45-70 vs ? for 0-150 yds for all around use.

[arjohnson]

Here is the last deer I took, been better than 10 years now. (I've stopped deer hunting all together)

NEF 45-70, Winny 300gr JHP. Exist hole was the same diameter as bullet about 2-3in below the forearm of the gun pictured. ...right where the blood trail starts. Entrance hole was the same. It was a heart shot, and fortunately it was because it wouldn't have died from bleeding out for a long time had I hit it anywhere else with that same amount of external bleeding. It was pretty much a bang-flop, not quite, but close. It went less than 10ft before it knew it was dead. It saw me, and was just about to take off as I pulled the trigger. It jumped forward at the exact moment the bullet hit and that jump was all the further it went.

My prior .32WinSpl, .30-30Win, .357Mag, .270Win, and .308Win kills have required me to do some tracking from some small to great degree.

Nice. Bottom line is shot placement is key no matter the bullet. I've dropped more deer without them even taking one step with a 308 than every other caliber including the 45-70. I'm talking perfect behind the shoulder double lung shots.

[pennsylvaniaboy]

In that realm, .30-30, .303,.30-06(my all time favorite). But man I am really curious about the 35 rem

[Marcus99]

.300 ACC Blackout!!!

[4XLT]

Winchester 300gr hollow point is a great all around bullet for the 45-70 the 405gr for the tough hide stuff and within 150 yards youll have no problems.. i love mine!

[punxsutawneypete]

Winchester 300gr hollow point is a great all around bullet for the 45-70 the 405gr for the tough hide stuff and within 150 yards youll have no problems.. i love mine!

I used the Federal 300 grain hollow point in 45-70 and never needed more than 1 shot for a deer.

[Boo Vuccla]

OK. If you want ONE GUN that can cover most North American big game hunting, within or outside of 150 yards and where you can usually find ammo in a pretty wide array of loads and weights, here is what you need to know.
In a short action bolt gun, the .308 Win.
In a long action bolt gun, the 30-06.
Period. Everyone has their personal choices of caliber and gun model/action but a bolt action gun in either of those two calibers is all you need for 90% of anything you'll ever hunt in the continental USA. Of the two, I would choose the 30-06. It's not what I hunt with but I have hunted with it in the past. I have different guns for different game or land to be hunted on. But if you want ONE GUN, this is what would work best and you'll never worry about finding ammo for it!

[hunterdan]

In a lever gun, I like the 35. For a one gun for it all, I have my 30-06 Ruger. Given the right load it will drop anything on this continent. But I do have a 308 I can play with too.