The One Rifle

[SHOOTALL]

Some of of the cartridges mentioned I have thought about but I am dead set on a rimmed cartridge. {

I have a lee hand press I used for years before I got a bench press and plan on putting together a portable kit before I leave.  Which is why I am not worried about having an oddball cartridge.{

Winter Hawk, what kind of scale are you using in your portable reloading setup?{

I did not realize 7x57 mauser came in a rimmed version I will definitely have to look into that.{

The 7mm STE that I asked about is actually the 307 Winchester necked down.  One of the main reasons I was looking at a 7mm is I was afraid that the 30 caliber cartridges would do allot of damage to the hide if I was to want to keep it but I have never had experience with it.  Does it do much more damage that the 7mm?{

Almost Forgot, I am not looking for an Elk rifle just a rifle that can be used for Elk if I happen to have a chance but that chance would be rare.{
Thanks for all the ideas, I have allot more to think about now.

try 110 gr 30 cal fmj bullets

[wganz]

I expect that next year I will be taking a job that will have me moving often and I will only be able to tote one rifle around with me.  I want it to be a good all around rifle chambered in a good all around cartridge.  What is set in stone is that it will be a falling block rifle and it will be chambered in a rimmed cartridge.
 
I considered the EABCO 97d but would prefer a more potent cartridge than is offered on that action.  This narrows it down to the 1885 Winchesters made in Japan and the Ruger No 1.  If anybody knows of another falling block rifle in the same price range I would appreciate any information.

Saw these guys at the gun show in Dallas. Great guys and this is the most natural feeling rifle I've ever picked up:

http://www.fenriswolfarms.com/

Don't know what their current prices are but are worth a call to see what a plain stock version with a couple of barrels would cost you.

[45-70.gov]

the one rifle......


it would have to shoot the same ammo as my handgun....[at least be REAL nice]
357 MAX  should do  anything a 30-30 would


so  i say  357MAX....and your set to reload your 38/357mag  handgun on the road too


also ''the one rifle''  be nice if it was a small game gun  too.......38 specials
also a plinker


44 mag might be another choice.....if you have this in a handgun
or 45colt......mine is now a 454

[RevGeo]

I agree with trying to find an old #3 Ruger in 30-40 Krag. Great round. I have shot deer and elk with that round (my max range is about 250 yards) and it has never let me down. I have a single-shot 98 Mauser action sporter chambered for 30-40AI and it is ballistically the same as a 30-06.
A Ruger single shot in 30-40, 7X57R, 45-70 or 30-30 would make a great gun for a one-rifle situation.
You might have to spend a little more than normal, but hey, it would be 'your gun'.


Both .308 or 30-06 are fabulous elk rounds, BTW. Shooting at elk at 500 yards ain't huntin', it's target shootin'...

[Anduril]

The .357 Maximum is a dandy round and I have taken many a deer with mine.
That being said, the only time I have felt undergunned while hunting was when I was carrying my 357 Max TC Contender carbine. A group of 8 or 10 cow & calf elk came running out of the timber about 150 yards away. Even if there was a legal bull with them (and there wasn't) about all I could do was watch. It would have been an easy shot with a .356 Win or a 30-40 Krag, but I think it was just a little too far to stretch the Max.
..
 

[BBF]

The .357 Maximum is a dandy round and I have taken many a deer with mine.
...................
............................... It would have been an easy shot with a .356 Win or a 30-40 Krag, but I think it was just a little too far to stretch the Max.
..

Thank you and I agree.

[twoshooter]

One of the sharpest looking rifles for big game I ever saw was a Ruger #1, a stainless , grey laminate stock, 405 Winchester.
If you get an encore, I would go with a 444 Marlin, or if one is available a 9.3 X74R, and they may also be in a #1, although I would rather have the 405.
     I have watched the "Best of the West" and the Berger sponsored shows, so yes, if you have a 338 Lapua you can kill an elk at 600 yards. FWIW, people who shoot at game animals at that distance are NOT sportsmen, nor hunters. The only things one should be shooting at , at that range, other than targets, are people......when there is no other option.
     When people can get close enough to elk to kill them with a bow (about 60-70 yards max), there is simply no reason other than ego to shoot at elk at 400-500-600 or MORE yards.

