Why the Hell?

[FiveO]

Why the hell does a guy need so many different calibers?. If its a hooby maybe but for the average Joe hunter what is really needed?. If you had your choice of four guns only, what would they be?.
Here's my picks...

300 win mag (Kill any animal in North America)
243 (great gun for the praries deer, Coyotes etc)
22 ( all around fun to shoot and cheap to operate)
12 ga (No bird is safe when armed with a 12)

only 4?? sick



hmmmmmm



12 gauge
22lr
.270 win
.338 win mag

or

12 gauge
22lr
7mm-08
.300WinMag

or

22lr
30-30
300 win mag
45-70


couldnt do it, nope, no way

[JohninAB]

Tough one picking 4.

17 HMR
410
300 WBY
204 Ruger

That would cover everything I ever hunt. Do not do the waterfowl thing so my 410 covers me for grouse. 17 HMR for the gophers back home. 300 WBY for any big game I hunt and the 204 for yotes etc.

[aulrich]

Only 4 guns thats just crazy talk!

But I would bump up yor 300 to 338 wm I'll trade trajectory for bullet size especially when bears are involved. and with all those high BC 225 out there I am not even giving up much.

Bump down the 243 to 204, 243 is a great comprimise round which means it sort of sucks for deer and sort of sucks for varmints.

22lr obviously but even at that a guy meeds more than one. a light one for hauling around for grouse and a heavy pig of a semi as a gopher slayer

I have hardy used my 12 gauge since 91 but I am not selling it. But I would be tempted to swap out for the 17 hmr it is just too much fun shooting gophers with it.

Now my 270 is a much nicer deer gun than the 338, lighter gun and less fuss and muss in general.

And the k-hornet is great in places that a quieter gun is better but I need more punch than the HMR. and the 7-08 barrel that goes on that frame will make a great first deer gun for the boys.

Oh yea I hunt Whitetals in Sask most every thanksgiving so I need a muzzle loader for that too.

Do bows count as guns too.

[honda450]

300 Wthby Mag.
30.06
308
708
2506

I just can't help it.

[Rockymtnx]

12 gauge
.22-250 Remington
.300 Weatherby
.375 H&H


Maybe swap the .375 H&H out for a 7mm-08 or a .25-06???

[schimmel]

.204
.25 wssm
.338 Ultra mag
12 gauge

[Dick284]

That's just crazy.
I cant live with only 4.
I have G.A.S. and must buy more............

[209x50]

"Why?"
Just like why does a dog lick its nuts, because he can. I have the guns that I have because i can. The day we start justifying what guns we have based on need whether to the wife or police will be a black day indeed!

[nekred]

.10 Gauge Bolt action Shotgun,
.270 Win
.22LR
.17 Hmr

Of course my oldest son will have...

12 gauge O/U ****gun
300 Win Mag
22 LR
220 swift

Second Son
12 gauge pump Shotgun
.243 Win
22 LR
.308

Third son
410 Shotgun
22-250
22 LR
.204 Ruger

There it's easy to have to cut down to 4 firearms.....

[Cordur]

The Alberta four are:

12 Guage
22LR
22-250 Rem
270 Win

If you could have one more there would be either a 338 or a 375 as the big bore.

Back in Nova Scotia I'd imagine it would be:

12 Guage
22LR
30-30
30-06

The 30-06 could maybe traded up for a 7-08 though.

[SakoAlberta]

Alberta:

.338 WM/.340 Wby(if you could shoot it well)
.25-06 for yotees/varmits but still a good deer rifle
.22 LR a must for any shooter!!
12 guage for birds (a prefer a .410 for potshooting ruffies but not great for geese!)

...however, I would never consider only having 4 firearms!!!

[RUM]

12 Gauge
338-378 WBY
30'06
17HMR

[Reeves1]

All the ones posted lack a BP.
You NEED one !
PM me for one

[willy]

would have to have

12guage
22lr
22-250
30-06

But thats just crazy you have to have more then 4 guns. I think five-0 musta bumped his head or something.

[harv3589]

Originally Posted by willy

would have to have

12guage
22lr
22-250
30-06

You are brillant!!!!

+1

[Vindalbakken]

Four is lots.
22 - gophers & plinking
270 - anything furry and larger than a gopher
20 gauge - upland birds
12 gauge - waterfowl birds

Someone not so much into the bird hunting could substitute the 20 gauge. If you are a serious varmint hunter wanting to save pelts then perhaps a 204 Ruger or if you do a lot of long range elk and moose then a 338. If you are fortunate enough to have the time and financial resources to cover all of those activities seriously then you might need 6 guns. If you are going to Africa a couple more will be warranted and if you shoot shotgun competitively then you need a couple for that and of course the rifle plinking needs an M14 replica and the benchrest target shooting needs a couple of rifles........

