Big Bore Rifles

Was curious what others were using to hunt big game?

I have a marlin 1895GS 45/70 carbine. I love it. I use a limbsaver to make shots a bit more comfortable.




- NSBiz

270 Browning A Bolt- North American Deer
44-40 Uberti Lever Action- American Feral Hogs
300 Win Mag- Elk
458 Win Mag- If I ever face a charging Rhino or Grizzly
44 Mag Colt Anaconda 8" Barrell, secondary hog, bear sidearm

I have hunted everything from moose to boar with my old model 700 chambered in .270. Proper placement is easily obtained, it shoots flat and fast, i have never had a problem dropping big game with it. Easy on the shoulder and nice and light, I love that gun, I love all my guns but that one

I don't think I have anything that qualifies as being called "big bore" -- mine are small/medium bore, with one (.38-55) which might be considered big bore. I won't list my militaria, so here are some sporter types which I have to hunt with. Those which have taken some sort of game will be listed with an asterisk (*):

.38-55
.32-20
.30-30*
.270
.25-06*
.25-35

I'm actually trying to get rid of (sell) most of the rifles above, except for the .30-30 to keep for brush-country. When the others are sold, I think I'll go with a .30-06 -- more versatile and a greater selection of bullet weights. I really don't need all those rifles listed, and they take up space. A good .30-06 and my trusty .30-30 would be all I need for the hunting I do.

I have smaller bore rifles suitable for varmints, but I won't list those since it was not part of the topic (and I think I listed them in another forum).

-Z

For 98 percent of all game you can take in North America, the 30-30 is more than enough gun unless you're shooting at distances beyond 200 yards which i think most hunters don't practice enough to humanely take game for meat at beyond 200 yards. A large caliber gun might anchor game a little better but you'll ruin more meat with it if you shoot body shots. A full metal jacket .308 will completely pass through an elk's at the shoulders if shot at under 150 yards. The ,357 mag .44 mag and .45 colt would be excellent survival rounds for both pistol and carbine length guns. Big bore rifle rounds are excessive unless you live in Grizzly/Polar Bear country or Africa.

I disagree on that, bigger bore = usually heavier bullet, and heavy bullets are less likely to stopped/deviated by foliage or smaller branches. This is quite important in heavily wooded areas. And a slower and heavier bullet with the same energy as lighter and faster round will damage less meat. These are proven facts.

Ps. Never use FMJ rounds when hunting. They will NOT kill the game immediately. Out here it's illegal to hunt with non-expanding ammo.

pps. the Ps. part only applies to "normal" conditions, in case of a survival situation i'll use APDU rounds to hunt if the other option is to starve

Originally posted by northwolf
I disagree on that, bigger bore = usually heavier bullet, and heavy bullets are less likely to stopped/deviated by foliage or smaller branches. This is quite important in heavily wooded areas. And a slower and heavier bullet with the same energy as lighter and faster round will damage less meat. These are proven facts.

Ps. Never use FMJ rounds when hunting. They will NOT kill the game immediately. Out here it's illegal to hunt with non-expanding ammo.

pps. the Ps. part only applies to "normal" conditions, in case of a survival situation i'll use APDU rounds to hunt if the other option is to starve

I tend to agree a bit with both of you. I like a bullet with some mass and ability to deliver energy on impact. I did not fully realize how this worked until I purchased one of those .50 caliber black power Hawkin Rifles which became so popular some years back. THe round ball was about 180 grains but they also made some more modern bullets in some 250 to 300 grain weights. These bullets ...conical types..delivered huge amounts of energy on impact. The ordinary round ball was no slouch or weakling..but these maxi bullets...Wow!! Mind you now...this rifle in black powder did not have huge lightening velocitys as you see now days..but dont ever get in front of one. Very similar to a freight train..they may not be moving fast but dont ever get in front of one.

This is where I began to get the understanding that hyper velocity is not everything.

Mind you now ..again that big bore rifles have their purposes. If I was hunting something like Cape Buffalo or Grizzley Bear..you want a gun which will do more than just make them angry. This should be self explanitory but some people still prefer a hyper velocity gun to one which can deliver the massive energy needed to put one of these animals down.

And Northwolf's point about deflection by foilage is right on too. Ive seen this with a 5.56 mm rifle. I dont believe this deflection or deviation would have happened to such an extent if I had been using for example...my .35 Remington with a 200 grain round nose bullet. This caliber is a horse too with proper expansion. It is not one of these hyper velocity cartridges that seem so popular now days.

The .308 is a commonly reloaded caliber among many hunters for peak performance. Lots of factory ammunition variety available for this too. Proper bullet selection and placement are still needed with this cartridge to get best results..but this could be said of any cartridge.

