Best All-Round Rifle?

[tarbe]

OP doesn't appear to have been on a here since 2015...so you might be waiting for a while to find out what he went with......

We are hunters....we are patient men!

 

[TERMINATOR]

You’re asking a group of people that probably own on average 10+ rifles each. And asking them to pick 1 all rounder.... if they believed in such they would not own 10+ each, an always in the market for a new addition to the family.

That being said.... I’d probably say 30.06.

In my safe I have .17 HMR, 7mm-08 (x2), .270 (x2), 30-06 (x2), .358 Win, .300 Wby and .375 H&H

If I was only allowed to use one of them it would be without question the .300 Wby

I like to have different tools for different situations but if I had to use only one rifle for everything that doesn't want to kill me it would be a .300 Magnum of a person's choice. I happen to own the .300 Wby because I wanted one growing up but a .300 H&H, .300 Win Mag, or .300 WSM would all work for me. I am not as big of a fan of the .300 RUM but if that was the gun given to me to be my "one gun" I would happily use it for the rest of my life.

 

[spike.t]

We are hunters....we are patient men!

 

[barbells.and.arrows]

Am I the only one thinking "whichever one you shoot the best"?

 

[tarbe]

Am I the only one thinking "whichever one you shoot the best"?

You might be, lol.

When the question was asked, he was still shopping - so hypothetical. No empirical data available on the practical accuracy front.

 

[BigSteve57]

Am I the only one thinking "whichever one you shoot the best"?

Well I kept thinking of the original question "best all round rifle". But for what? Small thin skinned game such as North American Whitetail? Bear? If you want to buy one rifle consider Blaser where you can buy additional barrels if you want a new caliber.

 

[barbells.and.arrows]

You might be, lol.

When the question was asked, he was still shopping - so hypothetical. No empirical data available on the practical accuracy front.

Haha, I can still assume some people are out there hunting with a gun they shoot decently (but not the best) because they have some attachment to that gun/caliber whatever. And maybe I'm crazy, but if you shoot a "smaller" caliber better than a "magnum" caliber you can still put animals in the dirt, if you can shoot it well.

 

[tarbe]

Haha, I can still assume some people are out there hunting with a gun they shoot decently (but not the best) because they have some attachment to that gun/caliber whatever. And maybe I'm crazy, but if you shoot a "smaller" caliber better than a "magnum" caliber you can still put animals in the dirt, if you can shoot it well.

It was a 14 year old asking about a rifle for Kudu/Elk on the high end.

Edit: sorry - this reply was meant for Steve. Quoted the wrong post!

 

[TERMINATOR]

It was a 14 year old asking about a rifle for Kudu/Elk on the high end.

Edit: sorry - this reply was meant for Steve. Quoted the wrong post!

Yes

Sorry but if you can shoot a .243 you can shoot a .270 and the .243 has serious limitations on the larger plains game and larger North American non-dangerous game like Elk or Caribou

You can kill a Kudu or Elk with a .243 but the .270 is a MUCH better tool for the job

 

[tarbe]

Yes

Sorry but if you can shoot a .243 you can shoot a .270 and the .243 has serious limitations on the larger plains game and larger North American non-dangerous game like Elk or Caribou

You can kill a Kudu or Elk with a .243 but the .270 is a MUCH better tool for the job

Agree completely and I bet 95% of us here would as well.

But a 14 year old? He does not yet know such things.

Fortunately he came asking questions and received lots of advice and I hope he took some of it!

 

[bruce moulds]

don' knock the 243 as a 1000 yd cartridge.
just ask david tubb.
it will outperform the 270 at 1000 yd on targets by a mile, due to better bullets for that job and lower recoil.
however this does not make it a better hunting round than the 270 in any way other than as a varmint rifle.
a cartridge i would suggest looking at is the 280 rem.
bruce.

 

[Ruan Bouwer]

