Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Which Priorities in Cartridge Choice?

I see different threads on choosing a rifle cartridge, and wonder how anyone online could ever be of any help to another in such a choice.

It occurred to me that a thread on how different guys make their choices and what the priorities are might be useful

What things do you consider when you've found a rifle that you like, and are making the cartridge decision?

I like dual purpose cartridges that I can use for about anything. I used the .243 for years and felt little reason to change.
I hunt mostly coyotes and shoot a deer or three in most years. I occasionally pick up an antelope or mulie tag and travel a bit, and the range of fast cartridges from about .24 - .26 caliber hold all of my interest.

About a dozen years ago an elderly friend who had wide experience in hunting extolled on the merits of the 25-06 and lit a fire in me.
I also remembered that a friends dad who mentored me some and who also had a lot of experience also mentioned it as being maybe the best of choices for an all around rifle cartridge.

the rifle that I liked best was not chambered to 25-06, so I had pac-nor make up a barrel for me and send it to Redneck...
It is a gem, And I don't think that I will ever need more rifle

Speed for my target projectile. Lapua brass availablility or ability to form from Lapua brass. Reputation for accuracy. Effiencent cartridge attributes. JMO...

I like fooling with rifles.. When I was about 16 I had a custom .30-06 built and put the best scope I could afford at the time.. It was a B & L 2.5-8. Still have the rifle and the scope.. For about 10 years it was my main big game rifle, and also shot lots of varmints.. But I almost always had a varmint rifle in the rack too.. When I was in my early 20's, the .300's hit the market.. I built one, and it along with others are my serious big game rifles.. But along the way I have used most calibers from the .17 Rem. though the .45-70. I have counted lately but I have small .22 center fires, hot .22's .243, 250 sav. 25/06. On up though the .45-70.. But about 40 years ago my three favorite calibers were the .22-250, 25-06 and .300 WM.. They still are my favorites.. for gophers and p. dogs I would add a .222 or .223..
I want good bullets, speed and flat traj. until the advent of turrets and rangefinders, I needed that to be successful in my hunting.. Even today, much of the game I hunt is not going to stand around while I range it, run the turretsjudge the wind, and finally shoot.. If I have time, that is great, but on public land one often does not get that chance.. Finally, I am willing to shoot to about 500 yd. on some game in some places.. But I seldom shoot beyond that distance.. So these calibers fit my needs perfectly.. There are many others that will do equally well, but these rifles fit me best..

I shoot .30-30, .30-'06, .250 Savage, and .257 Roberts. I have a .375 H&H, but I don't do much with it.

The .30-30 wasn't my choice. It was chosen for me by my father when I was 11 years old. My first rifle, which I still own and shoot 39 years later, was a Marlin 336 in .30-30.

The .30-'06 very much was my choice. I wanted a cartridge that didn't have so much recoil as to be tiresome during extended range sessions, a cartridge that had a reputation for accuracy, a cartridge supported by a good assortment of match grade and hunting style bullets, a cartridge that could do everything I ever thought I'd want to do with a center-fire rifle, having sufficient range and power to meet then-present and anticipated needs, while being reasonably efficient and easy on barrels. To me, the .30-'06 is everything my then 18 year old self hoped it would be. Boring it may be, but it works.

The .250 Savage got bought just because I thought it was cool as hell and that it, plus the Ruger M77RL Ultralight I bought that was chambered to it, plus the Leupold Vari-XIIc 2-7X I bought the same day, was kind of an ideal marriage of cartridge, rifle, and optic. I still feel that way about that combination, thirty years later. The .250 does most of what I want a centerfire rifle to do, has but a flea-bite's worth of recoil, has mild report, delivers stellar accuracy in a rifle not universally praised for precision.... It's just a hell of a lot of fun to shoot. It terms of recoil and report, it's like shooting a .223 Remington. In terms of thump, it's like a .243 Winchester, with the benefit of handling 120 grain bullets with decent SD of .260. It's a pretty efficient user of gunpowder, too, and pretty easy on barrels. I've shot the piss out of that Ultralight and still do and it still groups down to .660".

The .375 is something I thought I needed for a trip to Africa. I wound up shooting my entire bag with a .30-'06. I started using it when guiding pig hunters, mostly because if I did have to shoot when guiding, I'd likely be dealing with poor shot angles but also an immediate need to stop the pig in its tracks. Overkill for recreational pig hunting; not so much under the circumstances I'd have to use it when guiding. It's not something I have much of a use for nowadays. On my annual California birthday bash pig hunt, I usually just use my old Marlin 336 or the .250 Savage Ruger Ultralight and call it good.

The .257 Roberts got to me in the form of a Browning A-Bolt II than I won as a raffle drawing prize. I decided to keep it because I like the rifle and, like the .250 Savage I've had long association with, it has all the power and range I need, while having really mild recoil. It's "just enough more" than the .250 Savage that I could (and did, this past fall) use it on everything from cow elk down to smallish local whitetails.

Sometimes, I choose a cartridge. Sometimes, they've found me. Lots of 'em out there do the same thing, pretty much the same way. Some, like the .250 Savage, are just cooler than others.

What do I plan to kill with it.
Where, do I expect to carry it, and under what conditions do I expect to be shooting.

Of course, this all leads in to matching bullet and glass to the purpose as well.

I like pinpoint accuracy above all else. That's a factor of quality rifle and components.
2nd to that I like massive amounts of energy. I prefer that as a by product of mass over velocity.

What cartridge would fit your comments?

Depends on the want at the time.....

Another fan of the .221 fireball!!!

I try to use whatever happens to trip my trigger at the moment. It ain't marriage.

We differ...

I'm in a minority here in that I really don't care for shooting that much and consider it the means to the end. I'd rather spend more time in the woods or on the water than at a bench or shooting from other positions. While I do not go out and shoot a 1000 rounds a day or even a week, I do shoot more than a little bit to stay fresh and proficient.

Being primarily a white-tail hunter with black bear and moose thrown in for good measure, I gravitate to the 270, 308, 30-06 class of cartridges. because they preform and are available everywhere.

I saw a M64 Winchester carbine today in 32 WS. I wanted it.

But I left the store with a 375H&H.

How's that for an explanation of priorities?

JDK I can understand why you feel that way living in Maine!! Not being jerk, but when I visited there, I saw much fishing, good hunting in season, but really very little varmint hunting.. I have thought of living other places, and I am sure my collection would diminish considerably as I would not have the shooting opportunities I do in the west.. I don't do a lot of bench shooting, only to sight in and develop loads.. I do shoot a lot of game and varmints, and lately long shots at plastic jugs.. But I do like to shoot, and hunt, especially varmints.. Fishing is ok, but just ok.

Bob, what plans for the .375???That carbine would have been really unusual.. Not many 64's around.

WCH: No plans for the 375 at the moment.......but you never know.

Nice thing about a 375 is no plan required. The clerk at the store asked...."What are you going to use it for?"

I replied, "Anything I want".


True not many 64's out there...this is the first 64 carbine I have ever seen!

Shot my elk with the .375 this fall.. Impressive, but it was a luck hit.. Not out of reason, but with the .375 a long shot.. No problem once the 260 grain hit.. I am going to use mine soon on deer, just haven't got to it yet.

Usually just a present fancy. Might occur at a pawnshop, gunshow, on the net, 2AM and trying to fall asleep..

Rancho isn't that how a lot of important decisions are made?




WCH: Like I said...."Anything you want."