I think the modern black powder rifles in .50 caliber have become popular once hunters began to realize how much energy these rifles can deliver without the blinding speed of modern ammo. Added hunting time with the early primitive arms season has helped too.
Mind you now they are making much better black powder rifles with more modern materials today than in the past but it is still black powder. YOu only get one good shot with these rifles so make it count.

Thanks to all for thier posts,
Orangetom

As there are no moose in Texas, we'll have to settle for buffalo.

This buffalo was taken at 53 yards.

I'll let Sniper 99 explain it. I wouldn't have tried the shot he took at that distance. I would have gone for a brain shot with a hard cast projectile at a closer range. I believe he was using a softer, pure lead projectile.

www.network54.com...

A smaller caliber full metal jacketed bullet traveling at a higher velocity at that same distance would have easily reached the buffalo's heart. They use solid copper bullets and hardcast lead bullets on Cape Buffalo and other dangerous game in Africa for well over 100 years. Many professional hunters in Africa often used the 6.5x 55 Swedish Mauser round with 160 grain FMJ bullets and other similar milsurp cartridges as there back up guns knowing that the long round nose bullets would completely penetrate a Cape Buffalo from rump to shoulder.

Sorry, N-Wolf, I know how anything Swedish chafes at you Finns.

6.5x 55 Swedish Mauser is a good round, popular in birdhunting (shooting birds from trees) and deer hunting. And the original Swedish Mauser is one of the most accurate battle rifles ever made.

Solid lead/copper rounds have their uses, especially against thick hided dangerous game. But that kind of game is usually banned from hunting. Moose is still best shot with semi-jacketed hollowpoints as are brown bears, biggest things we have around here.

Ps. Contrary to popular belief, there are no polar bears walking on streets in Finland

Originally posted by crgintx
As there are no moose in Texas, we'll have to settle for buffalo.

This buffalo was taken at 53 yards.

I'll let Sniper 99 explain it. I wouldn't have tried the shot he took at that distance. I would have gone for a brain shot with a hard cast projectile at a closer range. I believe he was using a softer, pure lead projectile.

www.network54.com...

A smaller caliber full metal jacketed bullet traveling at a higher velocity at that same distance would have easily reached the buffalo's heart. They use solid copper bullets and hardcast lead bullets on Cape Buffalo and other dangerous game in Africa for well over 100 years. Many professional hunters in Africa often used the 6.5x 55 Swedish Mauser round with 160 grain FMJ bullets and other similar milsurp cartridges as there back up guns knowing that the long round nose bullets would completely penetrate a Cape Buffalo from rump to shoulder.

Sorry, N-Wolf, I know how anything Swedish chafes at you Finns.

The 6.5mm Swedish Mauser is no slouch either. It is a long bullet. The ones I have seen are round nosed but capable by virtue of the length of the bullet to deliver alot of energy on impact. To my recollection this is an olde caliber which has been around a long time and is not one of these magnums so popular now days. Yet it is still potent and relatively flat shooting. Lots of bearing/ogive contact with the rifling in this bullet meaning stability. This is very similar to the penetration capabilities of an arrow. Not moving all that fast but capable of good penetration.
I have seen one rifle of this Swedish type. A bolt action with the Kings seal on the top of the receiver, it seemed to be a very stout well made but simple bolt action rifle.

Very Intresting about the buffalo. That is a large caliber Air Rifle. Well made too by the looks of it.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Originally posted by northwolf
6.5x 55 Swedish Mauser is a good round, popular in birdhunting (shooting birds from trees) and deer hunting. And the original Swedish Mauser is one of the most accurate battle rifles ever made.

Shooting birds from trees??? Thats pretty accurate olde man. Out of curiosity what kind of birds are shot in Finland from trees. This is a new one to me. Here Stateside most birds are hunted by shotguns.
You have me curious here Northwolf??

THanks,
Orangetom

For example Black Grouse spends a lot of time a the top of firtrees. They can be shot down with smallbore rifles, commonly 6.5mm or .222.

Most birdhunting (ducks etc.) is done by shotguns, but this "latvalinnustus" is a "common" practise in at least scandinavia.

If you want knockdown power the 458 Winchester does the trick. It works great on nasty grizzleys (I have seen many dispatched). However, your 45-70 is a great all around medium to large game killer. Sounds like you know how to use it! General Custer would have concurred, I'm sure! lol!

[Black Grouse [/url] spends a lot of time a the top of firtrees. They can be shot down with smallbore rifles, commonly 6.5mm or .222.

Most birdhunting (ducks etc.) is done by shotguns, but this "latvalinnustus" is a "common" practise in at least scandinavia.


In Alaska we have a species of grouse called the Spruce Grouse that sits in the spruce tree and won't fly till chased out. Not having another rifle and being hungry I tried shooting them with a 30-06 large game rifle. A pile of bloody feathers was the result till I mastered hitting them in the head. A 22 cal rifle would have been much better. That is how they are usually taken.