5 Guns to Hunt Everything
A Dream Gun Shortlist
I was talking with my wife about guns I want to buy, which happens to be a common topic for me. She said I can put that on my dream gun list. It gave me the idea of creating a shortlist of guns that I could have to hunt everything I could ever hunt. I could make a list a mile long, there are so many options for so many niche styles of hunts. I decided to narrow it down a bit to keep it exciting. If I could only have five guns, specifically cartridge firearms for hunting: what would they be and why?
.22 The Critter Gitter
The ubiquitous 22 is by far the most practical hunting arm one can own. There are numerous choices, and all of them will probably be excellent. I already have my favorite 22: a Marlin model 60 carbine with a birch stock and a bull barrel. I can use the little .22 for a small game, and in many states, I can even use it for turkey. It was the first rifle I ever bought and is the rifle I’ve taught many friends and family members to shoot on.
.223 Varmint Rifle and Than Some
While it isn’t the quintessential hunting rifle or caliber my choice for my next largest rifle would be an A.R. 15 in 223 Remington. The handy little carbine that I’ve built for myself with a 16-inch barrel has a twist rate able to handle the lightest varmint bullets for coyotes and prairie dogs up to heavy match-grade ammunition that I can use for deer if need be. North Carolina and Florida both permit hunting with the 223 for deer. While I haven’t hunted deer with a .223, a majority of my hog hunting has been successfully done with a super-budget AR15 and cheap soft-point ammo. The trim little rifle also makes a great option for coyote calling; especially for dispatching more than one song-dog at a time.
12 gauge Scattergun for Feather and Fur
For things that fly, you can’t beat a shotgun. With modern loading options, a 20 gauge or my esoteric favorite: the 16 gauge are both excellent options. However, the extended payload and overall ease of finding everything from dove loads to double 00 buck makes me consider a 12 gauge. Admittedly shotguns are not my biggest focus, but this is one choice in which a modern shotgun would be my preferred option. I’ve hunted with several old and new pump guns as well as a side by side and while all are cool in many ways I have to hand it to the newest generation of gas guns that can easily handle everything from light dove loads to goose loads and saving my shoulder make a new autoloader my choice.
.30-06 Everything you need for nearly everything that walks
If there is one deer camp argument that will exist until the end of time it’s cartridge selection. Can 90% of your hunting be done with one caliber easily? Certainly. I could go from the fast-moving 6.5s to the big 33+ caliber magnums. But the 30s are where my heart lies. The 30-06 can handle deer and antelope to elk and even bears. I even have a friend who took a Cape buffalo with his 30-06. Not to mention the caliber can be used to plunk targets at distances well beyond my skill set. To make this as close to the only rifle I’d ever need I’d build a controlled round feed with a medium-weight barrel. A 2-10x optic like the Vortex and backup iron sights would be a great option for everything from still hunting the north woods to cross-canyon shooting out west. Slap the whole rig and an HTG-style stock from Macmillan and I’d have the coolest rifle I could imagine. Except perhaps the next item on my list.
.458 Win. A poor man’s elephant gun.
While my safari plans have been postponed indefinitely it doesn’t stop me from dreaming of hunting death in the tall grass. Now ideally I would build both my safari rifle and my 30-06 using the same action, same stock, and same scope. Keeping the familiarity the same would be ideal and effect lot make my 06 a practice rifle. The dangerous game rifle should have a backup set of irons, that just feels right. Make the action a controlled round feed so I can run the gun upside down and we are well on our way to a perfect rifle. The added weight of the near-bomb-proof stock will soak up the recoil too. I would probably pick a Zastava m70 as my base for the build. These commercial Mauser 98 actions are comparatively inexpensive but if I had the dough I’d have to pick a pre-64 as it was the rifle that brought the .458 into existence and history.
So here’s my shortlist of the hunting guns I’d get if I could only choose five. I’m pretty confident that except for the big bore option, I can find ammo at just about any shop on the planet. And with that cadre of firearms, I could confidently take down everything that walked since the Jurassic.
What’s on your list?
I grew up with a 22 but I have a shotgun now. I am a bird hunter, so my boys have my rifles.