.308 Winchester

If pressed to name ONE cartridge for all North American hunting with no further questions, the .308 Winchester survives every argument: 150-180 grain .30-caliber bullets at useful velocities, chambered in every action ever made, stocked in every store on earth, with recoil an average adult manages and terminal performance elk guides accept. It is nobody's exotic and everybody's benchmark.

What it is

The 1952 short-action .30 - NATO's 7.62 twin - driving 150-180gr bullets 2,600-2,850 fps with famous efficiency and inherent accuracy.

What it hunts best

Literally the North American list: deer, elk, bear, hogs, moose with heavy bullets. If a hunt happens on this continent, a .308 with the right bullet is a defensible choice for it.

Trajectory & energy

165gr at 2,700 zeroed at 200: ~8.5" at 300 - not the flattest, entirely workable. ~2,670 ft-lb muzzle; the .30 bore's bullet selection (varmint to 200gr+) is its superpower.

Recoil & shootability

~17-18 ft-lb - the baseline 'full-power rifle' recoil most shooters calibrate against; manageable, honest, trainable.

Rifles & ammo on the shelf

Unmatched: every action type, every price point, every store including the gas station in hunting country. In ammo droughts, .308 reappears first.

Bottom line

The default for a reason. Modern 6.5s shoot flatter and softer; nothing beats the .308's combination of enough-for-everything and available-everywhere.