Your favorite 2 rifle and 1 shot gun combination

[gesch]

Thank you for the interesting question. I in all likelihood am the least experienced rifle hunter on this thread as I grew up as a shotgun hunter (other than 22lr!). But in recent years I have become a more active rifle shooter and hunter. I don’t have a dangerous game rifle but ifI were to purchase one it would likely be a Winchester Model 70 in 375 H and H or a Ruger Alaskan in 375 Ruger. But as mentioned I have no experience in this area. For plains game I would take my Ruger 77 in 300 Winchester Magnum shooting Federal Premium 180 grain Nosler Partition ammo. It seems to be accurate for field conditions and it fits me well. For the shotgun I would take my Remington 870 pump action and a selection of removable chokes. It is an extremely practical gun—completely reliable and with removable chokes, versatile. Thanks again for the interesting thread.

 

[Pheroze]

Any

Any discussion is very welcome .
A .30 calibre as your light rifle and a .400 Calibre as your heavy is very sensible .
I only have 2 questions :
1) How does the .308 Norma compare with the .308 Winchester ( as l am familiar with the latter )
2) How does the .400 Holland and Holland compare with the .450/400 Nitro Express ( which l have actually seen used by a client in 1961 )

The 308 NM is very close in performance, maybe a little bit less. Its case design suggests better handloading proposition.

The 400 &H sends the 400 grain bullet about 200- 300 fps faster, making it the cousin of the 416 Rigby

 

[Major Khan]

Thank you for the interesting question. I in all likelihood am the least experienced rifle hunter on this thread as I grew up as a shotgun hunter (other than 22lr!). But in recent years I have become a more active rifle shooter and hunter. I don’t have a dangerous game rifle but ifI were to purchase one it would likely be a Winchester Model 70 in 375 H and H or a Ruger Alaskan in 375 Ruger. But as mentioned I have no experience in this area. For plains game I would take my Ruger 77 in 300 Winchester Magnum shooting Federal Premium 180 grain Nosler Partition ammo. It seems to be accurate for field conditions and it fits me well. For the shotgun I would take my Remington 870 pump action and a selection of removable chokes. It is an extremely practical gun—completely reliable and with removable chokes, versatile. Thanks again for the interesting thread.

You are not alone . Until 1996 , my old Belgian shot gun was the only gun l had ( and a very good one , it is ) . Then , l purchased a .22 Long Rifle calibre Austrian semi automatic rifle for shooting pigeons , rabbits and mouse deer. In 2004 , Tobin gifted me a 12 calibre German semi automatic shot gun made by Wisco , with 3 inch chambers and choke tubes.
Your choices follow the same route as mine :
A .30 calibre as your plains game rifle and a .375 Holland and Holland magnum as your dangerous game rifle , especially a Winchester Model 70.

 

[Shootist43]

Pheroze, I think you ment to say that the 308 Norma Mag is very close to the performance of a 300 Win Mag. IMHO it outshines the 308 Win. by quite a bit.

 

[cpr0312]

Choosing from my current supply in my gun safe:

Winchester Model 70 .375 H&H

Remington Model 700 in .300 Win mag

Remington 870 pump 12 G

 

[Red Leg]

Thank you for the interesting question. I in all likelihood am the least experienced rifle hunter on this thread as I grew up as a shotgun hunter (other than 22lr!). But in recent years I have become a more active rifle shooter and hunter. I don’t have a dangerous game rifle but ifI were to purchase one it would likely be a Winchester Model 70 in 375 H and H or a Ruger Alaskan in 375 Ruger. But as mentioned I have no experience in this area. For plains game I would take my Ruger 77 in 300 Winchester Magnum shooting Federal Premium 180 grain Nosler Partition ammo. It seems to be accurate for field conditions and it fits me well. For the shotgun I would take my Remington 870 pump action and a selection of removable chokes. It is an extremely practical gun—completely reliable and with removable chokes, versatile. Thanks again for the interesting thread.

One thing to consider with regard to shotguns is that many countries or shooting destinations (even in this country) will not allow a pump or semi-automatic. For a general purpose gun that can be used anywhere but a formal quail hunt, it is hard to beat a quality OU 12 bore with choke tubes. Most quail shoots will require a 20 bore or less break open action (OU or SxS).

 

[Pheroze]

Pheroze, I think you ment to say that the 308 Norma Mag is very close to the performance of a 300 Win Mag. IMHO it outshines the 308 Win. by quite a bit.

You are absolutely right. I read the message on the fly and responded. Sorry about that

 

[cem rona ergin]

Ok, i would take a 7mm-08 for PG small game. Tikka T3 in lieu of not being able to fund a bespoke 7x57 or the like.
I have .375H&H in CZ550 so thats in. I would probaly use Australian made Wooleigh projectiles
I own a ATA 12ga under and over. I would source shotshells in the country of destination.
The ATA is a Turkish copy of the Beretta 686 with choke tubes.

Sorry I am not trying to hijack the tread here but
CBH Australia.. if you are fond of Turkish shotguns you should check out http://www.akus.com.tr/en/home-page/ .. ..

 

[Major Khan]

Sorry I am not trying to hijack the tread here but
CBH Australia.. if you are fond of Turkish shotguns you should check out http://www.akus.com.tr/en/home-page/ .. ..

