Favorite Rifles Above .308 Caliber

[Rob404]

If I had to pick a rifle for Africa I'd Say my 35 Whelen would be my absolute favorite, After doing a re finish I found some beautiful wood and it's a fine shooter
The Whitworth would be next in 375HH and the the 338 Win Mag on a Mauser action but both are a work in progress right now

 

[bruce moulds]

If we are going bigger than .30calibre or .308 diameter then all I have is a .375H&H, I might happy with that.

Bigger than .308, the old ..303 at .311” were very common in Australia once and probably tested on almost any animal we have .

I have it on good Authority that’s the .35 Whelen punches above its weight without going to a magnum. But maybe I could get Bob and Bruce arguing over the .35Whelen vs the 9.3x62 hmm,

chris,
make that the 9.3x64.
like i said before, it is too much cartridge for many bullets good in the x62, including speer, t.u.g., and nosler partition.
in fact i nearly stopped testing it based on its abysmal performance with the partitions.
switching to swift aframes, 286 and 300 gn, made it sing.
for lighter bullets than that go to barnes x.
the power of a 375 in a 30/06 length action, even using the 30/06 mag unchanged.
in fact my next calibre down is 7mm, and there seems to be no need for anything in between.
bruce.

 

[CBH Australia]

Sorry Bruce, x64 it is.
I think Bob will still stay faithful to his Whelenised variety.
Yes, the 7mm or .28 calibre I think you had some influence over my build direction. I see a .280ai in my future after discussions around .7x64 and .280 and with some encouragement from this lot I have all the bits sitting with a gunsmith to rebarrel a Tikka .25-07 to .280ai.

 

[AZDAVE]

@ldmay375 now that I have had enough coffee for most of my brain cells are working.

My personal favorites above 30 cal for anywhere in the world.

Bolt gun 9.3x62, 404 Jeffery, 500 Jeffery
Double 9.3x74, 450NE, 500NE
Lever gun 405 win, 45/70 and 50 Alaskan
Pre-1900 single shot or double 40/60 Maynard, 50/90, 577BPE

 

[Velo Dog]

Being a life long rifle grump, there are many favorites in all categories, including “above .308”.
And they often change, except for the .375 H&H, as that remains my unwavering, favorite hunting rifle cartridge.

That having been said, this morning my above .308 favorites include:

.300 H&H
(I know, it has a bore diameter of .308
inch).

8x57 Mauser.

.375 H&H
(dugh).

.500 Jeffery.

 

[crs]

Since I cannot use my trusty Model 70 .308, I will take my just as trusty Model 1895 .405 WCF with bullets from 210 grains to 400 grains(as seen to the left).

Or my Simson Suhl .405 DR with 300 and 400 grain handloads. With Nilgai below:

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi,

A 9,3x62 BRNO ZKK 600 made in 1967. My actual favorite gun-cartridge-caliber. Fit me like a glove!
Like EVERYTHING in this rifle: Form and Function + Cartridge.
To me, the fitting is more than 50% of the whole thing. If the chambering is the one looked after, the better!!

Best

CF

 

[Newboomer]

375HH for anything and everything is my number one choice. Next would be 7RM for anything under big bears, eland and the big 5.

 

[ldmay375]

AZDAVE,
Lmao, Believe me, I know about that coffee !!

@ldmay375 now that I have had enough coffee for most of my brain cells are working.

My personal favorites above 30 cal for anywhere in the world.

Bolt gun 9.3x62, 404 Jeffery, 500 Jeffery
Double 9.3x74, 450NE, 500NE
Lever gun 405 win, 45/70 and 50 Alaskan
Pre-1900 single shot or double 40/60 Maynard, 50/90, 577BPE

 

[BeeMaa]

AZDAVE,
Lmao, Believe me, I know about that coffee !!

Black Rifle Coffee Company!
My favorite rifle above .308 caliber.
And when you celebrate Christmas like this...

 

[CBH Australia]

Where is Bob?

 

[Badboymelvin]

My 2 favourites above .308 are the .338WM and the .458WM.

My passion is deer hunting - in particular Sambar, which are big and found in thick stuff and can sometimes be hard to track if wounded.

With this in mind I sold my Remington 700 .308 for a Winchester M70 CRF synthetic in .338WM and feel a lot more comfortable hunting the big deer with the bigger cal...
(NOTHING wrong with the .308 for Sambar though and using the .338 is just my personal preference.)

Some may consider the .458 as overkill but to put it simply, it puts them on their bum.
I have worked up a good load with the 550gn Woodleigh RNSP at just under 2100fps that I am really keen to try out on a big Sambar.
After seeing how effective the factory 500gn Winchester SP at 2020fps is, I have no doubt the 550's will be satisfactory...

