Which caliber to keep?

Like many of you, I have too many guns and too many calibers. Let's just say I'm a true gun nut who likes to hunt rather than hunter who likes guns (though that is also true). As such I have many rifles and calibers that can fulfill my hunting needs. I would like to weed out some to minimize the agony of having to think which one to take out on the next hunt. The fewer choices I have the easier it will be for me (will it really?).

I should warn you, that even if you are willing to provide suggestions, I may or may not take them to heart and I may still end up owning way too many rifle-caliber combinations. It is an obsession after all.

As I age, I now feel or have rediscovered passion for the smaller, lighter kicking calibers (mainly because they do not make lighter, handier rifles unwieldy). So, if I want to (not need to but want to) use 7x57 as my main hunting caliber, which of the other following ones would you complement it with to account for critters you might feel the 7 is not enough for? I would ideally just have (LOL as I'm typing this :D ) 2 hunting calibers. I'm in Canada, do not plan on hunting bears, but they are on my mind when in the woods. I hunt mostly whitetail, elk and moose in the bush, and whitetail, mule deer and elk in the prairies. I also do not plan on hunting elephants or any of the dangerous game, except maybe buffalo. Really just maybe, most likely not. If I manage to hunt in Africa again, it will be plains game. I will also add comments/reasons next each so you can hopefully see how these came about to be in my possession.

I have:
8x57 - cool old caliber, does everything the 7 can but can hit harder. Always liked it, always had one, even when I was hunting with 30-06.
8x60 - this one I do not need but have a cool rifle in, so maybe it could be used more than just sit pretty in the safe, waiting for me to reload some ammo. Plus if 8x57 is good, 8x60 must be better. :D
8mm-06 - don't have one, never shot one but have few 8x57 barrels that beg to be re-chambered. Could this be the one to replace 8x57, 8x60 and 30-06? Plus if 8x60 is better than 8x57, 8-06 is better still. Right? ;)
30-06 - another old classic that seems to work on most things, always seem to have one. Easy to find ammo for still.
.338 WM - barrel and dies only from the past, but actions it can be screwed into. May not build the rifle after all as lighter, less recoil is what I'm going for but used to hunt with one and that cartridge kills extremely well.
.300 WM - got this for longer shots on Elk last year and used it. Did I "need" it? Not so sure. I think a 30-06 would have worked just as well. One of the cooler magnum, IMHO.
9.3x62 - love this thing, even with short barrel not much muzzle flash, quiet and downright pleasant to shoot, used it in Africa too. Was meant to replace my passion for 375 H&H.
.375 H&H - what does that tell you? I guess 375 cannot be replaced. Or can it? Is it really much better at killing than 9.3x62?...I never shot anything with the 375 but find the 9.3 penetrates like a laser. And if I had to live with larger than 30-06/9.3x62 recoil, I'd rather have the .375H&H than the .338WM I think.
.404 Jeffry - again just barrel at this point...thinking of building one and it seems at least as cool as .375 H&H but for the hunting I do?

Ammo availability (including factory options) should be perhaps considered for all-around hunting cartridges, so I do consider this as factor, but it would not stop me from owning one that is less available. The 8x60 may be a bit of a stretch but so would be 8mm-06 which one of my 8mms may become.

Thank you for indulging me and please keep your answers genuine even if you may feel my questions/reasons are ridiculous.

o_O...Like many of who?.........:D
 
I know. Insane. And nobody is too keen on the 7....they keep trying to move me to 30-06 or 9.3. Luckily I like both of those very much. But I have now fallen in love with the 7 recently. It used to be also one of those calibers I always had but never used much and never hunted with it. Now I like using it and hunting with it as well.

The 7x57 must be kept along with the 9.3x62....and the 404 when it's finished ;).....and the .......ah screw it....and all the others... ..you really don't have that many so stop embarrassing us and go and buy some more immediately ! !!:A Thumbs Up:
 
Well it sounds like you definitely need the 7x57, and must keep the 8x60, next you need the 300 win mag. Must keep the 9.3x62, and you should finish the 404 so you aren't left kicking yourself for not doing it and shooting it. No regrets and all.

Then next you have always had an 8x57 so best keep that, and a 30-06. And everyone needs a 375 so best not to part with that just yet.

Then as you want lighter kicking calibers and seem to really love the 9.3x62, you really need to buy a 9.3x74 double. Which should then lead you to another light kicker, a more proper double in 450/400...
 
