with a 168 grain TTSX handload. If I'm hunting bears specifically or think my chances are really good at seeing one while hunting another species, I carry a 338 WM.

I'm pretty sure Boddington wrote an article back in the 90s saying he thought the middle bore 33s (338 WM and 340 Weatherby) were the best choice for an all around caliber for all of North America including the big bears.       

[zonie]

Hum !  the just right rifle for north America ?    It's the one you have in your hand at the time.  It's the one you have the most confidence in.  It's the one that get's the job done . It's the one that works for you.  There is no right answer which makes it kind of a boring subject it's all subjective on the needs of only one person and that's you.  For the type of hunting we  mostly do (fill in the blank) whether it's long range high altitude elk or heavy vegetation coastal timber for blacktail deer and everything in between we all have a preference of what actually works for us personally.  I could just as easily get by with an open peep sighted Savage model 99 in 300 Savage for heavy vegetation elk hunting vs an optic with too much power on a rifle that's too heavy to make good use of, on the flip side if I were hunting high alpine open meadows where I got to climb in thin air heavy rifle's ain't cutting it.  Is there a happy medium ?  in some cases yes , but not all,  maybe one reason people with means have so many rifles to choose from, but does it really make us better hunters,  I don't think so.  Of the rifles we have I might have 3 or 4 favorites I have total confidence in, and that's it  which means I can snap it to my shoulder and not have to think about things such as drops  @ given ranges under 400 yds ,  I don't need to worry about 6.5 to 20 scopes choking down my field of view or losing the animal because it's too close , if I can't hit a elk on 9 x @ 400 yds or deer @ 300 yds  I probably need to start backing off on hunting.  Everyone's ideal hunting rifle and situation is different of course.    I agree this subject is space fillers for magazines.  I've pretty much stopped buying gun rags years ago,  same old stuff with a different take on things.  If I had a dollar for everytime this subject came up in a magazine thru the years I could go buy a new side by side,  throw in a trailer and have money left over.   About the only thing that interests me is NEW PRODUCTS sections in magazines, advertizements etc,  not that I would buy any of them but rather if there is some new gucci product i.e. caliber, gun, optic, I may find an absolute need for and that's rarely.   The moral of the story is beware the man with one gun because he knows how to use it, but always a good idea to have a  good spare especially when hunting away from home. 

[wyominghunter]

All great comments and discussion...which is what I was going for.

I think Boddington did recommend the .338 for everything few years ago. I have a 338 Ultra Mag and it is a great cartridge, but I can’t recommend it as the ideal, one gun rifle.

I find my comfort zone in that 7mm Magnum - 300 Magnum range. Those are the ones I reach for most often with bullets 160-180 grains at ~ 3000 fps.

I haven’t tried a 175 grain bullet out of a 7mm yet, so I am eager to try it out out of a 28 Nosler.

There is also a new 300 magnum cartridge from Hornady...just FYI.

[oregonmarkv]

I'm with Zonie, Boddington use to say the 338 cal. were his choice but I guess he needed something new to fill up a page. I could live with a 270 WBY as my only rifle unless I lived where something could eat me then I would also own a 338 win. or 340 WBY.

[Buckleman]

I use Speer 175 deep curl in my Weatherby 7m STW. One elk 470 yds. Perfect mushroom and weight retention. Good combo.

[musicman]

For those of you old enough to remember the writings of Jack O'Connor MANY years ago, he particularly liked the .257 Roberts, the 7mm Mauser handloaded with 139 gr. bullets, the .30-06, and his "darling," the .270 Winchester, for North American big game.  This was in the days way before there were as many premium bullets available, as there are today.  He also used a 7mm Remington some in his later years.  There have probably been thirty more cartridges in these bore diameters added, since he passed away.  Except for the 7mm Remington, these were all moderate velocity cartridges, with the .270 being on the upper end of that.  Boddington also did an article several years ago, extolling the 8mm Mauser, handloaded of course, as a GREAT all around cartridge.  So as one poster said, this recent article may just be "page filler."  Perhaps cartridges are like women:  Yes, there is probably an "ideal" woman for each of us, but there are many different women, that would also be entirely wonderful as well.  MM

[badsection]

Amen, M M!  Just because my favorite hunting round fits this prescribed story, it's just that, a story.  How many times have we discussed what is best rifle, caliber, optics etc. under so many different disguises? It would make us pretty boring without these 4 pages . LOL!

[Big Muddy rancher]

Isn't there an old saying about the man the own one rifle?

Probably knows how to use it so maybe the "Just the right rifle" is the one that you shoot the best.

[danno50]

What most of us have said in our own words is true. Although PH's and some gun writers will tell you that a particular caliber and load are the perfect match for the "Just Right" rifle for North America, it will always be a subjective opinion. You will never get a majority consensus(never a landslide opinion) on that type question. If you took a survey to pick one combo, we would most likely find that 1, 2, or possibly 3 calibers would be singled out with a greater number than the others. (but the rest of us would still be right in our choices , that I'm sure of)