Lol!
Well, the older I get, the smaller my hunting cartridges have gotten, but a muzzle brake changed that back somewhat several years ago. Back to a moderate 280 AI. It gets the job done nicely for anything that doesn't hunt me.!
My competition rifles have been all over the place over the years, cartridge wise. Since I shoot short range by far more than anything else, I'll stick with those cartridges here.
Started, like many of us, with a good shooting varmint rifle. It was a m70 heavy varminter chambered in...22-250! Yep..it was hard on barrels but it shot great. It was my first and only true 1/4 moa factory rifle.
It was good enough to set the hook deep!
Again like many, I went with a few 6br's and 6ppc's for a while, then got into registered matches shooting IBS VFS. Started with a good shooting Stolle Teddy in 6BR but it didn't take long to realize I needed a 30BR in that game. Did so and had some pretty good luck with it, winning a few matches in a tough crowd before getting the itch to try my new wildcat 30 Major(30 Grendel) cartridge. That thing shot great! I wore out a bunch of barrels on it(that's saying something)before UBR came along...a caliber neutral benchest for score game. The hook has never been deeper!
I shot the first few years with my 30 Major with some success but had the wildcat itch again soon. Since there is no scoring advantage to the bigger bullet of a 30 in UBR, I soon gravitated to a 220 Beggs. Boy, that thing is fun! No recoil and shoots like a lazer! Again, had some success with it, winning several matches and tying a world record only to see a new record shot at the same match by a good friend and gunsmith by the name of Mike Niblett. Now this guy was a shooter. One of the best I've ever personally known. Sadly, Mike has passed on.
Still got the wildcat bug. I guess the only cure is another wildcat! So, been playing with a 6 Grendel for the last few years. Wonderful cartridge! It just makes a lot of sense, really. I've been pretty lucky with this little round too, winning a UBR National championship with one in 2019 and I was first loser to yet another world record holder last year! I will say this...I absolutely love this stuff and UBR is a great game with some of the best people anywhere!!
I still shoot my 30 Major some, even in caliber neutral UBR matches. I still think it's the most accurate cartridge I've ever been around..but it's a 30 and is harder to tame consistently vs the 6's. I plan to shoot it in the upcoming UBR Nats in one class and the 6 Grendel in unlimited. Heck, I plan on shooting a 6BR in Modified at the same match, too. That gun shoots pretty dang well and has a story to tell of its own.
Enjoyed the post and the reminiscing. Keep em coming and shoot small!--M
