I spent two years in the North Cascades, with my partner, and I carried my Model 1894 Winchester SaddleRing Carbine, in 30-30.... It was big enough for anything that roamed those Mountains, had 5 Shots in the Tube and one up the spout, was light enough to pack, easily... It did not kick excessively, and was accurate out to 150 yds, even for a beginning shooter. Yes, there are bigger weapons, with more power, but unless you live out here where I do, (Coastal Brown Bear Country) your likely never to encounter a Bear that a 30-30 can't deal with, out at 50 Yds... and if the Bear is inside 10 yds, and coming for you, as a meal, (rare) you are going to get munched, anyway... Now for an experienced Rifleman, and in Brown Bear Country, where you, are walking streams, a 45-70 GuideGun would be weapon, of choice... oh yea, I still have that 30-30 Carbine, in the Weapons Locker...
30-06 can do it all, bullet placement paramount with any hunting or self defense shot. Irons are fine, actually better for dangerous game, and shoot with both eyes open. Plenty of good conditioned used rifles on the market, if it were me, and it's not, but I would look for a nice shooter grade P-17. .270, 30-30, 8mm, .303 British, and of course 45-70 could all fill the ticket. Good luck on finding a shooting iron you can live with, it will be a lot like a marriage, so take your time picking, and resist the urge to commit hari-kari with all the advice you will be given.
Not all of us are professional competition shooters. If your full time job is to go to a range every day and shoot ammo some one else paid for you better be able to shoot like that. For the rest of us no.
I would just have to get 2 guns, one rifle and one handgun. First a rifle chambered in 30.06 or larger. Then if you are worried about uplcose encounters with bears it would be hard (not saying impossible) to use that scoped rifle on a bear at 5 yards and closing. For this application I would get a .44 mag or .45 Long Colt handgun. Or for the ultimate get a rifle chambered in .44 mag or .45 Long colt and have a handgun in that same caliber. You should be good on deer, elk or anything else out too 100 yards with either of those in a rifle.
I am a rifle guy but a good 12 ga would fit your needs shoot s more than one ammo slugs buck shot bird shot and special ammo it's always available in the store with a good slug barrel it's good to 100 yards can take down any thing in North America can reload shells easy
I've always been a rifle guy, but I;ve been slowly brought over to the dark side with my living history, and the perks of a fowler/shotgun have certainly become a factor to me.
I have been asked this same question many times, on boards just like this for years . Time some times changes things we currently perceive so the answer changes for a few folks , After the video on the M1 Garand , If I had a the opportunity ,I might just change my mind. Dad was issued a B.A.R. in the service when he was shipped to Alaska, but he didn't care to get one afterword. never said why. Times change ,people change, and it's a good idea to challenge ones perceptions . like putting one's own faith to the test from time to time . If your afraid of doing that there's a problem.
And I'D be willing to bet that the shooter is ringing steel or punching paper. BIG difference between that and a live target that means to do you harm.. Question for you: If the auto loader is so great for dangerous game, why is it that I didn't see A SINGLE ONE being used while hunting in Africa?? Bolt guns and doubles ruled the day. The only semis I saw were the FN-FALs and AKs being toted by non hunting types. PS: The Remington 740 and 7400 are two of the biggest POS they ever produced. JAMOMATICS with factory ammo, let alone reloads even using a small base resizer. In 50 years of living the gun culture I've only seen a couple that worked most of the time. My uncle bought one years back. Took it out of the box, cleaned it and mounted some glass on it. Out back to our range with Federal and Remington ammo. WOULDN'T CHAMBER THE FIRST ROUND. Switched to Remington ammo. Fired one shot. Case stuck in the chamber. Took the scope off and returned the POS. Have known/seen many others over the years with the same type problems.
I am really waiting for the conversation to turn towards the .22 rifle and the tactical wheelbarrow any moment.
@dudi If you had ever actually lived out in the bush, your opinion might mean something, but until you provide your "Bonifidies" you are just another Newbie Voice, among many, around here....
You almost answered the question.. There is a very valid reason for the above rule/law. Why do you suppose that is?? Nope, no Brownings for sale here. EVERY one of mine work EVERY time, ALL the time.
The vast majority of us, God willing, will never fire a shot in anger or in self defense of our lives, and I am happily in that group. I would rather be prepared as much as I can be and pray that I will never need to use any of my preps or firearms. I also pray that I will never need my fire insurance or car insurance. Don't live in coastal Alaska and the black bears here, 2 to 300 lb range are a threat to my bird feeder etc, but do their best to stay out of our way. I don't claim to be an expert in anything, but enjoy shooting as a hobby and shoot a few hundred rounds of non rim fire a year. Really enjoy hearing the stories of the experts who have a couple thousand dollar rifle, equal amount in optics and range finders, bionocs, etc, and fire 20 rounds a year. YMMV.
If I could have only 1? pump in 12 gauge. (Remington or Mossberg .. your choice) It'll be effective for everything from woodcock (as long as you are not using #4 shot, full choke and it's under 10 yards away) to bear. Depends on powder charge, projectile(s) selection, shot placement and range. I'm sure that you could take an elephant with a 12 gauge but I don't want to be that close and it probably wouldn't be a humane kill.
This topic has been discussed hundreds of times. Others have already said this but Ill add my 2 cents. It depends on where you are , where you plan on going and what purpose you plan on using it for. I am in lower Michigan. I dont have Huge bears, Elk, MOOSE, OR ANY OTHER LARGE ANIMALS TO CONTEND WITH. For me if I could only have one gun it would be my Marlin 981 t .22 rifle. Why? It is deadly out to 100 yards with good shot placement. It is a tack driver meaning it is very accurate. It will take any small game up to White tail deer. It will kill a man with a well placed shot or two. I have enough ammunition stored for this rifle to last three lifetimes. In a long term survival situation it will be my workhorse. Now on another note as I am a bug in kind of guy? I dont have to choose just one . We have several AR-15 rifles , two bolt action 30-06 rifles, several Shotguns and hand guns. Every firearm has a purpose here. The AR-15 RIFLES ARE FOR PATROLLING MY Area. The bolt guns are for long range killing power. The shotguns for yard defense. The handguns to get to a long gun. It all starts with a long term plan. If the lights go out and dont come back on, what do you do? Do you run or dig in. W e are dug in now. My family can be in defensive posture in about an hour. That means longs deployed, patrols out. Home secured and everyone here. Ammo supplies are very key in this question. At 5 bucks a round 50 cal bmg would be a poor choice of the one gun to have. .22 long rifle is the cheapest round out there and you can get a 10-22 ruger and 1000 rounds for under 600.00 You can be a reloader and reload your center fire rounds. Be advised if you are running in a gun battle its going to be hard to recover the brass. Nothing beats a well stocked ammo cache. The .22 rifle wins in most scenarios due to the ability of most people to afford a large number of shells. It loses in battle and large game but can be in a pinch a defensive weapon if the shooter is highly skilled and well practiced. So for me ? here in lower Michigan ? my 981-T Marlin .22 rifle.
Exactly so. The first post sorta defines the intended use, but not the where, and it doesn't seem to matter as long as we know the goals. (dudi missed that point; he suffers from a need to post before reading.) As much as I like 22s they won't fill his bill.
