Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What centerfire cartridge have you taken the most game using?

30-30

with 300 Savage getting closer.

.308 followed closely by the 30-06

30/06 and 303 Brit.
A strange combo but back in my younger days when money was tight I made a lot of meat with my SMLE, when I got a little wealthier I built a semi-custom 30/06 and used it for a lot of years but I didn't hunt as much with it as I had the SMLE.

drover

30/06 here. It was all I used for 24 yrs......since then a bunch have fell to a few different cartridges....7X57, .350 Rem, 6.5 Rem, .223, .50 ML.....

I think it is amazing that with all of the rifle loonies on this site, that have every imaginal combination of manufacturer, caliber, stock, trigger, barrel and glass that the 30-06 gets the nod for most used. We are the children of the "greatest generation" who fought the great war and thus became enamored with the "odd-6". I get it, it's like the Ford F-150, the Plymouth slant six engine, boringly efficient. When I am long gone it would be interesting to see if the"new generation" of loonies will be shooting the same or if something else comes to the forefront?

6mm remington

Count me out on that one.

Prefer the 280.

Due to some African cull hunts and bait massacres, a 300 magnum.

Winchester, H&H or Weatherby. Not sure which would have the most kills logged, probably the Winny.

270 Win. I later went to other rounds, but am considering going back to the 270.

22-250 followed close by the 7mm Rem Mag.

OK here we go...TOP 3:

1. 30-06 39 votes
2. .270 WCF 25 votes
3. .308 Win 18 votes

With more than 5 votes:
4. TIE 30/30 & 7mm-08 10
6. 7mm Rem Mag 9
7. 243 Win 7
8. 280 Rem 5

Rounding out the Top 10:
9. TIE 6mm Rem & 25-06 4

5 with 3 votes
260 Rem, 257 Roberts, 300 Win Mag, 338 Win Mag, 7mmx57

6 with 2 votes
8x57js, 12 ga, 257 Weatherby, 22 Hornet, 250-3000, .223 Rem

and 17 others with 1 vote.

Not sure if my numbers are 100% right, but it was fun. Thanks for playing!!!

CowboyTim

Yep; tho 257 Rob is gaining fast...

Another 270 here...

223: 350 hogs - 25 coyotes- 30 deer during deer season - 250+ deer on soybean deer depredations
6.8spc: 390 hogs - 18 coyotes - 42 deer during deer season - 170 deer on soybean deer depredations
308: 3 deer - 1 hog
270: 4 deer - 1 coyote
300WM: 6 deer

Interesting how this compares to die sales. This is 2012 info from RCBS
RCBS 2012 Top 10 Rifle Reloading Die Sales

By Chuck Hawks

Curious about the popularity of centerfire rifle cartridges among reloaders? There usually isn't a dramatic change from year to year; it is more like a glacial movement. Regardless, here is RCBS's 2012 sales list (first published in 2013) for their top 10 best selling rifle reloading die sets:

.223 Remington
.308 Winchester
.30-06 Springfield
.243 Winchester
.270 Winchester
.300 Winchester Magnum
.22-250 Remington
7mm Remington Magnum
.30-30 Winchester
.25-06 Remington

Although missing the top 10, .338 Winchester Magnum remains the best selling of all medium bore cartridge reloading dies. The most interesting changes on this RCBS die sales list are the .308 surpassing the .30-06 as the number one big game hunting cartridge among reloaders and the .300 Win. Mag. passing the 7mm Rem. Mag. Since all .300 Magnums indisputably kick too hard for most hunters to handle without flinching, the latter is particularly deplorable.

Just because YOU can't handle a .300 doesn't mean everyone is that way..

Sorry I guess it was this Hawks guy being quoted..

No prob. I'm just p*ssed that my 375H&H barely got a mention.

270 Winchester

I find my .300 Win Mag, easier to shoot than my .270, despite being a half pound lighter, the .300 fits me a bit better. Could be the longer barrel on the .300 has something to do with it too the weight is a bit more toward the front(although I don't claim to be any kind of expert on what makes for more felt recoil).