what do you think is the most versatile cartridge ever made?

hoytcanon said:
The broadly experienced members are all choosing a 7mm or .30 cal magnum, with the "little" .30/06 coming in third... the woods hunters are choosing the .308 and possibly the .270, although the .270 also does well with the mountain sheep and goat crew... really if this becomes a poll as suggested it need only be;

1) 7mm Rem Mag
2) .300 Win Mag
3) .30/06 Springfield
4) .270 Win
5) .308 Win

Nothing else has a prayer of winning the debate... particularly .22 LR or .45/70... you might add the 6.5 Creedmoor in there, but only because that crew are prone to shedding tears and stamping feet.
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A fairly predictable line up.
 
Ill contribute some pictures to the thread.
My all around rifles: Zastava M70 in a bell and Carlson stock and CZ 550 also sitting in B&C stock.
Both in 8x57 (8MM Mauser)

pvDn4eA.jpg


150gr through 250gr pills all ready to cover my needs!

jyljXGa.jpg


Preferably the 160gr TTSX with a b.c. of .400 @ 2900 fps and
200 gr accubond with a b.c. 0f .450 @2600fps
 
dgradinaru said:
Ill contribute some pictures to the thread.
My all around rifles: Zastava M70 in a bell and Carlson stock and CZ 550 also sitting in B&C stock.
Both in 8x57 (8MM Mauser)

pvDn4eA.jpg


150gr through 250gr pills all ready to cover my needs!

jyljXGa.jpg


Preferably the 160gr TTSX with a b.c. of .400 @ 2900 fps and
200 gr accubond with a b.c. 0f .450 @2600fps
Click to expand...

Nice rifles!
 
.270’s growing up, these are readily available now off the shelf here. Even the 130s BCs are getting impressive. I suspect the next 5 years will see the redevelopment of .277 and .257 bore sizes, quicker twist rates and better bullets. Both hit niches, the .257 between the 6mm and 6.5mm. 6 has always been a tad too light for what I want, and 6.5 a tad too heavy, I want to see a 120 to 130gr with a .600 G1 BC moving at 3000 or better for mountain goat hunting. .277 does the same split of the 6.5 and 7mm, and on heavier game has a really future with modern bullet designs that fly flatter and buck wind.

zZehafl.jpg
 
Ardent said:
I suspect the next 5 years will see the redevelopment of .277 and .257 bore sizes, quicker twist rates and better bullets. Both hit niches, the .257 between the 6mm and 6.5mm. 6 has always been a tad too light for what I want, and 6.5 a tad too heavy, I want to see a 120 to 130gr with a .600 G1 BC moving at 3000 or better for mountain goat hunting.
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There were a number of competitors shooting 25 Creedmoors thru the 2019 PRS/NRL season. I found it somewhat surprising, given how well established the 6mm/6.5mm/7mm options are. But it's bound to have a positive trickled down effect for quarterbore fans!
 
Blackjack has been a game changer in .25 with their 131gr VLDs. G1 .670 / G7 .330, and will fly at around 3,000fps from a short action case (.25-08 / Creedmoor / etc). That’s supersonic to 1 mile with almost no recoil to speak of, and point blank to 300 yards with no holdovers when zeroed at 250 +\- 3”. Only 2.5 feet of drop from the same zero at 500 yards. I suspect we’ll see more of that, I think the modern .25 has a bigger niche than the modern .270, there’s a legitimate gap between 6mm and 6.5mm for high BC offerings and the quarter bore aligns very well with short action case capacities, and bullet weights for big game.
 
7mm Rem Mag based on versatility here in BC for above/below tree line and type of critters and boolit options....Ardent summed it up nicely long ago in his post 114 and thread could have just wrapped then and there....but now what fun would that be!! I typically use my 338 for below tree line calling in Gbear country based on what I might have to shoot and my 7mag for above tree line hunts. Based on OP’s parameters of only 1 and recoil the 7mag checks most boxes.
 
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northfork said:
7mm Rem Mag based on versatility here in BC for above/below tree line and type of critters and boolit options....Ardent summed it up nicely long ago and thread could have just wrapped then and there....but now what fun would that be!!
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7mil mag is a HORNY round!! I love the ballistics on it, but have yet to purchase a firearm chambered in such. (For that caliber, I'll go with an A-bolt, X-bolt, Weatherby or Sako) Anything less would be like putting a polyester suit on James Bond.

Now, it was thrown around at a table with my buds about the very wonderful ballistics on the 7mil mag. To which all agreed, however... it was mentioned by one of our buds that particular round likes particular ammo in particular guns.

To expand and compare.. you can take any firearm chambered in 308, throw any store bought ammo in it, and it will sustain consistent groupings. Whereas the 7mm mag is more finicky, and apparently it likes more specific ammo types in the firearm you are using OR you will have a greater variation in group sizes. Maybe you could expand on this?

I have not tested this theory, not yet, but as soon as I get something in 7mil mag, I will.
 
44fordy said:
7mil mag is a HORNY round!! I love the ballistics on it, but have yet to purchase a firearm chambered in such. (For that caliber, I'll go with an A-bolt, X-bolt, Weatherby or Sako) Anything less would be like putting a polyester suit on James Bond.

Now, it was thrown around at a table with my buds about the very wonderful ballistics on the 7mil mag. To which all agreed, however... it was mentioned by one of our buds that particular round likes particular ammo in particular guns.

To expand and compare.. you can take any firearm chambered in 308, throw any store bought ammo in it, and it will sustain consistent groupings. Whereas the 7mm mag is more finicky, and apparently it likes more specific ammo types in the firearm you are using OR you will have a greater variation in group sizes. Maybe you could expand on this?

I have not tested this theory, not yet, but as soon as I get something in 7mil mag, I will.
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That has not been my experience, but that is only with three rifles in this chambering over the years. I think any rifle will prefer one load above all others, and that is the challenge and the reward of hand-loading. But generally, the results are not that drastic. With one ammo, any given rifle should perform reasonably well, and consistently, and that has been my experience to date with 7 mm Rem Mag.

JMOYMV

Doug
 
Doug said:
That has not been my experience, but that is only with three rifles in this chambering over the years. I think any rifle will prefer one load above all others, and that is the challenge and the reward of hand-loading. But generally, the results are not that drastic. With one ammo, any given rifle should perform reasonably well, and consistently, and that has been my experience to date with 7 mm Rem Mag.

JMOYMV

Doug
Click to expand...

That's great Doug, and thanks for the input!

I'm looking forward to getting something in this caliber.

Cheers
 
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