The Ideal Cartridge for...

[JackstrawIII]

I recently saw a video featuring a guest appearance by the great Ron Spomer on Backfire's YouTube channel. They each had to choose what they thought was the "ideal" cartridge for hunting a selection of different game animals. I love stuff like this and want to play with you guys. 

 

As you look through the list, most of us will not have hunted all these game animals, but you can still play. If you could have the opportunity to hunt that species, and could choose any cartridge, which would you choose? 

 

Here's the list. I'm going to keep it blank first, so you can copy and reply to it. Then I'll give my answers underneath. Feel free to explain your choices in as much detail as you'd like. I'm an avid rifle shooter and reloader, and love talking about this stuff. Here we go:

 

- Pronghorn: 

- Hogs: 

- Coyote:

- Deer: 

- Elk: 

- Aoudad: 

- Black Bear:

- Caribou:

- Elephant: 

- Everything: 

 

My answers:

- Pronghorn: 243 Win (flat shooting, low recoil, good wind deflection in the heavier bullets)

- Hogs: 6.5 Grendel (easy shooting, devastating within 200 yards with all copper projectiles) 

- Coyote: 22-250 AI (classic varmint/predator round)

- Deer: 6.5 PRC (incredibly balanced cartridge) 

- Elk: 300 WSM (gives 300 Win Mag performance in a short action)

- Aoudad: 300 WSM (same)

- Black Bear: 358 Win (black bear are hunted at relatively short ranges. This thing is a hammer within 250)

- Caribou: 6.5 PRC (great wind deflection and energy conservation over long range)

- Elephant: 458 Win Mag (I just think it's cool) 

- Everything: 30-06 (IIRC, in the video they say that this should be an all around cartridge for hunting anything besides the "dangerous 4", which the 30-06 has been doing for 100 years) 

 

Ok, let's hear your answers! 

[gim]

I haven’t hunted most of those targets except deer.

 

I use a 7mm-08 cartridge in 140 grain. The reason I use this is because of long range precision accuracy combined with minimal recoil. The land I hunt is fairly open mix of grassland, brush, small stands of timber, and agriculture. I can see for a quarter mile in some directions, and I’m comfortable shooting up to 350. I use a bolt action with a Nikon scope.

 

I used to hunt further north with a 30-30. This habitat was nothing but heavy timber and every shot was within 100 yards. The caliber is habitat-dependent in this situation. I had to get rid of this gun when I started hunting more open land because the range is poor.

 

I have relatives in the Dakotas that hunt coyotes in the winter. They all use 22-250 rifles.

[OmegaDPW]

52 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I used to hunt further north with a 30-30. This habitat was nothing but heavy timber and every shot was within 100 yards. 

 That's the same where I hunt down South. All pine trees. I rotated between a scoped Marlin and an iron sight Winchester. I've also hunted with a handgun down there but never shot anything. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

I hunt coyotes with a 12 gauge . Hogs are a 223. Deer are a 243 , sometimes a crossbow. 

[gim]

8 minutes ago, omegapd said:

I rotated between a scoped Marlin

That's exactly the rifle I used.  It was a Marlin 30-30 with a 6x variable scope on it.  Its the first deer rifle I had when I started at age 12.  I used it for about 15 years and took a deer almost every season.  It was a reliable weapon and it was affordable too.  When your 12 years old, the only money you have is allowance and lawn mowing money.  The rifle and scope plus a box of ammo costed me about 250 bucks.  My Father had to buy it for me because I wasn't 18 years old, obviously.  Once I turned 18, it was transferred to my name.

 

I traded it in when I was 27 and bought the new 7mm-08 I have now.  I had no use for it anymore.

[JackstrawIII]

Hey, the point of the thread isn't necessarily to share what you use. Heck, I kill most of my deer with a 7.62x39... but is it the "ideal" deer cartridge for most scenarios? Absolutely not. 

