Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Regional differences in calibers?

I was talking to the owner of my local shop yesterday and he mentioned that many rifle calibers/rounds are very "regional". An example he said was that the 7mm-08 is very popular here in the southeast, but not as prevalent anywhere else.
I know that some of the bigger calibers such as the .338, .45-70, etc. are practically a rarity here in N.C....at least I've never seen one or heard of anyone that uses one. The .300 Win. Mag. is becoming more popular, mostly as a long-range beanfield rifle by wannabes...

Do y'all notice any regional differences amongst calibers?

trigger I was in that same shop saturday and heard that same conversation, that guy (although I like him) is a salesman, not a hunter, and wants you to buy believe whatever he has, whatever he tells you. Like the comment, the 25-06 is just an eastern nc caliber, or the browning bar would be off the market if it wasn't for north carolina, I was laughing my a$$ off!

Fellas,
I do believe that cartridges are more common in pockets or areas, just as they are in circles of hunters.

I have been in many gun shops in Denver and they have it all regarding ammo, but the .270 is a dog there because of the local attitudes to elk and appropriate cartridges as they see it.

If you travel north to Casper in Wyoming, you will see 7mm Remmy ammo more prevalent that any other cartridge as that cartridge is very popular in Wyoming for all game found there, obviously including elk.

I saw the same thing in Australia where the .30/06 was relatively rare in Sydney where the hunters used cartridges either side of it, yet it was more popular with Victorian hunters in the south, because of the sambar deer commonly hunted there.

JW

Around here is isn't so much caliber by region as it is make of firearm. We do not have an abundance of gun shops, and the ones that we do have do not tend to stock a large selection of makes. It seems that whatever make that offers the best deal to the dealer is the ne plus ultra as far as rifles go and we are to be thankful that someone has gone to the trouble of finding and selling only the best.

No kidding! Yep, you were there for sure if you remember the BAR comment. I'll PM you.

During this 07-08 hunting season, I've spent 21 days in three different hunting camps. The rifles that I've seen carried were 30-06, 270 Win, 308 Win, 280 Rem, 300 Win, 7 SAUM, 25-06, 7mm-08, 7 Mag, 7 Weatherby, and 257 Bob. Over 3/4 were 30-06 and 270 Win with 308 being next most frequently carried. Rifles were Rems, Savages and Rugers, Don't recall seeing a Winchester, did see a couple of Brownings. Don't even see a 30-30 anymore.

And I'd bet 99% of all those rifles were bolt-actions too, yes?

Yes they were, don't recall seeing anything else (except for one muzzle loader) Come to think about it, I didn't even see any WSMs either.

Thank goodness!

I think maybe some of those guys working in the shops don't get out much. Here I am in ENC and the only person I know that has a 25-06 lives in Texas.Plenty of 270s around here though.

Mike

I would love to know what shop you were in! I hit a lot of the shops around eastern NC and overhear lots of pure bull being spread from time to time too.

I think the age of the hunter plays into the equation of what rifle and what cartridge one chooses. I think guys who came of age in the 60's & 70's like the 7mm Rem Mag and 300 WIN MAG when choosing a mag cartridge. I think the younger guys are more likely to choose a short mag (WIN or REM or others), as those rounds get more advertising coverage today.

Yep, there are lots of .270 WIN's around eastern NC - no doubt about that.

Looks like I may perhaps be stirring in a hornet's nest here.

Odessa, I'll PM you.

AGW,

Everything you need to know about the popularity of cartridges in Colorado: 7mmRM, 30-06, 270W, 300WM......and 25-06 gets notable mention.......





...and everybody wants a 243W for a "spare" rifle.

Casey

Yes, I see regional differences in popularity of cartridges.





Casey

i would say there is no doubt that there are regional preferences for certain cartridges. who needs a 300 win mag in florida or louisiana? some surely have and use those calibers, but i'll bet most don't. same situation in colorado or new mexico where i see mostly 7mags/300 mags and up. of course there are regional preferences.

Wow...I don't even know what to say about that comment.

No doubt about it. Even here in good ole' NC the difference would surprise you. In far western NC, just about every hunter you see has a lever action 30-30 or 35 Rem, with the pump 308 coming in a close second. The piedmont and eastern NC are as varied as the number of hunters there. Mostly bolt guns in "cassic" deer cartridges, with some semi autos in areas where you are allowed to dog hunt.

I would bet the comment on the BAR comes from the days when most eastern NC hunting was done by chasing the deer with dogs. The hunters either took a stand or sat in their trucks waiting for the dogs to run the deer by them. They liked the fast follow up shots the BAR's, 742's and Win 100's afforded - they were shooting at running deer. I see very few new semi-auto rifles sold here now, almost everytime I see a rifle being bought in a shop nowadays it is a bolt gun. Odessa

Lot of that still goes on around here (the dog hunting). You see alot of BARs and 742/7400s here. It seems the 270 has a foot hold here as well.

I'm not sure I can comment here without stirring the pot, but I'll try. It seems that hunting style and the hand-me-down traditions are the biggest factors. Drives and hunting with dogs presents different shot opportunities than does still hunting through timber here on the left coast. Then, you have the guy on TV that grows large livestock bucks, sits in a stand over some food, and shoots them with a 300 Ultra Mag rifle that weighs about 12 lbs. The cartridges and rifles used are just an adaptation made by the hunter dictated by the hunting situation.