A hunter, not a gun writer, big-game kingpin Scott Haugen put his stamp of approval on five calibers that ensure one thing: killing power!
by Scott Haugen
I choose calibers based on one thing: their ability to kill. I must kill many animals before I can conclude a caliber’s performance.
I’m not a gun writer. I’m a hunter who writes about guns. When I get a new rifle, I sight it in—hopefully with three shots—ring a few gongs out to the rifle’s optimal performing range and then hunt with it. I don’t cycle 200 rounds through it on paper to go shoot one deer and say how good it is. I have to shoot many animals of multiple species and also see many animals shot with it by fellow hunters before I deem it fit to qualify as a killer caliber, let alone write about it. My evaluation process takes time. But if a caliber is exceptional, it’ll stick around.
I don’t rush into evaluating a rifle because attaining high numbers of kills takes time, often years. As for bullets, if you were to look into my safe you’d find mostly AccuBonds and Partitions. If you want to know the ballistics behind a caliber, that’s easy to find on the internet. That’s not what this story is about. This story is about the top five calibers I’ve used and deemed capable of killing any big game animals in North America, except for coastal brown bear.
My first rifle, a Winchester pre-64 Model 70 .30-06, was given to me by my grandmother when I turned 12 years old. If was my late grandfather’s rifle. He died of a heart attack when I was two years old. He was deer hunting and held this rifle in his arms at the time of his death. The .30-06 has performed through two World Wars, was the choice of many sharpshooters, and is still one of the best all-around calibers ever created.
I hand-loaded Nosler Partitions for Grandpa’s ’06. When I was young, I shot deer, black bear, and elk with it. When I moved to Alaska in 1990, this was the only rifle I took. For nearly a decade I carried out a subsistence hunting lifestyle. I shot loads of caribou, Dall sheep, moose, and grizzly bear with it. I even shot a man-eating polar with that rifle, using a 220-grain bullet for the takedown.
I’ve shot several animals in Africa using a .30-06, including Southern greater kudu, eland, and zebra. I watched a buddy kill a fine Cape buffalo with the same caliber. This time-tested caliber is one of the best for Western big game.
I’ve killed more big game animals using a .300 Winchester Magnum than any other caliber. In my TV hosting days, I often went on over 60 big game hunts a year around the world. Cull hunts in Africa and the South Pacific led to high kill numbers in a short time. This is where gun and bullet performance is best put to the test, not on paper. Doing this for nearly 15 years considerably shortened my learning curve.
I’ve shot numerous elk and bear, leopard, African lion, and loads of tough African plains game with the .300. It’s performed flawlessly on multiple big bull tahr in New Zealand and red stag. I can only guess how many deer I’ve shot with this caliber. For a large deer caliber, it puts them down with less meat damage than one would think when hit behind the shoulder, not on it.
For hunters heading out West on a combo‘ hunt, the .300 is a solid choice. With it you can take elk, black bear and deer. I once took a .300 Win. Mag. to British Columbia and efficiently killed moose and a record book mountain goat with it.
I’ve shot several new calibers in recent years, but because I’ve not killed many animals with them, the verdict is still out. But one caliber I like is the 28 Nosler. I liked it so much that I had one custom-built.
The 28 Nosler is my long-range gun if I want or need it. It’s put down elk, deer, and bear with conviction. If I were to grab one rifle from my safe and head to battle or on a hunt for any Western big game save for coastal brown bear, the 28 Nosler would be my go-to caliber.
In 2007, Thompson Center and Hornady introduced the .30 Thompson Center. The .30 TC was designed to perform like a .30-06 but in a .308 Winchester length cartridge. Still, this is one of the best-performing calibers I’ve ever shot when it comes to effectively putting down deer, black bear, and elk.
I got the Icon, which is Thompson Center’s bolt gun. I shot several animals with the .30 TC the first year. In years to follow, my wife and our two sons shot a lot of deer and bear with it, along with some Roosevelt elk. I let two buddies shoot it on elk hunts. They were so impressed with its ability to kill big-bodied Roosevelts that they each bought one. To this day, it’s one of my buddy’s favorite rifles. His kids and now his grandkids are still hunting with it. It’s light on the recoil and heavy on the impact.
Speaking of light on recoil and high on knockdown power, Browning’s 6.8 Western is a caliber to consider seriously. I just bought one. I’m not a gun collector. I have a handful of rifles I know will kill. That’s all I want and need.
I first shot Browning’s 6.8 Western on a black bear hunt shortly after the rifle came out. The hunt was with hounds. Two dogs got on a big boar that wouldn’t tree or bay. After chasing them for half the day in the high mountains of Idaho, my hound buddy and I had an opportunity. The bear was walking at us, just over 100 yards away. The dogs were nipping at it. The boar swatted them away like flies, never breaking stride.
“When you have the shot, hit it in the head,” my buddy said. When the bear slipped between two tall, dry grass stands, I shouldered and shot the gun in one fluid motion. The bullet hit between the eyes and instantly killed the bear. I hate shooting bears with dogs on the ground, but this one worked out. This rifle is light and quick handling with minimal recoil. Its accuracy is very precise and always consistent.
I saw four Roosevelt bulls killed with the 6.8, too. That got my attention. Roosevelt elk are harder to kill than big bull moose, and anyone who tries to say otherwise needs more time hunting both species.
Browning’s 6.8 Western sets big game hunters apart from deer hunters and target shooters. While the 6.5 PRC and 6.5 Creedmoor are fast, they don’t offer a heavy enough bullet for knocking down elk or moose. I said I wasn’t going to talk bullets, but I am because the 6.8 Western needs clarification so hunters understand what a premium caliber this is.
Browning’s 175-grain Long Range Pro Sierra Tipped Gameking bullets have more energy at 500 yards and beyond than most factory loads in a .300 Win. Mag. Combine that with the 6.8’s faster twist and the use of less powder to make room for a longer, sleeker, heavier bullet, and you get one of the most impressive performing rifles I’ve ever shot or seen shot. And I’m talking close and long-range.
I’ve seen over 30 big game animals killed with the Browning 6.8 Western. Only three animals—all bull Roosevelt elk—took more than one shot to put down. Those were each follow-up shots in situations where the animal needed to be quickly anchored so as not to ramble down steep, jungle-like habitat in the rugged Coast Range and add hours more packing to the task ahead.
I recently saw Browning’s 6.8 Western put to the test in Africa. While the 6.8 Western was built for what it’s named after, Western big game, the ultimate test—other
than on Roosevelt elk—comes in the form of Africa’s big game. Pound for pound, Africa’s game is as tough as they come, period. When I made one-shot kills on big sable and roan bulls, weighing more than 500 and 600 pounds, respectively, I knew this was a gun I’d keep using. I saw a kudu hit at 430 yards with it, and watched it fall over 30 yards from the point of impact. I saw a massive zebra—one of Africa’s toughest plains game—drop to one shot. I also watched densely-built warthogs, and much more fall to this caliber.
Earlier, I said if I had one gun to take into battle or on any hunt for Western big game, it’d be my custom 28 Nosler. I lied. You may find Browning’s 6.8 Western slung over my shoulder.
