Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Most underrated Rifle and caliber

pretty much any of the Little BR cases next to whichever size.


in my opinion the most underrated has to be the 22 BR or the 7BR

I don't know about "most underrated", but I feel like the .30 WCF in a nice little lever didn't get the credit it deserved when I was growing up. To hear it told, it was barely capable of killing a 50 lb animal at 50 yards, and the bullet would basically take a 90 degree turn towards the center of the earth at 101 yards.

I saw the damage it would do to deer, so I began to gain confidence in it. After I had shot some Black bear and a couple hogs with it, I had no question of its' ability.

Funny thing is, two major critics of the round, one a 30-06 fan, the other a .270 worshipper, switched to Model 94 .30-30s as their main rifles after getting tired of lugging their other rifles through thick wooded hills.

Granted, the two aforementioned rounds have advantages, but not when 100 yards will be a long shot.

In the last few years, it seems that there has been more acknowledgment of the .30-30's capability, and I have found out the bullet does not take that 90 degree turn, though it does drop of fast. If you're comfortable with that, deer out to 200 yards are not a challenge at all.

In Montana the .17 HMR is far from underrated. Many "gopher" and prairie dog shooters use it a lot, despite the higher price compared to other rimfire rounds.

Underrated rifle: all of the M70 push feeds

Underrated cartridge (on 24 CF): the great 270 Winchester

The “Underrated Label” needs some time looking back for perspective. Underrated, unappreciated, or unpopular; whichever, except for relatively small groups, I would toss in the 358 Win and the 284 Win for examples of cartridges.

I have no idea as to rifle model.

I would wholeheartedly agree on the 284. I do not understand why I manufactures do not chamber this in a factory round more often.

I would guess (and it's not a very difficult guess) that the .284 isn't chambered much in hunting rifles because for 99% of hunting it doesn't do anything the .270 Winchester won't--and .270 Winchester ammo and brass is far more available.

Of course, some will argue the .284 fits in lighter, "handier" short-action rifles. But the typical short bolt-action weighs about 1/4 pound less than the same model of "long" action.

And yes, I've owned two .284s, one a Savage 99 and the other a Ruger 77.

"Underrated", or hated Jim???

Underrated rifle: Howa Mini

Underrated cartridge: 300 Blackout

It would be my guess that beat up old surplus SMLE 303's have been pressed into taking just about everything on the planet.

I've not seen it bragged on much as a hunting round, or dandy Sporter.

One might opine that the 7x57 is the most under rated since that Bell fellow used it for Elephants. But the Rigby association likely negates use of that phrase.

I wonder how much game has fallen to the old H&R and New England single shot rifles in almost any cartridge?

back in 1893, Peter-Paul Mauser came out with the 1893 Spanish Mauser in 7x57. altho it lost the Spanish American War, it beat the snot out of 45-70 and the 30-40 Krag. the Brits had a hard time during the Second Boer War. the 7x57 has killed game, including elephants (WDM Bell killed about 800 elephants with the 7 Mauser).

i have killed many deer using the custom FN '98 Mauser in a 20" Douglas barrel in 7x57. my Winchester m94 in 30-30 (which JES Reboring made 35/30-30) is #1. my son has the 7x57 now. i have 3 7x57, 1908 Brazilian, 24/30 Venezuelan and the '16 Spanish Mauser.

altho it comes close, i give an honorable mention to the Husqvarna m46 in 9.3x57. i have killed about 5 or 6 deer with it. Bang, flop is her name.

The reason the 7x57 "beat the snot" out of the .45-70 and .30-40 in those wars was NOT the cartridge, but the clip-fed magazine of the 1893, far quicker to keep shooting than the trapdoor .45-70 single-shot, and the side-loaded magazine of the Krag.

I have taken close to 20 species of big game around the world with the 7x57, but the cartridge itself ain't magic, as my wife Eileen and I have done the same thing with the .308 Winchester--which might be the modern equivalent of the 7x57, but with far more widely available ammo. In fact in my several hunting trips to Europe have encountered far more .308s than either the 7x57, or the 8x57--which many Americans still claim is the ".30-06 of Europe." In fact have only seen one 7x57 and one 8x57 in the hands of the dozens of European hunters and guides I've hunted with.

I had one for a while when they first came out. My best load was a 125 gr Partition over a full charge (book load) of RL22. I was getting close to 3000 fps and sub-MOA accuracy. I’d say the Swede is underrated and under-appreciated.

300 Savage, already an "improved" cartridge with its 30 deg shoulder. Had the neck been a bit longer, shooters would have rediscovered the cartridge by stuffing it with low drags and declaring it the greatest cartridge ever.

The quarter bores in general don't get much love. 250 Savage, 257 Roberts and 25-06. The first 2 have likely breathed their last breath of life in production rifles. The 257 Roberts is easy to shoot and load for and is a decidedly good killer.

Someone earlier mentioned the 338 Federal. I wish it has survived in production rifles. There is nothing in the USA or Canada that I wouldn't hunt with it. The mildest of the .338 chamberings, a short action and in the .308 family. It occupied a unique spot in between the 30 and 35 caliber offerings.

In a 2.8" magazine short action a longer neck would be counterproductive. It does very well with Berger VLD bullets in my 700 Classic.

that then let's add into the equation of weight limits. you know like NRA silhouette rifles. just a couple ounces goes a long ways long action versus short action... but yeah I know us silhouette shooters are a very small portion of the rifle market and generally build their own stuff..

but at the same time the 7-08 is keeps getting popularity
and that came from where the silhouette shooter crowd...

All good points!

Maybe I have two: the Remington Model Seven in 260Rem & the Weatherby lightweight Mark V, 6 lug bolt in 7mm-08. Both are true lightweight and handy rifles and the Weatherby one of my most accurate. The Mk V lt wt may be having somewhat of a rebound in the 6.5 RPM. The Model Seven took my first buck, a mature 4x5 Sierra muley but is out of production. The 260 lives on in Creedmoor guise but the 7-08 is becoming endangered. Two cartridges and rifles that are under appreciated!

Rifle: Browning X Bolt

Cartridge: .280 Remington