I'm bored and have been contemplating the current state of our collective interest (rifles and cartridges). We are members of a rather exclusive club. Discussions involving the 6mm BR and .284 Shehane are commonplace here but out in the "real world" of shooting, we're speaking Pig Latin. Let's face it: we're a relatively small and exclusive group. Kinda like every specialty interest (cars, art, etc) we discuss and argue minute details.
Recently I've been thinking about a handy firearm to deal with vermin around the house. Possums, coyotes, feral cats, skunks, whatever. More muscle than a rimfire but nothing truly high power. Truthfully, a lever action in 218 Bee or 25-20 would be perfect for my purposes but good luck finding such a rifle at an affordable price. These cartridges served a purpose in their day and still could but now they're gasping for air. But that's not my point.
Here's my point:
Some excellent chamberings have been relegated to obscurity or cult status due to no fault of their own. Some were mated to the wrong rifle. Others received a bad reputation without any actual proof. And still others were just ahead of their time. Many of the 100+ year old cartridges can and should be supremely useful today but instead have been pushed aside.
I've never encountered a situation where a 250-3000 wouldn't be everything needed to plant a white tail deer at ranges that 98% of all deer are actually shot.
My .17 Remington barrel didn't foul after a dozen shots and wind didn't blow the bullets into the next county.
A 6mm Remington will do everything a .243 will do...and a teeny bit more. I love mine. Yeah, yeah I know. Short action length issue.
The 30-338 (or 308 Norma) is what the 300 Winchester should have been to begin with.
The 5mm Remington never was given a real chance.
Charles Newton was a ballistic genious but gun powder technology hadn't caught up in time.
Examples are numerous.
Again, I'm mostly rambling. Sorry to anyone whose pet cartridge I've insulted. No harm meant but I'll accept the flames.
Recently I've been thinking about a handy firearm to deal with vermin around the house. Possums, coyotes, feral cats, skunks, whatever. More muscle than a rimfire but nothing truly high power. Truthfully, a lever action in 218 Bee or 25-20 would be perfect for my purposes but good luck finding such a rifle at an affordable price. These cartridges served a purpose in their day and still could but now they're gasping for air. But that's not my point.
Here's my point:
Some excellent chamberings have been relegated to obscurity or cult status due to no fault of their own. Some were mated to the wrong rifle. Others received a bad reputation without any actual proof. And still others were just ahead of their time. Many of the 100+ year old cartridges can and should be supremely useful today but instead have been pushed aside.
I've never encountered a situation where a 250-3000 wouldn't be everything needed to plant a white tail deer at ranges that 98% of all deer are actually shot.
My .17 Remington barrel didn't foul after a dozen shots and wind didn't blow the bullets into the next county.
A 6mm Remington will do everything a .243 will do...and a teeny bit more. I love mine. Yeah, yeah I know. Short action length issue.
The 30-338 (or 308 Norma) is what the 300 Winchester should have been to begin with.
The 5mm Remington never was given a real chance.
Charles Newton was a ballistic genious but gun powder technology hadn't caught up in time.
Examples are numerous.
Again, I'm mostly rambling. Sorry to anyone whose pet cartridge I've insulted. No harm meant but I'll accept the flames.
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Bullets available for anything you want to shoot. It'll kill em all, from mice to moose.