No apology necessary. I love Turkish shot guns myself . My favorite was a company named Dehaan . Sadly , they are no longer in the business.

 

[CBH Australia]

@cem rona ergin no worries. I had a quick look. It seems many moderately priced shotguns in Australia are coming from Turkey. I purchased the ATA 686 because it was available and less than half of a Berretta 686 I’m more into rifles but I’ve had a lot of fun with it having some informal clay target sessions with friends and family.

 

[Tbitty]

Such tough choices! I can barely make these decisions on a day to day basis, let alone asking me to keep it to one..

But, my old reliable and inevitable selection on the last day of season is a Remington 700 .30-06 with handloads. So let's go with it for PG.

I cannot comment on DG, as I have no experience nor researched my options.

For shotgun, I'm basing the selection as though I could only use one gun, now to forever: my Browning new A5, 12 ga 3.5" chamber, 28" barrel. (Assuming I can change ammo per application) ... if I cant have a semi auto, then a Citori instead.

 

[Major Khan]

Choosing from my current supply in my gun safe:

Winchester Model 70 .375 H&H

Remington Model 700 in .300 Win mag

Remington 870 pump 12 G

I am intimately familiar with all 3 firearms and cartridges . Your choices follow the same line as mine.

 

[Major Khan]

Such tough choices! I can barely make these decisions on a day to day basis, let alone asking me to keep it to one..

But, my old reliable and inevitable selection on the last day of season is a Remington 700 .30-06 with handloads. So let's go with it for PG.

I cannot comment on DG, as I have no experience nor researched my options.

For shotgun, I'm basing the selection as though I could only use one gun, now to forever: my Browning new A5, 12 ga 3.5" chamber, 28" barrel. (Assuming I can change ammo per application) ... if I cant have a semi auto, then a Citori instead.

Alright , a .30-06 Springfield calibre Remington Model 700 and a Browning semi automatic shot gun using a super magnum cartridge . Pretty sensible choices.

 

[fourfive8]

Very difficult to pick just 2 rifles and 1 shotgun! I've had so many and enjoyed most all of them! Some for just shooting and some for hunting.

For just hunting... I think a tie for big rifle between a 2005 Win M70 in 416 Rem and an MRC M99 in 450 Watts w/Lilja bbl. For medium, all around bore a 1998 CRF Win M70 in 338-06 w/Krieger bbl. And for shotgun an older plain-jane Fox B 16 ga SxS in IC&M.

 

[Major Khan]

Very difficult to pick just 2 rifles and 1 shotgun! I've had so many and enjoyed most all of them! Some for just shooting and some for hunting.

For just hunting... I think a tie for big rifle between a 2005 Win M70 in 416 Rem and an MRC M99 in 450 Watts w/Lilja bbl. For medium, all around bore a 1998 CRF Win M70 in 338-06 w/Krieger bbl. And for shotgun an older plain-jane Fox B 16 ga SxS in IC&M.

It has been my whole life's dream to shoot a lion in Africa with a .416 Remington magnum

 

[fourfive8]

It has been my whole life's dream to shoot a lion in Africa with a .416 Remington magnum

Guaranteed it would be nearly ideal for lion with a high quality expanding- something like a 400 gr A Frame or similar at about 2300 fps.

 

[CoElkHunter]

If it had to be tomorrow, these are the only options I have:
PG: Browning A Bolt .338WM, 225gr Core Lokt or 250gr Nosler Partition
Or Interarms Whitworth.375 H and H, 270gr Hornady Superformance
DG: (never hunted any, so you or someone else choose. But choose wisely as I may be your backup when you miss! Ha! Ha!):
Interarms Whitworth .416 Taylor, 400gr Barnes TSX or 400gr Swifts
CZ 550 .458WM, 450gr Barnes TSX or 500gr Nosler Partition.
Shotgun: 12ga Remington 11-87 semi-auto. If no semi-auto allowed, 12ga Remington 870.

 

[Major Khan]

If it had to be tomorrow, these are the only options I have:
PG: Browning A Bolt .338WM, 225gr Core Lokt or 250gr Nosler Partition
Or Interarms Whitworth.375 H and H, 270gr Hornady Superformance
DG: (never hunted any, so you or someone else choose. But choose wisely as I may be your backup when you miss! Ha! Ha!):
Interarms Whitworth .416 Taylor, 400gr Barnes TSX or 400gr Swifts
CZ 550 .458WM, 450gr Barnes TSX or 500gr Nosler Partition.
Shotgun: 12ga Remington 11-87 semi-auto. If no semi-auto allowed, 12ga Remington 870.

Interesting choices. As l am writing your choice down , on my note pad to use in my next article , l can see that you are the only person who listed a .458 Winchester magnum , Co Elk Hunter

 

[CoElkHunter]

Interesting choices. As l am writing your choice down , on my note pad to use in my next article , l can see that you are the only person who listed a .458 Winchester magnum , Co Elk Hunter

And probably the .416 Taylor too! Those are my only DG rifles (for now) except maybe a 300gr something in the .375? Maybe I’m DG cartridge choice challenged?

 

[smokepole]

Dangerous game --pre64 Mod 70 375 H&H--300 gr swift a frame. --pre 64 300 H&H 180 gr Nosler partition and I only have 16 and 20 ga sxs LC Smith. The 375 and the 20 ga I have used for over 50 years each in Africa and Alaska.