A lot of us probably spend hours and days trying to find the best cartridge for this and best for that etc. Or one that takes less powder and produces more recoil. Or short action, long action bla bla bla.
There are a lot of cartridges made in the last 50 years or so that I find very interesting. You have the 338WM from 1958 which I think is one of the most useful cartidges ever developed. It was still commercialized 54 years ago. And now there are the whole slew of Short Magnums etc. etc that are still toddlers and people talk about how they think they are better because they can be made to weigh less etc.

But now go back 100 years or more and we have the 7x57 from 1892, 470 Nitro Express from 1900, 30-06 from 1906, 416 rigby 1908, 404 Jeffery 1909, 505 Gibbs 1911, 375 H&H 1912,.

I could take the 7x57 from 1892 and the 375 H&H from 1912 and have a pretty good battery to hunt just about anything that walks, and if I hunted a lot of cape buffalo and elephant the 416 or a serious stopper the 505 Gibbs or a double the 470 Nitro.
If you don't like the 7x57 replace it with a 30-06. Want a short range woods rifle for elk, moose, black bear etc the 45-70 from all the way back to 1873.
With 2 or 3 of those cartidges I think I could put together a very good rifle battery with plenty of power and shoot long enough range as I have any business shooting at live game. With 3 of them I could have a double rifle in the mix.

Go on up to 1925 and you have the 300 H&H and the 270 from the same year, then 1934 you have the 257 Roberts. And I think back somewhere in the 1890's or early 1900's you have the 9.3x62 that several on this site are fond of.

Pick from those and the youngest is still 75 or 80 years old.

But what fun would that be. Then you all couldn't argue that the short magnums, and rcm's etc aren't needed, or that the 300 H&H is the only 300 magnum, or that the 280 is what the 270 should have been, or that the 416 remington has too high pressure for those hot africa days so you should use a 416 rigby because its lower pressure, etc. etc

I used to try and have a gun for each type of scenario imaginable (like a golfer and his clubs). As I got older I realized that my 223, 30-06, 375 and 416 could handle anything on the planet. Throw in a good 12gauge and a 45auto for carry and I could do anything anywhere!

For the average American hunter who will never leave the country for more exotic hunting, a .22LR. 30-06 and 12 Ga. Shotgun would most likely cover all his needs. If all the average American hunters did it that way, most gun companies would probably cease to exit.
The last time I inted with a relatively modern cartridge, a 300 Win. mag. to be exact was about 8 or 9 years ago. My antelope in 2009 wa staken with the 1925 .270 Win. and my cow elk in 2010 was taken with the 1923 .35 Whelen.
Dunno if I'll get lucky and draw for deer this year but if so I'll be packing my 1892 7x57 Mauser. I might even consider trying it for my cow elk meat hunt come December. I'm also looking at my .280 Rem. as I haven't taken any game with that one yet. Could be I'll just go with the 35 Whelen again.
Paul B.

That's why I don't keep a 30/06 around anymore, it takes away the excuse to have multiple rifles.

You can have more then one 30-06! I have at least 3 and a lonely 270 that keeps the safe warm.

Aaron

In my dream world a 300 win mag for deer, 338 win mag for elk and a 375 H&H for moose

In my technical dream world a 300 SAUM for deer, 338 RCM for elk and a 375 Ruger for moose.

In my practical world a 338 win mag for all. Yet I like the idea of thumping moose with a 375, hence my rant started on a 375 Scout.

Thank goodness for the plethora of cartridges introduced in the past 15 years. Without them most gun companies would either be out of business, or no longer be a gun company like Ruger isn't. Some of them have stood the test of time, such as it is. According to RCBS die sales, the .300 WSM has remained in the top 20 for the last 12 years, surpassing old timers like the .338 WinMag and the 6x55 Swede. The .300 RUM has remained in the top 25 even longer.

OTOH, the 9mm Para is well ahead of those youngsters the .357 and .44 Magnums (it's in 6th place). The Top Dog in 2011? The centenarian .45 ACP.



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