Best all around cartridge

[ericb622]

Ok
Sense the demise and my sabbatical from the original gun forums, there have been significant developments in the world of hunting and target rifle cartridge… ie Creedmor, PRC, long and skinning bullets, short and fat cases, spooky fast twists stabilizing heavy for caliber bullet.

Anyway, what cartridge does everyone consider the most useful these days? The old standbys or the new kids?

While I’m still a fan of the old cartridges… .270, 30’06, 7RM, The new creedmors and PRCs are pretty intriguing. I personally think they will supplant the vulnerable ( and venerable) belted magnums, especially the 7RM.

What’s everyone else thinking? And be gentle, you all know I’m tender.

[Zee]

That’s all relative to purpose/location/technique.

[Bigslug]

I'm sticking with the.30-06:

Huge range of bullet weights and types with room in the action to use them. Doesn't suffer the heavy bullet / magazine interference problems of the "short" actions. Can play for varmints in a pinch. Can play for dangerous game without the shoulder pounding of of the true magnums. Can be loaded to shoot flat enough for "point-and-click" trajectory to about 300 yards on medium game, beyond which one should have a really good reason for even pulling the trigger. Has a nice long neck to work well with cast bullets. Has amply proven it's capabilities as a target and sniping round. Came stock in the M1917 Enfield (at which point we were simply DONE with action design, IMO.)

A lot of the new **** is simply a re-packaging of a 100+ year old round to fit in somebody's "flavor of the week" action (usually short), and brought to your table with a lot of marketing hype to make it seem like a tasty meal - I.O.W. congrats on your 6.5 Creedmoor, but the Swedes and Imperial Japanese may sue you for patent infringement. I find nothing wrong with the 100+ year old rounds as they are.

And honestly, I'd put the 7x57 right up alongside the '06 with the caveat that we reformulate the load data for a post 1898 action.

[GrapeApe]

As the old axiom says, "There's not much, a man can't fix, with $500 and a 30-06"

Is it the sleekest or sexiest? Nope. However, let's see how many of the new wonder rounds are still around in 2142 (118 years from now, the current age of the venerable '06)

Edited to add: I agree with slug on the 06's "daddy" the 7x57.

I own one TRULY, "built to my specs" rifle. Guess what it's chambered for? YEP, 7X57
Though its star is, unfortunately, in decline

[Ernie]

That’s all relative to purpose/location/technique.

[Elk Creek]

Best cartridge… like Zee said, for what tons of variables!
For me the ‘06 would fit for function but it wouldn’t be fun!

[ericb622]

That’s all relative to purpose/location/technique.

Agree but what would is the most useful these days? I’m not shooting p-dogs with an ‘06 not shooting Griz in AK with a 6.5 CM. But has the old school cartridges been supplanted by the new whiz-bang chamberings?
For that matter, in shooting holes ( yes, pun intended) have we become so functionally finicky that there aren’t any so-all cartridges like there used to be?
Used to be the old sodbuster owned a 3 gun battery for everything from rabbits to ‘yotes to deer and geese. Now we need a dozen rifles relative to purpose/ location/technique not to mention all the latest fad camo dip patterns for different terrain

[Zee]

For my purpose/location/technique, I haven’t found anything I can’t do with a .223 Rem and .308 Win. They are the logistical easy button.
Doesn’t mean I don’t use others at times. Spice things up a bit. Experiment. Take a walk on the wild side.
But, I typically come back to them. They are easy and work.
But again, my purpose/location/technique.
.243 Win gets a hefty nod as well.

It is fun to dream about adventures. A 3-Gun option to do it all. A 1-Gun to rule them all. Travel. Hunt.

But then, reality kicks in and I realize I have a wide assortment of cartridges and firearms that do nothing but collect dust. Giving way to the old reliable .223/.243/.308 that see the bulk of the usage.

I have four platforms in .30-06 Springfield. I often think about getting another. And then I realize…….why? I don’t often use the ones I have.
Collecting is fun. Not always practical, though.

[Zee]

I like trying new cartridges. Loading/testing/sciencing. Then, when the new wears off…….I return to the mundane.

Granted, I have a logistical advantage. Someone else might be in a different situation/location.

Choices. We have them.

[Zee]

I’ve shot deer with a .50 BMG round. The biggest bull elk I’ve ever seen on the hoof was dropped with a single shot from the tiny .243 Winchester.
We use what we have, know, and desire.