Well it sounds like you definitely need the 7x57, and must keep the 8x60, next you need the 300 win mag. Must keep the 9.3x62, and you should finish the 404 so you aren't left kicking yourself for not doing it and shooting it. No regrets and all.

Then next you have always had an 8x57 so best keep that, and a 30-06. And everyone needs a 375 so best not to part with that just yet.

Then as you want lighter kicking calibers and seem to really love the 9.3x62, you really need to buy a 9.3x74 double. Which should then lead you to another light kicker, a more proper double in 450/400...

Oh yeah he doesn't stand a chance. ...... ..:E Rofl:
 
Keep the 8x57 and the .375 then, sell the rest to help pay for another Safari.
 
From what you're saying (hunting needs, and 2 calibres/rifles ONLY), and the fact that you want to keep the 7x57 (wise choice), you should not keep anything less than the 338WM.

I would say that either the 338WM or 9.3x62 is the logical choice.
The 375 H&H comes next.
Then nothing
Then nothing
Then the 300WM, but you're getting close to what you can already achieve with the 7x57.

Thanks. Also what I was thinking. I will have to do a lot of thinking. My original plan was 30-06/8mm and .375 for harder hitting combo. Or 7mm and 9.3 for more pleasant one. So I do like your thinking. I also like the replies urging me to keep them all. :D :D But for my own sanity I think I will have to weed out some rifles from my safe regardless.
 
@ActionBob ...I totally agree...that's why I'm in this situation. And I was looking and a nice double in 9.3x74 just the other day. :D

@spike.t ...I agree. Originally I thought 30-06, 375 and 416 Rigby/.458 Lott. Did not like the .416 much, sold the .458 as well. So then I thought 7x57, 9.3x62 and build a .404...then again for my purposes I thought only 2 should do.

@Velo Dog ...this is actually why I started thinking of selling. Would like to make a trip to Namibia next year but I can never plan that far ahead. Plus personal sanity. I really do struggle with too many choices and remember shooting more and being happier when I had fewer. Then again, I always collect stuff related to my hobbies.

@ the rest urging me to suck it up and get more... I do have many more, just not being used for hunting necessarily...but yes I know my setup is nothing compared to many other gun nuts. I just dabble, shall we say?

Thanks for all the replies. Keep them coming.
 
I have no useful advice for you...I hardly know what any of those metric calibers are! This thread has clarified one thing for me though...without a doubt I am a hunter who likes guns as opposed to a gun nut who hunts. Lol! However compared to most of my friends and hunting companions, I do have the largest number of rifles. I essentially own 6 big game hunting rifles: a .223 (not what I consider adequate for deer-size game and up, but Sask. legalized it in 2018, so...), a .50 caliber muzzleloader, a .243 Win, a .30-30 Win, a .308 Win, and a 7mm Rem Mag.

Since I rarely use the muzzleloader I basically have four rifles that I hunt with and with that small number, still have trouble deciding which one to take out as we don't have the liberal seasons here that you find down south. In the last five years, these four rifles have harvested:
.243 Win - 1 whitetail for me (plus a few coyotes) and 2 whitetails for my wife
.30-30 Win - 1 whitetail for me
.308 Win - 2 moose for me and 1 whitetail for me stepson
7mm Rem Mag - 2 mule deer, 1 whitetail, 1 hartebeest, 1 impala, 1 warthog and 1 baboon for me
For my hunt to the Eastern Cape this past July, I used my PH's .300 Win Mag and very much enjoyed it.

I like to use all of my rifles, so adding even one or two more would make my decisions even harder. Even so, I would love to get a nice bolt action .308 Win to go with my Browning BLR. And I would LOVE to have a .375 H&H just because. May decide to swap the .223 for a .22-250 someday as well.

IF I were in your boots (now that I know I'm a hunter who likes guns) and I had more rifles than I could hunt with, I would definitely sell some off to put towards another African hunt...but that's just me.

Do what your heart tells you and enjoy your collection and happy hunting!(y)
 
@Velo Dog ...this is actually why I started thinking of selling. Would like to make a trip to Namibia next year but I can never plan that far ahead.


Milan,

Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris, in the not-game-fenced mountains of northern Namibia, is ready when you are.
We also offer dangerous game hunts down in the Zambezi Region, AKA “Caprivi Strip of Namibia, (likewise, not game fenced).

Yours truly,
Velo Dog.
 
I sympathize with you Milan and feel your pain. I thought my brother and I were the only ones who wasted half a day's hunting trying to decide what rifle to take.:confused: I'm going to start selling some of mine....no, really I am.....whatchemean I've been saying that for 5 years....aw, what's the use?:LOL:
 
My thinking is you actually may need to Add a few calibers
 
My thinking is you actually may need to Add a few calibers
OK. I was wondering when creating the post if this was something of a bit futile exercise.
 
