I favor the .300 savage in my model 99. I will put it up against any .308 ever made. Dont understand why the .300 savage got such a bad rap...perhaps its proponents are dying off and the model 99 is no longer being made. ( a real shame that.) .250-3000 Savage is another good one...killed off by the .243 I expect.

Another good obscure/wildcat/fading away is the .338-06. I had high hopes but only weatherby chambers it and it is now the age of the short magnum. Anyone that does have a .338-06 sings its praises but it is probably a dying round.

My newest baby is the .264 win Mag. I confess to being a 6.5 afficionado from way back, but I love this cartridge. It is like a .270 on steroids. Great choice of bullet weights and just flat out shoots. Another casualy of the short magum craze.

Does the 45-70 qualify in this category any more?? Looks like the marlin GG saved it from extinction.

Anyone else got a take on this???

I dont really think the 264 mag was a casualty of the short mag craze, it never totally was accepted because of it's reputation as a barrel burner, and the fact that many never were willing to leave the 270 or 30-06 for it. It's a great cartridge, I'd love to own one myself. Along the same lines I would classify the 240 wby mag as a great cartridge. Like you mentioned, it is like a 243 win on steroids. It will push a 100 grain Nosler Partition at 3300 to 3400 ft/sec. Low recoil, and flat shooting, it easily handles mule deer on down, including those tough ole wild boars.

22 hornet, would it still be considered obscure with the minor comeback its making?

7x57?

6.5x55

9.3x62

What defines obscure?

I would dearly like to see a comeback of the 6.5 Rem mag. Or at the least (departing from the poster's original question,) Winchester to try a 6.5 wsm. If a bolt action w/ 24" tube became available,I would be first in line. Try finding an older mod 700 in 6.5 Rem caliber to purchase!
best,
bhtr

I would define obscure as not easily found at your local emporium or not chambered on a regular basis by our sporting manufacturers.

swede

Technically, it might not exactly qualify as obscure, but I love the .44-40 WCF, especially when chambered in an original Model 1892 Winchester. It's a great, fun, and useful cartridge, and (to me at least!) the the Model '92 is the best and handiest lever gun of all time.

AD

Come on, you guys haven't listed an obscure caliber yet. I like my .300 Sherwood, although I'm out of bullets and need to get some more cast. Also the 360 No. 5 (which shoots 38 Long Colt as a substitute). I haven't made up any ammo to shoot this yet but I also have a .450 x 1 1/2, all the above on Martini action rifles.

I will admit that these are highly impractical for anything. My 7.65 Argentine and the 300 Savage are the most obscure I have that are actually useful, with the 7.65 being my favourite.

How 'bout 25-20 WCF? I've got one in an original '94 Marlin, 24" tapered Octagon barrel and Williams 5-d receiver sight. Quite a small game and "fun" gun.
Also a 250-3000 in a '99.

In 2004 Remington is bringing back the 6.5 Remington Magnum in their new Guide rifle, sporting a 22 inch barrel verses 18 1/2 of the original 600 guide rifle.

I shot a deer a couple years back with my 6.5X.257 AI. That's about obscure as it gets I probably shouldn't have sold that one. I would love to find a Remington 600 in 350 Remington magnum. I really like carbines.

DGK

32-20 Winchester

I grew up shooting a 250 &then 300 Savage built on Mauser 98s. Both were wonderful rifles. Now I shoot 243 & 30.06, both Steyrs- even more wonderful rifles.
Yeah- I know I'm boring

6.5 x 54 Mannlicher, with a 160 grain RN.

Winchester Model 54 in 257 Roberts, or 30/30 Winchester or 35 Remington.

Remington Model 8, in a 25 Remington, 32 Remington, 30 Remington, 35 Remington.

Remington 740 in a 223 or 222

Winchester Model 1886 in 33 Winchester, 40/65

Winchester Model 1895 in 303, 38/72

9.3X64 Brenneke...slightly more powerful than the 375 H&H in an '06 length action, headspacing on the shoulder.

