[cfx90]

I've long been told the .300 Win Mag would be the best all around round and should be the first rifle I purchase myself since you can load it down or up for anything from antelope to grizzlys. I believed it for a while then after hearing of all the elk shot with a .243/.25 cal rifle, I've quickly dropped it. It's way too big for these sub 150 lb deer I shoot here in SC and I feel being proficient with a rifle on a trophy hunt will outweigh a big magnum.

I have 0 desire to hunt any bear. I mostly hunt whitetails inside of 200 yards. One day I hope to go hunt a trophy elk, maybe a speed goat or mule deer, and maybe a moose. That's not enough in my eyes to get a big .300 Win Mag.

What would your under .30 cal all around rifle be for the above mentioned animals? I do not like a .270. Anything else .243 to under .30 cal is open. I'm thinking a .25-06 would be able to shoot flat enough on long shots and easily kill an elk, but what about a moose?

 

[shane256]

Odd that you're using bullet diameter instead of something like recoil.

IMO, if I didn't already have a .30-06, I'd probably be all about the .338 Federal. that being said and keeping it between .243 to .30, I'd go with a 6.5mm of some kind (I have a .260, but if elk is on the menu, probably a 6.5x55SE since it can handle the 156gr/160gr better) or maybe a 7mm of some kind... 7mm Rem Mag or maybe 7mm-08. But, to hedge more towards the elk/bear side, a .30-06 would fill the ticket. For moose, though, I'd probably want something along the lines of that .300 Win Mag (or .338 Win Mag). For elk/moose, the .300 Win Mag shoots flat, far, and carries a lot of energy. It might be a better choice if you expected a 300yds shot.

But... as far as a "do all" round, look that up in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of a .30-06 cartridge.

 

[MikeG]

Can't argue. I do have a soft spot for the .257 Roberts and it's brought down a bunch of critters for me.

 

[Darin115]

280 Remington. I just built one on a Mauser action. Should work great on whatever you plan on shooting. Has a broad range of bullet weights to choose from if you handload. I have no experience with it but it is supposed to be a great caliber.

I also have a 25-06 and love it. It has been my go-to gun for many years. I started handloading for it again due to the recent increase in cost of Federal Premium 100 Grain ballistic tip factory loads. My buddy's father shot whitetails, pigs, black bear, mule deer, antelope, elk, caribou and a moose with his 25-06. He said the 117 grain Hornady was a little light for moose but it killed it.

30-06, 308, 257 Roberts, 260 are all great choices.



Darin

 

[Rubberduck]

Its a shame you dont like the 270. For deer sized game they really cant be beat (that is my personal opinion of course). For 200 yard shots at anything from deer to moose I would choose the 7mm Rem mag (140 gr. rounds for deer and 175 gr for the larger critters). It will have roughly the same recoil as a 30-06 with flatter trajectory. If you were going to only hunt whitetail at the 200 yrd. range I would suggest the 7mm08 as it is a great round for whitetail sized game (trumped only by the 270 ).

 

[M1Garand]

There's a lot of rounds that will do what you are asking. I've always been partial to the 270, it is a truly great cartridge but you nixed that one...but there are many others. I'm partial to the '06 and cartridges based on it and think it'd be hard to beat the 25-06, 280 Rem or the great old 30-06.

 

[jmortimer]

Most calibers fall short on the small end and large end and close range and long range and most important is where you live/hunt/walk. In Alaska I would say .375 H&H and in the lower 48 I'd say .30-06 and for me .45 Colt lever action or a 12 guage shotgun.

 

[Harry Snippe]

Think the 3006 still holds " the do all " gun. It handles bullet for a very large range of bullet weights

How ever if your after the biggest of the bears and or in Africa for the big five then go bigger .It will not be a do all gun then since a 375 cal and up is not for shooting **** in the carbage .

 

[hillestadj]

If you suspect you truely will get a chance at elk or moose someday I wouldnt get anything 6mm/.243 cal. .25-06 would work with premium bullets and good shot placement (thats needed with any caliber though), still a bit light. You dont want a .270. If you handload then I'd recommend a 6.5-06. If you dont, .280 Rem.

 

[Tnhunter]

I'll echo that it's a shame you don't like the .270. It took me a while to warm to it myself, but now I own some very nice rifles so chambered and love them. Of course, this is about your choice, not silly me. Since the .270 is not a consideration, I'll agree with the already mentioned .280. It's a very fine caliber and will do everything that other caliber can do, and perhaps even an ounce more. The .280 will work with anything from 120gr to 175gr and do it very well. Want a .280 in S/A? Look at a .284 Win. A very fine round that never got it's due, due to the fact it was not promoted in the right manner when Winchester decided it shouldn't compete with it's darling, the .270 (ooops!) in the vaulted M70. If winchester had made a S/A M70 Featherweight back in the day (1963) in .284, things would be different now, IMO.

