Which Caliber????

[Gary Korsgaden]

Is my rational off base. I do my deer hunting in the Dakota's and Minnesota. Looking to do some Elk hunting in the future. I love Rem 700's with Leupolds on them. I have a 270 that I like alot. Thinking to keep that one for deer and antelope in the Dakota's. Then adding a 30.06 for Minnesota and bigger game like elk. But amy hearing the 25.06 is a decent caliber flatter shooting with decent punch for deer than the 06. I just feel a 30 caliber is a must to have available. I appreciate any comments or thoughts anyone wants to ad d on this subject.........

[Little Fish]

Agree on the .270 for antelope. I prefer a .30 caliber for deer, the '06 is available is such a variety of loads that it is usable on most kinds of game and is a terrific all around choice. For elk and larger I would lean towards a .338 Mag. Deer in places like Mn don't call for long range capability so, unless you also use it for varmints, I would forego the .26-06.

[workin]

Unless you want to buy more guns, you have a great caliber in a 270. Even on large game like elk, bullet selection and shot placment are more important than a large caliber. Lots of elk and mule deer have fallin to a 270. shooting a 300win mag won't kill a whitetails if you can't place the bullet. So keep your old freind and practice, practice, practice.

[rabbit]

Absolutely.....The shock of the 270 with good shot placement is devistating...Now with the lower grain bullets the range has increased..
I went to the Winchester Supremes...A little pricey but I hold good groups and they offer a good selection ie..CXP1 is for varmintsCXP2black bear antelope and whitetails CXP3's elk moose and brown bear up CXP4 for cape buffalo...They make a ballistic silvertip that crushes everything in it's path.
I use the CXP 2's on whitetail 140gr. failsafes and it crumbles them right where they stand...I wouldn't hesitate to smoke an elk with a good shot placement...I wouldn't go any lower than the .270 though....
The winchester supremes are between $25 & $30 for a box of 20...

Hope this helps your confidence...Paul

[SDMike]

Your choices are good, but having hunted whitetail, mule deer, and elk in several different states - 30.06 is good, but if you could afford a 7mm Mag or .338 Mag I would buy it for the elk hunting part of it.The reason for me choosing the 30.06 is that it is an all around good caliber of gun and it you ever run out of shells or lose your shells, you can either buy them at a convenience store or hardware store down the road or beg some off of your buddy. i have hunted with some friends that have some odd calibers and they often get in trouble locating shells. My elk hunting buddies are looking at going to a larger gun. We just haven't decided which one it will be yet. Good luck

SDMike

[Ohio fisherman]

Hi Gary:

You have a great gun already. If you are in the mood to buy a new gun, you might buy one that is "more perfect" for your intended game. However, there is not one perfect caliber. As someone already stated, bullet placement is the most important. Next is bullet design and construction. Finally, is caliber and gun design.

Yes, the .06 is an all around wonderful gun. I hunted with one for many years. It can be loaded up or down and probably can take any game. Finally, sold it and replaced it with two guns - a little one and a big one. .243 for smaller stuff - woodchucks up to deer. .300 ultra mag for deer up to moose and also large enough so that i am comfortable hunting in brown bear country. I have no desire to ever hunt a brown bear, but would have no hesitation to shoot one as necessary. (We have fished in Alaska with them in very close proximity by their movements toward us.)

If I only had one rifle, it would certainly be the .300 ultra mag. It is very fun to shoot and the performance is phenomanol. If you want to shoot cartridges that are less expensive go with a .300 win mag and you can get inexpensive ammo.

Good shooting, O F

[eyeman_1]

I agree with most of the other posts here. I have a .270 and a .06 , as well as others. Both of these rifles with handle most any game in North America. Now, are they the all around best for larger animals and or large bears..... not really. Will they work for elk, moose, mule deer, black bear, sheep, antelope....yes. Place a well constructed bullet in the vitals of any of the above and you have meat on the pole.

They will not knock the snot out of you to shoot/practice, they are less expensive to obtain ammo for and if you reload even better, there are numerous bullet choices to load up or down, you can find ammo in a pinch anywhere in the country and they come chambered in all popular rifles from single shot to semi autos.

I would not hesitate to use them on any of the game mentioned above. I would prefer however to have something with a bit more punch if I choose to hunt brown bear, moose, elk on a very frequent basis. But here in lies my basis for the 270 and 06 being the best all around calibers. Most people with average incomes can not afford to hunt elk, moose, brown bear frequently unless they live in the western states. If you come from the Mid-west as I do, pursuing these animals requires out of state lic, usually guided hunts, travel etc... so it becomes less affordable .... at least for me, yearly. I have more opportunity to hunt white tail, and the occasional black bear. If I had only one choice for a big game rifle it would be one of these two calibers... and likely the 270.

[Taildancer]

I have both a 30-06 that was given to me by my dad when I started hunting and love it, I also have the 25-06 and has become my go to rifle for deer for the last seven years. It is deadly and is way fun to shoot. The farthest that a deer has run that was shot with the 25 is about 25 yards. I also have a 300 Ultra Mag that I really like. I had the same decision a couple of years ago wanted to by a new gun and thought about the possiblilty of elk hunting that is why I chose the 300. I figured for Mulies, whitetail, and antelope the 30-06 and 25-06 would be good and for bigger game the 300 plus could take the 30 as a back up gun. If it was only one gun I would go 300 win. mag.

Ohio, you stated that you 300 Ultra shoots great, may I ask what you shoot for loads. I have the Browing A-Bolt with a Nikon Monarch scope. The gun shoots alright but nothing like my 25-06, I also find the barrel really heats up after about five rounds. Have you found this as well. It is hard to enjoy shooting that gun when the best I can get is a 3 to 4 inch group when I cut hole with my 25-06.

[O F]

Taildancer:

Glad to share info with you. Remington 700LSS that I sort of hotrodded. The bore was not handlapped as it did not need it. Trigger job, barrel cut off about 4-5 inches, added a custom muzzlebrake for a total barrel length of 24", replaced the stock with an HS Precision custom kevlar black web stock. Shoot Federal Premium 180 grain Trophy bondeds to get about 1/2 inch group at 100 yards. The recoil is the same as my .243 The gunsmith is a magician.

Email me for more info. oberjager@att.net

Good shooting, O F

[GR8WTHUNTER]

I agree with Ohio fisherman. If you want a new gun try the .300 ultra mag. Just an awsome gun.

[fishhuntsd]

Gary
I have to totally agree with workin. I own a Remington 700 BDL with a 3-9 Leupold Vari X II totally love that set up!! I shoot S.D. Mule deer every year and also White tail deer every year. I have shot 2 Bull Elk in Colorado and one cow Elk in Custer state park in S D . What I think is one of the most important deals is be comfortable with your rifle and be confident and do alots of practic with it.Dont under sell your good old 270 they are an excellent all around caliber in my opinion!Good Luck!!!!!!