Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters underrated cartridge ??

[i][/i]Which is the most underrated cartridge? I think that depends on the circle of people you happen to be around. Or the experiences of everyone in that circle. I belong to another forum where the .270 Win is the scorge of the universe. Some say that it's really just a joke but I disagree. Yeah some are only joking but some truly hate it. And some of their arguments make about as much sense as putting water in your gas take to smooth out your engine's idle.

Then I come on here and yeah there's a few who don't care for it for various reasons but overall most have a good respect for the old round. I couldn't believe in the Elk forum when it was rated the number one favorite Elk Cartridge. I have been shooting and killing game with mine for right at 55 years with very few failures and those I can contribute to the nut behind the trigger. So I know most of the negative comments about the round are mostly just hate. Anyway, that's my take on it. Most cartridges do what they're designed for and as I said, it depends on the circle of friends and their experiences with certain cartridges as to which ones are cussed and which ones are praised.

At 73 having started with a .32-20 and a .25-35, I continued on to a .300 Savage at 12 years of age. I too believe it to be badly underrated.

i took close to 50 deer with it and the innumerable varmints a kid shoots. I can't say what it would do on an elk as I never shot one with it. On deer though, it seemed perfect.

I went to a .308 Winchester at 26 and an '06 at 29 or so which I use most now. I don't think I gained much visible killing ability with the .308 or the .30-06 I use most of the time now.

Everything from 'The Load' to 220 grains lumbering through a Brown Bear ... ready for anything.

Rest of the 5:
358 (or anything 35 CAL)
The Triple Deuce
250-3000
6.5x55

In handgun cartridges, 44 Special gets my vote.

Quite right. Also - in a world flush with great quality wonder 9s, 40s, 355 Sigs, 45 ACP, etc the 38Special isn't get it's due.

In a home protection role, I think the 30 Carbine with 110 gr soft points at 1950+ fps would be pretty effective. The R-P 110 gr soft points DO expand, even on cottontails. An Ultimac rail in place of the upper hand guard with a Leupold Delta Point or Vortex Venom red dot sight makes hits really easy.
My wife, who is not very firearms savvy, thinks the “carbine” is fun to shoot.

Hmmm. Would it be better than an AR-15? Has she shot an AR?

I've seen several GSW's made by a 30 carbine, the wounds were gruesome and actually surprised me with the amount of tissue damage.

Comparing the 30 carbine to an AR, I think the only advantage I can see is the carbine is lighter and balances better than many AR's, making it easier to shoot for some people.

But, my personal preference is an AR for many different reasons.

Good point JB. I don’t think it’s better than an AR style rifle, just underrated, especially for those with less upper body strength and more sensitivity to muzzle blast. My wife has RA so she has a hard time with handguns.

She’s watched me shoot my AR but didn’t want to try it. I think the muzzle blast was part of the reason why she didn’t want to try it.

Agree. Neither does the 38 Super...

Actually shoot what you want to, I prefer a 120 gr. Bullet at 2800 fps. But then I hunt both open country and the thick stuff.

The 30-30 nowadays is very under rated. Once the 30 mag of it's day it is now well I have one somewhere and hardly used by most of us.

I hunt varied terrain & topography and 200-300 yd opportunities are too frequent for me to limit myself to any shorter
range cartridges. I haven't had a 30-30 since 1974 and don't miss it.

They are fine & dandy for short range hunters.


Jerry

Good point.
I just read an article yesterday about the 7 best whitetail cartridges. Listed the .243, but only for kids and little sized people. Huh? If it kills a deer, it kills a deer. No matter what size person.

A .307 Winchester will do the deed, along with the .308 Marlin Express

hikerbum,

My wife and I know a gun writer from an eastern state who hunted with us in Montana quite a bit in the 1980s and 90s. He had already expounded in print at length on minimum cartridges for various kinds of big game, though he hadn't shot vast amounts at that time, and only with cartridges on the large side. He also didn't really understand the difference "premium" bullets can make, apparently believing they only work for larger cartridges.

Among other things, he once asked me if the .30-06 is really capable of killing elk, and questioned the wisdom of using dinky rounds like the .243 Winchester and .257 Roberts on big deer. But in print he suggested the .243 and .257 were good choices for women and kids.

Eileen has killed a lot of big game not just in Montana but in other parts of the world with the .243 Winchester and .257 Roberts, including big deer, and has crumpled cow elk with the .257 using typical chest shots. Eventually she asked him, "Why can't men kill big game with the same cartridges women and kids use?"

Men don’t tend to shoot as carefully as women & kids.

my good friend was a sniper in the military for 9 years shot all kinds of rifles and cartridges,was over in the sand countries the 1st time when America sent the military over there, was also at the Whitehouse as a sniper , is now a deep water driver who welds and inspects Federal dams. this vet is 6 ft 4inch and still is in very good shape for a man in his fifty`s his dad is 7 ft 2 inch and is still one heck of a coyote hunter. they both use 257 Roberts all the time for deer hunting here in Minnesota and out west . i have now got 6 - 257 Roberts for my family to hunt deer in Northern Minnesota i see no reason for them to have any bigger bullet to hunt deer with or myself. i am still looking for a Ruger # 1 in a 257 Roberts with at least 24 inch barrel for me to use for deer hunting too . its a great / grand old cartridge that deer hunters have over looked and that`s kind of sad ,yes i still use my 257 Weatherby mag. half the time but i have been using my 257 Roberts more and more.

Best quote of the new year!

Think Eileen will mind if I steal it for a sig line?

There are no bad cartridges, just poor applications