Posted: 8/16/2014 11:40:45 PM EDT
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I have no use for nor am I planning on buying a more powerful rifle but am asking out of curiosity since I've researched this myself and couldn't really come to a single solid choice. So, that said, I thought I'd query the hive here....
I already own a .30-06 (Savage 116 FCSS Weather Warrior) which, in my opinion, is the best overall hunting caliber for North America but if I wanted to step up to the next range of calibers, what would be the best choice? I'm thinking the .338 Win Mag but then I'm just guessing here, what do y'all think? |
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Quoted:
I have no use for nor am I planning on buying a more powerful rifle but am asking out of curiosity since I've researched this myself and couldn't really come to a single solid choice. So, that said, I thought I'd query the hive here.... I already own a .30-06 (Savage 116 FCSS Weather Warrior) which, in my opinion, is the best overall hunting caliber for North America but if I wanted to step up to the next range of calibers, what would be the best choice? I'm thinking the .338 Win Mag but then I'm just guessing here, what do y'all think? Not really sure about a "best" choice, but two of my favorites are 300wm and 338 lapua. If I really wanted to step up I would go for the 375 cheytac... Realistically none of those cartridges are very practical for me so I rather stay away from them. For now.... I will stick to shooting my friends magnum rifles. After I say all this I have noticed my "Toys" are increasing in price very rapidly... I VOTE CHEYTAC! |
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The 300 Win Mag would be cheaper to reload and less expensive to shoot. The 338 has a far better ballistic advantage if you intend to shoot 1000+ yards.
Considering recoil, ammo, and the optics needed to be effective at any really long distance, not to mention shooter proficiency, you are in good shape with the 30/06 out to 800 yds or so in accuracy and killing power without stepping up to a belted magnum. Do you have any place you can shoot at those distances? Lots of factors are involved to justify the expense unless you just want bragging rights. 
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Quoted:
The 300 Win Mag would be cheaper to reload and less expensive to shoot. The 338 has a far better ballistic advantage if you intend to shoot 1000+ yards. Considering recoil, ammo, and the optics needed to be effective at any really long distance, not to mention shooter proficiency, you are in good shape with the 30/06 out to 800 yds or so in accuracy and killing power without stepping up to a belted magnum. Do you have any place you can shoot at those distances? Lots of factors are involved to justify the expense unless you just want bragging rights. +1 on the 300 win mag. IF you really have to have a cannon, you might consider the 375 H&H as well. They are readily available in a wide range of prices and ammo hoarders don't really seem interested in it. JMHO. |
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As mentioned the 375 H&H...gets you out of the 30 cal bullet and offers a very powerful, commercially available round...another larger step would be the 460 Weatherby Mag...not much on range, but you said hunting...that would pretty much handle anything in hunting mammals in the world...but for North American game....30-06 or a 300 win mag good choices for pretty much anything in NA.
When i was doing my reloading years ago, Hornady was my manual by choice...they did a little write up in the description of each round in the book. The 460 i think it was they had to use a bag of lead shot between the rifle and shoulder due to the recoil and following pain from the mass shooting they had to do to compile the info. And with your 30-06 in a bolt...you know how that can hurt after a few rounds. |
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either a 7 remmag, or a 300 winmag, both are good for shooting everything from daisy flowers to grizzly bears, had both and both were Goddamned accurate enough, the 7 kicks about like a 30/06, the 300 is a bit more.
I like the 162gr btsp hornaday in the 7, and 200gr speer sp in the 300, course 180gr nosler ballistic tip isn't bad for longer range deer/hogs, oh and my rifles were win m70's |
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From everything I've read the .300 Win mag doesn't offer very much more than a .30-06. Same caliber bullet just being pushed faster and resulting in a lot more recoil and noise. To me, the .300 Win Mag doesn't do anything the .30-06 can do but does the same thing harder and faster, which is a con, not a pro in my book. Same thing for the 7mm, doesn't offer anything above and beyond the .30-06 other than noise and shoulder pain.
The .375 Cheytac and the .338 Lapua are great rounds but definitely not in this category. That still leaves the .338 Win Mag and then up into the .375 H&H which is a bit over the limit unless Africa is in the picture. Ideally if I was going to carry something for bear protection I'd use my .50 Beowulf but this is a hypothetical question to begin with. Anything that would be better than a .338 Win Mag or would y'all disagree with the .338 Win Mag choice? |
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The 300 would push upper weight bullets better, like in the 200-220 range which would be better for larger game.
