Two rifles only

[CTK]

Makos are amazing fish. Cannot imagine an 800 lb one hooked.

 

[perry42]

I just have to have more than 2.

perry42

 

[dk17hmr]

For the last couple of years I have been shooting a standard 280 Remington with 160gr partitions at 2825fps from my 22" mountain rifle. It currently has a mule deer and three elk to its credit, furthest shot was just over 300 yards.

280/280AI will do everything you need it to out here in the west.

 

[JRS]

Bahamas? Baja? Also amazing fish.

Mexican waters. The areas depend on the length of the trip. Some trips are 5-6 days in length, others as long as 15-16 days in length.

 

[people]

No need to change anything unless you want to or just want something different. Just practice farther than you plan on shooting.

 

[CTK]

For the last couple of years I have been shooting a standard 280 Remington with 160gr partitions at 2825fps from my 22" mountain rifle. It currently has a mule deer and three elk to its credit, furthest shot was just over 300 yards.

280/280AI will do everything you need it to out here in the west.

I am going to stick where I am. This might be the year to buy a pair of nice binoculars and a new scope.

 

[long40shot]

If i had to only choose two rifles, it would be a 22-250 & a 300wm. You said you don't varmint hunt, so the 22-250 probably isn't on your radar. But the 300wm isn't one to overlook. Mine is a hunting rifle and it shoots lights out. I've been running the 185 berger hvlds. Lately I've been testing the 125 Nosler bts. With the few loads I've tried, they are great. I'm getting 3120 with the 185s and right at 3500fps with the 125s.

Matt

 

[Dgd6mm]

Something in the 6mm flavor, probably a Competition Match and the .300 WM.


Don Dunlap

 

[CTK]

If i had to only choose two rifles, it would be a 22-250 & a 300wm. You said you don't varmint hunt, so the 22-250 probably isn't on your radar. But the 300wm isn't one to overlook. Mine is a hunting rifle and it shoots lights out. I've been running the 185 berger hvlds. Lately I've been testing the 125 Nosler bts. With the few loads I've tried, they are great. I'm getting 3120 with the 185s and right at 3500fps with the 125s.

Matt

Jon Beanland (gunsmith) reccomended a 300wm or a 28 Nosler to me. I have always stayed away from the belted cartridges out of a superstitious belief that they were innately flawed. Jon said he has had great accuracy out of his 300wm builds. For all intents and purposes a 7 RM would be an ideal cartridge for me. As I said earlier, I am going to stick where I am this year. I have no hunts planned out of TN this year. Unless we have a southern Moose and Elk migration this year I am adequately gunned with the 6.5L and the 280ai. My 7 year old son is good to go with his Savage Axis Youth 7mm-08. He thinks it is the best rifle ever.

 

[sundance]

Last weekend at a gunshow in Kansas my buddy told me he has 136 rifles. I about fell over. Some he has had for 20 years and never fired. He has nice Coopers and other sweet guns. My other buddy told me last year he has 200 guns and had no money to spend in Tulsa. He was sad. I asked them both to put me in their wills.
It sounds like you are looking for quality over quantity. Keep up the good work!

 

[cdparker]

Here in "Upper Slobovia" as Jim Cloward" referred to us, I primarily used two CF rifles. I used a 7x57AI in the winter when the bears were asleep and my "Typical Alaskan Hunting Rifle" A short barreled Model 70 in .375 H&H when I had to walk amongst the "Fuzzmonsters". I look on the wall and most of the stuff there fell to the three six bits. A 300gr. round nosed Hornady will almost go through a moose lengthwise and it does less meat damage to a Sitka Blacktail deer on Kodiak than a .270 Win. Most of the time, I shot the old style NP, 270 gr. bullets. They worked well in Africa on most everything also. The 7x57AI with 150 or 160gr. NP's is a Caribou killing machine. Got to admit that I used a .416 RM on my Cape Buffalo though. But that's just me. Anyhow, my fifty years of hunting here has primarily been done with two center fire rifles.

 

[Mulligan]

I agree However, I don't fish with flyrodsView attachment 1002836

That ain't no tuna!

 

[MBAustin]

I have lived and hunted elk in the West all of my life, I have used a variety of calibers, 243, 7x57, 270, 30-06 and I can tell you with confidence that either of the two rifles you own now will work just fine for elk. However keep in mind that I am talking about distances within a reasonable range of 100 to 300 yards, if you are planning on 700-1000 yard shots then you need a large magnum. For all practical purposes the 280AI would be my choice of the two you have only because it gives a bit more energy if you do take a longer shot.

drover

My favorite Jack O'Conner story is about the Wyoming Guide, Wes Bowman, keeping a couple of .243 standard weight Winchester M-70s in camp. They were offered to people who were afraid of, or unable to shoot their new "magnum." And that those two .243s shot more Elk than all the other rifles in camp, including some brought by a couple of "big name" gun writers testing new R.E.M.-chest-rby rifles fit magazine articles..

