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

This is why I limit myself to .338's

I prefer the least recoiling cartridge that will effectively kill what I'm hunting. The largest game I hunt is elk so for me the 270 fits perfectly.

The reason this is a priority in my selection is because I am much more likely to shoot a rifle of tolerable recoil far more than a heavy recoiling rifle.

For instance my 270 Tikka that I bought last year fired in the neighborhood of 400+ rounds at the range with plinking ammo and probably 150 rounds of hunting ammo at distances to 500 yds before I ever hunted the rifle. Had my rifle of choice been a 338 mag it likely would have seen less than 50 rounds.

I am far more a proponent of shot placement and good bullets than head stamps. Because I shoot mild recoiling cartridges practice with my big game rifles is well into the thousands of rounds every year.

Lots of practice makes for accurate shooting and shot placement. Good shot placement results in meat on the table.

Shod

I find a rifle I like, and if I'm buying a factory rifle, I'm not too picky on cartridge as long as it has enough snort to wack whatever I'm buying the rifle for with a minimum amount of fuss. If I'm having one built, I want something that I can get factory ammo for in a pinch, but not everybody and his brother has in the cabinet.

I pick out a bullet diameter or caliber first, such as maybe a 25 caliber for deer or perhaps a 338 something or other for Elk, Black Bear etc... Then I pick out a good Controlled round feed, fixed ejector action that I want to use to house the round. Lastly, I pick the cartridge that will fit and feed through my action of choice with the largest case and case capacity I can get in that caliber. Speed and velocity, even with a higher BC bullet is always a good thing and in my world, faster is always better.

This is how I ended up with a custom Mauser in 220 WBY Rocket fast twist, a pre 64 Model 70 in 257WBY, a pretty Mauser in 7mm Mashburn Super (7mmSTW and RUM won't QUITE fit the Mauser action, but the Mashburn does nicely, with a significant powder/power increase over a 7mm Remington or WBY) a highly tweaked and cleaned up 1917 in a wildcat 338/8mm RemMag (very similar to a 340WBY, and 340WBY ammo will run in it just fine) and a CZ 550, again much tweaked and tuned, in 416 Rigby which I can - and do - load to 416 WBY velocities.

I am exceedingly happy with my choices, others like their choices for their reasons. Not everyone has to be a speed slut like me

All that and you still shoot a bear in the ass and leave it all night.

EXCELLENT !!

If anyone addresses YOUR points for THEIR needs, they're certainly headed in the right direction.

Priorities:

1. What am I using it for?
2. Who's using it? (me or kids)
3. What's the expected shooting volume?
4. Based on #3, how much recoil is tolerable?
5. What are the accuracy requirements, can I buy a used rifle at a great price, do I need a new factory rifle, can I re-barrrel something, or do I need a full-on custom build?
6. Is there an acceptable projectile that fills the intended use, volume, and recoil requirements?

Me too! But of course I don't always limit my self to the above criteria. I've been known to use a 375H&H on coyotes and blacktails.

This mode accounts for all the other rifles in the cabinet...
The jonesing never stops...

1. Does it fill a need or want? Wants are never to be underestimated, regardless of other usefulness. Needs are arbitrary as well. �I [ want | need ] , therefore I shall have.�

2. Can I get it for a reasonable price? New is nice, like new for less is better, gently used for even less is just as good.

3. Is it redundant with other rifles I have? Doesn�t matter. See #1 above.

4. Cost and availability of factory ammo and brass? If $70 per box or $2 per case, no thanks.

5. Availability of good bullets? Can�t buy .375g jacketed bullets for my .375 Win right now, when/if they become available, I need to stock up.

6. Is it a collector item, fancy grade, commemorative or other special rifle? Forget it.


Last year I sold one of four .30-06�s, a Ruger American, to purchase a Ruger Scout in .308 Win. Didn�t need the .30-06, and had sold my .308�s a couple years previous to fund a ARs in .223/5.56 and .300BLK. didn�t need the .308W Scout, either � it was a case of want.

Also sold a beautiful, nickel-plated, tack-driving Ruger #1 in .280 Rem to purchase ... a Ruger All-Weather in ... .280 Rem. The #1 had scratched an itch and was lots of fun but really didn�t suit my hunting needs. The All-Weather is mo� betta.

Any more I find myself gravitating toward the .308 or '06 family of cartridges, and the odd AI version thereof. I find that speed is not everything, and isn't needed for most of what I do. These have good brass availability and interchangeability if needed, mild recoil, will fit in common actions., and so on. And if you neck size you can get away with a handful of sizing dies and just buy different bushings.

Sometimes simple is better, and less is more. But I still have a wildcat or two on the WSM case and a hankering for a 7 SAUM. Just because I've never had one.

Performance

^^^^^This^^^^^

Classic!

I just rotate through them changing from hunt to hunt for no reason other reason than I have not used it in a bit.

Right now I gots the itch for either a .375 Wby,.458 Win and finally a .450/400 3". No logic,need,it's just want. And Most likely that'll change in about 20 minutes.

This. Lately it's old rifles for deals that I work on, re-finish, etc.

Starting to get an itch for a SA Kimmy Montana. Need it like I need a case of crabs.

These days my advice would be simple. Get a 223 in a rifle that fits you well. It's the only thing you can get brass for at a reasonable price and they make some pretty good bullets in that caliber. Just kidding....kinda.

Well, a bunch of hog hunters are proving that with the Barnes TSX bullets and similar, the 223 is capable of doing a lot more than many of us gave it credit for all these years. It is going hunting in places and for game that used to be the realm of a 30/06 or a 270 and similar.

My first serious big game rifle when I was 13 was a 30/06. And the only game I hunted for was 120lb Blacktailed deer. No way would I saddle a kid with something so large these days for a first deer rifle, unless larger game was on the near agenda or available where we lived.

As to this thread, Fotis put my thoughts with just one word. Performance. Efficiency, barrel life etc. count for very little for me. Give me mach V speeds with the bullet that is needed to get the job done.