[220swifty]

Dont depress me by making my mind try to limit me to 4 guns, just wont happen, maybe i can slim it down to a dozen

[Rust]

I don't think NEED really has anything to do with it, but whatever a guy has to do/say to justify it. BUT If I could only have 4 guns I would probably go with
-12gauge
-22-250
-30-06
-338 Ultra Mag.
I think that would round the field nice. And since I only own one of those guns, Guess what. The wish list just got longer! IMHO the bigger the selection the better!!

[220swifty]

Just thought i would add, if anyone lets my wife see this, and she gets the idea in her head that it can all be done with just 4 guns, i am gonna have to snap.

[duffy4]

IF I had to choose just 4 long guns for Alberta hunting.

A Ruger 10/22, .22 lr (small game)
A Rem. 1100,12 gauge (bird game)
A good bolt action, .223 (fur game)
A Savage 99 (or win. M88 or M100) in .308 (big game)

But I would really like a good muzzleloader as well. And maybe an over and under .222/20 gauge. Or perhaps .......A T/C Encore with a handfull of barrels.

Robin in Rocky

[SakoAlberta]

Originally Posted by FiveO

Why the hell does a guy need so many different calibers?.

Many guys I know have only a rifle, (Often a .303, 30/30, or '06), a .22LR an a shotgun. They can handle all the local hunting conditions with ease.

For me, I don't always hunt 'local' and often hunt larger game but its really not a matter of 'need' as it is want.

[sbtennex]

As pointed out, need has nothing to do with it - WANT covers the rest. Choosing 4 kind of depends on a "for what?". So for hunters like me who chase pretty well everything on this continent, I'd have to do this:

Benelli Super Nova 12 ga. (shoot any load from trap to 3 1/2" mag)
CZ452 Lux in .22WRM (coyotes out to way out, grouse w/pre-skinned heads)
.243 Kimber, accuracy guaranteed, right bullet, whatever's rightly in the bag
Sako or Tikka 24" barreled .300 Win Mag.

Cause if you honestly can't drop it with one bullet from a .300 Mag, you need to learn to shoot better, practice more or give it up and sell me your guns for pennies on the dollar because your guns are obviously no damned good and they should be melted down

[sbtennex]

[QUOTE=SakoAlberta;86052]Many guys I know have only a rifle, (Often a .303, 30/30, or '06), a .22LR an a shotgun. They can handle all the local hunting conditions with ease.

SakoAlberta: Lots of us grew up that way and thank the Lord we did - my hand-me-down .22 tube fed bolt and the 16 ga single shot my dad gave me on my sixteenth added to the .303 sporter I bought with my traded in 10 speed bicycle served me well. As we age a tad, as I seem to be doing, we get lucky and we find our passions demand better stuff, more stuff, more expensive stuff. Lo and behold we find the $$$ to exercise them with, and next thing we know we have a zillion guns and calibres and know all there is to know, we think. The guys you know with the (especially 30-'06) one rifle, the .22 and the shotgun may have matured a lot earlier than the rest of us, and they can no doubt handle 99+% of what we hunt here - that or they're genetically immune to the gun "bug".

[honda450]

The guy with the most toys "WINS".

[kyle6969]

17hmr,243,338,12gauge with interchange barrels 28inch and rifled

[BigBuck$]

1) Bradtothebones'z .338 Laupa....love that gun, wife says if I get one she wants one to......I don't know what she means by that
2) TC Encore w/ all available bbls.......still only 1 gun right
3) Ruger 10-22
4) Browning 12 guage O/U.

There that was easy, Oh crap I forgot about my lever's

[rena0040]

7 mm rem mag for big game
45/70 big game back up
17 hmr for fun
12 gauge

would like to sneak in a 223 so if i had to, i'd us a rifled barrel in the 12 and drop the 45/70

[SakoAlberta]

sbtennx;

For much of my hunting career, I was one of them. An old .303 (given by my uncle after he paid $5 surplus for it in the 50's-I still have it) , an old Remmy Sure Shot 22(father's) and another Uncles Marlin 1895 16 gauge pump(which I also still own)

I now own a lot of rifles but those could still meet my needs and they all still hold a special place in my memories.

[Lorne]

22lr
280 Ackley
375 H&H
45/70