Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Love/Hate Relationship With Cartridges

I've never in my life felt I needed one of the 6mm's to kill a deer. I'm not that recoil shy. It doesn't even bother me to hunt deer with a .300 mag. Kind of like why should I have a 283 in a Chevelle when I can have a 454.

Love the .308 and all it's offspring. Especially fond of the 7mm-08 right now, might just end up being my favorite. We'll see after deer season this year.

Also like the Russian military stuff, hadn't seen much mention of those yet. 7.62x25, x39, and really dig the x54R. Fun round out of an M44 carbine at dusk.

Not a fan of pretty much any of the magnum stuff. Overkill for anything you need a rifle for around here, and I have no need to compensate. I don't dislike the '06 or it's spawn, just never messed with them much, probably because most of the guys I shoot/hunt with already have them, and I like being a little different.

I'm kinda an odd duck and many of my dislikes throughout my life have simply been to be contrary. To add to that I find no need to burn extra powder just to burn extra powder. To me any -06 based cartridge (especially the .270) is beyond blah, over recommended and a .308 and it's siblings will do 99% as much while burning less powder. Don't even get me started on the 7mm RM. Like someone else stated earlier my dislike for it may very well indeed have started with the fact that it was the "it" round when growing up by a bunch of snot nosed classmates that wouldn't know one if they saw it. You could really carry that over to any magnum. Just never seen any critter wearing enough armor that a non-magnum couldn't get the job done. I really, really wanted a .250 Savage BAD and always liked the Bob, all the while disliking the .243. That is until I realized that a .243 could do anything the Savage could do, 95% or what the Bob could do and it could do some stuff better than either. I just love it when someone talks of the .250 as being a perfectly fine deer round and then say a .243 is too small. Never really cared for the .223, god bless the .22-250.

CB

Like:
.22 LR - My first gun. Everyone should own at least one. I need to get back into .22 silhouette shooting.
.22 WMR - Just because. (And the winds around here blow the .17 HMR all over the country.)
.22-250 Rem - My second rifle, when my dad decided I was big enough for something more than a .22 LR. Still like.
.25-06 Rem - My dad had one when I was a kid and I always thought it was cool, before I knew anything about what caliber was good for what. Now, the more I learn about it, the more I like it. Dad may not have been so dumb after all.
And the rest of the family of cartridges based on the .30-06 Spfd while we're at it.
.308 Win - But, if you've got a .30-06, then there's no point, is there? :p (Just messin' with ya. Either is fine, but they're almost identical in performance.)
.300 Win Mag - Maybe, the idea's growing on me, may soon decide I need one.
.45-70 Govt - Just because. I really dig the Marlin 1895 (GBL or SBL).


+1

Dislike:
Short, fat magnums. They're just wrong.
Milimeters, 6mm, 6.5mm, 7mm (unless it's a necked-down .30-06 case ). Once you get to 7.62, it's fine, but I still call that a .308 Win. Bigger, military stuff in mm I have no problem with. (I'd like to have a 20mm, just because )
.30-40 Krag
.30-30 Win - Don't hate me. I never got into the old west stuff.

Like: Most cartridges with a .473" rim diameter.

Dislike: Most Weatherbys and the 458 Win Mag.

1st 5 CF rifles were chambered in 22-250, 6mm, 7x57, 308, and 44 Rem Mag.

Last 5 CF rifles were chambered in 260 x3 and 25 WSSM x2.

JEff

My general thought is a long action should be stuffed with the most power possible (think Ultra mag and H&H) and short actions should be lighter, shorter range rigs (308 case cartirdges). So I'm not into '06 based cartridges or short mags.

Don't understand how anyone can dis-like or hate a cartridge .... it really doesn't make sense. But to each their own

Blasphemy!!!

Interesting post. In my case there have been two very distinct phases. In the first, I thought about hunting and did a lot of shooting. I didn't have the funds to hunt much but did live in prime big game country out west which meant I averaged one critter a year sometimes two. I owned and shot multiple rifles in every caliber. 22 rimfire,223(3), 243, 6mm Rem (2), 257, 25-06 (2), 270 (many), 280 (4),7x57 (2), 7 RM (4), 7 STW, 280 AI (2), 300 H&H (2), 300 Win (3), 300 Wby, 338-06, 338-06 AI, 338 Win (3), 340 Wby, 35 Whelen, 375-06 AI, 375/338, 375 H&H (many), 375 H&H AI (2), 416 Taylor, 416 Rem (2), 416 Rigby (2), 458 Win. I actually thought I needed more.

When I started hunting my attitude changed. Anything smaller than 270 is too specialized to suit me. I carry a hunting rifle more than I shoot it and I don't like packing anything over 7.5 pounds in rough country and less is better. The big 30's kick too much in a light rifle. Also I have never been able to see the difference in performance on game compared to a big 7 or a 270 Win for that matter. The 338's and 35's are the worst combination of all. If the velocity is high enough then they are difficult to control in a portable rifle. They also fail to measure up against the 375's. Every time I found myself carrying a 375 I really wanted a 416. So other than for brown bear hunting I am not a big fan of the 375.

Nowdays I prefer a 270 Win and a 416. I also like the big 7's and believe the Mashburn is best if one is willing to form the cases. The big 7's will do anything with modern bullets than needs getting done until it is time to break out a 416 or a 375. I will use the 270 and sneak closer. It is about hunting after all and I don't want to shoot things further away than 450 yards or so. Long range shooting is just too impersonal and disconnected for me.

