what is your favorite cal. for hunting big game and why?

[jamaldog87]

i like the 454Casul  out of my ruger. the 454 has as much power as the 500S&W and you look cool when you shoot it. aslo i not bad mouthing a site just giveing you the heads up about it. Don't go to peta-s-u-c-k-s.com, they are but heads and like to read and put down people for no reason. i was banned from there and every thing i posted there i posted here, they also said i was a procher for this post:

well tom and i did some starling hunting the other day with our 2 guns in .177 and .22.Tom knows time been hard and i can't do any big game hunting right now. so we put out some bait and i killed the first one at 25yards with my 766 and tom got one that came down to have a look at the first one with his air force talon in .22 at 50 yards. then after 30 mins a crow came down on the bait at 50 yards. i could have taken the shot but since i drop my 2200 on the stock and had to glue it back on i did not know if i could make it. tom with his more powerful talon( shoots at 1250fps and it's a .22) kill that crow with a body shot. than 10 starlings and a squirrel came to the bait after a hour. 2 starlings were at 15-20 yards,3 were at 30, and 5 were at 50 yards and the squirrel we left alone(it beering season and the season was not open on them here). tom got his 1077 with it's 12 shot mag and i got my 766 and 2200 ready for some shooting( the .22 on the will kill them with any hit). toms 1077 has a red dot for fast shot at short range and my 2200 has a daisy 4x for long range shooting up to 50 yards. tom a better shot than me and he got off all 12 and got 7 of them and i fire my gun at the 50 yard shot and kill one. the 3 were left but they move back out to 50-100 yards, so toms talon with it's BSA 8-32x50mm was up. he did something that i have never seen before. he shot the one at 65 yards and it pass though it and killed the one at 100 yards. i was like "dam tom your gun make my gun look like a toy" he saids " well i paid 700$ with the scope for mine gun so it better shoot like that and it has the power of my ruger with 22LRs out to 100 yards" that day ended well with 12 starling,1 crow, 3 rats, and a sheephead that tom killed on the way home. i like to because he is a fish&game cop and he aways seem to find these good hunts like this one. we were hunting a food plot that had a corn field on it. the the guns use were a crosman 1077,766,2200 air force talon and toms glock 17(he use it on some wild dog as we were going back to his car. he fired at the ground near them).

[kyote]

jamaldog
             sorry bud I don't have one favorite..I have many.and it is hard to choose the one I want to take.I like em all. and try and use a differt one every time I go out the door..peta sucks .com..hmmmm will give them a vist.I have been banned from just about all peta sights that I have gotten on.they have no argument.just want to kill human hunters and save the animals.ha.they are a blast to debate with..he he he..jamladog just tell em "there is room for all god's greatures right next to the mashed potatos".

[Don Fischer]

kyote is about right, no clear favorites. But I definatelly lean toward 6.5's and 7mm's. My 6.5x55 is a better hunting rifle than my 6.5x06. It's lighter, shorter, handles better and wears a better scope for hunting; 1-4X Redfield. I don't presently own a 7mm but have used them a good deal. One of my all time favorite rifles was a Ruger m77 in 7x57 w/2 3/4x Redfield scope. Now that scope lives on my 30-06. I've also used the 280 Rem quite a bit and think it's maybe the most underated cartridge we have. Ant the 7mm Rem Mag a lot, wouldn't get another. Just don't care for all the fuss when you pull the trigger. Besides that the 280 will do anything the 7mm Mag will at and beyond reasonable hunting ranges. But them so will everything else I mentioned.

[bubba]

My favorite caliber is a 30o savage. More than enough power to do the job without tearing the deer apart. Plus I inherted a model 99 from my dad and liked it so much I had a barrel done at the custom shop in 300 savage.

[elmer]

30-06 - Lot's of choices for in commercial loads or handloads that cover a wide range of game. Reliable performance and accuracy to 400 yards and beyond if the shooter is up to it. Available where ever ammo is sold.

[Robert]

35-06.  Most folks call it a Whelen, But I always say it the wrong way.....It is a 30-06 necked out to .358.  Mine is the Ackley Improved version, it will outshoot a 30-06 easily.  200 gr bullets have nearly the same velocity & trajectory as a 30-06 with 180 gr bullets, and the larger diameter bullets have more knockdown power upon arrival.

[Ramhunter]

The only way to properly answer your question is to be much more specific.  For the vast majority of North American big game, except for elk and big bears, I use the 270 Win. with 150 gr Nosler partitions.  If I am chasing elk or big bears, the 338 Win mag is the way to go.  On the other hand, in Africa, I used a 375 H&H mag on cape buff.

[Flatshooter]

35-06 ey? Sounds interesting.
I have to go along with the .30-06. You can always find ammo in many varieties and it may be too much for whitetails inside of 100 yards, but will do for just about anyting on this continent.

[dw06]

30-06,it just works.

[bobg]

I guess it depends on what you are hunting. For whitetail deer size game you can't beat the 270 Win. Anything i have shot with mine it is one or two steps and it dies. Shooting 130 grain Sierra bullets  over a charge of H4831. Love the 270.
bobg

[GrassLakeRon]

Hi all,

     30-06 (150's, 180's, and 200's) for everything below 600 lbs and not dangerous.  375 H&H (300's) for everything else.

Ron

[jro45]

For hunting BIG game I would use my 338 RUM. The reason is because it can reach out to BIG game and do it in.

I concider big game like a Moose.

[Tn Jim]

I have really grown fond of my 7-08. Seems like it can handle nearly any job if the right bullet is used. 30-06 would be a close second choice. If I'm after hogs I prefer my 45-70. Don't like to track into heavy brush if it's something that will fight back.

[lewdogg21]

If I shot more stuff I could consider having a favorite. 

[Sourdough]

When you say big game, I think Moose, Elk, Caribou, and Grizzly/Brown Bears.  Simple, the most populer rifle in Alaska, the .338Win Mag.  Although I do carry a .35 Whelen sometimes.  During the winter when the bears are not out I carry a 30-06. 

.35-06?  Never heard it called that before, but that is what it is.

[Scott T]

I've gotten to the point that I use the same rifle whenever I pick up a rifle for hunting anything.  Shiloh Sharps in .45-70.  I shoot a black powder cartridge because it flavors the hunt for me.

Quite effective though.




When I take out a pistol for hunting, it is my .500 Linebaugh.  I load it with a 400gr cast bullet at about 900fps.  Manageable recoil, but it drops them right there.

[beemanbeme]

Lotsa favorites.  This year I'm using a 8x57 and a 7x57.

[BigLost]

 Big game,,.338Winny,,,think 30/06,,for all the same reasons,,,,but with hair on it!!,,it makes up for the fact that I have a very small,,,,,,car

[Drilling Man]

  By cal. do you mean "cartridge"??  I'm going to assume it is...

  My first true love was a .243 Win...    Then i went with the 30-06 for a time....  After moving to Alaska i hunted with "everything" and settled on the .338-06 and stayed with it a long time!  Along the way, for smaller animials i got very fond of the 7mm bullet diameter and harvested a of of game with 7mm's...  I then settled on the 280 Rem. and i still find it an excelent medium game rifle.

  A little over 20 years ago i started useing a 8x57jrs loaded with 200 NP's, and i'm still useing it to this day more than any other.  It's done all i've asked of it, and does it well...

  If i could only have one bolt action gun for the lower 48 states it would probably be a 280 Rem. or "maybe" a 30-06...  I'll add here that the 30-06 is probably the greatest cartridge ever designed.

  DM