[popplecop]

My elk hunting years ago was done in the Trout Creek area of Montana.  I hunted with localsm most carried 06s. I used a 270 Win. with the old 160 partitioned bullet.  We took our share of elk annually but a long shot was 150 yards.  No lost animals that I remember but these friends were all experenced elk hunters and knew the timber.  So with all that a No. 1 in 30-06 will do thejob when a well placed bullet is placed in the boiler room and not trying to strech the barrel.

[Winter Hawk]

First, back to the caliber.  I am the proud owner of a H&R (SB2 Frame) in .30-40 Krag.  I got the .30-30 and reamed out the chamber.  I am still setting up the sights as I added a Williams WGRS peep and now the front sight needs to go higher, but I am confident that it will dial in.  So there is an option to try, and I'm sure you could sell it easily on the NEF forum if you didn't like it.

Questions about the reloading kit I put together?  Here are a couple of photos, the first as you open the case and the second with the top layer of "stuff" removed.  then there was a question on the scale so I added those photos also (Lyman M-5).  The last one looks weird because I had to prop up one side of the scale, but that is because our house is 100 years old and there is no level spot in the floor.

[eastbank]

i load all my target loads with a set of lee dippers and a small electronic scale(midway,less than 40.00),i use the dipper thats closest to the charge i want to use and then use my fingers to bring the charge right on. and my powder charges are dead nuts on. i never met a powder measure thower that was on with stick powder. now if i could shoot up to the potional of the ammo. eastbank.

[fatercat]

FHP a 30-06 is not marginal. it is all the gun you need period.  bow hunters kill them with sticks. were killed with cap and ball. 30-30 killed hell out of them.  old jack killed many with a 270. some of the worst shots ever are the ones shooting those magnums. 

[jaysouth]

RE:  Ruger No 1, 303 Brit.  Bud's has one in stock, $983. http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_59_111/products_id/69506/Ruger+11348+LT+SPORTER+303BR+WAL
 
RE:  Eabco 97D, Available in .30-40 Krag.(6-9 month wait)
I have both Ruger and Eabco 97s.  I prefer hunting with the 97d because it has a better trigger, more accurate than MY ruger and safer to walk around in the woods with because of it's exposed hammer.
It ain't the arrow, it ain't the bow, it's the indian holding both that counts.  A local retired physician has a house full of trophy mounts of  elk, caribou, and moose that he shot with a Mauser action rifle with a 20 inch .35 Remington barrel.  If you can kill an elk with an arrow, a .30-30 will do just fine.
 

[pastorp]

Jaysouth,
Excellent point on the arrow-30/30 comparison.  what a step up in power & range. This magnum craze has gotten out of hand. And like someone pointed out produces a lot of flinching.

One of my friends goes through the cycle every few years. Really he knows that his personal limit on recoil is about a 257bob. But he starts working up until he flinches so bad he can't hit anything before he goes back to a 222 again. After a year or two he settles down & can shoot well again. 

If Corbett can kill tigers with A 7x57. And Bell kill elephants with the same rifle. We should be able to kill a deer or elk with one.

One other observation is the 30/30 in a single shot is a whole different gun than one in a lever. Your bullet choice open up a lot of potential not available in the lever. 

Regards,

[abolt-fan]

Ruger #1  have been chambered in 30-30, 30-40 Krag, 303 British and 9.3x74.  I'm sure you could find one of these if you look around.  I would think any of them would work for your needs.

[evidrine]

i have done just fine with the old 3006 with 180 nosler partion bullets at 2800fps on elk and mule deer, not one every complained as a matter of fact they were all very closed mouth about it. all shots were 250yds or less and none got away. i have found alot of the magnun crowd don,t always knock elk or mule deer dead right now either. it not so much what you hit them with,but where you hit them. limite your shots to where you can place your bullet where it needs to go and don,t listion to a bunch of magnunistes about the 3006 being to light to kill elk or mule deer. eastbank.

Know your linitations ad it is fine.....I still say it is a marginal round for Elk for most people who do jot hunt much.

No matter what caliber you are shooting or what you are shooting at, you need to know your limitations. If you dont know your limitations you should not be shooting a gun at all. You cant call the caliber "marginal" if will take the game, only the shooter.

[benny]

i just came back to hunting with a single shot this year.  If I had to keep one rifle, it would probably be the single shot.  Winchester (miroku) 1885 safari in 375 h&h.  the 375 is a true do it all caliber. can be loaded from 235gr bullets @ 1000fps to 380gr @ 2200fps.  shot a deer this year with a 260gr accubond. less bloodshot meat than my 270 bee and the deer never moved from the spot. these are discontinued and can be had for a deep discount from a dealer in tx.  don't know about posting names here, so i won't.
 

