You be the Judge! Caliber Question

Aaron N

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Well because draw results are in, and it's a slow Friday, it seems like a good idea to pick the memberships brain for some fun.

This season I have drawn the following tags (a grand slam as far as I'm concerned):
-Antlered Moose
-Antlered Elk
-Antlered Mule Deer
-A Special Whitetail draw
-Merriams Turkey

The moose/elk/mule deer are all in the same zone, or at least adjacent zones where I grew up, id say 80/20% mix of field/bush, and shots wouldn't be over 300 yards. I'd love hear what you guys suggest I take out with me for a rifle. And please don't let common sense cloud your judgement!

-Weatherby Vanguard 270-This was the first rifle I bought. I have plenty of 130gr TTSX's loaded up.

-Sporter Mauser 7x75-The only ammo around for this is Cor-Loc’s

-2x Brno 30-06- I have Leupold VX-R 3x9's on top. I have 165 or 180gr Barnes Ammo for them.

-FN 300H&H- I'd love to put a Meopta 1.7-10 on this rifle, but new guns seem to take precedence, and could throw one of the VX-R's on it. I have some TTSX's (180gr I believe) loaded up to start finding one that works.

-Mauser Actioned 8x68s- I'm getting the safety swapped out so I can mount a scope with the existing EAW mounts. I have two boxes of 200gr A-Frames loaded from Norma. I also have 175gr CEB Raptors that I am really interested in testing, but would need to get some dies.

-CZ550 375- This one took my last moose four years ago with 250gr TTSX's.

-Ruger No1 450/400- I wasn't expecting to get drawn for moose this year, and was hoping to have time to play with cast bullets in this rifle. I'd think that would make a fun moose gun. That being said I do have 400gr Hornadys, but I believe they are solids.

-The one rifle that I really would love to use is my Ross M-10 in 280, but I'm waiting on brass for it, and also to get it to a good gunsmith so we can come up with a means of mounting and optic. Maybe it will be ready to go next fall.

Anyway, let's have some fun and hear some opinions!
 
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Another vote for the '06. Shoot 200 grain bullets.
 
Can't go wrong with the 300 H&H, the critters will stand around admiring your choice in a classic firearm giving you more time to make the perfect shot.
 
I should have guessed the ‘06 would be a likely favourite!
@wesheltonj I forgot about the Parker Hale 308!
 
270 w 130gn bullets seem a bit on the light side for moose and elk?

7×57 is probably "enough", if bullets are heavy enough (160-170-ish). But at 300yd? What would the trajectory/impact velocities be like?

30-06 should work fine. I think I would go with a softish lead-core bullet (accubond, oryx, interbond etc) in the 180gn range, though. Thats just because I lack experience with copper bullets. But with the options you have, I would choose a different gun anyway.

450-400 is enough - for sure. But personally I'm not good enough for a 300 yd shot at live game with such a cartridge.

375 also seem a bit, well, overkill.

That leaves the 300H&H and the 8×68S.

I would choose the 8×68 just because it seems like the Goldilocks alternative - just right.
 
I'm here to discuss the Mirriams Turkey.

Use whatever bore shotgun you want, but do yourself a favor a pick up a box of Federal Heavyweight TSS Turkey loads and a Carlson's TSS Turkey Choke. They shells aren't cheap, but you will get what you pay for. Here are my patterns...
1657920054991.png

1657920092371.png
 
FN 300H&H for everything else. And you can load up to 220 grain pills.
 
I like the idea of the 300 h&h , plenty of zip for the larger deer on the list. Another great option is one of the 30.06s, I love mine and it kills good with good bullets. My favorite would be federal trophy bonded tips but Barnes are great too. Congrats on your luck by the way lol
 
Then I’d use the .375 or 7X57. Don’t worry about the core lock it’s cup & core, but it’s designed for the exact velocities we get from the 7X57, it’ll work fine.
That’s for the 450/400, I don’t think I’d be comfortable past 100y with it.
 

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