Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Too many ‘One Cartridge To Rule them all threads. How bout a Top 3?

The answers/lists are getting better every time. Fun stuff. I can’t disagree with any of it. It gets very personal, I think, around the ‘ends’. But, .223 seems to be taking it by a landslide at the small and hot end. The top end is way more realistic than I had expected..

It’s very interesting to see many capping the top at 30/06. Hard to argue. I think I am going to call 7 RM my ‘top’ over .308 as my decided ‘middle’. Makes more sense to me. 30/06 being to close tween either of those...
Now, for the small end...

But, the 7RM isn’t a big bore. This is messing with me.

NA Only with rodents, a levergun and dangerous game requirements thrown in the mix as requested (and CURRENT ammo availability being a top priority)...

Bolt - 22WMR
Bolt - 6.5CM
Lever - 45-70Gov (Gotta HUNT closer than a bolt in 338/375 would permit though)


Not my choices, just answering the question the best I can.

From prairie dogs to elk:

223 Rem in a Kimber Montana
25-06AI in a Kimber Montana
264 Win Mag in a Winchester M70

My 3 center fire cartridges are the 223 Remington, the 30-06 Springfield and the 416 Rigby.

I've shot multiple Moose with a 30-06 and while I have bigger guns that is for my amusement and not for need. If the draw ever smiles on me again I'll probably Moose hunt again with the 30-06 and since I have no plans of ever hunting a bigger animal than that I decided to leave the .375 off the list and let the .30-06 be my "big gun".

Mr Harry, be careful there.....you are sounding a little like me.

and that will TAINT you !!!

I’ll not take the time to RE explain my thinking but you are seeing why I
came to that conclusion.

Jerry

[quote=jwall]



2018 was my first season to hunt THIS 7 M and I've killed 4-5 WT with it.
The 7 RM shoots light --> to heavy bullet weights with decent B Cs for FLAT trajectory.
There are multiple Premium bullets available for any hunting situation where they're needed.
--------------------------------------------

From WT-------> Moose & big bears.

Three Classics -

.223 Rem

.270 Win

.338 Win Mag

Along with the freebie 22 rifle and 12 gauge shotgun, I think I could get along quite nicely with a light 257 Roberts, a medium light 308 and a medium weight 9.3x62.
Not a whole lot on this planet that couldn’t be covered.
Les

I'm down to .223, 6.5 Creed-moor and a .270W. The 223 is perfect from prairie dogs to hogs/small deer. The Creed does double duty from coyotes to mule deer ( an occasional close range elk) and the .270W ( with the right load/bullet ) does the rest, even lion and leopard have been killed with it ( or "sniped") and many bears/moose too. I don't hunt anywhere near those guys anymore nor big bears. I would pop the biggest black bear with a 6.5 Creed moor and right bullet too. But, I bet every rifleman who looks at this thread "feels very uncomfortable" having to list "only 3", ha. Many will work, so many cartridges...so little time. ( and money!)

22
243
30-06

I'm so old school, obsolete and obscure my choices are probably laughable to most. That and I haven't bought a box of factory, center fire ammo since the wife and I were married 42 years ago. That and anywhere I hunted when I was running all over the US to do so I drove so, whether or not something is/was available over the country is completely insignificant. Varmints and such, 222 Remington. What I would consider a "medium bore" in the US, discounting my affection for the 270 and among those I own, would have to me my 7 X 64 Brenneke. Getting into 35/9mm caliber it would be my 9 X 71 Peterlongo. Very similar to the 350 Rigby only a little more with 250 gr. bullets. Just because it's new to me and I only recently got a good load worked up for it, I would have to include my Vierordt double rifle in what was supposed to be 8 X 65R Brenneke but has altered chambers. However, it's still very close to the 8 X 65R, is a real shooter and as a friend of mine said, it's rather a "snotty cartridge", meaning a fairly hot 8mm.

Those are my choices today and today only. They might change by the time I get upstairs. Other than varmint type cartridges there is several in the toy box that would be more than adequate.

Good list.

I did a lot with that for a long time.

For the modern guy who likes auto loaders substitute .223 and .308 in the first two places.

Keep the .338.

Truth is I could get by just fine with just two centerfires. My Marlin .30-30 for the woods hunting I do and my 6.5 Creedmoor for those few times I hunt in places where longer shots are a possibility. Combine those with my exceptionally accurate .22 mag. for varmints and I'm good to go from here on out.

My three starts with the the 223.
Next is 6.5 Creed/270/7-08, and don’t ask me to narrow those down. I’m not ready yet.
Last is the 375 Ruger.
The 338 WM would have been my choice before the Ruger 375 Alaskan in an HS-Precision stock came along.

1- 223
2- 6.5 Creedmoor
3- 416 Rigby
It’s what I have.

1-22lr
2-308 Win (lightweight)
3-308 Win (midweight with backup irons)

*substitute the two 308’s with two 6.5CM’s, 7-08’s, 270’s, or 30-06’s, etc.

+2