All around hunting rifle

[Yoder]

Later this year I'll probably be moving to my in laws farm in Kentucky. Since rifles are legal for deer hunting I am thinking I need to get one for that, but it would nice to have just one all around rifle for hunting and SHTF and plinking. Kind of the beware the man with one rifle thing.

There are elk in KY now, not a lot but in the future there might be.

So what would you say is the best all around rifle for hunting? I currently have 2 AR15 carbine but I don't consider them for hunting.

 

[captpaul]

Remington 700 in .270, 30-06, or 308

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Bolt in .308. Rem 700, Win 70, Savage 110 or such, something. There are many. A lot of people will recommend a .270 or such, but the .308 will kill anything on this continent and you can fire 7.62x51 military surplus as well.

 

[voodoo304]

Lever action 30-30. Wish I had the land to shoot a rifle. Have fun!

 

[randyb]

For a one man-one rifle, its hard to beat a 30-06.

 

[shooter1054]

Anything in any of the classic calibers. I would suggest a T/C Venture. they are very accurate out of the box. I have one in 243 and for a sub $500 gun, I am thrilled with it. If you are wanting it for elk sized game in the future, I would go with a 30-06 or a 300 Win Mag.

 

[nighter]

I have a Remington 700 tactical .308 use it for hunting and plinking and would not trade it. My future father inlaw took it hunting and got a red deer with it so now he has one as well.

 

[witdog2020]

I'm sure any maker of the gun would be fine, Ruger 77, Savage 110,111, Rem. Winchester 70, Mossbergs ATR, or 4X4 rifles are good rifles as well. If I was gonna hunt Elk at any time, I would probably just shoot the .270. If I wanted a caliber for Yotes, Deer, Hogs, I would probably shoot a .243.

 

[doglb]

Ruger GSR .308!

 

[rightwinger]

30-30!!!!

 

[boogieman]

remington or savage bolt .308. It will take down anything in the us and you can shoot military 7.62x51 out of it. With the hogs coming into ky a .308 is the preferred for them.

 

[Harleyrider_50]

Bolt in .308. Rem 700, Win 70, Savage 110 or such, something. There are many. A lot of people will recommend a .270 or such, but the .308 will kill anything on this continent and you can fire 7.62x51 military surplus as well.

Got'a agree.......7mmMag/.300WM would be the icing on the cake.......

 

[42769vette]

for me my best all around caliber is the 260. but elk is not on my list. for you id say 308.

 

[Yeah]

If you don't buy a light rifle you aren't doing yourself any favors. Even if all you end up doing is walking across farm fields and into box stands, light at least comes with no drawbacks. And well balanced so as to be readily brought into action is a must too.

Oddly, despite there being hundreds of models of rifles to pick from, just those two critical criteria narrow down the field to a handful. You don't list a price range so might as well start at the top and call Mel Forbes at NULA. Anything he currently sells is very good, and his forthcoming "semi-production" offering maybe might be. Down from there would be a 700 or 7 restocked with something light, like a McMillan MR or Classic or Compact with Edge flll. Some odds and ends like a fluted bolt and barrel and lightweight shroud would do.

After that you have an off the shelf option with a Kimber Montana. Nothing balances better because it can't. It is very well thought out apart from being twisted too slow in most chamberings.

Roughly the same up front cost as the Montana are Remington and Winchester lightweight versions of the 700/70. They are less in every respect but weight, although someone in a budget crisis could stumble on one in the used market for ~$600 and get by until he could trade up into something above.

As far as chambering, if you mean 'all around CONUS' the only way to go really wrong is to pick bad bullets. Some stand out above the rest, like 0.243"; 0.284"; 0.264"...in that order. If you pick a headstamp that allows you to seat those reasonably and still fit the rounds in your magazine, you are most of the way there. 243 Win; 7 WSM; 7-08 Rem; 260 Rem; are all excellent. The AI versions of those yet better, as is anything 284 based in those calibers. Won't reload? 308 Win and a resilience against coveting your neighbor's ballistics.

Elk are the opposite of hard to kill and bullets have improved by vast leaps in the last 15 years.

 

[Philabuster]

I had a Remington 700 in .308. I really miss it!

 

[42769vette]

Elk are the opposite of hard to kill and bullets have improved by vast leaps in the last 15 years.

agreed, i have no doubt i could drop a elk with my 260, but i believe most states require 270 or above

 

[Mosinowner]

M1 garand, Mosin Nagant, M1 carbine. These can be used to hunt allot of game

 

[Titanium Man]

3006 and I would NOT buy something with a heavy barrel. You won't utilize it, and hate lugging it around. One of my favorite rifles is a Remington 7600. It's more accurate than the 7400 Auto, but being a pump is much faster than a bolt, and nearly as accurate. My 760 has more game to it's credit than any firearm in my safe.

 

[witdog2020]

agreed, i have no doubt i could drop a elk with my 260, but i believe most states require 270 or above

Colorado regs read a .24cal bullet or bigger which is interesting.

 

[42769vette]

Colorado regs read a .24cal bullet or bigger which is interesting.

good to know. i went after elk in 2000 in colarado and i was thinking the regs then were .27, mabye not. also there was a good point made earlier that todays bullets can do alot more than bullets 30 years ago. mabye colorado knows that and are adjusting regs accordingly