Suggestions for or

[Hunter Franklin]

Hello. I’m from the south eastern state of ga but will be moving to Oregon. Going to pick up rifle hunting as I do not believe my bow will reach far enough in some areas of the state. I’d like something that would pack enough punch 300 yards out for sheep/goat/elk but not tear up a Columbian black or whitetail. Also. What actions would you recommend? I’ll get a bolt but I’d like to know some opinions of other actions too

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Bolt action controlled round feed 30-06. It would be good for anything in North America but the large bears, and will shoot to 300 easy enough. Also you can buy ammo literally anywhere. 180 grain bullets will kill the big stuff and damage less meat on a whitetail.

 

[Red Leg]

Or .300 Win Mag for a tad more point blank range with a 180 gr bullet.

 

[LivingTheDream]

270 wsm, bolt. Killed a beautiful blackmail in Oregon at 316 yards, DRT. Might be a little lite for elk or goat. But will give you another excuse to buy another rifle when you get the tag.

 

[Tra3]

I’m sure you are looking for suggestions of more than one rifle, right?
+1 on .30-06 or .300 Win mag.
As the small guy in my hunting pack I shoot a lighter caliber: 7 mm rem mag.

 

[Bullthrower338]

270 wsm, bolt. Killed a beautiful blackmail in Oregon at 316 yards, DRT. Might be a little lite for elk or goat. But will give you another excuse to buy another rifle when you get the tag.

If your luck runs anything like mine, put away 100 bucks for every sheep or goat tag you don’t draw and you will be able to buy a Rigby highland stalker by the time you draw one or your to damn old to climb up to where they live. Then you can use it on a plains game hunt and dream about sleeping on the side of a rocky slide in wind and rain while comfortably resting in a nice bed in the Eastern Cape or somewhere.
Get a 338 WM if you are wanting a rifle that can do just about everything well out west, you won’t regret it.

 

[Mekaniks]

I agree with Cody @Bullthrower338 A good solid .338 WM will do everything you want from deer to antelope to elk to bear. And you will be covered if an Africa plains game hunt arrises....

 

[cpr0312]

.300 WM !!!!!!!!

 

[Shootist43]

A 300 Win Mag if you are looking for the ordinary. However if you enjoy owning and shooting unusual calibers take a look at a 308 Norma Mag. Factory Ammo is available if you don't reload. but once you start shooting rifles, you may want to look into reloading a well.

 

[meigsbucks]

Just my $.02 worth... A .30/06, .300 mag or .338 Win mag will all do what you want. The only thing about the magnums is that there is a little more recoil to deal with.
The .30/06 will do all the animals you mentioned. 150-165 gr bullets for deer and sheep. 180-200 gr for elk and moose.
For sheep and goat you may want something that shoots a little flatter and that would be a .300 mag. You can use the same bullet weights as the ‘06, but there is little a good 180gr at ~3000 fps won’t do.
Both .30’s will do for all African plains game, but eland are BIG and the .30’s with heavier strong bullets are basically the bottom rung of adequacy for that animal.
With a .338 Win mag you have a round that can do it all. 185-210 gr bullets for deer and sheep. 225-250 gr for elk, moose, kudu, eland, brown bear, grizzly.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Battery of rifles with identical CRF actions:
223 up to coyotes (jackrabbits, prairie dogs, marmots, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, etc)
30-06 up to elk (most PG, antelope, deer, elk, black bear, sheep, goats, cougar, etc.)
375 H&H up to Cape buffalo (moose, grizzly/brown bear, all PG including eland and giraffe, bison, buffalo, etc)

Eventually you will need 3 calibers. IMO. Ammo for these is available most everywhere. Boring calibers maybe, but clean killing cartridges.

After those, you can start specializing on purely purpose built rifles.

Best of luck picking from a zillion options! Hoping I didn’t muddy the waters too much?

 

[meigsbucks]

Oops... I forgot to add that in addition to the rounds I mentioned, the .270, .280 and 7mm mags would also be adequate for the animals you mentioned and a lot of the African plains game.

 

[IvW]

Killed a beautiful blackmail

Got a pic? Never seen one of those!

 

[LivingTheDream]

Got a pic? Never seen one of those!

Damn autocorrect...meant blacktail...it almost autocorrected 2 more times writing my reply.