Centrefire Rifles

sealhunter

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If you do not handload, (or couldn't) what rifle calibre offers the best factory loads. Doesn't matter if they are 60$ or 10$, they must be available in Canada though. Please specify intended game as well.
 
but do you think there are better ones than others?

Like what do you consider the premium grade for 3030.
or say 45/70.

I am not a handloader and made the huge mistake once of buying a 35 Whelan Rem 700. In hind sight a little bit of research would have saved me this error. The rifle was a nice one, the calibre sinply amazing for the purpose I had in mind, but the factory ammo was useless.

Dogleg, what game ?
 
Lots of choices in those for sure, but is there one that you swear by.
Like if they said they were stopping making then you'd go out and buy every box you could find.

Hmmmm, I guess if ya look at it like say Scotch.

Your blended stuff is what is readily avaialble everywhere.

Single malt would be the premium.

but amongst those single malts, there are still preferences, and still good and bad.

What is your single malt, top end factory offering cartridge.
Performance trumping price.
 
I handload for most of my calibers. This includes my .223, but as of late after shooting some 'yotes, I found that Winchester 45 gr. Jacketed Hollow Points which I buy at Walmart for $18.00 are absolutely deadly on dogs. I donate the "yotes in the round to a Hutterite friend of mine who skins them and sells the hides. A clean entry hole, total internal destruction and no exit wound, he loves it. My other bud, has the same results with the 22-250.
 
I would imagine the #1 cartridge that would have most accesability to premium compononts would be a .30-06. You can get surplus FMJ at the bottom, and top dollar Barnes or Swift bullets loaded at most well stocked shops. But if a guy were to rely entirely on one cartridge to do anything with a wide variety of factory loaded ammo, I'd say a .300 Winchester magnum. It has the ability to shoot way out there for the guys who are certain the deer they shot was at 500 yards. :)rolleyes:) You can get it loaded with bullets that will kill an elk with as much authority as a larger rifle. And you can get it with bullets that will stop a grizz on meth. (enter best rifle for bear on meth defense thread here)
 
I think you need to define what you mean by "Best"
Best hunting round? Most accurate? Best all round?
in Ontario, I'd likely take the 308 as the best all round factory round, but that would change if I were hunting in BC, Alberta, or points north.
You get a variety of bullet weights, it's very accurate, it's available everywhere, it doesn't beat the crap out of you, and all the major makers make both regular, and premium loads for it.
 
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for deer & up I think it is hard to beat 30-06 can & has done it all. That said I dont own 1.: for most hunting any mid size cart. will do the trick. for coyotes down, a 223 is the way to go for all round. IMHO only, that is why there are so many choices. AJ
 
seal-hunter,
I was going strictly by accuracy with factory loads. For versatility I'd pick the .375 H&H. Personal favorite is the 7 STW, but really the chances of me shooting a factory load are pretty slim.
 
There is no "best cartridge" or "best load".Any common cartridge will have a large selection of loads available,but only your rifle can tell you which will shoot the most accurate in your rifle.As far as bullets go,it's hard to beat the barnes tsx which is loaded in many chamberings.
 
"...There is no "best cartridge" or "best load"...only your rifle can tell you which will shoot the most accurate in your rifle..." Exactly. Even the most expensive factory loaded ammo with the most expensive premium bullets, in any cartridge or calibre, may not shoot well out of your rifle. You must try as many brands and bullet weights as you can to find the factory ammo your rifle shoots best. The cost of said ammo means nothing either.
 
When I say best, I mean best for the animal you are persuing, accuracy and thump being the factors. All rifles have their own preferences, but within that, so does the hunter.

An example of what I mean are of course the 45/70 and the 35 whelan.
Great Rifles with #### factory ammo. The 45/70 has benefited from Hornady, but it still is not up to snuff with the 450 or your handloads. Based on that,
I rank the 45/70 and the 35 Whelan as pretty low on what is commercially available in factory loads in Canada for the rifle's potential ability.

In the States the 45/70 would be very high on my list for Deer to Grizzly based on the wider selection.

Perhaps that is the better question than my original. What centrefire calibre
gets to see it's near full potential from it's factory offerings. (I know handloading brings out the full potential, but you know what I am getting at)

For example, I think that the 30 30 Leverevolution is about as good as you can ask for from the 3030 in a factory ammunition. (of course only if your rifle likes it)

I amsurprised that so many of you have not tried some factory cartridge and said, holy ####, this is the one. And asked what cartridge you use, your bias comes spewing out as if no other cartridges exist.

For me, the half brass imperial with the ringed brass was it for me.
There was nothing that shell could not knock down when compared to what else was available. Then there came the Double XX and wow, now there was a new one, that was not just new, but better, in my oppinion.

With all the offerings there are, I would choose imperial half brass and double XX winchesters over them all. Again this is my oppinion, but I know that i see my true potential with a 12 gauge and my hunting style and my targets with these shells. Target? Seaducks.
 
Perhaps that is the better question than my original. What centrefire calibre
gets to see it's near full potential from it's factory offerings.

Since you put it that way, rule out anything that has been around for a while because lots of factory loads are loaded light because of all the older guns. That leaves the short mags, the lever evolutions, and the kings personal favorite. Of all of these I think that the 300 WSM is one of the best.
 
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