I used to want fast and flat, before it was all the rage. Never really saw the apeal of a 308. Its slower than a 3006, who on earth would want one? Always wanted a 7 rem mag, now I have both and I have really taken to the 308, I still have a 22-250, 270,7 rem mag, and they all fine I just finally realized that I dont shoot deer or anything for that matter at enough distance to worry about it. I have also had alot of fun getting into hunting with muzzleloader and archery.
How have your rifle caliber prefernces....
- Thread starter garandman
- Start date
butchlambert
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Not enough room to list them, but I still have a lot that I've never fired. I enjoy the building most. I'm building and shooting 22 RF benchrest, I have a 300&338RUM barrels and receiver waiting on a D'Arcy Echols stock. We have a 1 mile range close and I want to do it one time. I have a March 2.5-25x scope for it. Got a 375 barrel coming for a 375 H&H when D'Arcy makes a run of his new receivers. I built a 308 hunting rifle and it is the cat's meow. What a pleasant shooter and I can't find a bad load for it.
This pattern has been my experience with motorcycles, 4 wheelers, cars, and now I fear, guns. I don’t use 20% of my amplifiers’ power anymore. I don’t need to even to watch for speed traps. My cars are literally lasting forever. This is bad guys, very, very bad. I can see where this is leading. I’m gonna shoot a .338 at 300, next time
).I started off oh so many years ago, with a Savage 110 in 30-30. Then went to 30-06. Then 7mm Rem Mag.
I bought a Stevens 200 in 7mm-08. And got interested in seeing what i could do as far as smithing. Took the barrel off and reamed it to "Ackley Improved". After 6,000+ rounds through it i rebarreled to 250 Savage.
Then i found a rifle i had wanted for years, at a price that i could afford. Ruger 77 MKII in 257 Roberts.
It seems the "obsolete" cartridges really suit my liking.
Built a commercial Mauser action into a 284 Win.
Then (2) 280 Remingtons. Sold one. Grrr!
Now a Savage 111 in 257 Roberts AI that i finished.
A 7X57 Mauser that i really need to finish for my daughter.
And just got the barrel for a benchrest build in 250 Savage.
Looking at a Savage Axis in 223 Rem to build a 257 Kimber.
And on the look out for another Savage in 7mm-08.
I bought a Stevens 200 in 7mm-08. And got interested in seeing what i could do as far as smithing. Took the barrel off and reamed it to "Ackley Improved". After 6,000+ rounds through it i rebarreled to 250 Savage.
Then i found a rifle i had wanted for years, at a price that i could afford. Ruger 77 MKII in 257 Roberts.
It seems the "obsolete" cartridges really suit my liking.
Built a commercial Mauser action into a 284 Win.
Then (2) 280 Remingtons. Sold one. Grrr!
Now a Savage 111 in 257 Roberts AI that i finished.
A 7X57 Mauser that i really need to finish for my daughter.
And just got the barrel for a benchrest build in 250 Savage.
Looking at a Savage Axis in 223 Rem to build a 257 Kimber.
And on the look out for another Savage in 7mm-08.
Started shooting centerfire with surplus rifles, Mauser and Mosin Nagant. Moved to .223s and .222s along with a .22-250 and .204. Then to .20VT and .17FB. Lately been attracted to the 6MMs and shooting my .243, 6MM Remington and in the process of building a 6BR. For PD shooting, can’t beat the small cals. Just happy to be out shooting again, many times with my son, after a few years of not pulling the trigger.
Growing up reading the Speer reloading manual, I decided I had to have a rifle in 2 calibers - a 300 H&H and a 338-06. I only hunt white tails so for no other reason other than that is what I wanted. I got my 300 in 1988 and my first 338-06 in 2005 or so. Along the way I got a "light rifle" in 7mm-08 but sold it recently for 3x what I paid for it. Kind of replaced it with a nice Mauser in 6mm Rem that I may switch to 7mm-08 since I have alot of components for it. I have had 223's for varmints but made myself a 20VT because I read too much..... Joined here for reloading tips and ended up with a 6BR just to amuse myself on the range (thanks!).
They have not. I am not a Trendy person that seeks novelty. I do not read gun rags any more either and I am better for it. No trendy B.S. for me. No half truths and outright lies.
If not for gun rags and trendiness we would not have that stupidity that short actions are stiffer than long actions, that fluted and or carbon wrapped barrels are stiffer than the original barbell or more accurate, and we would not have the supreme stupidity that the 6.5 Creedmoor can outperform the 300 Win Mag! Just to name a few.