[Wambli Ska]

I love them all but my go-to for decades now has been the 7mm/08. No fuss, no drama, no loud bark, just dead deer every time

[CPJ 2.0]

.308 would probably be my vote, however as mentioned location and purpose come into play.
.308 will take anything in North America. It’s better than the 30-06 because with 150 grain class bullets they are basically ballistically the same. Less powder shorter actions. “but the ought six can shoot 200+ grain bullets!”
Sure. Who really does though?

[ericb622]

lol
I’m trying to figure out how to answer to 3 reply’s.
I agree with everything you say ( sneaky bastard).
I have a dang 7 that has never taken a head of game. Everything I do can be done with what I own but I want other cool poop too.
I’m looking at these .30 and 7 PRC data…impressive but!!!
One side of me knows everything I point that old .270 seems to fall over. But you know what they say about variety.

I think I need a 45-70 and a .222 and another beer.

[GrapeApe]

There's not much that couldn't be handled with a 22LR, a 12ga and a 30-06
Are they the "BEST"? Probably not, but those 3 chamberings, or a similar battery, could be found in a LOT of gunracks over the years.

Yes, I LOVE my 'wulf for a <150yard thumper, and it's little brother Grendel (x2) is also HIGH on my list. But I could do 99.9% of the hunting I do with just those 3.

edited to add: I actually refer to the 'wulf as my, "I REALLY don't feel like tracking one today" rifle

12ga x2
30-06 x2
50 Beowulf x1
6.5 grendel x2
223 x4
300BO x3
22LR x7 I think

[mitdr774]

One cartridge cant be counted on to do it all. The closest I could come up with though would be a .30-06. It can be loaded with a wide range of bullet weights to cover a good portion of North American game. A close second for me would be .35 Whelen as it covers the larger species better.

[Freezer]

The voices of knowledge and wisdom have spoken, 22lr, 30-06 and 12 gauge but, beyond that, I'd like a 223 for vermin. Besides, the ammo is cheap and available.

[Rugerfan]

The new Sporting Classics in the Hunting section has a good article on several of the new cartridges and how they compare to the old

[shotgunshooter3]

Like all the fine folks here have already discussed, "it depends."

In all reality, for what I want from a "do-all" rifle cartridge, the .30-06 is the ticket. Perfectly capable of taking NA game out to 500+ with the right bullet and judicious marksmanship, ubiquitously available at an economical price, and not going to vanish in my lifetime. Additionally, I have a small US Mil-Surp collection that isn't going anywhere so logistically having one cartridge appeals to me. I have actually considered ditching my 7mm RM and going to a .30-06 for the ammo cost/availability and the (admittedly unneeded) commonality with my Mil-Surps. As long as I'm not limited to straight wall cartridges it would get it done.

Ironically, I don't have a .30-06 hunting rifle, and I have a 7mm08 and .243 with sentimental value that aren't going anywhere. Variety is the spice of life.

If big game hunting wasn't on the table for me, a .223 would meet the majority of my needs for 3-gun and target shooting just fine.

I am VERY interested in some of the new kids on the block, particularly the 7mm PRC. However, commercial availability is a factor for me personally and it's yet to see which of the whiz bang noobs make it in the long run (though I personally have a feeling that 7mm PRC is here to stay).

[CPJ 2.0]

SS3 brings up a good point on the new stuff.
What’s gonna stick around?
Take a look at the WSM rounds. Gone. (Not gone, but gonna be hard to find, y’all get the point)
Of all the creedmore rounds, the 6.5 will stay for sure. It was the first with the slickest marketing. Other than the advantage of being able to load long bullets AND be magazine fed, it’s basically a .260 Winchester. Which can be made with 308 brass. But the mag thing IS a concern for those in certain competitions.

Filed under “poop that annoys Bigslug “ would be the 6ARC. Yes, another round made to be shoved into the short AR platform magazines. But this one….this one is damn near a .243 Winchester in a short action, which is impressive. Not just a “let’s make something we can shove in an AR for the retarded states that need straight wall cases to hunt with” round. But a bonafide improvement.
But I also live in a free state where I can hunt with an AR and like the option, so that could be why it gives me a boner. And it can be built on a .223 sized bolt action (howa, CZ, potentially savage) for a light ass rifle.