Cheers,

Russ

 

[ldmay375]

I am a very big fan of the 338 Winchester.
If I were not such a Rifle & Cartridge enthusiast, and a one cartridge type of guy the 338 Winchester would be my pick for North America game from deer through moose and bear. It is a very versatile cartridge.

I don’t subscribe to the overkill theme. One of these days, I might use a 458 for moose. But, I am so pleased with the 375 Ruger and 416 Ruger, it is hard for me to change.

I do plan on loading some 450 grain Barnes TSX for the 458 Winchester and Lott. I am still hoping Barnes will produce the 400 grain TSX for the public. That bullet would be ideal for my intended use.

My 2 favourites above .308 are the .338WM and the .458WM.

My passion is deer hunting - in particular Sambar, which are big and found in thick stuff and can sometimes be hard to track if wounded.

With this in mind I sold my Remington 700 .308 for a Winchester M70 CRF synthetic in .338WM and feel a lot more comfortable hunting the big deer with the bigger cal...
(NOTHING wrong with the .308 for Sambar though and using the .338 is just my personal preference.)

Some may consider the .458 as overkill but to put it simply, it puts them on their bum.
I have worked up a good load with the 550gn Woodleigh RNSP at just under 2100fps that I am really keen to try out on a big Sambar.
After seeing how effective the factory 500gn Winchester SP at 2020fps is, I have no doubt the 550's will be satisfactory...

Cheers,

Russ

 

[Timbo]

For me it's the 9.3x662, then up from that, a 458 Win Mag.

 

[MerlinMc]

For caliber > .308, I have extensively used my Blaser R8 .375 H&H. It's the barrel I take with one of my R8 stocks, if I am only taking one rifle. Very comfortable to shoot even though I am light/lanky (150 lbs). Although it's not a long range" rifle, I can load 250 gr to 3,000 FPS and get decent reach. It is able to shoot very precisely off a bipod or tripod--have used it for multiple crocs and hippo. In addition to large and DG, this set up has worked fine on smaller PG.

I would like to have a .375 RUM barrel, but I suspect that round may cross my comfort threshold--especially when shooting prone. Would love to hear from those with the .375 RUM to hear what they think.

Also like my 26 Nosler and 6.5 Wby RPM barrels. I know this is actually < .308, but the 26 Nosler in particular has been used to take some fairly large game. Both of these work well at long ranges. When I have taken a second barrel to Africa, it has been a fast 6.5. These 6.5s are great on North American deer, elk, antelope too.

 

[1dirthawker]

i have used the .338 win for years, an excellent caliber in ruger s.s. rifles. like the o.p. i live in a cold and wet environment so stainless and synthetic figure in to the calculation.

i have a 375 ruger alaskan that i have grown to love and have shot quite a bit of game with it from moose, bears and caribou.

i have an itch for 416 ruger as well, but has been so completely satisfied with the 375 that i'm having trouble to bother with getting one (also, have not found a deal on one yet)

bad boy melvin with all his touting of the 458 win gave the me itch to try it and see if it is the pitiful cartridge that it is accused of being. so, i bought an interarms mark x rifle from a member on this forum and need to fit it with a scope (a 1-5 leupold) and take it out and see if it is going to bounce off of bears and moose or actually smash them.

i have also come to love my 450-400 o/u rifle as well, pretty friendly recoil, very accurate and completely capable of handling anything i am likely to point it at. my buff in my avatar was a complete believer, alas, i have not been able to inject a .410 bullet into a brown bear yet, since my clients shooting was better than expected and they needed no additional help.

i suspect that a rifle that could be a favorite for me would also be a 9.3 x 62 in a bolt and a x74 in a double. i have a 9.3x74r in a o/u double and have yet to shoot anything with it, but i will keep trying. so there you have it, my favorites. if i had to pick only one.....thankfully i don't have to!!

 

[IvW]

338 Lapua Magnum(a toy really)
375 H&H x 2
9.3x74R
404 Jeff
500 Jeff
12ga double poorman's double

 

[bowjijohn]

As every rifle and calibre has to be approved by the ‘thought police’ over here in the UK, you can appreciate that any purchase cannot be whimsical.

my .22lr gets most use - about 700 rounds a week

the calibres that bring a smile to my face when I pick them up are:

9.3 x 62
404 Jeff
12g Mossberg pump

 

[ldmay375]

1dirthawker,
Those Ruger Alaskans in 375 & 416 have become my most used rifles. I have been fortunate, these durn things shoot very accurately.

I bought brass for the 416 Ruger not long after it was introduced. It took me several years to convince myself to buy a rifle. No regrets doing so. Other than it makes it tough to decided 375 or 416 for the season.

I have a couple of 458 projects ongoing. But, my interest is more aligned with the 416 cartridges.

 

[ldmay375]

bowjijohn,
That smile is what it is all about !
I have some firearms that theoretically and maybe factual “better” than others, but don’t produce that inner smile when I put them in my hands or to my shoulder.