 

Would love to hear what you all think are the ideal cartridges for these species. Thanks!

[Skunkmaster-k]

For the circumstances I hunt in those are the ideal cartridges. 

[JackstrawIII]

35 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

For the circumstances I hunt in those are the ideal cartridges. 

Cool. Any thoughts on the other species? 

[Bird]

We've kept stats at our hunting camp for over 50 years, pictures with caliber used.

7mm-08 is responsible for more deer than any other caliber, next .308.

 

We have a few Elk hunters, 7mm mag.

Elephant? .460 weatherby mag if I ever hunted one.

 

When I predator hunted years ago, fox, Bobcat and Coyotes, liked a .17 Hornet.

[BayouSlide]

Why no love for .308. Got 2 more hogs hanging on the meat pole this morning. Not for elephant of course but plenty of round for everything domestic on your list IMO.

[DaubsNU1]

23 years ago starting a family, limited budget...and left-handed...so my options were limited. 

 

I opted for the old school 30-06, as a "do-everything" caliber. 

 

A few years later, won two fantasy football leagues...and had $600 burning a hole in my pocket...scored a used Winchester Model 70 stainless in 7mm MAG.

[Catt]

Pronghorn, Deer, Elk, Aoudad, Caribou, Black Bear: .308 Winchester, various bullets weights

 

Coyote & Hogs: 5.56 NATO, 

Colt XM177E2

 

Elephant: 460 Weatherby Magnum

 

Everything: .308 Winchester 

[JackstrawIII]

40 minutes ago, BayouSlide said:

Why no love for .308. Got 2 more hogs hanging on the meat pole this morning. Not for elephant of course but plenty of round for everything domestic on your list IMO.

Haha mostly cuz that’s too easy and doesn’t make for a fun mental exercise. 
 

But, realistically I think you could argue that there are places on this list it’s not ideal. 
 

For the smaller animals, there are cartridges that give you flatter trajectories with less wind deflection and recoil, while making smaller holes in your pelts. 
 

For the larger game… if I had an elk at 400 yards (which is the distance most western guides want their customers to be able to shoot) I would not want to be using a 308. I’d want more gas behind the projectile to give me less holdover, less wind deflection, and a bit more smack. 
 

Maybe that’s just me, but “ideal” isn’t the word I’d use for the 308 in every situation, though it is very serviceable as an all around big game cartridge. 
 

Since I live out east and don’t shoot anything bigger than deer on a regular basis, my nicest gun is actually a custom 308 that serves very nicely… but I’m not willing to say it’s “ideal”.

 

13 hours ago, Bird said:

7mm-08 is responsible for more deer than any other caliber, next .308.

Cool to see all the love for the 7-08 on this thread. A dandy little cartridge and just about “ideal” for deer size game for sure. 

[thinkingredneck]

243 for smaller game such as pronghorn, coyotes.

.308 for whitetail and hogs.

30-06 for bigger game.

I don't hunt things that hunt back.

[gim]

4 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

I opted for the old school 30-06, as a "do-everything" caliber. 

This is arguably the most popular caliber of general big game rifle out there.  The .270 might be up there too.  I would say 7 out of 10 deer hunters I know here in MN use one of these two calibers to hunt whitetail deer.

 

Another item to keep in mind is availability of ammo.  30-06 and .270 are generally very easily available.  I've had issues finding 7mm-08 ammo in the past.

[clayton86]

I prefer my 243 but also love my wildcats. 
 

I basically just hunt fox and coyotes. NY has a law where if deer is open and rifle isn’t allowed for deer you can’t use .22 or bigger center fires for furbearers until after after deer season then you could use a 50bmg if you pleased. I hunt spots that are in a restricted county and live and hunt in unrestricted. So from October till January I use either a 20practical or .17-223 pushing either 35gr Berger or 25gr Hornady. Once deer is over(last week) I switch to the 243 pushing 62gr varmint grenades. 
 

everything else listed would probably just use 45-70 or 308. 

