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One hunting rifle!

14 Sep 2016
@ 02:35 am (GMT)

Aussie hunter

If you were to select one caliber to have as a dedicated bolt action hunting rifle what would it be? So it's an allrounder to save deciding which rifle you want to take this time and must meet the Aussie legal requirement for some deer species of being larger than .270 caliber. I have heard many people speak highly of the .270 but don't own one (yet!) in a perfect world I would like more guns in different configurations but I have a few and for example I have a .308 bolt action and would like a .308 pump action. That would be a dedicated pig hunting set up with a low power scope or red dot style sight. (Scrub hunting) . I think the .308 meets the criteria but I am thinking along the lines of if I had a pump .308 then I'd like a bolt action in a different caliber. My thinking is that a 7mm REm mag or .300 win mag should do anything a .270 does and better. I have always had a It has long range potential or would flatten a Dingo at 300 m if you know the trajectory and shoot it well. It could do African plains game or cull camels in central Australia and probably bear in Alaska. I hand load but happy to stick with standard calibers. I have my bunny guns and varmint rifle. I have always had some fascination with the .300 win mag and maybe because of the range of .30 cal projectiles.
But what do others think what's the perfect hunting caliber? If you had one chance to set up the one hunting rifle and hoped to use it for whatever you might be lucky enough to hunt what would it be?

Replies

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09 Apr 2020 @ 04:53 am (GMT)	Quote this Magnus Vassbotn Re: One hunting rifle! Haha! Moving the head sounds like a very plausible cause... The rock ptarmigan I'm talking about when I say grouse, are often very skittish here in our mountains. If they see you coming, they usually won't let you closer than 100-150 yards. They just sit in the cliffs and mountain sides and watch and talk shit. Occationally we bump them over a ridge, or they might be so kind and throw a full on shotgun day for some reason (first snow), but mostly they refuse to cooperate. Hence the rifle. Most are shot between 80 and 150 yards, but bodyshots, so not as fancy as it first sounds. But thanks anyway! Most of my friends also use their all round deer rifles in 6,5 or 30 cal, some even ditch the shotgun. So for many around here, this is one important consideration for the all round rifle. Cheers
09 Apr 2020 @ 08:38 am (GMT)	Quote this Paul Leverman Re: One hunting rifle! Like most anything, it does take practice. A long time gone hunting partner of mine turned me on to this. Back in the day we could take the pellet pistols with us, but no longer. He showed me just how accurate you can be with a 4x scope at close distances, and that was that. Back then we were just starting into hand loading, so the bullet of choice was the Hornady 190gr. BTSP. It's what we had, so it's what we used. I'm not so sure about grouse ducking at the shot. Bullet is travelling way faster than sound, so that can't be it. Pressure wave? Perhaps. But that would mean some pretty quick reflexes. My thought would be that because their heads are usually moving anyway, chances are that when the trigger is pulled it's head is already. It's all in the timing, I suppose. And no, I'm no marksman. I miss some. I did hit one once, in the head, and it did the dance, but when I reached down to pick it up it flew away. Without a doubt, and plain as day, there was a good sized opening at the back of it's head (like nothing there). It would have been priceless to capture on video, the stunned, dumbfounded looks on both our faces. This stupid bird, with only half of it's head, took off like a helicopter. Straight up. Straight up until it got to the height of the surrounding trees and the slight wind started pushing it away, over the berm and into the re-growth of the logging show. It kept going until we lost sight of it. WTF??? A biologist explained this to us, and while it sounded reasonable, I have no way of proving or disproving his theory. He said that the area of the brain that the bullet removed was for that part of the memory that controlled autonomous function: heart, lungs, etc. The front part of the brain was for instinctive muscle control. So the last thing that bird remembered was that "I should get the f**k outa here" and it did. And if you weren't there to see it, you'd never believe it happened. I was, and I still don't.
09 Apr 2020 @ 11:44 am (GMT)	Quote this Michael Henderson Re: One hunting rifle! Hi guys, It does sound a bit far fetched but if you’ll do a search for “Mike the Headless Chicken” I’d say it’s possible... truth is stranger fiction
09 Apr 2020 @ 11:57 am (GMT)	Quote this Paul Leverman Re: One hunting rifle! Well, thanks Michael. I thought maybe the '70s had something to do with it.
09 Apr 2020 @ 05:00 pm (GMT)	Quote this Iain Re: One hunting rifle! I'm late to this, but for me it would have to be some sort of bolt action 30.06. I have grown to really like the 308 for all its virtues, not least of which are quietness and mild recoil. But once larger animals come into consideration 30.06 with good 180s wins hands down. 06 can be toned down a little with faster powders and 150s/165s if necessary, but with heavier bullets, the 308 simply can't get close.