I dont like 30-30s,30-06 and 35 remingtons.The 30-30 has killed more deer than any probally but I bet wounded alot in its day.The 30-06 is supose to be the all around rifle .I think its a good 200 yard deer gun at best .Its pushing it on elk and not for things that bite.The 35 remington is jus a fat 30-30 want to be.The 243 is also a varmit gun not for big game unless your an expert shot.

This is a very entertaining discussion.

I can't say that I "hate" any cartridge. But here are a few that will not find a future home in my gun safe:

.243
.270
.308
.300 mags
.375
.45-70
.458
anything Weatherby
any WSM, WSSM, RUM, RSUM, STW
10ga



Cartridges that will always have a home in my safe:
.257 Roberts
7x57
.280
.30-06
.338
9.3x62
.416 Rigby
16ga

I realize there are guys out there whose lists may be the exact opposite of mine. That's OK, when used correctly they will all kill. The best part is we have choices. Wouldn't it be boring if all we had to choose from were blondes?

I love LE COGNAC, no RUM please! Tall and svelte is great, short and plump>>> peeeeewwwwwww.

With all the new bullets and powder coming out the 30/06 has the killing power for all the game it was used for when there were no magnums short or super.

From 125'ers at 3300 blowing up varmits to 200 gr X bullets at 2700 taking anything that it is legal to take with a 30 cal.

It is tooo deeply engrained into the American Gun Culture to ever go away. 100 plus and going strong.

30-06, it just works, and that's its downfall just boring efficiency.

quote:

I spent some time in the far North ( and South but thats a differnet story ). I was very suprised that the most popular round by the native population was the 243. No guys I am not nuts and I certainly thought they were. I couldn't think of a worse round for Polar Bear, or Walrus. I always figured that the reason for this is they had dogs, and that gave them advantage they needed against bears.

They also hunted Caribou with it. After harvesting several Caribou north of the Artic Circle I decided that these are not near as big bodied as caribou in south of the circle, so this didn't suprise me.

I really think they picked it cause it worked so well on seals and they just don't buy anything else.

Anyway strange and wierd in my book but thats what they used.

That just goes to show that all this advertising Hype that's flooding the market today is just that "Hype." Animals in NA have been taken effectively for years w/ smaller lower velocity carts. Shot placement is more important than bullet type or cart choice in MOST cases.

I certainly don't advocate using such rounds on big animals but, I never doubt that they will not work effectively in the right man's hands.

Reloader

Here is the count. I limited it to rifles and specifically named cartridges. Feel free to check and correct my math.

22wrf-1
22hornet-3
218bee-1
219wasp-1
223-3
220swift-2
243-20 (sorry Jarrod)
25/35-1
257rbrts-2
25wssm-1
264wm-1
270-23
7mm08-2
284-1
7x57-2
280-3
7mmrm-5
7mmweath-1
30/30-3
307win-1
308-13
30carbine-2
30/40krag-1
30-06-13
300wsm-1
300wm-5
303brit-2
8mmmag-1
338-06-2
338wm-3
338lapua-1
340weath-1
35rem-1
351win-1
35whelen-1
358norma-2
358sta-1
9.3x62-1
375h&h-1
444marlin-3
45/70-5(only 5 must be a good round)
450marlin-1
458wm-1

Uh...did you forget one?

Hint: .270? (It happens to be my favorite but it got hit pretty hard I think....)

IV

quote:

Originally posted by IdahoVandal:
Uh...did you forget one?

Hint: .270? (It happens to be my favorite but it got hit pretty hard I think....)

IV

I think the .270 "wins" with 23 votes against it....proving my point it obviously sucks and should fade quietly away.....



Somewhere, Elmer Keith is laughing.......

quote:

proving my point it obviously sucks and should fade quietly away

Right if you believe that; I have a bridge to sell you.

quote:

Right if you believe that; I have a bridge to sell you.

What's the price on that bridge?

quote:

Originally posted by IdahoVandal:
Uh...did you forget one?

Hint: .270? (It happens to be my favorite but it got hit pretty hard I think....)

IV

It was in there just hidden. I got it out in the open now. Thanks for the catch.

quote:

What's the price on that bridge?

Vapodog I'm easy, I'll take all those unwanted 270's in trade.

The one calibre I would hesitate to buy a rifle in, of the readily available cartridges, is the 270. It's good but on an action that size there are better rounds.

Not least the 7x57. It is still, in my view, after all these years the one to beat for a light rifle.
For something a little larger there's the 9.3x62. If I had to choose between these two then the 7mm gets the nod
Just my 2 cents worth

Why does everyone like the 7x57 so much? The 7mm-8 has better ballistics. It's pretty close to the .280 for that matter, and if you need more range the .270 and 7mm mag do better than all three. Not nit picking, just wondering. Heck, my main hunting rifle is an 8x57 mauser with a back up model 94 in .375win, so I'm kind of weird myself.

quote:

Why does everyone like the 7x57 so much?

