help? next logical caliber

[davis1as]

I currently own several rimfires including a .17, a rem. 308 that most of all my deer hunting is done with here in north Alabama, a Ruger SB .44mag that I have begun using this year for deer and hog, and a shotgun that I use the slug barrell for stalking in heavy brush,
I am looking for the next larger logical caliber I would need.

Me a a freind have begun planning for several trips out west for elk, up north for pronghorn, and possibly Canada for a moose hunt.
I have firm belief in my 308 to take deer and elk but have question about it for longer shots on larger game such as moose.
My first thoughts where swaying towards a 300win . I have shot this caliber before. Should be plenty for any North American game , plenty of factory ammo(dont reload at this time), and should be able to take long accurate shots. Than I wnet to the local shop and feel in love with a 375H&H they have on the rack.
Is this overkill, Although all my plans are for North American hunting will I need more than the 300win for larger game elsewhere such as NEw Zealand. I dont belive I will ever be able to finance a Afircan hunt so the larger caliber limitations they have should not be a issue.
 What I'm looking for is a large caliber, flat shooting caliber to take large game out to 300 yds.  I want the next logical step above the 308.
Must be able to buy ammo over the counter and hunt anythind on the north american continent

300win, 338, 375, or other?

[Mac11700]

I want the next logical step above the 308.
Must be able to buy ammo over the counter and hunt anythind on the north american continent

What's wrong with the 30-06?....I would bet that you will find this ammo everwhere a-lot easier than any of the rest and with better bullet selections as well....and from everything I've read...the 30-06 will harvest anything this continent has to offer...and then some...

Mac

[davis1as]

30-06 is great but it is so close to the 308 I dont see the need.
I know it should be more capable of taking down large elk and moose with factory ammo but Federal now loads rounds for the 308 that is very close to the same on the ballistic charts

[tripod]

Hi, I have used the .30-06 successfully most of my life for big game. It is very capable and my wife has been using it with great one shot kills for deer & elk for many years. Years ago I stepped up to the .300 Win Mag and have been extremely happy with the accuracy and performance. Though many say it is close to the 06 the increased punch is noticeable. The combination of inherant accuracy power and manageable recoil make this a good western caliber. Ammo is also affordable and available. Very good elk  & bear round. Some consider a .300 capable and minimum for Alaskan bear.  Plenty of gun for moose which aren't as hard to kill as sometimes imagined but sure want to get em down before they get in a bad spot. The .338 is another consideration with a little more recoil and the capacity of more bullet. Very capable with a good rep and following. The .375 is a very good round covering everything well, but may be a bit heavy in the recoil department and unless you are hunting the big stuff alot I would consider it a little overkill.

[Lawdog]

I want the next logical step above the 308.
Must be able to buy ammo over the counter and hunt anythind on the north american continent

What's wrong with the 30-06?....I would bet that you will find this ammo everwhere a-lot easier than any of the rest and with better bullet selections as well....and from everything I've read...the 30-06 will harvest anything this continent has to offer...and then some...

Mac

What's wrong with the 30-06?  For one thing it comes up a bit short when you throw in the bigger bears.  Sure it will kill them but maybe not as reliably as one would want.  There are a number of guides and outfitters that require you to use something larger.  When I booked my Polar Bear hunt I was told that if I didn’t have at least a .375 H&H that they would see that I could borrow one.  Don’t get me wrong the .30-06 is a great cartridge but it is not the answer to every question.  Besides every hunter needs a .375 H&H in their arsenal.  Lawdog
 

[Judson]

Lawdog, now not all of us need a .375 H&H some of us have .366 DGWs so a .416 Rigby would be the needed caliber.     However for this question I would lean towards the .338 Win. Mag.    3006 is good but sort of on the anemic side for the big stuff and recoil wise if a shooter can handle a 12 ga. then either a .338 or for that matter a .375 should not be a problem.

[kombi1976]

First let me say that there is nothing in NZ that would warrant more than a .30 cal rifle unless you're a person that really likes big magnums, which you don't appear to be, and even then a 338 Win would be ample.

Have you considered getting a .350 Rem Magnum? It has all of the thump of the .35 cal bullets, isn't that far behind the .358 Norma(a very underated round) and should be fairly easy to get ammo for.

If not this why not try the new .325 WSM, an 8mm in disguise.

And at the end of the day the .338 Win is a good round too especially for long shots. Many people believe it's the ultimate all-round cartridge for hunting medium to big game in North America so you can't really go wrong with it as well.

[victorcharlie]

Mind if I chime in?  You said "next logical calibre"  My thinking is a 338 win mag would be the next step up, then a .358 or .35 whelen, then a .375 or .416?

What ever you decide, you'll probably be over guned for north Alabama.

Maybe a 45.70 would be the ticket!

