Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What cartridge / bullet combo has the most for least?

In terms of big game I agree whole heartedly with the very efficient Grendel in a bolt action despite not having one yet.

Six mm Remington is nothing to sneeze at either with a wide range of bullets. The Six MM Rem has been my favorite rifle for the majority of my hunting life 100 grain BTHP stand out in my mind.
When thinking of varmints I may think of terms of a 17 hornet up to 25 grains inside of 200 yards. Truth be told I prefer the 17 Fireball with 25 and or 30 grain hollow points. Either one pack way more punch than you think they should. With the velocity those little 17's produce the wind drift can be very manageable.

Spent a quit a few years primarily interested in archery hunting. Still work in that school of thought a lot. What I mean by that is the hunting sport for me is a whole lot less about how far a shot I can make. No for me Hunting is more about how close I can present the opportunity for the shot.

Depending on the game you are after and the terrane you are hunting the definition of close can vary widely.

In each class:

22 lr, 40 gr
223/5.56, M855
6.5 creedmoor, ?
308 win, 168 gr
338/06, 225 gr
9.3x62, 286 gr
458 win mag, 450 gr

.22 Short

Granddad's old (1931) Remington Model 24 (J.M. Browning's semi-auto take-down design) is qery good at busting clay pigeons on the 100 yard line. Grandma used to head shoot the chickens with this rifle and Granddad used it to put dinner on the table more times than I can count and was doing so for 20 years before I came into the world.

Those shorts shoot surprisingly flat and are more than enough for small game.

I have to go with the classic western vs some of the "newish" sexier combos. Here is the reason why. In the past 15 or so years the industry has seen at least two shortages of ammunition and reloading components. In that time, I would take what I could find and make it work. I could always find 30-06, 270, 0r 243 brass. I could usually find some kind of .308, .277, or .243 bullet decent enough for a (non-California) hunt. Never loaded H414 until it was the only powder I could find.

For my money the most for least has always come down to what can I find ammo for today? YMMV

Good points but has nothing to do with the original question. Lots of answers have nothing to do with questiins asked though not just this thread.

If you’re referring to HaYen’s post, of course component availability has something to do with most for the least. It’s hard to get the most out of something when you can’t even find frigging components. In fact, getting the most for the least would also apply to component prices, not just cartridge efficiency. For instance, Lake City 308 or 223 brass can be bought cheap; more bang for your buck compared to a round that only has Lapua brass availability. Funny thing is I’ve never seen an actual difference in the hunting field between guns shooting the two. Maybe a bit more accurate on paper with the Lapua, but not enough difference to matter in real life (i.e. hunting/varmints).

Lots of good answers. 22-250 and 75's mmmmm......

Talking about two separate things again. It doesn't matter if the cartridge is only shot 3 times a year. Most for least has nothing to do with how often it could be shot. I agree and mentioned he made good points as do you about cheap brass. Thing is it's not the original question. Question was is about most for the least. A best choice for hunting rifle would be component avalibility prices recoil fun factor high quality etc.

Not sure if it's been mentioned

9.3x62

Has anyone mentioned the 43 Egyptian yet?

Wow I had to look that one up!!!

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?275920-43-Egyptian

Great news, boolets, Die's, and brass can be obtained from Midway and GOEX is still made. No need to find a Rolling block, a gunsmith should be able to cut a TC barrel.

A 410 grain boolet traveling at 45ACP 230grn speeds is nothing to sneeze about

I have always found that the 25-06, 280 Remington and the 338-06 are hard to beat.