While about 2/3 of the folks posting here are Americans there are also a lot of Aussies and Europeans and a few South Americans. For those folks the 7 X 57 may be a lot like the .30-06 to us. In any event proper loads in the 7 X 57 nearly equal the .280 and it has a very deep history. The 7 X 57 has been around well past 100 years.....closer to 120 years and has a rich African history as well.

We rifle nuts also have a traditional bone in us, and the 7 X 57 fills that traditional need very well.

It also is the parent to one of America's best cartridges...the .257 Roberts.

It simply is a favorite son.....not quite as fast as the others but still the first and favorite with a lot of folks.

I can't dis-like a mere rifle cartridge...what could it have done to deserve that?

There are some that I'll never own but to actually "dislike" them wouldn't be very mature IMHO..now I dislike some people who shoot a particular cartridge but that's a different story :-)

quote:

Why does everyone like the 7x57 so much? The 7mm-8 has better ballistics

Horse Pucky



I am not going to hijack this, start another thread and see where that leads ya.

Great topic:
Calibers I won't own/ Calibers I would:
17 rem
220 swift /223 or 22-250
6mm Rem, 243 Win fish nor fowl
any 264 / except 6.5x55
7 Rem mag /270,280,7x57, 7mm-08
Any of the short mags or ultra mags
Any Weatherby
Any 30 caliber except / 30-06 or 300 WM
any 8mm
any 35 caliber
458 WM or Lott the 416's will do anything needed.

243: Too big for prairie dogs, not as ideal for coyotes as the 22-250, and smaller than what I'd prefer for any game larger than coyotes.

25-06: I don't know why. Perhaps it's because I believe there are better tools available for any game where the 25-06 would shine.

30-30: Everyone needs a lever gun of some type. Like everyone else, I have one in the closet (mostly for my grandkids). But why has this round survived and the much better .307 Winchester died on the vine?

30-06: I know this is heresy, but it no longer fills any useful niche. More gun than what's needed for antelope/deer, less than what I'd prefer for larger game. If I could only have one rifle, this would be it, but that's not the case.

Anything that requires a full length magnum action if the same performance in the same caliber can be had in something that fits in a standard length action.

However, I'll take all the .243's, 30-30's, and 30-06's, as well as all those worthless magnum length actioned rifles that anybody out there has to part with because of my ravings.

I'll never own a 7mm anything. Don't have a good reason other than it just ain't my style.

quote:

270-23

wow! that with the 30-06 not far behind...i guess the addage familiarity breeds contempt rings true here

thanks for doing the tally

I like all calibers. I just like some better than others.

quote:

Originally posted by Brasso: Heck, my main hunting rifle is an 8x57 mauser with a back up model 94 in .375win, so I'm kind of weird myself.

You also apreciate the 8x57, good on you.!
with good bullet choice and shot placement why do you need a backup????

For me its

7x57 and 8x57 and all belted ammo.

BTW my gunsmith doent like the 8x68S


Burkhard

quote:

The .243 has always been touted as a beginners cartridge when, like the .410 shotgun, it's more for experts because it's underpowered for medium game and must be shot with precision, something beginners seldom do

Add to that the fact that I live in elk country and every proud papa who buys his kid a rifle buys a 243, and the kid goes and wounds every elk they shoot.

.308...I used to get irritated everytime some Rambo lookalike talked about how his black rifle would "reach out and touch someone" just because it was a .308. My response ran along the lines of how many other .30 caliber cartridges make the .308 look sick. Also, it just doesn't have the oomph needed to push heavy bullets.

I dislike the wannbe-338s such as the 35 Whelen and 338-06, plus I find little use for the 308 Win., 243 Win., 260 Rem., 6mm Rem, or any of the Ultra-Mags.

AD

As worthless a thread as I have ever read

Barstooler

Fun topic, the only cartridges I really hate are .243 Win, .280 Rem and anything with Wizzem or Ultra in its name. But then again...it wouldn't hurt my fellings if the Europeans had kept all their stupid 6.5's on their own side of the pond. Never seen anything a 6.5 would do that a .25 or .27 can't do better.

There was no reason to invent the 270 other than for marketing/sales. They should have made a .264/06 instead.Outside of that,you probably need a 300magnum. But I dont hate any of them.

quote:

Originally posted by allen day:
I dislike the wannbe-338s such as the 35 Whelen... AD

would have thought it was the other way around...

quote:

Never seen anything a 6.5 would do that a .25 or .27 can't do better.

Better SD's the odd 20's can't get near it.

All the fancy supershort magnums.

