If you could only have one rifle, and one cartridge for AZ hunting, what would it be?

[tobylazur]

I've hunted whitetail in southern Az ever since I started hunting.
That is all I even put in for any more.
I have probably killed more Whitetail bucks than most people have ever seen , and 99% of them were with a Remington 700 in 30.06.
300 yards is not an uncommon shot for these guys.
I don't like to shoot much farther than that.
They are one of the hardest animals to hunt in the U.S.

I've got a couple of guys saying 300-400yards is about an average distance.

 

[Ballistic Therapy]

I've hunted whitetail in southern Az ever since I started hunting.
That is all I even put in for any more.
I have probably killed more Whitetail bucks than most people have ever seen , and 99% of them were with a Remington 700 in 30.06.
300 yards is not an uncommon shot for these guys.
I don't like to shoot much farther than that.
They are one of the hardest animals to hunt in the U.S.

I've got a couple of guys saying 300-400yards is about an average distance.

Some say 500 yards or more.
I have also seen these guys wound as many , or more than they kill.
Hitting them is one thing.
Making a clean kill is another.

 

[XJThrottle]

I'd probably stick with my Stainless 700 SPS in 300WM. Spice it up or down to suit the game.

 

[BigNate]

One rifle / cartridge for AZ hunting... HMMM... If I'm limited to what I own it would probably be my Ruger 77 MkII in .300wmg. Why? Because when I think about hunting big game in AZ it starts with Elk and the other options in my safe today don't buy me enough of anything to make the cartridge downgrade from .300wmg worth it. That cartridge can let you shoot antelope at 500m+ it is plenty for elk, you can puppy load it and take deer at "normal" ranges without jellying 1/2 the animal. I'd have no concern hunting bear, cats, or any other AZ mammal with it if I needed to. It's certainly not "optimal" for smaller stuff - but again - you can load to the specifics of the need. So, it "can" do it all - with only two down-sides... recoil and wasted meat if you shoot smaller critters with hot loads.

If I were buying only one NEW gun for hunting in AZ I'd probably go with a quality bolt gun in 7mm rem mag or something with a similar bullet diameter and long legs - maybe even one of the 6.5s if I was committed to reloading for it. Again - "enough" cartridge for elk, flat enough for antelope out on the planes, and easier to load "down" for deer etc.

Neither of these are my "you can only have one gun for the zombie apocalypse" gun... that is the M1A in 7.62X51 with many many magazines and good glass.

 

[428cj]

Old man still likes 30.06 then 308.

 

[Hammer 35]

Keltec SU16 in .300blk

I didn't know they made those in 300blk.

I wonder if they made any PLR-16's in 300blk, would make a dandy suppressor host.

 

[Suck My Glock]

Keltec SU16 in .300blk

I didn't know they made those in 300blk.

I wonder if they made any PLR-16's in 300blk, would make a dandy suppressor host.

I don't know if they did either, but that's what I want.

 

[mtptwo]

Keltec SU16 in .300blk

I didn't know they made those in 300blk.

I wonder if they made any PLR-16's in 300blk, would make a dandy suppressor host.

I don't know if they did either, but that's what I want.

They don't do anything outside of 5.56. They said they were going to do the RDB in 6.5 Grendel, and they never did.

 

[MTURBO]

30-06 is all you need.

 

[40-82RRB]

308, I load mine w/120 to 200 gr. Bullets. Use it for varmint,turkey, big game ; deer to buffalo.....

 

[792mauser]

Either a Winchester 70 Laredo in 300WM or my 1954 M70 in 30-06.
I'd have to flip a coin to choose.