Which big gun would you want?

[SBMF 2015]

So I may have a slight addiction to "Kill on one end and maim on the other" I like big calibers but I have a budget.
I bought a 300 Win Mag this year and really like it.
I'm already thinking something bigger next year. Thinking about a 338 Win Mag, 375 H&H, or a 458 Lott. This is strictly a want not a need. You can buy a pretty good bolt gun in any of these calibers for under $2,000.
Or would you pick something else?

 

[EasTex]

Check the availability of the ammo in those calibers you are interested in and pick the one that is more readily available, unless you reload and it doesn't matter.

 

[SBMF 2015]

338 would be the most available ammunition, but reloading would definitely be an option.

 

[Jake]

I just bought a .300 Wthby for a do everything gun. Deer, elk, moose, bear, whatever I want to go hunt it will handle and the ammunition will be available forever.

 

[kenny thomas]

A 6.5x284 Norma is about as big as im going.

 

[gcreekrch]

I like my Smith and Wesson 300 WM. Dont need something that kills on both ends.'

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

I've been shooting a .338 win mag for 40 years love it 3 moose and 7 elk .

 

[crossbreed]

I've got a lot of different caliber but usually pull out the old reliable 30-06 during rut. Never had to do any tracking.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Back before the gun manufacturers went bankrupt and merged. I always wanted a Rem 700 in 30-06. I bought one probably ten years ago. It's my favorite center fire rifle. I shoot 220gr cor-loks and have some 240gr Woodleigh bullets that I had planned on reloading in 06 until I got the 300wm. Now I'll probably save them for it.

 

[SmokinM]

Go big or go home……… .500 Nitro Express

 

[jltrent]

I will just settle with my little measly .308.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Thems a whole lot of bang!

 

[Ouachita]

.243 here, but Arkansas whitetails aren't very big. I bought a 300 win mag in 1990 to go hunting in Colorado. Went two years in a row, then became a full time dad. Sold it 30 years ago.

 

[Ouachita]

Go big or go home……… .500 Nitro Express

Yeah we all hear that at some point, but I've spent my life practicing how to do more with less

 

[Dave]

I have a 300 Win Mag that is my go to elk rifle. I like 200 grain Noslar partitions through it. Half a dozen elk with that combination I always get the desired results. That is shooting Roosevelt elk in Western Washington. They are bigger animals than the Rocky Mountain elk most people hunt for.
I have watched an elk hit with a 375 H&H. You could tell that elk was hit real hard. That man had a muzzle brake on that rifle. I would advise that on a rifle that big. I worked a couple years on Afognak Island Alaska. Next island north of Kodiak. We had the same big bears. I bought a little light Sako carbine in 375 H&H. Sweet little rifle to carry. A holy terror to shoot. Clap your shoulder blades together and back you up several steps. Killed on one end and crippled on the other.

 

[Travlr]

There isn't a bad caliber if you can place your shot where you want it. The world record Grizzly was taken by a woman with a bolt action .22, and people take moose with them too.

 

[crossbreed]

I will just settle with my little measly .308.

lol the measly little round that won WW II!! My wish list holds spots for the 2 rifles that won the wars! M1 Garand 30-06 and M14 308 are the 2 rounds that kept America safe!!

 

[Silver]

I have found that my 30-.06 kills stuff just as dead as any other rifle and has an incredible range of ammunition readily available anywhere. I'm more interested in putting the shot in the right spot than removing pieces of the animal.
Having said that I find myself packing my wife's 7mm-.08. It's a very capable gun and I'd be willing to make a small wager that I've taken down at least as large of game with it than anyone on this board.

 

[kenny thomas]

I have found that my 30-.06 kills stuff just as dead as any other rifle and has an incredible range of ammunition readily available anywhere. I'm more interested in putting the shot in the right spot than removing pieces of the animal.
Having said that I find myself packing my wife's 7mm-.08. It's a very capable gun and I'd be willing to make a small wager that I've taken down at least as large of game with it than anyone on this board.

I have been carrying a Remington model 7 in 7mm-08. Small, compact and with Hornady reduced recoil ammo very easy to shoot. But i dont shoot anything at much distance.

 

[GoWyo]

Here you go - made in Wyoming. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/1...ny-makes-worlds-most-powerful-ar-style-rifle/