Talk about bumping up an old thread...
Today, I found myself reading about hunting Rusa deer in Mauritius. After a while, I realize that this is a place I know so well, a place I have been so many times before...AfricaHunting.com. I type my name into the search bar, and there it is. All of it pops up on the screen. Every word from every single story I've written on here as a young lad in high school.
I read through all of my stories, and for some reason, I can not help but to laugh at myself.
Having learnt so much in the 5 years that have passed since I have been active on here, I realize that we constantly learn. We constantly improve. We constantly grow.
After this thread, many people wondered what had become of me, if I'm still hunting, what rifle I am using these days, and if I would ever be writing another story on here...
Well, here I am. With great help from Jerome, I recovered this account of mine, and I am privileged to be back.
After writing this thread and reading every single response and pondering about it, I went and read up and researched intensively. I went through the amazing Shooter's Bible, and after many hours of research and talking to many people, I decided on a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter Series 2 chambered in .270 Win.
I have not looked back a single day in my life and wished I had rather gone for any different caliber or rifle. My Weatherby has never failed me and I have had great success with the spectacular .270 round!
Throughout the years that have gone by, I've started adding to my setup on my rifle. I found and attached a bipod that we bought long ago, I put an old army rifle belt on, and I bought a cartridge pouch for the stock! We also bought a silencer from my great friend Nicol Brand at Next Level Silencers. They are surely the best in the local business, be sure to check their amazing products and technology out!
I will post a photo below of my rifle's current setup. During the past few years, I have taken about 2 springbuck, 2 blue wildebeest, a blesbuck, baboon and so forth with this rifle that I fell in love with the second that I held it in my hands!
I am surely going to write plenty more stories in the near future, I have a lot to write about and some catching up to do!

I hope that all of you enjoy my stories going forward, and I thank each and every one of you who gave their opinions, thoughts and knowledge and helped me to make an informed decision that I haven't regretted for a single second. I've grown a great amount in the time that has passed and I have learnt many things about life, hunting and the bush. I have a completely different perspective and some updated knowledge as a bonus!

Here's to many great things to come.

Cheers
Ruan 2.0

 

[Newboomer]

Nice looking rig, Ruan. How old are you now? If you keep writing like you do now I'm looking for some fantastic accounts of your hunts. Best of luck in all your endeavors.

 

[Ruan Bouwer]

Nice looking rig, Ruan. How old are you now? If you keep writing like you do now I'm looking for some fantastic accounts of your hunts. Best of luck in all your endeavors.

Thank you very much sir, I truly appreciate the kind words! I am 19 now.

 

[sgt_zim]

any of the .284 caliber rifles are a better choice than 270.

so many guys go on and on about how flat-shooting a 270 is. with a 200 yard zero, they're not usefully flatter inside 300 yards than a 7x57 or 7mm-08. And to continue being flat past 300 yards, you'd need to be shooting 130 grain bullets.

for 7mm Rem Mag, a 160 gr or 175 gr Swift A-Frame, Woodleigh PP, Nosler Partition, or Barnes TSX is head-and-shoulders better than 270. It isn't even close.

for the "smaller" members of the 7mm family (280 Rem, 7x57, 7mm-08), 140, 150, and 160 gr bullets in the above makes, plus 156 gr Norma Oryx are all still better choices.

As for shooting further than 300 yards, if you aren't practicing at 300 yards or further, you shouldn't try to shoot any game animals at those distances, either. All of the little mistakes you might make at 100 or 200 yards will still see your bullets finding their mark, with clean kills the normal result. But at 300 yards, those little mistakes get magnified. If you're lucky, those mistakes translate to clean misses. If you're not lucky, the bullets will start landing in places neither you nor the animal want them to be.

"flat shooting" isn't everything. for example, a 375 H&H shooting 250 or 260 gr bullets will have a ballistic arc nearly the same as a 30-06 shooting 180 gr bullets. While 270 and 7mm RM are both flatter-shooting, I don't think there's anyone who would complain about the way a 375H&H performs ballistically.

If you and your dad reload, any of the .284 cartridges and the 30-06/300 Win Mag give you a lot more options than a 270.

 

[Ruan Bouwer]

any of the .284 caliber rifles are a better choice than 270.

so many guys go on and on about how flat-shooting a 270 is. with a 200 yard zero, they're not usefully flatter inside 300 yards than a 7x57 or 7mm-08. And to continue being flat past 300 yards, you'd need to be shooting 130 grain bullets.

for 7mm Rem Mag, a 160 gr or 175 gr Swift A-Frame, Woodleigh PP, Nosler Partition, or Barnes TSX is head-and-shoulders better than 270. It isn't even close.

for the "smaller" members of the 7mm family (280 Rem, 7x57, 7mm-08), 140, 150, and 160 gr bullets in the above makes, plus 156 gr Norma Oryx are all still better choices.

As for shooting further than 300 yards, if you aren't practicing at 300 yards or further, you shouldn't try to shoot any game animals at those distances, either. All of the little mistakes you might make at 100 or 200 yards will still see your bullets finding their mark, with clean kills the normal result. But at 300 yards, those little mistakes get magnified. If you're lucky, those mistakes translate to clean misses. If you're not lucky, the bullets will start landing in places neither you nor the animal want them to be.

