Ideas for calibers for one gun/all game hunting set up

[Dance]

Hi Everyone,

I have been handgun hunting for a bit with revolvers and was interested in setting up a Contender or Encore to hunt all game available in the USA and possibly worldwide.  I figured I could have it set up with multiple barrels to be able to hunt everything, which would make life easier for me.  I would like to make a list or two for what barrels/calibers I should get to accomplish this.  I would like to keep the barrels factory/factory custom shop in standard calibers if at all possible.  If not, one or two wildcats wouldn't hurt and one or two custom barrels. I have a contender with a 223 barrel, but wouldn't be against buying an Encore and setting it up either.  Here is what I think so far:

Contender: 22 LR, 223, 35 Remington, 44 Mag or 45 Long Colt, and 45/70. Possible the 45/410 also for light shotgun work.

Encore: 22 LR (custom barrel or will keep my contender in 22 LR instead of getting this barrel), 223, 30-06, 454 casull, 45-70.

I figured 22 LR for general small game, 223 for varmint sized but may need something better for longer ranged shots, 35 rem or 30-06 for deer to moose or so, 45/70 and 454 casull ( 45 colt 44 mag) for bigger game.

Would these choices work for hunting everything, or would there be a better set of barrels/calibers to use? What caliber would be best for heavy game? 14 inch barrels or 10 inch or which is best?

 I would like to keep the barrel numbers to from 5 to 10 or so, although it will take me awhile to save the money and get all the different barrels set up.  I just wanted to get a plan for which set up to go with and get started, figured I could get one or 2 barrels now and buy one every couple months until i have all.  Thanks for any and all help.

[rickyp]

If i could only have 4  contender barrels to  hunt most game animals I would pick

1) 45/ 410 with iron sights and in 10 inch. the 3 inch 410 shells  works good for squirrel rabbit and even dove if you are allowed to use it in your state. the 45 colt can be used for things up to deer size game at close range.
2) a 14 inch bullberry or VVGW 209x50  for use during Muzzle loading season if allwoed in your state.
3) 375 jdj in 14 inch. this round can take almost any thing you would care to shoot with a handgun.
4) a 14 inch 17 reming or 22 centerfire ( almost any cal.) for varments

[kciH]

17HMR-small game, short varmint
243 Winchester-Long varmint and medium game (small deer, antelope, small plains game)
35 Whelen-Medium to Big Game-Great for deer and bigger-will kill anything with good shot placement and shoots plenty flat for any reasonable handgun hunting range.
416 Rigby (Custom) -To impress your friends at your ability to withstand punishment and kill anything that walks.  A muzzle break migh be of some use on this barrel, as my .416 in a 9+lb rifle lifts my front foot off the ground when I shoot it.

This would be in the encore, but I'd keep your Contender and get the 17 barrel for that.  .223 is a great round, I bypassed it because the 17HMR will get it done out to 200 yards on small vermin, and the .243 picks up nicely from there with flat trajectory and good wind bucking characterisitics.  The .243 will shoot bullets nearly as light as a .22 cal and give you the flexibility of heavier ones.  Something along the lines of a 7-08 or 308 in the middle would be great for general deer-type hunting, but the .35 Whelen will easily handle those chores and many more, this cartridge will shoot .357 pistol bullets and 180-300gr medium and big game hunting bullets.

[ShootnStr8]

Dance,

I think you could probably do just about all you want to do with your Contender and the following 3 barrels:  

22 LR  for squirrels and such.

7-30 Waters for medium game (i.e. groundhogs, whitetail, yotes, etc.) out to 200 yards.  I have a nice set up where I don't have to change the zero for the 100 grain HPs and 139 grain SST Hornadys. The 100s are extremely accurate and wonderful on groundhogs and the 139s are also very accurate and do a nice job on whitetail.  

375 JDJ for the rest of the things (e.g. Godzilla, etc.) that walk the planet.   If it is too big for the 375 JDJ it's time to pull out the safari rifle.  

If you would want a fourth barrel, then I would agree with Ricky about .410/45 for scattergun work.  Personally, I need all the pellets I can get so I use a 12 gauge in a Rem 870.  As Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations!"  

Have a great time shopping!  What fun!

Blessings!

ShootnStr8

[KYODE]

sounds like a plan! working up loads for each barrel is very enjoyable too.
22lr-contender
.223-contender
6tcu-contender
30-30 ackley improved-contender

.22-250-encore
.243-encore
7-08-encore
.444marlin-encore

then there's lot's of others that could be substituted. 7-30 waters,6x45,6x47,6br,.308,45-70,17hmr, ahhh!, the list goes on and on. i can see years of fun outta this. get an encore too, and set them both up the way you like.

[Ravenwolf]

For everything I do I broke my needs down to 5 categories and picked up a barrel to fit each one. I did the same with my revolvers so each one complements my Contender barrel and the game being hunted. After almost 20 years of hunting with Contenders this is what works for me:

Small Game - factory 14" 45/410 barrel, open sights

Varmits - EA Brown 15" 17 Rem, Burris 10X

Med Game (Antelope, Whitetail, etc.) - factory barrel 14" rechambered to 7mm Super Bower, Burris 3-9X

Large Game (Black Bear, Elk, Boar) - SSK 14" 358 JDJ, T/C 2.5-7X

Dangerous Game (anything that bites back) - Bellm 14" 444 Marlin, Weaver 2x

These work for me, your mileage may vary...be safe and good shooting...RW

[xphunter]

In a Contender (I am not considering dangerous game) I would go with 17 Remington, 6.5x50 R Bellm, and the 30 Alaskan.  The 17 Remington is strictly a pelt barrel with also a side use for PD's, crows etc.  The 6.5x50 R Bellm is a multi-task cartridge that will double for  Varmints on up to deer size game easily and at short ranges would work for elk since you can push a 120 grain bullet at over 2500 FPS and the 30 Alaskan would be a big game cartridge that would also work well at LR shooting.  Scope would be the 3-12 Burris LER's with Ballistic Plex with Burris Rings that have the inserts so you can build in minutes easily for LR shooting and take away the need for three ring mounts which can easily torque a scope.  None of these would have brakes on them and would be from 14-16 inches long.  One or two may be a step-up barrel depending on the type of carry and hunting I intended it for.
In the Encore I would go with 22-250 AI, 6.5-284, and 300 Win Mag.  If  I wanted a rimmed case I would build wildcats off of the 307 Win. case or the 444 Marlin case.


Ernie

[JOE MACK]

:idea: If in a contender: .223Remington for varmints, .309JDJ for antelope/deer-sized game, and ..411JDJ for LARGE game.

For the Encore I'm a little one off as usual.

.225Winchester for varmints/small game
.307Winchester for antelope/deer-sized game
.375Steyr for LARGE game

I could hunt anything on the planet with those including the horrible purple dinosaur. RKBA!

[DanL]

You've got a 223, you got the small stuff covered. Add a 45-70 barrel and you're done.

But that's no fun!    The 45-70 is an excellent "deer and everything up" round, but I'd add a 7mm or 30 caliber next (7-30 Waters would be my pick).  Then round it all out on the low end with a 17 HMR.

Don't have an Encore, but there I'd go 223, 7-08 or 308, 338, 454 Casull.