Theres possible other advantages, but, anyway.

[shotgunshooter3]

Count me in with the crowd that likes cartridges that fit in already available magazines. To me the less proprietary gadgets or equipment I have to buy, the better.

I haven't so much as taken a glance at 6mm ARC, but if it's approaching .243 performance in an AR platform color me interested.

[Bigslug]

.308 would probably be my vote, however as mentioned location and purpose come into play.
.308 will take anything in North America. It’s better than the 30-06 because with 150 grain class bullets they are basically ballistically the same. Less powder shorter actions.

Not really. Whatever bullet you want to throw, the '06 will throw it 150 to 200 fps faster. The short actions birthed by the .308 in the early NATO days are the nemesis of the rounds we keep trying to fit in them - the magazines were sized for 147 grain M80 ball, with no foresight given to tracer, AP, match bullets, the plastic nose cones that didn't exist at the time, or necking down to a smaller-caliber / higher B.C. bullet. Pretty much anything longer than a 150 grain lead core .30 is getting shoved back into the case's shoulder, cutting into your powder capacity. With the long modern coppers, the problem is only exacerbated - - my Ruger Scout ended up with 130's TTSX's for that reason, which worked wonderfully for my 2022 deer season, but the topic here is all-around use, not good for one task. When you get into 180 grain lead or any of the high-BC or copper 165's with some length to them, the contest ends; the "no substitute for cubic inches" mantra of auto racing applies.

I like the .308, but it really is one of those "functional abortions" of U.S. small arms procurement that got forced down NATO's throat by the biggest bully on the block. We've crammed it into a lot of different boxes and made it work due to the fact that military commonality put it everywhere. A great medium game, medium range round, but I think the 165/180 grain ceiling keeps it off the "all rounder" radar.

“but the ought six can shoot 200+ grain bullets!”
Sure. Who really does though?

Why Chris. . .I'm hurt.

It's actually a topic that I think bears further study at the hands of an enterprising elk or moose hunter. I just gave Hornady's site a look, and a 220 grain .30 round noses actually have a HIGHER sectional density than the 300 grain .375's which are known for their ability to penetrate. The .30-06 can be had in the cheap, common "standard" length action (and can serve as your deer rifle), where the African magnums need something longer, scarcer, heavier, and costlier (and are often pretty much a one-trick dangerous game pony).

It's an interesting and happy accident that this versatility comes to us from Uncle Sam's original intent of retaining the .30-40 Krag's bullet in the 1903 Springfield. We probably wouldn't be here if the '06 had started with the spitzers.

[CPJ 2.0]

200 FPS. Guess what it means to 98%+ Of all hunters? D EYE SEE KAY ****.

150 grain Hornady SST (bleh) used for the numbers.


2800 bananas per second.

[CPJ 2.0]

3000 bananas per second.


Couple inches drop difference at 300. 7 at 400. Meh. Most people aren’t shooting that far. And if you are, your range estimation and shooting ability will (should, or you’re a **** slob hunter) trump your bullet drop. If you can’t make the hit, don’t take the shot.

Is there some fudge room advantage at distances past 300? YES.
But unless you’re ranging with a rangefinder, you’re guessing.

[Ernie]

That’s all relative to purpose/location/technique.

Agree but what would is the most useful these days? I’m not shooting p-dogs with an ‘06 not shooting Griz in AK with a 6.5 CM. But has the old school cartridges been supplanted by the new whiz-bang chamberings?
For that matter, in shooting holes ( yes, pun intended) have we become so functionally finicky that there aren’t any so-all cartridges like there used to be?
Used to be the old sodbuster owned a 3 gun battery for everything from rabbits to ‘yotes to deer and geese. Now we need a dozen rifles relative to purpose/ location/technique not to mention all the latest fad camo dip patterns for different terrain

It is going to come down to what you WANT...Plain and simple
Do you hunt brown bear/Grizzly?
Do you shoot pd's?
Components for the "Creeds" (multiple calibers) and the PRC's are going to be around for a long time.
What do you want?
From your posts, you probably don't NEED anything.

[Ernie]

I have used a center-grip 7mm Dakota XP-100 with 200 grain bullets to kill prairie dogs.
Years ago, killed some pd's with a friends Browning A-Bolt in 338 WM