358 Norma Mag...same power as the 375 H&H in an '06 action, good with 357 pistol bullets.

The majority of my rifles are chambered in rounds that are or were out of the mainstream.
In 1966 my oldest brother brought home, to our side of the family, our first high powered rifle, it was a Savage 340 in .225 Win. I viewed it as a backwoods boy must have upon being issued a new A3-03. I still have the very same 340 today as my varmint rifle although it gets more action as a long range tin can plinker. I handload it with 55 gr bullets and W760 powder and get between 3300 and 3400fps.
In the late 70's I purchased my first high power rifle, a Marlin 444. I never handloaded for it and only very recently sold it. My uncle had words with me about it at his kitchen table, and suggested I erred in my selection and should've chosen a .32 Win or .358. In retrospect, he was correct with the .358, in a model 88 at the late 70's price. If I'd have only known. My penance for such is being the custodian of a factory original (only fired at the factory) 1959 Win model 88 in .358 Win.
In 1991 I purchased a Browning Micro Medallion chambered in 7mm-08, intended to replace the .444 Marlin for deer hunting at altitude in CA. It's now my go to rifle, if all others go this one stays. The round has become much more accepted today than then, when it was still a novelty. I recall hearing that it would become difficult to find factory ammo for it and that the round may not become fully accepted. This was the proverbial kick in the butt that inspired me to start handloading. I load it with 140gr Rem pspcl's and 145gr Speer HC's and GS's with W760.
Shortly before the 7mm-08's arrival my wife decided she wanted to deer hunt with me. She didn't want the .243 caliber nor a lot of recoil. After some research and searching, before the internet boom, we found the Ruger 77RL in .257 Roberts. Some viewed the .257R as passe while others suggested rechambering it to an AI but, the more respectable folk voiced sound approval. I handload this round with both 100 and 120gr Speer HC and W760 for low recoil. The rifle is destined to be our daughters.
In the late 90's I discovered the .284 Win. existed. (Oh where had I been? Researching the .280 Rem.) I have a .284 Win in a Model 100, but really feel this round would be better served in a bolt action, such as the Browning A-Bolt or Winchester 70XTR with a longer throat and box magazine. I have one of each of these rifles chambered in .284 as well as a couple model 88's and 100's, most are still nib, the A-Bolt is a Micro Medallion with the 20" barrel and the Win 70 is from the 1994 limited production run of about 200, one pre and one post 64 88 and 100. Someday I will replace the Model 100 shooter with a rechambered 7mm-08 with a 22" or 24" barrel, probably with either an A-Bolt Composite Stalker or a Rem 700 SS DM. I handload the .284 Win with 154gr Hornady and with either IMR or H 4350 or W760. It's my backup to the 7-08 Micro Medallion.
About two or three years ago I happened into a very lightly used 1959 Winchester 70 standard grade chambered in 300 H&H. I got it for a song, along with two boxes of the original owners handloads that he made for it. It had never been scoped and most of the rounds were round nose. I've not fired them but I have been loading 180gr Rem pspcls with H4831 and H4350. It's just to nice to part with.
In the late 90's I was researching for an elk round and zeroed in on the 8mm Rem Mag. During 1998 I learned it was Remingtons annual chambering for their 700 Classic. (It, a classic??) It took me another year and half to find one very lightly used for a fair price. I'm plinking with it loaded with 200gr Speer HC's but have accumulated a fair supply of Barnes Originals in 225 and 250 gains for that still awaited elk hunt.
As old as these are, they're still in the main stream but, I have a .375 H&H for any opportunity I may get at a Brown Bear and the 30-06 for black bear. I'm on my second rifle for each of these calibers. I'm satisfied with the TGR-S but the jury is still out on the 111C, I may abandon the -06 and focus exclusively on the .300 H&H as my 30 caliber. I handload both the -06 and .375 H&H.
I can't explain why I have a 7mm Rem Mag. I guess it was the price on the rifle. Yep, load for it too.
Bill

.348 win

How about a 218 Bee in a Remington Model 25?

When I was very young I hunted with a borrowed .38-55 so I've always had a certain something for the caliber. I still remember how well the old lever gun pointed and shot. My very first really tight groups were shot with that gun so it holds a special place in my memories.

I dont have one but my cousin has one. how about a 351 win auto?would love to have the gun.

Has to be my cut down 30-40 Krag 1894 Spfld given to me be my grandfather many years ago. It wears a Williams peep sight and that's it. I got my biggest deer with it and my father got his biggest (and first) deer with it. It's really a smoooooooooth handling rifle.

Two at sort of opposite ends of the spectrum...........35 Whelen and the .264 .

Merry Christmas and Happy New year to ya Swede .

Did the 129 gr SST s and the H870 do any good in your rifle ?

sdgunslinger

This might be of interest to you as a 264 man.