[Smells like fish]

I’d be happy with a 30.06 for the list except the elephant. Then give me a clear shot with any big bore, a solid and a team of good trackers.

[king fisher]

22-250 predators, cayote or smaller,  375 HH Magnum for bears, and moose, 458 Win Mag. for Cape  Buffalo,and Elephant, 30-06 for everything in-between.

[JackstrawIII]

3 minutes ago, king fisher said:

22-250 predators, cayote or smaller,  375 HH Magnum for bears, and moose, 458 Win Mag. for Cape  Buffalo,and Elephant, 30-06 for everything in-between.

A logical, versatile list. 

[Drawdown]

- Pronghorn: .280 Ackley Improved

- Hogs: 6.8 SPC

- Coyote: .220 Swift

- Deer: 7mm-08 Remington

- Elk: .338 Winchester Magnum

- Aoudad: ????

- Black Bear: .308 Winchester

- Caribou: .270 Winchester

- Elephant: .416 Remington Magnum

- Everything: .35 Whelen

[Woody B]

My big game hunting is limited to White Tail Deer, Black Bear and Hogs.   I don't think there's an ideal caliber per species, but instead match caliber to the range your hunting.   I've got a Ruger Model 44 (.44 magnum carbine) that's successfully killed all the species I've listed.   This is hunting in thick woods and brush where a shot over 100 yards is unlikely.   I've also successfully killed all 3 species listed with a 30-06.   Both of my Grandsons killed their first Deer with my 30-06.   If I had to pick one caliber for hunting any big game in the Carolinas I'd pick a 30-06 but for hunting in deep woods I love my .44 mag.   

 

 

I don't own a .308 but think it's a super round.   I like a heavier projectile for Bear than you can get in a .308 though.  

[JackstrawIII]

8 hours ago, Drawdown said:

 

- Pronghorn: .280 Ackley Improved

- Hogs: 6.8 SPC

- Coyote: .220 Swift

- Deer: 7mm-08 Remington

- Elk: .338 Winchester Magnum

- Aoudad: ????

- Black Bear: .308 Winchester

- Caribou: .270 Winchester

- Elephant: .416 Remington Magnum

- Everything: .35 Whelen

This is the kind of response I was picturing when I started this thread haha. Thanks!
 

Great answers, especially the Whelen. Unorthodox, but awesome choice. 

2 hours ago, Woody B said:

I like a heavier projectile for Bear than you can get in a .308 though.  

308 is widely available up to 180 grains in factory loads. How heavy do you like to go for bear? 30-06 comes from the factory up to 220, but that’s a lot of bullet for a black bear. 

[BayouSlide]

On 1/7/2024 at 7:39 AM, JackstrawIII said:

Haha mostly cuz that’s too easy and doesn’t make for a fun mental exercise.

 I hear ya and it is an interesting exercise. I sort of skipped the hard mental work, just in fun.  😉

 

I reload every caliber I shoot (except shotshells and .44 mag) so I only need two rifle calibers in the safe: 5 .308s and one 5.56. I've got one tuned for target shooting at 600 yards and another for 1000.  😎 And I would not use it for hunting large game like elk at over 400, and that's with good shoot placement.

 

May take a pronghorn one day but large game for me is stalking a hog (or deer if the opportunity presents) and here in Louisiana my shots are always less than 100. Tracked one of the two I shot Friday and a blind man could have followed that blood trail for 50 yards.

 

Besides, I have no more room in the safe or friends willing to help me move a larger one. 😄

 

 

[gim]

10 hours ago, Drawdown said:

Aoudad: ????

I wondered what the heck this was too.  Maybe its slang for something in his neck of the woods.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, BayouSlide said:

here in Louisiana my shots are always less than 100

 

I've used a Ithaca Model 37® Featherlight® with a Deerslayer® barrel. The distances down along the coast are ideal for archery.