I will play along too.
It seems to me that the perfect all-around cartridge for Alberta is one that will push 140-150 grain Barnes somewhere between 2600 ft./s and 3000 ft./s. Anything more than that is probably a waste under reasonable normal shooting conditions. Anything less than that and you are limited. That cartridge is able to take the biggest animals we have here if you make a good shot. There is no cartridge that can make up for making a good shot.
So then it comes down to caliber, really .308 calibre does it easier than 6.5 ,.270 or 7 mm. Ballistic coefficient really means very little under normal shooting distances, and conditions with that weight of bullet. let’s face it, 300 yards is reasonable and 400 yards is plenty.
To me that pretty well narrows us down to somewhere between the 303 and 30-06. The extra recoil of the 7 rem mag offers no increase in performance worth talking about with that bullet.
So, really, the 308 Winchester, does it best. Least amount of recoil to push the 150 grain Barnes close to 3000 ft./s. And short action too if that matters.
For what it’s worth, I own a lot of different guns, chambered for a bunch of different cartridges from the 204 ruger up to the 338 lapua AI. I do not own a 308 Winchester. My son bought one a couple of years ago and I have come to realize it’s a terrific choice. It is not a stretch to say that if it was invented in 2023 it would be considered a modern miracle for hunting North America and the world.
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