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A rifle caliber that you can get semi auto for that will do for any animal in the USA

CAESAR

CAESAR

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Hey hunters,
Can you suggest a rifle caliber that you can get semi auto for that will do for any animal in the USA.

If you can recommend a rifle will be great.
Thanks
 
If you have a lot of money you could get one of those .338 lapua magnum ARs. That's what I would get anyway.

Noreen Bad News .338LM - apparently ridiculously accurate and big enough to kill any land animal on the planet. Also $6000.

Here's a Nemo Omen Match 2 .300 Win Mag

Grizzlies would pretty much be the only animal I can think of for which a .308 win might be slightly underpowered in terms of making a clean, ethical kill. If I wasn't hunting grizzlies I would personally be ok with taking a reliable .308 battle rifle into griz country for protection if I had 10+ rd magazines. In that case I would consider things like:
Smith and Wesson M&P AR-10, PTR 91 and FN FAL.

I would have no qualms about taking an elk, for instance, with a .308 with an 18"+ barrel, as long as I had a good shot. That means understanding the terminal ballistics of the bullet, shooting characteristics of the gun (accuracy) and position of the animal with respect to myself and the environment.
 
Thanks guys
I probably should have added that I want the SMALLEST recoiling round. I know that 50bmg can do the job :)
Plus I want to comfortably shoot it standing with followup shots. I am 6"1'
 
There's a reason that different calibers exist. You're not going to go shoot prairie dogs with a .300 win mag, just like your not going to go grizzly hunting with a 40 grain varmint load.

Maybe if you narrowed down the critters you were most likely to be going for you'd get some better answers.
 
7.62x39 was qualified to put down anything found in Russia. It also depends on how much you suck, because you may need bigger round.
 
jasons said:
There's a reason that different calibers exist. You're not going to go shoot prairie dogs with a .300 win mag, just like your not going to go grizzly hunting with a 40 grain varmint load.

Maybe if you narrowed down the critters you were most likely to be going for you'd get some better answers.
Click to expand...
You are right.
Caliber that can kill moose bear and up

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk
 
There are a dozen rounds that meet your requirements. I'd start with the ammo manufacturers web sites and go get a 'rifle calibers of the world' book. I'm partial to the 7mm Remington Mag
 
gvd0006 said:
NEMO arms AR in 300 win mag, 7mm mag, or 338 win mag. All 3 of their guns have 14 round and 10
mags. I would trust these 3 calibers on any game animal in the U.S.
Click to expand...

What you think of .338 federal ? Works in ar10s
180 gr (12 g) AccuBond2,680 ft/s (820 m/s)2,871 ft·lbf (3,893 J)
210 gr (14 g) AccuBond2,450 ft/s (750 m/s)2,800 ft·lbf (3,800 J)
225 gr (15 g) AccuBond2,380 ft/s (730 m/s)
 
7mm Mauser recoil is manageable, and it'll take care of most anything in the US.

And yes, there was a 7mm semi. I'd even consider selling mine for the right price.
 
Only two votes for 308? you can go fancier or more obscure but not sure why youd want to. If your asking this question, im gonna guess you might not reload, so that makes the 308 an even better choice. If you really need a semi get an AR10 or M1A and don't look back. If youre on a budget get a ruger American and spend the rest of the money on ammo or better yet spend the money on a lee reloading setup and components. Not sure why you need a semi, but as I'm fond of saying these days when I'm buying a gun I have no earthly "need" for, "The heart wants what the heart wants" Best of luck and keep us posted on how it goes.
Nathan
 
A .380 will kill a bear
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_op...2014/11/man_out_for_walk_runs_into_kills_bear
Bears can get as heavy as a bison
scigrizzlynumber1_full.jpg

Therefore, a .380 is the obvious choice.

Recommendation: Mac 10 in .380
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I would say .300 Win Mag is probably the best fit for your needs. It can be had in semi-auto and will take down anything in North America.

If you want something a little smaller a .270 or 30-06 will both do the trick although they may be a bit light for some of the out-west bears. They will be fine for deer, moose, elk, black bear.

Before anyone scoffs at .270 for moose, my family has taken 4 with .270 in the past 15 years and 2 with 30-06. Ranges varied from 50 yards to 360 yards.

- - - Updated - - -

Fixxah said:
Browning BAR in .30-06. No, not the one from the old days.
Click to expand...

This would be near the top of my list for semi-auto in a solid caliber. I know of several in use with excellent results.
 
Personally, I'd drop the semi auto criteria. That opens up a whole different set of calibers.
With a bolt action, for moose and bear, you can't dull much better than a 35 Whelen. Gets the job done well workout punishing you at the shoulder.
 
Fixxah said:
Browning BAR in .30-06. No, not the one from the old days.
Click to expand...
Just what I was going to say. 30-06 or 308. The performance difference is insignificant and the 308 is shorter.
The BAR will give you a gentleman's semi-auto that doesn't look all scary and killy.
 
308 for so many reasons. Gun choices, load choices and everybody has 308 in stock. You can also find cheap shit for plinking and dozens of high end hunting or match loads.


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