Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 308 vs small bore

I don't think so. It never left.

I do not have ammunition or rifle sales data for the 30-06, but I am certain that it sells a comfortable number of rifles and factory ammunition every year, and is probably in the top 10. This might anger some here, but cartridges like the 30-06, 30-30, the 270 and a few others keep selling, despite efforts to bury them. They work better than most of the newer offerings. The proof is evident by their continued demand. Even the new copper and bonded bullets haven't managed to push them off the front page. If anything, they have made cartridges like the 30-30 or the 270 better.

There will always be contenders to knock them from the top. Very few will earn a permanent spot. For example, the WSMs and WSSMs. What ever happened to them? Several came out, but few survived. Most were a flash in the pan. (sorry)

Which cartridges will still be around in 2070? I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me to hear that the 30-06, 223 or the 30-30 will be there.

Why do these old cartridges have such a good track record? They just work...with boring regularity. The majority of hunters and shooters don't hang out here or on other websites debating why cartridge x is better then cartridge y. They just go into the field and harvest game. Proof of what works is the list of chamberings rifle companies offer year after year.

You cannot dismiss 100 years of sales. The 6.5 CM may or may not make the list, but it's too soon to know for sure. We can re-examine this 50 years from now.

One last thing: In part, gunwriters earn a living writing about the latest company offerings, but personally, they have their favourites. If you had five well known gunwriters around a campfire and asked them what their absolute keeper cartridge would be, I think the answers might surprise you.