[GotstaHunt]

Have you looked into the 300 wsm.Good out to 800+ yards with less recoli than a 300 wm and accurate to boot. Alot of 1000 yard competitions are being won with this caliber. :wink:

[Mac11700]

Lawdog...I agree...most guys would love to have a 375 H & H in the safe...but in reality...a 30-06 is a logical step up...perhaps not 3 or 4 steps up...but a logical one anyway...it offers a reasonble flat trajectory...granted...not as flat as some...but within sane distances anyway...a great selection of factory ammo...regular...and premium...it sure as heck won't beat you up as bad as some of the magnums on the receiving end...it that matters to him...and is commom just about anywhere you go...and...I'm sure you can get ammo for the other ones as well...but they won't be as easy to come by everywhere...and at least in my way of thinking...the rifle is more than adequate for a wider range of animals with...factory loads...than many of the others mentioned,and I didn't see any mention of hunting bears specificly...but if that's on the plate...this would certainly change my opinion...that's for sure...now granted...if I had to choose between a 30-06 and having the luxury of getting a really sweet 375...I would be hard pressed not to get the 375....and if I didn't handload for it...it would be a real good excuse to start... :wink:

Mac

Mac

[Dand]

If you have a 308 but you are thinking moose, I'd suggest the 338 win.  If you end up hunting moose in real thick stuff I think the 338 has an edge over the 300s - and I pack a 300 win.  Shot 2 moose with it and over 20 caribou.  Quite a few guys in my area have gone from 30-06 to 338 win and really like the extra punch.  In a lot of our area moose can take 4-5 steps and totally disappear or jump into some really nasty muck, bogs, beaver tangles etc.  We want to anchor them pronto.  I've been toying with switching to the .338 myself.  Both moose I shot had to think about it after I hit them.  One, hit very well jumped back into the middle of a small river stood and thought??? a while then tipped over.  The other hit high and poorly, ran into a deep slough, ran around some more with at least one more good hit, and luckily for me ran back up on the beach and died. First moose was hit with a 180 Nosler in the ribs.  Second with a mixture of 180 failsafes (old production)  and 180 corelocts - hand loads all.

Oh and if you really have to have the 375 - well its dandy too.  The father of my highschool buddy carried a 375 for moose for years and loved it - can't remember how many he took but 5 ot 6 at least.

A lot of moose die to 308's and 30-06, and 300's but I am coming to lean to fatter bullets.  35 Whelen is worth a look.  One argument for the 300's  would be if you hand loaded you could be more efficient with components.

[Lawdog]

Must be able to buy ammo over the counter and hunt anythind on the north american continent

I was just going by what the man asked for.  Some outfitters will not let you hunt Big Bears with anything less than a .375 H&H especially for Coastal Brown Bears and as I said before Polar Bears.  I have used the .300 & .340 Weatherby Magnums on these big bears with less than satisfactory results.  I do know if I ever go after another Coastal Brown Bear I intend to have at least a .375 Weatherby Magnum or like Judson said a .366 DGW.  When I commented “Besides every hunter needs a .375 H&H in their arsenal.” I was just stating what Jack O’Connor once said.  Lawdog
 

[RaySendero]

I'd suggest a 35 Whelen.  Think Remington chambers it in their model 700 CDL.  Would make a nice package!

[davis1as]

I guess my quest for this info is simply to fullfill my North American rifle aresenal.
I have a 22 and .17 for all small game and target shooting, Both very accurate and cheap to shoot.

I have a 44 mag SBH for stalikng and heavy wood area when hog and deer hunting. Fastly becoming my favorite firearm.

Then my Remington 700 vs for target/deer/hog/elk?-- Very heavy for long stalks but deadly accurate. If I put the crosshairs on it and pull the trigger its hit.

What I want is the next step. Had my mind made up on the 300 win then second guess my self by reading several post here and elsewhere about the broad use of the 338 for elk/moose/bear especially in Canada and Alaska.
I dont want to look back and wish I had gotten something else.
The 300 win seemed the best choice for several reason.
Large selection of factory ammo at reasonable prices and very easy to find in any store in my area. Known for ability for long accurate shots ,a must for any rifle in my gun case as target shooting is a given, and seened powerfull enough for any game I will have a chance to hunt in the forseable future.
Then I second guess my self into beliveing I may need to go to the 338.
the 338 is $10.oo a box higher across the board by any manufacture, I have never shot the 338 so recoil, accuracy, shot distance limit are a mystery to me. and im not sure it will get used as it is a bit large for any game in my area. The 300 could always be a great back up for more open area long shot hunts.
All the other calibers mentioned are fastly falling out of my favor due to ammo availabilty in my area ammo price in my area and the fact that I belive my 308 is plenty for anything up to large elk/moose/ and large bear.It should do anything the 30-06 can do up to the above game.

Biggest question is if I buy the 300win am i going to look back and say should I have bought the 338 because its not enough for the _____ hunt I going on the fall?   Or If I had bought the _____ insted of this 300 win I would have taken that shot?

Talked my self out of the 375 mostly due to the complete lack of ammo in my are. Guess we dont have dangerous game in N. Alabama.

Thanks to all for your help. Just looking for your opinion,
How would you spend your money if you had my guns and could add one more rifle to hunt in North America? Would you choose the 338 over the 300 and why ?

[longwinters]

If I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was going after the big bears or maybe going to Africa it might be worth getting the 338.  But for anything from moose on down what would be the point?  Probably you would be more likely to go after typical game animals if you did an out of state hunt.  I really don't even think the 300 win is necessary but for you anything else is somewhat of a duplication.  I would go with the 300 win, unless you got into one of the uncommon but really cool calibers like the .356 in a lever action etc...

Long

[anthony passero]

Get a 300 magnum in whatever rifle you love. You will find it flat shooting,bucks the wind great, not so painful to fire from the prone with 180 grain bullets for mulies and goat(antelope) and with 200 grain bullets plenty good for elk and moose in the timber. I like the 300 Weatherby, but the win magnum has much cheaper factory ammo. I do not know how the 300 win short mag performs with 200 grain bullets which I love for elk. The sierra 200 grain certianly reaches out and touches them and the nosler partition really works as well.A friend of mine loves the 180 grain nosler protected point in his push feed model 300 win mag and an old redfield 4x scope and I know he has taken a lot of game with it. Good luck with whatever you decide. Anthony