[wganz]

What about the T/C Dimension?

One serial number and multiple calibers.

[RevGeo]

That TC is a great idea, but one butt-ugly rifle, IMO. The fore end looks like the mouth on a grey whale. No offense to anybody who has one, just my .02 - which is worth exactly what you paid for it .
If I had to keep only one of my guns for the 'one rifle' it would be my Richard Marholt & Sohn drilling.

[Ladobe]

I get a kick out of all the "marginal" talk.   Guess while growing up my family was all wrong to use our Win 94's for all western game, including elk.   While not rimmed my go to for mule deer and elk for many years after was a 270Win, and many of my handguns also for both.   A 308 not enough for moose?  In your dreams.  LOL
 
Back to the OP... I've had Browing B78's and 1885 High and Low walls and all were excellent rifles.   And I've had some Ruger No 1's.   Preferred the Brownings myself except for the high gloss wood (an easy fix).  Problem with the Brownings is prices that are going higher and higher, and to some extent rimmed cartridges they were offered for.   Some could be rebarreled/chambered though to rimmed whatever.   Never had a Ruger No1 that could stay with the Brownings shooting, but the skies the limit with them in what could be shot in them.   Same with the Encores, and don't discount the Contenders either, especially if you would do wildcats since you plan to reload.   Between them not much you can't shoot in them just as accurately as other rifles.   Picking the cartridge is the hard part as there are so many that are capable for all your uses (and up to anything that walks on earth).   Kind of comes down to priorities, what percentage each of those uses will be yet a cartridge that will do them all acceptable enough to you.  I have many favorites I'd pick from, you'd have to do the same.

[FPH]

my family was all wrong to use our Win 94's for all western game, including elk. 

You got that right.  How many did you wound?

[mcwoodduck]

I think an Encore rifle would be your best bet.
You can get the one rifle and keep it in a hard case with multiple barrels and scope set ups.
308 Win for general purpose big game with a 3-9X38 or 40 scope
338 Win Mag for Elk and moose 4-12X40 Long Range Duplex
223 for varmints preditors and medium game. 6-18X40 or 3-9X38 or 40
22Lr or 22 Mag for small game 2-7X32 or fixed 4X or even open sights.
As you move from place to place and hunting oppertunities arise a new barrel and scope can be purchased to meet you need in the field. 
308 Win or 30-06  can be a do all be all round for big game you will just have to limit your range that a 300 Win or 338 win Mag does not offer you. 

[mcwoodduck]

I get a kick out of all the "marginal" talk.   Guess while growing up my family was all wrong to use our Win 94's for all western game, including elk.   While not rimmed my go to for mule deer and elk for many years after was a 270Win, and many of my handguns also for both.   A 308 not enough for moose?  In your dreams.  LOL
 

When I moved to the west I started to read about Elk hunting and the cartridges for them.
Most suggested a 300 Win mag and I looked it up on Ctgs of the World and was suprised to see that it was a relativly new ctg.
I thme asked what people used before that.  30-40 Kraig is what holds the world record elk.  It is about the same power and shoots the same bullets as 308 or 300 Savage. 
What always got me was in the elk hunting articles or books was the comment that 300 win was the minimum but 44 mag would be more than enough for elk out of a pistol.  The 30-30 has more energy and a better trajectory than 44 mag ever will.
I then looked at the ballistics and the 300 Win just shoots the same bullets as a 308 just a little faster.  Meaning that the trajectoy will be a little flatter.  Growing up in the east where 100 yards was a long shot in the woods seein the 300 yards or longer shots are possible a faster ctg may be wanted.  Especally for someone like me that only gets a week or two every other year to hunt elk and I do not want to miss an oppertunity on a royal.

[JPShelton]

my family was all wrong to use our Win 94's for all western game, including elk. 

You got that right.  How many did you wound?

I'll take a wild guess and say they wounded every single one of them fatally, with the beasts collapsing in a heap not too terribly far from where they stood when the trigger was pulled, and likely within seconds after the firing pin hit the primer.
 
Why?  Becauase I've shot a half dozen elk with a .30-30 myself and each was a one-shot kill.  Using 170 grain bullets at modest ranges, that outcome was largely assured. 
 
