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

Almost "just right," for almost everything.

Pity.

For me - it's the SE loaded 140 gr. 6.5x55mm.

Just right for almost anything.




GR

35 Whelen and 358. Rifle, lever action Browning.

Scarce ? Really ?

Have enjoyed owning/loading/shooting several Swedes

Mostly Tikka of course.......140 Nosler AB's rocked in it

But I did build a heavy Pac Nor barrel for a Target Savage years ago

As to chamberings, I would say the most underrated are 7mm-08 and .35 Whelen.

I'd agree with the push feed Winchesters as being under rated, but only the XTR's from the 1980's and early 90's. Those made earlier, and those Winchester kept making after bringing back the CRF Classics don't interest me.

As to cartridges I can't think of anything that I'd call under rated. But there are a lot of them that are over-rated.

If you mean in the modern age, it would have to be the old 30-30. For many decades it was the deer killing "go to" cartridge, but now people act like deer are suddenly immune to its effects.

Yep--but these days I suspect more hunters underrate the 6.5 Creedmoor these days than the .30-30--because so many "hate" the 6.5 Man-Bun, usually without ever firing one....

If someone started another thread about overrated cartridges the ones listed would be the same ones listed in this thread about under rated cartridges.


It was also known as the deer wounding cartridge. Sometimes nostalgia causes us to see things through rose colored glasses.

BINGO!

Now, even the Germans underrate it and the Mauser 98. They've gone 308.

I'd like to add the 303 British in a 1914 Enfield. It's killed everything that walks from various Enfields.

Yep! And it's due to NATO.

Have found the same thing in every one of the four European countries I've hunted in--if you include Ireland as European, along with the Czech Republic, Finland and Norway.

Didn't hunt during my visit to Germany (was touring the then-three Zeiss factories), but did do some target shooting--and yes, the .308s out-numbered the 8x57s, because there weren't any 8x57s....

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Before it became the possession of one of our kids, my 24" Van Horn 30-30 barrel accounted for well over 100 kills -- and not a single wounded or lost animal.

Calling a 30-30 a "wounding cartridge" is just a lame excuse for poor shooting and not recognizing one's own limitations. And more recently, many even say the same about the 6.5 CM. Given proper projectiles, both of those aforementioned cartridges are more than capable for deer-sized game and have proven their worth time and again.

If a person can't cleanly kill a deer or hog with either of those two, then they won't be able to kill it with something more powerful, either.

Here's a heart of a whitetail that the 30-30 obliterated using a Speer 150 grain Gold Dot Bonded-Blackout bullet at 2469 fps MV.

EXACTAMUNDO!!!

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AMEN Rio7

I'm sure it's a deer wounder in your hands. It's deadly in mine

Those rose colored glasses now look at the 223 with fast twist and it is more over rated than the 30-30 ever thought of…

Sorry, it was in the P-14 version.The Model of 1917 was the 30-06 version. The P-14 was the favourite rifle for Bisley competitions during the interwar years. In the P-17, the 30-06 was a better fit than the 303 in the P-14.

By '72, I think, the p/f M-70 was a pretty good rifle.

Yes, and I knew that.


Old age strikes again.

gawd dang it!!!! i killed many of deer (one shot) with a "wounding" cartridge. gawd dang Winchester!!! gawd dang m94!!! gawd dang 30-30!!! and i was 13 yo back then gawd dang it!!!!

i'm glad that i sent it to JES Reboring and he did a 35/30-30. i would hate to think i was wounding a deer.

sarcasm included

We have a winner! Despite being used in two world wars, and being the most common cartridge in pre-1946 M98s, few people under forty or so have even heard of it. Admittedly, mine get used way less these days than the old .308.