@Milan Who told you that you where a gun nut? Owning those few guns barely qualifies as a gun owner certainly not a gun nut but if you really have to reduce your gun collection and keep the 7 x 57 I would keep the 375 H&H only because you can hunt Cape Buffalo with it. I would recommend the 9.3 x 62 but its not legal to hunt DG with.
 
C'mon!!?? You guys think that YOU have problems....? :)

Where I live, it is possible to own (for hunting purposes) up to 6 firearms (rifles or guns).
Once you've passed the "hunters exam" you're more or less granted the right to purchase four (4) firearms. The exam, which includes both theoretical and practical parts, is a bit like a drivers license (not really difficult, but it is a lot of broad-but-shallow info that needs to be remembered). Not really hard, but requires a bit of studying. Especially if you did not grow up in a hunting family.

Now the big hassle starts:
* Rifle permit applications can take anything from 1 week to several months to process for the police dept. The latter is the norm. Applying for 6 firearms in the first year after passing the exam is probably frowned upon.
* If applying for firearms no 5 and/or 6, you should supply a motivation for why you need those firearms, as well as the ones you had before (no's 1-4).
* Pistols or revolvers are not allowed on a hunting license
* Fully automatic weapons are not allowed. Period.
* Semi-autos are allowed, if they are civilian models or are based on pre-WWII patterns (I don't recall the exact requirement, but a Garand would not be allowed) . However, they must not resemble "military rifles" (without much specification of what that term means). But foldable/telescopic buttstocks or picatinny rails all around the barrel is a sure way to get your application denied.
* Magazine capacity is up for debate (rifles that can take magazines with 10+ rounds), as are E0 limits (10.000J = 7375 ft-lbs). The latter since such rifles are used to "do damage over large distances. ". 700 NE is really a long-range snipers round... right.

Some good things, compared to how it is elsewhere (i.e. some people are even worse off):
* So far, your licenses are "for life" - i.e. no renewal is needed for guns bought/owned on a hunting license.
* Sound moderators/silencers are allowed for "big rifles" - basically anything larger than a 243. You will have to apply for a permit, but you will get it approved without any questions asked (just a bit of waiting time).
* If you've passed the "big game" part of the hunters exam, there is no real/official upper limit (yet) for which type of cartridge/gun you want to use. You can apply for a 500 Jeffery and specify "Driven wild boar" or "Deer stalking" as the motivation. There are a few people in this country that have 50BMGs on hunting licenses.

You can also have firearms on a competition license - don't know all the rules around that, but you are not allowed to hunt with a gun licensed to you in this way. Pistol and revolver licenses need to be renewed every 5 years. Semi-autos too, I think. If you are no longer competing (i.e. have competition results to show) you will lose your license, and must get rid of the gun (at least for pistols/revolvers I think).

You can have guns on a collectors license, but then you're not allowed to fire them at all. The purpose of the collection must also be specified, e.g. "Rimfire lever-actions 1880-1936", or "M98 and its derivatives as seen in Central European service rifles, 1898-1956" or "Soviet service pistols 1919-1989".

In conclusion, if you are a hunter with an interest in guns, or a gun-nut with a hunting interest, there are some consequences. If you find something you really like, you hold on to it. You don't just go a buy a gun because you were bored that afternoon, since the waiting times are horrible. Selling a rifle to a licensed dealer is quick, since they have a 'blanket license' to own firearms in general. Selling it to a private individual takes months.

There are more things to write about how the authorities are (mis)managing this with all the red tape, but ...bleh, I don't want to start the weekend with a lot of negativity.
 
I would keep the 8x57, it is wonderful caliber, especially if you hand load. If you want a 8mm that goes faster get or convert one of the others to a 8X68s. It is easy to load for, I shoot 180, 220 & 250gr bullets in mine.

Keep the .375H&H if DG is on the menu otherwise I'd keep the 9.3x62.
 
you can't really equate the 7x57 with a 300 mag.
overlap is quite small.
bruce.
 
you can't really equate the 7x57 with a 300 mag.
overlap is quite small.
bruce.

Well, If you're only going to have two guns to solve all your hunting needs - one of them being the 7x57 - then having the other in 300WM is a bit too close, in my opinion.
That does not make them equal, not by far. But I'd go bigger than a 300WM for "the other rifle".
 

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