"flat shooting" isn't everything. for example, a 375 H&H shooting 250 or 260 gr bullets will have a ballistic arc nearly the same as a 30-06 shooting 180 gr bullets. While 270 and 7mm RM are both flatter-shooting, I don't think there's anyone who would complain about the way a 375H&H performs ballistically.

If you and your dad reload, any of the .284 cartridges and the 30-06/300 Win Mag give you a lot more options than a 270.

Thank you for the opinion. I went with a Weatherby .270 Win and I haven't regretted my decision for a single second in the 5 years gone by. To each their own and luckily it has never let me down and it brought down every single animal I pointed my muzzle at.

 

[Shootist43]

Ruan, your 270 has and will continue to serve you well. However we all recognize that a 270 has limitations. If and when you start putting larger animals on your list, you will need to consider getting a larger caliber rifle. Your first hunting will remain something special throughout your entire life. I'm almost willing to bet that the majority of AH members still have theirs.

 

[sgt_zim]

Thank you for the opinion. I went with a Weatherby .270 Win and I haven't regretted my decision for a single second in the 5 years gone by. To each their own and luckily it has never let me down and it brought down every single animal I pointed my muzzle at.

Didn't say there is anything wrong with 270, just a lot of people gush over how flat-shooting it is, which is just silly. Millions of white tail deer, mule deer, and feral pigs (and elk and probably moose, too) have been killed in the US with a rifle chambered in it. Nosler makes a 160 gr Partition for it, and Woodleigh makes a 180 gr PP for it. Those would be good choices for that cartridge. Just have never been a fan of light bullets coming out at 3K FPS. I don't see a point to it. But, YMMV.

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

Last Tuesday, outdoor writer and expert Craig Boddington posted the following on his Facebook page:

More Q&A With the Colonel:

Q: Craig had mentioned that perhaps the 270 and 7mm were fairly equal in terms of real world hunting ability.

Does he believe this is still the case with some of the latest long range hunting bullets now available? (Hornady ELD-X etc)

In other words- is a person perhaps (at least) gaining 100 more yards of long range hunting ability with the 7mm?

A: That’s a really good point and good catch!!!! For general hunting at normal ranges I do think the .270 and 7mm Remington (and similar, including .280 Rem, 7mm RSAUM and WSM, etc.) are so similar in effect on game that arguments are silly (as Jack O’Connor told us in 1962 with the 7mm Rem Mag was brand new). However, he did own and use 7mm Remington Magnum rifles! So, with us gunwriters, maybe it’s best to pay closer attention to what we do than what we say!

You are correct: .270 bullet development has not kept pace with 7mm bullet development! Hornady has a 145-grain .270 ELD-X that should be awesome, but “long range” and “match” .277 bullets are as scarce as unicorns. You can get higher BC and more bullet weight in 7mm bullets. So, if we’re talking longer range (and perhaps slightly larger animals), it is true that the .270 cannot keep pace. Was just at SAAM shooting 168-grain Barnes LRX from a 7mm Rem Mag, BC .550. Very impressive…there are no .270 bullets that can keep up. So I agree with your very concise summation: With the right bullets, you probably do get at least 100 yards more useful and effective range with a 7mm Rem Mag using modern bullets!

Thanks for pointing this out!

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

Earlier this month Craig Boddington addressed the question of the best all-around rifle (at least for North America). He is his Facebook post on the subject.

Time for a little Q & A with the Colonel:

Q: Thank you for extensive work on conservation and education.
Have a dilemma about what single rifle:caliber to get for “potentially” hunting anything from mice to moose, ethically.

Single rifle due to budget and family obligations.

One of my biggest criteria is one that’s decently enjoyable to shoot at the range without needing a muzzle brake. I’m staying away from feather weight rifles as I’d like to get something with a heavy barrel so that I can get as large a caliber as I can while keeping the recoil at an “enjoyable” level.

Thank you for your time

A: This may sound terribly old-fashioned, but I think you should consider the good old .30-06! It was the most powerful cartridge ever adopted by a major military power…and is still one of the most versatile of all cartridges. With adequate gun weight, no reason for a muzzle brake, and certainly enough power for mice to meese (or is it mooses?). I suppose you could say much the same about the .308, but the .30-06 is enough faster and therefore shoots flat enough that you could easily use it for most mountain game. I’ve just never felt that way about the .308!