 

[dmsbandit]

I personally would pick a 6.5x55 Swede or the 260 remington. With todays modern bullets you don't really need to shoot 160grain 6.5 bullets to handle elk or moose. The 129 Hornady has worked very well for me on deer from point blank to almost 250 yds. If anything bigger was on the shopping list, the 130TSX or 140 partition will handle it.

The 6.5s shoot flat, dig deep, and recoil like pussycats. They have been working for over 100years all over the world on anything you could imagine [including elephants] and nobody ever questions their accuracy.

 

[kdub]

A 6.5 Swede would do it for me - 'course, I'm sorta partial to those great old rifles!

 

[Sandman1]

The .30-06 is the most versatile round in the world. If you are looking for a do-all round, the conversation should start and end there. Since you are looking for something smaller than .30 caliber, you are restricting yourself quite a bit. Ruling out the .270, and there are no t many calibers left with a lot of versatility.

Going with what is left, I guess I would recommend the .280.

 

[BarkBuster20]

Have you considered a .264 WM? With premium bullets it could handle elk and moose. Would be a real killer on deer and speed goats. I will second that a .243 of any sort should be out of the question if your gonna hunt elk and moose some day, id even throw out the .25's. Like mentioned previously, with the ranges you specified, a .338 fed would probably be your most logical choice.

 

[cfx90]

Dad has a .30-06 already and I've shot it on paper and a handful of deer so I don't care about the .30 cals. .264 Mag sounds interesting I'll check that out, the .260 and the .280.

 

[kludge]

Does it have to be one rifle?

A 200 yard deer rifle could be a .243, .25-06, .257 Bob, 6.5x55, .260, 7mm-08, some you could stretch further.

If I had to add moose and elk to the list and stay under .30 caliber, I'd say, "at what range?" The 6.5x55 (and it's ballistic twin the .260) can do it with the right bullet but not really long range. I'd be more comfortable with the 7mm-08 at any rate.

... but I might want a .280, 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm WSM, or .270 WSM. Not sure I'd want all that barrel length and muzzle blast for one of the mags the rest of the time, and I'd probably pick...

the 7mm-08 or the .280 if I were a deer hunter but might hunt an occasional moose or elk.

One more option... if I really needed a deer rifle, but I really wanted an occasional elk rifle... I'd build a switch barrel Savage...

.25-06 + a .338-06 barrel (or .35 Whelen?)
7mm WSM or .270 WSM + a 25 WSSM barrel (backwards I know, but try finding a .25 WSSM rifle)
.260 Rem or .243 Win + a .338 Federal barrel (or .358 Win?)

You can probably get away with a single "go" gauge for the first and last option.

 

[spitfire_er]

I loved my 6.5-06. Only bad thing is unless you handload it's spendy and almost non-existent! I've shot quite a few critters with my .300 WM and it's overkill in my opinion on 150 lbs and smaller game. I've always been a big fan of the .243 win, but like mentioned before shot placement is critical on larger game. If I were out buying a new multi purpose rifle it would be a 7mm Mag. In my opinion it will work on just about everything with proper bullets.

That being said, why just one rifle? Get a couple and then a couple more. Once I got one, something must have been wrong with it because it multiplied like rabbits!

 

[arkypete]

Back in my poor newly wed days I used a 243 for varmits, deer and turky here in Virginia. It's what I had.
The I saved some money and had a Siamese Mauser sporterized to 45-70. Guess what I used it for the same pursuits. A cast 400 grain bullet stops a deer, turkey and ground hog in their tracks.
A few summers have passed since then and the bank account improved some so I bought a Winchester 1886, 45-70. It's a bunch prettier then the Siamese and still wallops the critters. I wouldn't be the least bit shy of giving a moose, elk, bear a run with either of the 45-70s.
Something to consider..a 45 caliber starts out the size you hope your premium but expands to.

Jim

 

[pisgah]

Some great suggestions made already. For me, I think I could make do from now on with a good 6.5 Swede, and just hope I'd never have to stop a charging grizzly. Properly loaded, I'd have confidence in it in any other situation. Not a powerhouse by any means, but a stone killer.

 

[Tnhunter]

Sorry, but when a man/woman mentions moose on the menu, I cannot believe those claiming a 6.5x55 to be a moose cartridge. Oh, are you gonna mention Scandanavian moose and how they've been slaughtered forever by the 6.5x55? Sorry, do some research and see just how large those moose actually are. Smaller than our American elk, WAY smaller than our moose. And then, perhaps you should look at what those Scandanavian hunters REALLY like to use. OUCH!

Hey, simply google it and then tell me I am incorrect, OK?

Why in the world would you all, none who have ever shot a moose with a 6.5x55, tell someone else he should.

Nope, shame, shame, shame, period.

Come on now and let's give people who ask solid advice that we actually know of.