Big game cal.

[mdeerjunkie]

I may be getting a new gun and was trying to decide what cal. To get.
In your opinion which is better for overall hunting (big game).
A 300 win mag. Or .308.
Or any other calibers you recommend?

 

[VikingsGuy]

The following are great all around North American big game cartridges: 7mm08, .270Win, .308Win, .280 Rem, .280AI, 30-06, 270WSM, 7mmWSM, 7mmRemMag, 300WSM, 300WinMag. Lots of really strong opinions as to which one is better, but I doubt any dead animal has ever been able to distinguish between them. For 95+% of hunters going lower on the recoil within this list will improve accuracy and thereby effectiveness, so I would stick to the non-magnums if I were you.

 

[BlakeA]

Whichever you are most accurate with. It's amazing how dead you can make animals when you are super accurate and comfortable with your rifle and it's set up no matter what the caliber is. There have been some great threads over the years on here regarding calibers. Grab a beer and read through some of them.

 

[pabearhunter]

All it takes is a little hole in the right place.

 

[belshawelk]

Cartridge .300 easy question. But what can you shoot better? Doesn't matter if you cant shoot it.

Depending on "big game" even up from .300 may be better, but same question: Can you handle recoil?

 

[bushman13]

The use of one vs the other seems very regional and cultural as well. When my family lived in Alaska in the 70's, we had a .243, 7mmag, and a model 97 as the primary hunting weapons. Not a 30 caliber in the bunch. My dad was trapper out of Delta Junction and we survived on these guns. He had to get a moose and a sheep every year. I was raised under the impression that a 30 cal type magnum was too big for anything.

Moving to FL and GA after that, it was all 270's for deer. We actually thought that the 308 was a people killer and not suitable for big-game. How wrong we were, perfectly illustrated by Big Fin.

 

[cahunter805]

Every time someone asks me this question I ask
What is your main game animal hunted and where?
Reason being is if your mainly hunting elk in big country or mainly hunting whitetails in forest/bottoms the answer may be different.
Most basic answer IMO 30-06. Lots of good advice already given above but will agree with accuracy and your recoil tolerance is also a big factor.

 

[HandgunHunter]

I reckon in a nutshell.
none of the animals we have in the USA are tanks.....it doesn’t take a lot to drop any of them....

 

[Nick87]

Somewhere between a .243 and .375 should be good. That should give you plenty of options.

 

[madtom]

The best is always one you don't already have.

 

[bushman13]

Ha, or is it the opposite?

"Beware of the man with only one gun."

The best is always one you don't already have.

 

[RG_Adult_Onset_Hunter]

I personally use a .308 for big game (as a general all around caliber). It's a solid all around performer and is very friendly to skinny guys like me who can't handle a lot of recoil. That said, I was recently at the range and struck up a conversation with a guy firing his .300 Win Mag. Like me, he was not a fan of the recoil either. He had put some money into a substantial muzzle brake and a limb-saver recoil pad. He graciously allowed me to put a few rounds downrange and I was amazed with how gentle this made the gun (though quite loud).

Like the other guys said, go with a gun you are accurate with, and a bullet that you know the capabilities of. Part of that is having a weapon you are happy to go to the range and fire a lot. If you have any friends that will let you fire a gun in the caliber you are looking at it's worth the time to do that.

 

[mdeerjunkie]

Every time someone asks me this question I ask
What is your main game animal hunted and where?
Reason being is if your mainly hunting elk in big country or mainly hunting whitetails in forest/bottoms the answer may be different.
Most basic answer IMO 30-06. Lots of good advice already given above but will agree with accuracy and your recoil tolerance is also a big factor.

Primarily elk, deer, white tails and maybe a moose here and there.

 

[cahunter805]

Primarily elk, deer, white tails and maybe a moose here and there.

Id recommend a 30-06 or 7mm Rem mag.
What do you currently shoot? Do you handload?

 

[nrpate05]

If you've already got a few rifles, there's no sense in getting one that works "overall". Split the difference and get a .30-06 if you must!

 

[mdeerjunkie]

Id recommend a 30-06 or 7mm Rem mag.
What do you currently shoot? Do you handload?

I shoot a .308., but it is time for a new gun I like the cal. But kinda wanted something heavier. I want to get into hand loading soon.

 

[rustednuts]

I went 30-06, I can scale my bullet weights from 125-220gr. I normally shoot 165

 

[VikingsGuy]

I shoot a .308., but it is time for a new gun I like the cal. But kinda wanted something heavier. I want to get into hand loading soon.

If you want to get a NA Big Game cartridge to handload for get the 280AI - the cool guy cartridge of 2019. Or wait a few years and do a 18" barrel Sig 277 Fury

 

[cahunter805]

I shoot a .308., but it is time for a new gun I like the cal. But kinda wanted something heavier. I want to get into hand loading soon.

What’s wrong with the 308? I understand wanting new rifles so I’d say keep the 308 and get a 7Rem Mag.

 

[BuckRut]

You really need to provide a lot more information to get any useful information out of this question. There is no one perfect caliber for every scenario and there are a multitude of variables that are not related to the animal being shot including how far you are comfortable shooting. That said my personal opinion for the one gun that does everything is the .300 RUM.