In high school I heard all too much about the "7 mag" which has grown to include the 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm STW, 7mm short mags, and 7 mm RUM.

I never liked the .270 either.

Nor the weak .22 centerfires like the Hornet and Bee.

I like the .243 and most .22 centerfires, and I like the .308 class, but I dont plan on buying anything in between (except maybe a 7x57).

Perhaps this would be different if I lived in the wide open spaces out west.

Edit - can I include those stupid Remington cartridges that needed a special eletronic M700 to fire the special Remington primers?

I don't hate any of them. If I could only have two rifles though they would be a .270wsm and a 9.3x62 (because I like big bullets but hate recoil). The .270 for long range and the 9.3 if I ever get a chance to hunt something bigger than a whitetail, besides I think it would be fun to shoot.

Geez, I hate to be sarcastic and disappoint anyone... , but if I just HAD to have a rifle I didn't like in a cartridge I hated, it would be a Winchester Featherweight (CRF ) in .270 Win. !!!
I can't think of a better combination of a cool looking rifle with excellent features in a caliber that will kill any North American game.
( remember this )

That said, I have no special affection for:

.220 Swift
.243. Win.
.338 Win.
.458 Win.

Several other cartridges come to mind, and I have NOT shot them nor do I care to.
I really don't have animosity toward any cartridge, but the BIGGEST letdown was the .30-06. It just didn't make me feel 'right'.

The biggest GRIN I ever had from shooting my own rifle was with the 7mm Rem.Mag. --- YEP!
It felt 'right' from the get-go. SPORTY.
Virtually the same setback as the .30-06, but it felt really good to shoot. Different. Hard to describe, but I'd equate it with how a Woman either feels harsh ( .30 ) or formidable ( 7mm ). I'll take formidable...
Either is capable, one is preferred.
The .30-06 left me with the feeling that if I wanted a heavier projectile to launch, I'd jump UP to another caliber...see below.

The .338 Win. was a great disappointment for me, personally, and I went for a .375 RUM to take it's place.
I'll let you know how it feels to ME.

Going up the scale, I felt the .45-70 was enough for my side of the world, and its versatility appealed to me.
If I were to go for a powerful .40+ caliber rifle, I just don't know enough about them yet, although I think from what I've read, I'd go with the .465 H&H, just for the sake of being ULTRA Traditional.

I don't let anyone's "harping" on the pros or cons of any caliber.
I like the .270 and the '06 for what they're capable of doing. I like the .270 better than the '06, and I like the 280 better than the .270. BUT, the .270 is one heck of a good round and I'd never feel bad about being "stuck" with one. They work, big time and that's what caused all the stir over all the years. They'll do what the magnums do with less muzzle blast and fuss. If it wasn't a great round it wouldn't have lasted for 80 years or so. I think I could use one as my only high powered rifle if need be. I like others, as well, but none are any great amount better, at least for the hunting I do. I'd be hard pressed to name any other caliber that can out perform it by any noticable margin. Same goes for the 30/06, except it doesn't share the same flat trajectory as the .270 and .280. It's all advertising and BS that makes the short mags the honey of all the impressionable deer hunters. I don't include the other types of big game hunters because if you can handle the recoil and muzzle blast of the mags, then for game bigger than deer they might just be a good choice, albeit an individual one.

I will never ever own a 338 Win MAG. Hate it! Why...I do not know really I just do. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Fun thread, lol... So I'll throw in my two cents worth here. As with most of us, there's no logical reason to dislike most of these rounds, it's just a personal dislike based on nothing at all perhaps or even just something as silly as the name of the cartridge.

I'm a conservative/traditionalist who sees little use in some of the "new and improved" rounds of today whose performance is simply nothing more than an overlap of the tried and true rounds we already have.

I find particularly irritating all of the WSM or WSSM, RUM, AI, etc line of cartridges. No explanation for it, just find them irritating is all I can say. How much better can they be than the good old .243, 280, 30-06 or .300 Win Mag/.338 Win Mag? Yes, OK the WSM's, et al are shorter, but is that it? So what? Can I buy them in a mom n pop store in Seligman, AZ? In 10-20 years will the ammo still be around to find if you dont reload or dont have time? Is the extra 100-150fps really that big a deal? The truth for the majority of sportsman is... rarely.

I love the old tried and true rounds that many people today seem to find so "boring"... the .243, '06, and the .375 H&H are my fav's. Boring? Who cares? They simply work. Period.

The .243 is pretty much a useless "tweener" in my book and I'll never own another.

On the other hand, everything is sort of a tweener except the 17 and the 600 Nitro....oh no. I might own another .243 some day

quote:

Originally posted by montea6b:
Hate the 7mmx57.
Love the 275 Rigby.

A bit like someone despising the .416 Rem but LOVING the .416 Hoffman.

Best,

JohnTheGreek