Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Favorite cartridges, then and now

Once I had the job to buy what I wanted, it was bigger the better. I did hunt out west and made trips to Alaska and Africa

Here is a general list of favorites.

416 Remington on a custom Dakota action
375 H&H original model 70 Winchester
338 using a 8mm Remington case on a Weatherby Mark V, think 340 Weatherby
300 Winchester magnum on a Weatherby mark V
35 Whelen, on FM Mauser
30-06 in original model 70 unmodified
270 same pre-64 model 70 unmodified.

Over the years, I sold of most of my magnums and began to take an interest in the short action cartridges. I moved south and hunted mostly deer and hogs.

Today's favorites.

358 Winchester This one I never thought I would like, I read magazine articles about to and thought it was just too dinky and not for me. Now I have come to think of it, as a short cartridge that will do as well as a 30-06 with heavy bullets. I have one custom Marlin and recently a Browning BLR.

308 Winchester in a Browning A-bolt, I always though who needed this when the 30-06 is better? Yet it is actually a great cartridge and will take any deer size game and like the 358, it is plenty for Elk if one takes the time to get close.

7mm/08 Remington, in a nice mountain rifle. This is a great all around round, it was my choice for most deer hunting

260 Remington in both Browning A-bolt and Remington mountain rifle. This has become my favourite for medium to long-range deer hunting. It is much like a little 370 and will do the same unless the shots are very long.

The 44-magnum Marlin, great for short-range game, brush hunting and these in a rifle, have quite a wallop! It is nice to have a matching rifle and revolver. I have the same thing going in 357.

35 Remington and 30-30 both Marlins. I have always liked Marlin rifles.

All these little cartridges are easy to hand load and they do not empty your powder like magnums do. There are more powder choices and they do not kick so lighter rifles are a better option.

I also use my 270 and 30-06 when I need them, which is not often.

I began this change in cartridge choice when I came into my 50s, I was not making as many hunting trips and here without the larger game, the big numbers are not practicable. Now I have old friends and we shoot these for target practice. I am no longer shooting alone because my rifles are small cannons.

i believe as most people age they want less recoil, so most (certainly not all) gravitate back down the scale. i've had and hunted with almost all the 300 mags, but there all gone now. just a 30-06 or a 270 win for me from here on out. they work too.

Yes, I noticed that I just did not like bench shooting big rifles as much as I once did. Moreover, I have a group of old times who like to shoot the smaller caliber short action numbers, such as the 7mm/08, 260 Rem and the 243. Powder is just not so cheap these days. We do a lot more target shooting than hunting.

My bestest all time favorite is .270 Win. Ive been shooting the same 700 Rem. since 1967. For a magnum, I like .338 Win. but, don't own one now. For what I hunt I don't really need a magnum. For a varminter, my favorite is .22/.250 but, I own several different varmint gun/cartridges.

When I was younger mine were:

1. 35 Rem.
2. .308
3. 25-06

Now they are:

1. 35 Rem.
2. 25-06
3. 7-08
4. 7WSM
5. .358 (which I ain't got yet

When I was younger.....LOL!........my favorite was the 270,and I have not seen much to change my mind......it's still my favorite, although I have a lot of respect for, and like,a lot of different cartridges.

The 358 Winchester is a good caliber that never caught on. I think it was overshadowed by the bigger cases. In my Marlin, I used a light load, more powerful than a 35 Remington, but not near max in manuals. The BLR is new to me, picked it up at a gun show. It is made to take the full loads and pointed bullets. In the early ninnies I bought up several boxed of 358 250-grain and I have plenty of brass. The round is very effective and fun to shoot. I doubt I will buy a bolt action since I have my 308.

When I was young, my favs were .350RemMag, .308Win, and .22-250.

Still like them but I like the .25-06, the 7RemMag, and the .300H&H a bunch now.

Alaska, that is big gun country. If I lived up there I would want a 35 Whelen, a 300 magnum and perhaps something bigger. Always a few smaller numbers. How old are you now? I did not notice any recoil issues until I was in my late fifties. Although I slowed down on out of state hunting trips before that age.

I never understood what the 25-06 can do that a 270 cannot do, other than work better on varmints?

I don't recall anyone saying the 25-06 could do things a .270 couldn't.

That would be a pretty stupid statement.

I never could figure that one out, but when I was in Texas, the 25-06 was very popular. The way I see it, that with 270 Win, 130, 140 and 150 grain bullets will start out slower than the 25-06 with the 100, 117 and 120 grain bullets, yet out over 300 yards the 270 bullets catch up and that seems where it counts. I hard argument that, even so, the 25 has a flatter trajectory. I always thought the 270 was more practical, but everyone has their favors. Perhaps that is McKnight's point, or he may just like the 25 better?

My all time favorites are as follows:
.222 Remington
.25/06
.7mm Mag
.338 Win mag
.416 Remington mag
.458-Lott
All the above except the CZ in .222 cal. are model 70 Winchesters with 64-action and all the bells & whistles.

Personally, I can think of no better deer cartridges than the 260/6.5x55 for anything out to 350yds. If you want something with some more thump for the timber or big stuff, the 358Win is sorely neglected. I own one and they kill very well out to 200 yds.

I like my 300wsm but sure am generating interest in a 6.5x.

You mean pre-64 model 70? I was buying up those in 300 H&H and rebuilding them to Jarret cartridges, until I went to using the Weatherby action. The 416 one of my favorites, would be good for 416 and 458. Who knew that the old model 70 would have gone up so much in price. I know lots of the model 70 300 H&H have been modified. Today the complete original with a metal stock are worth a fortune, so are the ones with the original rubber stock.

Great platform for the big heavy magnums.

I have a ton of different rifles and cartridges, but I always gravitate back to a 270 in a Model 70 XTR.

I agree, the 260 will do well out as far as most shoot and the 270 adds just a bit more range with a bigger bullet and better for goats and sheep, but for the whitetail deer, I think the 260 offers the same in a smaller package.

When I was young (1960's) I read enough from the experts to "know" that the .30-06 was great.

Then I spent 40 years hunting big game with various cartridges from the .220 Swift to the .416 Rigby. I had a resl lust for various rounds, and used them up.

These days I think the .30-06 is great, and anything else is a nice variation.

VERY interested to read of your early number three rifle. I shoot the same cartridge (338/8mm RemMag) in a highly customized (As in virtually nothing still in it or on it that came from its momma) Model 1917. It, too has been to Africa and Alaska more than once each place. 225gr TTSX's at 3100. Still love it, but I am not quite yet 50. Also still loving my 257WBY and 416 Rigby. Actually, I HATE shooting the Rigby, but still have a critter or two on my list of wannagets that need this kind of horsepower.

Mine tend to be simple...

450 Marlin

338WM

30-06 Spring

223 Rem

other than the 17HMR and 22Rim Fire that's all I own