 

[Barlow]

Two centerfires? 220 Swift and 6.5x55. Barlow

 

[Rtheurer]

Jon Beanland (gunsmith) reccomended a 300wm or a 28 Nosler to me. I have always stayed away from the belted cartridges out of a superstitious belief that they were innately flawed. Jon said he has had great accuracy out of his 300wm builds. For all intents and purposes a 7 RM would be an ideal cartridge for me. As I said earlier, I am going to stick where I am this year. I have no hunts planned out of TN this year. Unless we have a southern Moose and Elk migration this year I am adequately gunned with the 6.5L and the 280ai. My 7 year old son is good to go with his Savage Axis Youth 7mm-08. He thinks it is the best rifle ever.

I too nashed my teeth over what to do when my Sendero 7Rem Mag barrel finally gave up. I like to tinker so I had wild thoughts about all sorts of things. In the end, I chambered up another 7mm Rem Mag and am now happy that I did. It does everything I want it to do. Healthy does of H1000 and a 160 to 180gr bullet has treated me very very well for decades now. In the end I realized Ididnt need to fix what was not Broken... LOL.
Good shooting to you all.

 

[CTK]

Here in "Upper Slobovia" as Jim Cloward" referred to us, I primarily used two CF rifles. I used a 7x57AI in the winter when the bears were asleep and my "Typical Alaskan Hunting Rifle" A short barreled Model 70 in .375 H&H when I had to walk amongst the "Fuzzmonsters". I look on the wall and most of the stuff there fell to the three six bits. A 300gr. round nosed Hornady will almost go through a moose lengthwise and it does less meat damage to a Sitka Blacktail deer on Kodiak than a .270 Win. Most of the time, I shot the old style NP, 270 gr. bullets. They worked well in Africa on most everything also. The 7x57AI with 150 or 160gr. NP's is a Caribou killing machine. Got to admit that I used a .416 RM on my Cape Buffalo though. But that's just me. Anyhow, my fifty years of hunting here has primarily been done with two center fire rifles.

I have seen legitimate expert Brown Bear guides swear on other sites that a 30-06 is plenty of rifle for Coastal Brown Bears. I spent 2 summers as a fly out fishing guide in the Katmai / Becharof area. There is no way I would hunt them with much less than a 375 h&h. The idea of busting through the alders looking for a wounded bear sounds terrible. I get that a 30-06 will kill the bear. I would prefer mine knocked down hard. I spent hundreds of hours on streams up there thinking how inadequate my 44 mag sidearm would be if needed. Also from up close experience, a moose is a big damn critter. Alaska is the perfect place to have a little more gun than absolutely necessary. I will probably never get the chance to hunt up there. If moose or brown bear were on the list I would borrow a 375.

 

[CTK]

I too nashed my teeth over what to do when my Sendero 7Rem Mag barrel finally gave up. I like to tinker so I had wild thoughts about all sorts of things. In the end, I chambered up another 7mm Rem Mag and am now happy that I did. It does everything I want it to do. Healthy does of H1000 and a 160 to 180gr bullet has treated me very very well for decades now. In the end I realized Ididnt need to fix what was not Broken... LOL.
Good shooting to you all.

I decided to stay with the 280ai. 7RM is probably a better all around hoofed critter rifle. I rarely get the chance to hunt out west.

 

[Brians356]

I don't fish for sharks. I am also worried about their long term survival.

Sharks will outlast humans here, believe me. Perhaps not every single species of shark, but I'm not losing any sleep over them. Nor over polar bears. Millions of species have gone extinct on this rock without human influence, it's perfectly natural. But if any species goes extinct now, it's our fault, and a "tragedy".
-

 

[Brians356]

My favorite Jack O'Conner story is about the Wyoming Guide, Wes Bowman, keeping a couple of .243 standard weight Winchester M-70s in camp. They were offered to people who were afraid of, or unable to shoot their new "magnum." And that those two .243s shot more Elk than all the other rifles in camp, including some brought by a couple of "big name" gun writers testing new R.E.M.-chest-rby rifles fit magazine articles..

My uncle Ralph grew up in N. Idaho, hunting elk to fill the chest freezer. After open heart surgery, his doctor told him to limit recoil, so he took up a 243. He proceeded to kill a half dozen elk with it, no bother, before he quit hunting. But the shots were all less than 200 yards, and intelligently placed on "eatin' size" animals, often cows. Meat hunters in those parts simply didn't consider dicey long shots, hunting responsibly meant getting into position for a good shot, and in that country a long shot was likely across a deep, steep canyon anyway, where recovery would be difficult.
-

 

[WindSurgeon]

I have two rifles for medium to large game for hunting. 30-06 and a .243. Will shoot anything in north america and is admittedly old school. In your case, stick with the .280AI and if you want a new gun, lose the 6.5x47. I just don't see a range of application for that rifle. The 280 will kill everything from elk on down and do it farther out than you probably will ever shoot at an animal. My long time friend and hunting partner has a Nosler custom in 280AI and has not used another rifle since. The 28 Nosler will provide nothing more IMHO. If you want bigger, go big! .338! There's lots of choices and the BC's are about the best you can get. RUM, WinMag, Weatherby, or if you want new tech, Lapua.