If I wanted a falling block single shot in a rimmed round, I could be very content with a .30-30.  I already know I can kill everything I want to kill very dead with one.  It is pleasant to shoot and about as cheap to shoot as a .223 is.  It is a delight to reload for, and reloading allows the use of reduced velocity cast bullet loads that are accurate enough for small game hunting and not overly destructive.  I killed a lot of rabbits that way with my 336 when I was a kid and it was the only rifle I had.  As we all know, reloading components for the .30-30 are easy to come by, as is loaded ammo.
 
I'm biased because my first gun was a Marlin 336 in .30-30, and it has seen regular use for the last 37 years and neither it or I are ready to retire just yet.  The .30-30 is tied for first with the .30-'06 on my list all time favorite centerfire rifle rounds, too.  And I know from using one for everything from rabbits to pronghorns to deer to pigs to elk that it'll kill everything I want to kill deader than its printed ballistics would lead one to believe it could.  I suspect that the modest velocity is the key to its versatility.  It might not make impressive secondary wound channels, but modest impact velocity pretty much assures deep-digging penetration with standard cup and core bullets of decent sectional density.
 
In a nutshell, if I could only have one rifle, it very likely might be a .30-30 because I can make it work over the range of critters I want to render in to meat with a rifle.  The round can deliver very impressive accuracy, too.
 
 
JP

[FPH]

I'm bias toward the 30-30 myself.  The first large bore rifle I was given was a 1928 Savage 99 in 30-30 when I turned 13.  That does not make me take a rifle of inappropriate caliber into the field for Elk.  There are too many better and larger calibers for that.  If you have taken all your Elk with one shot kills with a 30-30, you must be quite the stalker.

[Empty Quiver]

300 Winchester Magnum, and a healthy dose of R-22, driving a 180gr Nosler Partition. It'll kill anything I will ever come across, at a distance further than I have any business shooting. I came to this conclusion several years ago when I purchased my first centerfire rifle. I foolishly assumed it would be my only rifle.
 
I have a few more rifles now and they are a bit more specialized I suppose. If I had to get rid of them all it would likely be the last to go. To be honest I could make any of the others do as well. Hell I have killed many many times more game with an Easton 2315 and a 160gr Thunderhead. That combo will make stuff dead I Garrontee.

[Ladobe]

my family was all wrong to use our Win 94's for all western game, including elk. 

You got that right.  How many did you wound?

How many have you killed to make you think you are such an expert?   When it gets up to the uncountable number of mule deer and hundreds of elk my extended family took over the years with 94's, try again.   
 
 

[FPH]

my family was all wrong to use our Win 94's for all western game, including elk. 

You got that right.  How many did you wound?

How many have you killed to make you think you are such an expert?   When it gets up to the uncountable number of mule deer and hundreds of elk my extended family took over the years with 94's, try again.   

Dose not take an expert to figure out the ballistics.....oh between Mulely and Elk.....over 200,  by me or my hunting buddy.  More by him.  Elk are his passion.

[RevGeo]

my family was all wrong to use our Win 94's for all western game, including elk. 

You got that right.  How many did you wound?

How many have you killed to make you think you are such an expert?   When it gets up to the uncountable number of mule deer and hundreds of elk my extended family took over the years with 94's, try again.   

Dose not take an expert to figure out the ballistics.....oh between Mulely and Elk.....over 200,  by me or my hunting buddy.  More by him.  Elk are his passion.

In the field paper ballistics aren't worth the paper they are printed on. A 30-30 will kill anything you want to kill with it, so long as you put the bullet in the right place. It hasn't been one of this country's most popular cartridges for the past 119 years by not doing the job.
Kinda cracks me up sometimes when I hear or read about somebody talking about killing an elk at 500 yards with a .308 and then claim that a 30-30 won't do it reliably at 200. There's your paper ballistics for ya.
Too many times the cartridge is blamed when the fault lies with the shooter. Shoot straight, hit 'em in the right spot(s) and the game is over (Sorry about the bad pun, but its the best I can do on New Years Day).

[Ranch13]

Well said RevGeo!

[FPH]

Problem is, too many people will take that 500 yd shot with the 30-30.  This far exceededs it capabilities.  I love the way you  throw out mathmatical data like hard ballistic facts and rationalize their way to their contention.  The 30-30 is a great round..,...just not an Elk round.  I know a guy who killed a cow Elk with a .22lr when he was 12......is the .22lr an Elk round?