The 7mm Mag i dont think is a step up from any 30 cal round...it does offer better accuracy at range. It was one of wants of mine simply due to the flatter shooting then the 30-06...in SD shooting on the prairie..you get range sometimes with antelope. But yeah, going from a 30 cal bullet to a .284 bullet isnt a step up i dont think. Something else the way i always looked at the 300 Win Mag...was like a .308 versus a 30-06. Everything the .308 did, they 06 did a little better in my opinion. The Beowulf is a pretty large round. Dont know much about the ballistics of it. Whats it look like energy wise out at say 100-200 yards? Everything i have posted in this is all based on my own opinion which has been derived from experience in hunting, and reloading. By no means am i an expert nor do i claim to be. |
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I think if i were to ever specifically go bear hunting in places that have the really mean pricks like grizzly's...i would prefer something like hand grenades hahaaha..friggin shoot a bear, wound it and thoroughly piss it off could equal slow painful death.
I always wanted a .44 mag with a 6" barrel when i lived in SD. Did allot of outings and hunting in the Black Hills and there were plenty of bears up there to piss off. But being in the USAF in the 80's/90's and raising a family...had to pick and chose what you could afford..so .357 it was. |
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I don't know the exact ballistics but I've read the .50 Beowulf still has twice the energy of the 5.56 at 200 yards. I've not had the opportunity yet to dial my scope in fully but at the range it was pounding steel plates at point of aim at 100 yards and still hitting at 150 putting the plate in the middle of the crosshairs. I don't know how much it dropped but it couldn't have been much considering the size of the plates. At 200 yards I've read it has about a foot of drop but that was using the 335 grain Ranier "target/plinking" loads, I suspect the 350 grain brass Spritzer loads would be less. I've seen some extremely accurate shots made at 700-800 yards on YouTube but that's obviously lobbing them. However, in the 1800's buffalo hunters nearly hunted that species into extinction using .45 and .50 caliber bullets with less energy out to 1000 yards accurately. Recent studies showed rifles used then like .45-70 and .50-90 could fire shots at over 3000 yards and still have plenty of killing energy. I can't imagine taking a shot with a .50 Beowulf past 200 yards but it's been proven it is very possible and very lethal with the right aiming solution.
I love bears, I have no want to hunt one but I wouldn't want to get eaten by one while wandering through the woods. I figured if I ever got a chance to go on a moose hunt I'd take the Beowulf, it's just about perfect for hunting big critters. Lightweight, compact and extremely powerful and ammo much cheaper than hunting ammo of similar power. Since the odds of me getting to go on a moose hunt or other big critter are slim and none I got mine for fun and Sasquatch defense. I love my .357 magnum but I love shooting my .44 magnum even more. Definitely a good choice as a sidearm in and around bear country. So many folks have big gun syndrome and think they need the biggest gun possible for protection against bears but if they can't make fast accurate shots with the gun it's useless. |
| To me, the 300 WM a step up from the 30-06 which could be why I have two 300s. However, if I had a 06 that I was partial to the 300 wouldn't be my first choice if I was looking for something sutible for larger game. If you can handle the recoil a 338 WM or a 375 H&H could be a good choice. If recoil is an issue I would look at a 338 - 06 or the 35 Whelen. |
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Yeah Brandi..the other day when i went to the unknown store in Moore and while talking with the unknown owner...he showed me the Beowulf ammo he had...pretty impressive stuff! I guess if i was specifically bear hunting, or like you said Moose, (cant get the grenades these days), that would be a good choice for that. Has the buffer to absorb loads of the recoil and has higher capacity then a standard hunting rifle with like 3-4 rounds.
You cant really compare a 5.56mm to that .50 though i dont think...two completely different, purpose designed rounds, kind of like comparing a .17 HMR to a 7mm mag. Yeah the places i have hunted or ventured into dense forest, SD, AZ and WA...all loaded with bears and other people eating things..so you always took your handgun with you at minimum. If you planned on staying on the road, no big deal, but we didnt do that. In regards to your revolvers...too bad the commandos of todays firearms owner switched to the semi-auto's...i had my .357 for many years and it never jammed on me once...the less moving parts, the better. Now they are so expensive and the ammo is very high priced all more then likely due to lower manufacturing amounts. The revolvers from the major companies like S&W, etc, appear to be sold as novelty items with novelty prices. Yeah, i dont thnk you get the same true to the core punch with any pistol that you get with a .44mag. |
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That guy in Moore is a good guy, keep him on your short list of "go to" gun folks.
The Beowulf is just plain fun, sure the smaller "big bore" calibers are effective on big critters but there's just something about having the biggest and badest in addition to the cool factor of saying "it's a fifty cal" 
If we ever get a HTF get together scheduled, I'll bring it and you can shoot it. |
| We've tried a few times in the last couple years to get one going but it never quite worked out. The last time myself, my sis and Leemozoid were the only ones that showed up but we had a lot of fun. Leemo has some really, really cool SBR AR's, suppressed goodies and a few M1 Garands that are awesome. Once the weather cools off I'll attempt to organize something. What we really need is someone with enough private land to host an event. |