By best shooting mate has extensively tried the 257 Wby, 264 Win, 6.5 STW, 7mm Rem, 7mm STW and 300 Wby. All rifles were match barrels on Rem 700 Stainless with Jewell triggers. He has been to Africa 4 times and has shot about 120 plains game. Of course there has been the odd kangaroo or two shot as well. At least 9

He has settled on the 264 as being the best. He now has a Rem 700 with HV taper barrel and 5 to 22 Nightforce scope in 264. He has another Rem 700 with a barrel that is .72" at the muzzle, also in 264, about like a Wby Accumark contour. That has a 5 to 15 Schmidt and Bender. As we speak another Rem 700 is being done in 264 with a barrel contour that is about like that on Rem 700s in 300 Winchester. That is getting a S&B which I think is called a Flash Dot or some similar name. I still have not have graduate from 6 X fixed powers

Mike

I have used a few of the less common calibers in some choice rifles, i.e., a Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine in 6.5x55 (not a typo), a pre-64 Westerner in .264, a Mod. 71 in .348 and so forth.

My favourite is the 9.3x74r in my Merkel drilling, with 12 ga. tubes. This round gives me 2300+ with the 286 gr. Nozzies with NO pressure signs and groups better than an inch @ 100 with a 4x Leupie. It hits almost as hard as my old Mod. 70s in .338 and .375 and the combo is very useful for killing meat animals in B.C. With two Partition Gold slugs, it is a pretty fair Grizzly gun while packing meat out, too.

Right now it would be the 33 winchester,and the 22johnson

Gentlemen, I love your choices.
Seafire you have rifles I enjoy totally, If you ever choose to sell the Model 54 or 86 I would like the 257 to go with my '54 06 and 30-338 and the '33 would match my 40-65 and 45-70.
Every once in a while I drag them all out and shoot them.
I can't say I have a favorite or anything that obscure but I do enjoy shooting the 40-65 in black along with my colt lightning DA in '38.
Frank

My obsolete ones:

Mannlicher-Schoenauer 8x60S Magnum;
Sako-FN M98 9,3x64 Brenneke, which just now is being built;
Sauer&Sohn Drilling 12/6,5x57R;
and perhaps my Brno ZKW465 .22Hornet.

Why be content with an usual cartridge?

Fritz

Hard to decide between the .25 Ackley Improved Krag on a Brookings Arms single shot action, the .280 Ross rifle, or the Martini .577 Snider.

260 rem in a Browning Low Wall

30-40Krag in a ruger #3

35 Whelen in a rem 7600

The two that I use the most are the 6/06 and the 7 Mashburn Super.

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dogz

Mine would have to be the 7x61 Sharpe & Hart, loaded with a 160gr. Nosler to a little over 2800fps. This rifle is a Shultz and Larson with a 24" bbl. It will do anything a 7mm Rem. will do, and do it with style.

Good Shooting,
MaBell

16-gauge 2-1/2 inch shotgun; it carries like a 20-gauge and kills like a 12-gauge.

7x64 - While common in Europe and Africa, it is quite obscure here in North America, which is a shame, as Wilhelm Brenneke preceeded Remington and the .280 Remington by about a half century.

My picks are the 8mm rem mag and .577 snider.

I'm about to get a 26" tube put on my 8mm, that should make it really shine.

If obscure means not produced by a major mfr., .358 Win.

Obscure = Not Common

I have a Marlin Model 1893 in 38-55
This is a really slick looking rifle and has a Lyman receiver sight on it! Haven't gotten around to getting ammo for it yet, but it's been in my cabinet for 4 years+!

I also have a Winchester Model 1910 in 401 Winchester Self Loading (WSL)! I have some of the original ammo for this rifle, round nose with a copper insert in the nose of the bullet! I guess the copper insert is the forerunner of the bronze point! I've never shot this one either, but I've had it for about 15 years!

It is not real obscure but beyond a shadow of a doubt it would be the .300 H&H. Mine is old and beat up but it feels so good.

So many choices! I have 7x57, a 300 Savage bolt, 284 Winchester, 358 Winchester, 250 Savage bolt, just to name a few!

Bob257
257 Roberts!

6.5x57 (NOT the 6.5-257)

I really like my .338-06 and .30-06 Ackley Improved Mausers.

What? No votes for the .222 Remington Magnum? Offers the most powder capacity on the .222-size case head and, but for the magazine length of the prototype AR-15 which required a slightly shorter round (hence, the .223), would have been adopted as the standard cartridge for the military.

585 Gehringer.Unique calibre. Less favoured than obscure.

karl.