Campfire caliber conversations

[hoytcanon]

Unless you are in court. There I have experienced lawyers who argue for hours about what a single word means.

Kinda like the court of CGN threads...

 

[stubblejumper]

Language may be "fluid," but the words "caliber" and "cartridge" have clear definitions, the reality that "lay people" often get confused in the practical application of the words doesn't change that fact... they are so commonly misused that most people overlook the "faux pas," unless they are particularly anal...

So if someone came into a store that you were working in, and asked for 308 "bullets" what would you assume that they want?

 

[357Maximum]

From

 

[kamlooky]

So if someone came into a store that you were working in, and asked for 308 "bullets" what would you assume that they want?

That wood 'arff tuh be a "deem" decision.
How izz the capella sityew-atetitt awn hizz head?
Can yew see krack?
Duzz'ee uhm and uhm?
Duzz'ee play wid hizz buzz'in gizzmoe while hee's yapp'in
at yewse?
Or is he a gentlemanly bloke whom yewses prawper then's and
than's ware dey need'tit bee?

 

['Boo]

From the Oxford English dictionary (which is commonly quoted in court) :

Definition of calibre in English:

calibre
(US caliber)
NOUN

1[MASS NOUN] The quality of someone's character or the level of their ability.
‘they could ill afford to lose a man of his calibre’
More examples:
1.1The standard reached by something.
‘educational facilities of a very high calibre’
More example sentences
2The internal diameter or bore of a gun barrel.
[IN COMBINATION] ‘a small-calibre revolver’
More examples:
2.1The diameter of a bullet, shell, or rocket.
Example sentences
2.2The diameter of a body of circular section, such as a tube, blood vessel, or fibre.
‘the reduction in calibre of arterial vessels’
More example sentences
Origin
Mid 16th century (in the sense ‘social standing or importance’): from French, from Italian calibro, perhaps from Arabic qālib mould, based on Greek kalapous shoemaker's last.

 

[Sleeper]

As Kamlookie said if it's the first guy I would give him some .308 win in 150 grains. Second guy I would ask what grain of projectiles he was after

 

[357Maximum]

So if someone came into a store that you were working in, and asked for 308 "bullets" what would you assume that they want?

exactly as we commonly see, but doesn't make it correct

I have a 7mm Rifle for sale .

Now just what 7mm cartridge is it chambered in ?

7-30 Waters , 7-08 , 7x57 , .280, 7mm Saum, 7WSM, 7mm Rem Mag , 7mm Ultra Mag , 280AI and I've probably missed a few




357

 

[Longwalker]

From what I have in my gun room, certainly not ideal for many, but what I like:

1) Varmint .222 Rem
2) Mountain (deer, sheep, etc.) 7x64 Brenneke
3) Close Range Thick Cover (deer, moose, elk) .35 Whelen
4) Big Game (anything that walks in North America) .308 Win.

 

[Gibbs505]

My hunting partners and I were sipping chilled beverages around the campfire after a day of deer scouting last weekend and the topic of "ideal calibers" for particular uses came up.

Curious to see what the CGN community thinks. It's an academic exercise of sorts, but we had a great spirited discussion about it. Our only criteria was that the caliber had to be chambered in "regular" factory rifles.

1) Varmint
2) Mountain (deer, sheep, etc.)
3) Close Range Thick Cover (deer, moose, elk)
4) Big Game (anything that walks in North America)

1: 223
2: 6.5x55
3: 7 mm Rem Mag
4: 375 H&H

 

[keith mokry]

250 savage
375hh

 

[Boomer]

So if someone came into a store that you were working in, and asked for 308 "bullets" what would you assume that they want?

Component bullets.

 

[hometownhero]

So if someone came into a store that you were working in, and asked for 308 "bullets" what would you assume that they want?

Component bullets.

I would take them to the reloading sections and show them some .308" bullets. If you want loaded ammo then say that.

 

[madashell]

I would take them to the reloading sections and show them some .308" bullets. If you want loaded ammo then say that.

This argument is a losing battle. Have you been to a Cabela's or Bass Pro lately ?

You'd have better luck getting customers to define the difference between Mossy Oak and Realtree.

 

[NL-Hunter]

A .22/250 and a .300 Win. I dare you to find a North American hunting situation that you can't handle with just the two.

I will agree with the above statement, i would change the first to .243, if regulations allow in said hunting area, the .243 would in my books be more suitable for medium game.

 

[Superbrad]

Some of you folks would be amongst the worst campfire company EVER.......

 

[stubblejumper]

Component bullets.

I would take them to the reloading sections and show them some .308" bullets. If you want loaded ammo then say that.

And so would I, because I would assume that they knew what they were talking about, but you and I know full well, that some of them would really want loaded ammunition. It's not at all difficult to learn the proper terminology, and there is absolutely no downside to doing so.

Using caliber when referring to cartridge is equivalent to using bullets to describe loaded ammunition.

 

[NL-Hunter]

Some of you folks would be amongst the worst campfire company EVER.......

I know Should be adding to the list rather than subtracting. Sometimes sensibility kicks in.

In all reality though, there is a one gun compromise for this and also an argument for 8.

 

[WeatherdoG]

And so would I, because I would assume that they knew what they were talking about, but you and I know full well, that some of them would really want loaded ammunition. It's not at all difficult to learn the proper terminology, and there is absolutely no downside to doing so.

Using caliber when referring to cartridge is equivalent to using bullets to describe loaded ammunition.

If people want to be pedantic then you should be correcting your local weather person every time they dumb down the correct terminology for public consumption as well.

Flurries are correctly snow showers. Fog is only correct if the assessed visibility is less the 5/8 of a statute mile, beyond that and less that six statute miles is mist. "Mist" is correctly called drizzle if is describing precipitation with a diameter less than that of a rain drop, etc...

When we know what people mean based on the context of the sentence getting wrapped around the axle over minor errors or colloquialisms generally serves no purpose other than to make one feel superior to the person you are correcting. A learning environment is one obvious exemption.


To the Question

.223 Rem
.270 Win
.308 Win
9.3x62

 

[Ltbull01]

1) Varmint - 243
2) Mountain - any 7mm (and lots of practice!!)
3) Close Country/Thick Cover - 308
4) Big Game (anything that walks in North America) - 30-06 w/ 168 gr TSX loaded to max.

 

[Prairie Plinker]

Our only criteria was that the caliber had to be chambered in "regular" factory rifles. Blue for my "regular" choices, red for my ideal cartridge.

1) Varmint... .220 Swift... .220 Swift AI
2) Mountain (deer, sheep, etc.)... .264 Win Mag... 7mm STW
3) Close Range Thick Cover (deer, moose, elk)... .450 Marlin... Hand Grenade!
4) Big Game (anything that walks in North America)... .375 H&H... .375 Weatherby

Those be my choices. Ask me again in an hour and you'll get seven totally different answers. The hand grenade stays!