There aren't many cartridges I don't like. I love the .30-30 and .38 Special. They are old standard cartridges and easy to load and shoot accurately. Purchased three .22 Hornets used before I got one that was not a K Hornet. Never got any of them to shoot but don't dislike any of them. I just know what to expect. One is a nice 43 Winchester that is a neat walk around and shoot stuff rifle. Could never get a 7.62 x 39 to shoot either other than just blast. Love the 6 MM Remington and 9.3 x 62MM also. The rifles that I own that shoot these shoot absolutely great groups and never have to worry about them being dead on when I hunt. .257 Weatherby is a favorite too.

Boy, don't I know THAT!

Oh boy. Over the years, I've changed my mind a few times on all of this.
Basically, I select a cartriage because it will do the job I need to do regardless as to conditions present. It's ability to function should be limited only to my shooting ability.
Cartriages are kind of funny critters. They all make noise, so they tend to be hard on the ears. They all recoil some. If they kick hard enough, some them become hard to shoot well, let alone fun to shoot.
Therefore, the ones I like are the ones that will do what I need, regardless as to conditions, and hopefully are at least a little fun to shoot.
I prefer the 30'06 for elk hunting because I want the performance that a 200-220 gr. Nosler Partition will give me. I like the .308, with the 180 gr. NP because it's pretty close the above, and the .280 with 160 gr. bullets as well.
I don't care for the 7mm Remington Magnum simply because I've never found the extra velocity worth the extra blast and recoil. The .280, for instance, even at 2680 fps. with the 160 gr. NP kills very well at 400 yds. BTDT. And that's a little far to reliably hit big stuff properly for me.
For deer hunting, I'll do just fine with a 7X57, a 7-08, or a .308. They have everything I need.
I've even found that the smaller rds. like the .243, in the hands of others, the .25-06 or the .25-284 do alot better than I would have ever thought. As long as one stay away from the varmit bullets made for them. That and too much velocity with the cup and core stuff.
I think it was Barsness who said that american hunters assume that the more a cartriage roars and kicks, the deadiler they assume it is. But that isn't so. He used the example of the .308 vs. the .300 RUM. The .308 has about 50 grs. of powder space. The .300 RUM has twice as much. Does the .300 RUM get twice the velocity of the .308 ? No. Only about 25% more. The rest of that powder goes to muzzle blast and recoil.
I can tell you this. A .308 is alot more fun to play with. The darn things shoot almost any load well. None of the magnums I've played with were. And they seldom shot many loads well.
Now, if I insist on hunting Cape Buffalo for the rest of my life, I guess I'm going to have to find something that I like that isn't as much fun as the .308/7X57 class of cartriages, but, I'm not worried. A heavier .375 is not bad to me. Besides, I seriously doubt I'm goimng to be killing many buffs in the years I've got left. E

Love:

Virtually all metrics, there's too many to list.

Specific "Imperial" cartridges - 35 Whelen, 318 W-R, 348 Win., 375 Ruger, and 400 H&H.

Hate:

Almost all belted cases, the 270 Win., and WSM/WSSM/RSAUM/RCM-type cartridges.

I'm a sucker for rounds developed in the 60s and before, though I dearly love my 204 Rug and 450 Marlin.

Any WSM, RSAUM, WSSM or RUM has zero appeal to me, as do most wildcats.

I hate the 30-06, though its more of a rivalry thing with my beloved 270.

Like the 7x57,'06 300HH and the 35 Whelen

My only rifle for close to 25 years was a .30-06 that took many whitetailes, roe deer, red deer, fallow, hogs and a mouflon. It is perhaps my favorite. I think the .280 Remington would be interesting yet the .270 leaves me cold. Ask my advice I will say it will do about anything that then '06 will do. It just leaves me cold. It think as a kid of the 1960's and an avid reader of JOC I oversold myself on the .270. When I discovered it was not really magic I was disallusioned.

I liked the .308 as a cartridge in short actions, specifically lever actions.

I like both the 7x57 and 8x57. I may get my 9.3x57 into action next year. Strangely I have little interest in the 6.5x55 though I am sure it is a fine cartridge.

I used the .250-3000 a while and it killed everything I shot it at, yet like the .243 I never developed confidence in it.

I like the .30-30 in the Marlin 336. It seems an excellent childs cartridge with .243 class recoil and a solid 150 yard capability which is the limit I want a beginner shooting anyway.

I have never been a varminter or hunted anything bigger than elk so my interest tends to be between 7mm and 9.3 mm (.366).

I don't hate any cartridge for itself. I'm not a big magnum fan nor do I have much use for rimfire magnums due to marginal performance improvement for a big $$ increase. My main illogical bias is towards magnum or 30-06 length cartridges in carbine type rifles. Don't know what but the combo never appealed to me. I guess my least favorite cartridge is the 22 hornet. Never could get one to shoot and have tried 3-4 different ones.

A kid I hated in junior high had a 257 Roberts, and I hated his gun also, this may seem shallow, but I have never been able to warm up to the cartridge.

Doesn't sound shallow at all. How many people has Swampy turned-off to 700's and the .30-06???

FC

Now own my 4th 284 Winchester, in a short action, too tight for the confines of a 2.8" mag!! But I bought a Savage 99. The cartridge makes more sense in 3.0" mag!