Long before the 6.5 CM came along I was shooting plenty of 6.5mm cartridges. Proprietary cartridges are for people with more money than brains and no historical prospective! So basically those people that get all their info from internet forums and gun rags! LOL
People in the hobby get bored and let's face it they waste a lot of money and time for no real reason outside of boredom! Then when someone wins with what ever they have cooked up it becomes all the rage until someone else wins with something mundane. Look at all the nonsense with the 6.5-284 until people started to win with straight .284 Win. People spent all kinds of time on the 6.5-284 and really it did not do anything that the .284 Win could not do on it's own.
Part of me hates companies like Hornady and Nosler while also loving them! They waste the time and money of hobbyist not because they actual have something better rather they just want to make more money and do not care if it hurts the industry over all so long as it is good for their bottom line. They churn out proprietary cartridges and mediocre brass knowing that 99% of them will not make it but that does not stop them! They have no moderation either they just keep churning them out.
Worst of all some of these cartridges require modification to actions that can never be "undone" so once the cartridges fail and they stop making the brass the rifles are now boat anchors for 99.999% of gun owners since nothing else can be built off of them. To burn through actions like that is selfish and abhorrent unless they are willing to guarantee that so long as the company remains in business they will make the brass and sell it at affordable prices on par with the most popular and common brass. They will never do that so it is a fools folly to chamber a rifle for a proprietary cartridge!
Never trust anyone that claims a cartridge is based on 404 Jeffery brass unless you can make that exact same cartridge to the proprietary cartridge drawing with 404 Jeffry Brass! 90% of companies that make that claim are liars if you actually look at case dimensions.
We have plenty of fantastic cartridges designed long ago that will do almost everything the modern wonder cartridges will do. If the group size is not consistently smaller and the animal consistently more dead than it is not progress at all. If anything I want better brass at a cheaper price! I want better powder at a cheaper price. All I have seen in the last 3 decades is prices go up with no real advancement of any kind!
If not for gun rags and trendiness we would not have that stupidity that short actions are stiffer than long actions, that fluted and or carbon wrapped barrels are stiffer than the original barbell or more accurate, and we would not have the supreme stupidity that the 6.5 Creedmoor can outperform the 300 Win Mag! Just to name a few.
Long before the 6.5 CM came along I was shooting plenty of 6.5mm cartridges. Proprietary cartridges are for people with more money than brains and no historical prospective! So basically those people that get all their info from internet forums and gun rags! LOL
People in the hobby get bored and let's face it they waste a lot of money and time for no real reason outside of boredom! Then when someone wins with what ever they have cooked up it becomes all the rage until someone else wins with something mundane. Look at all the nonsense with the 6.5-284 until people started to win with straight .284 Win. People spent all kinds of time on the 6.5-284 and really it did not do anything that the .284 Win could not do on it's own.
Part of me hates companies like Hornady and Nosler while also loving them! They waste the time and money of hobbyist not because they actual have something better rather they just want to make more money and do not care if it hurts the industry over all so long as it is good for their bottom line. They churn out proprietary cartridges and mediocre brass knowing that 99% of them will not make it but that does not stop them! They have no moderation either they just keep churning them out.
Worst of all some of these cartridges require modification to actions that can never be "undone" so once the cartridges fail and they stop making the brass the rifles are now boat anchors for 99.999% of gun owners since nothing else can be built off of them. To burn through actions like that is selfish and abhorrent unless they are willing to guarantee that so long as the company remains in business they will make the brass and sell it at affordable prices on par with the most popular and common brass. They will never do that so it is a fools folly to chamber a rifle for a proprietary cartridge!
Never trust anyone that claims a cartridge is based on 404 Jeffery brass unless you can make that exact same cartridge to the proprietary cartridge drawing with 404 Jeffry Brass! 90% of companies that make that claim are liars if you actually look at case dimensions.
We have plenty of fantastic cartridges designed long ago that will do almost everything the modern wonder cartridges will do. If the group size is not consistently smaller and the animal consistently more dead than it is not progress at all. If anything I want better brass at a cheaper price! I want better powder at a cheaper price. All I have seen in the last 3 decades is prices go up with no real advancement of any kind!
butchlambert
Site $$ Sponsor
I understand what you are trying to say, but I can't completely agree.
I’m pretty much a .17 and .20 man anymore. Paper punching lost its sparkle (but I learned a ton doing it) and game hunting takes too much work for this lazy dude. Colony rodent shooting provides tons of sandbox time and I can do it while sipping a beer. The subcalibers perform amazingly and the recoil fatigue factor is essentially zero.
I find myself rethinking what is the right-size cartridge for my specific application. The result is that I have become more fluid with my cartridges, and no longer handcuffed by "bigger is better" or obligated to the established standards. With the exception of shooting long range (1K), most of my applications don't need much more than 32gr of powder.... Smaller cartridges with more efficient case designs.
At the same time smaller cartridges only make sense if you are not having to max it out just to achieve an unreasonable performance objective.
At the same time smaller cartridges only make sense if you are not having to max it out just to achieve an unreasonable performance objective.
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