Cursed calibers. Firearms that just cant/don't go well for you.

nowarningshot

nowarningshot

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On a Island in the Pacific. Gulf Islands
Thinking about the 25-06 for me.

First one, a M700 just wasn't getting used. Sold after one of my crashes to keep the lights on. No big deal, except one of my motivations seems to be replacement after a loss.

Second, a Ruger M77 mkii varmit/target. It's actually for sale in the EE. Initially I put a nikon bushmaster 4-14 on it. Proceeded to punch one ragged hole. Being stupid/bored or combination of both, put a leupold variable 6-18 on it. Scope wouldn't track. The origin of my Leupold purge. Korth incredibly rude, hung up. Export/import permit to ship it to Portland and $50usd, they did nothing. Cursed? So Quigley Ford etched for 25-06. Sold that scope, as again just not using it. Whole other drama with that. Cursed?

Went to sell that 25-06 as I live in a tight, overgrown area. Messed up a couple of trades pre LGRii, and now it sits.

Traded a 22wmr for a shorter weight walking weight Browning Xbolt. Wish me luck. Am I pushing it, if I mount the Nikon?
 
I have never had luck with a 30-30 in my hands. Never saw game, or never had time to get my act together and shoot.
 
For me it isn't a chambering...it's a manufacturer. I hear all sorts of folks singing the praises of Kimbers. I love their looks, their handling, their weight...but I can't get a good one to save my life. I have had several Kimbers that shot really, really well...and I have had several that functioned perfectly...but I have never owned a centerfire Kimber rifle that was both reliable and accurate. Never. Ever.

Several Kimbers ago, I swore off them forever...so why have I had several since then? Can't help it! I pick one up and play with it, cycle it a few times, throw it to my shoulder and tell myself "yeah...this is it...feels lucky...this is the one!" Never is.

Trying to get them to work 100% isn't limited to my ham-fisted efforts, either. I have had a couple of good gunsmiths try to make a Kimber perfect for me. I have heard more than once "Okay...that should be it. Should run like a top now!"

Of course it should run like a top...not just now, but when it was brand new as well. But they don't! And yet everybody else seems to find good ones without even trying. The closest I came to a good one was a lightweight model 84L in .30-06. It was an absolute laser in terms of accuracy, shot most bullet weights exceptionally well including the heavier 180's I prefer, fed/extracted/ejected nicely. But...the beautifully-figured stock wood was about as stable as a Slinky. The slightest change in humidity and the fore-end would bend this way or that way, and never the same way twice. The barrel channel was hogged out twice, and carefully sealed each time, to no avail. Finally a 'smith reamed out and sealed the barrel channel again, and although it didn't solve the instability issue, it created such a huge abyss within which the barrel was suspended that when the wood twisted and turned it couldn't quite touch the barrel and so the gun continued to shoot well.

But...the only reason I even bought it was because it was so beautiful; I don't even like the .30-06, but I would put up with it for the sake of having this lovely stock on this lovely little rifle that shot such lovely little groups. Once the gun was finally hogged out that far, there was no way I could bear to even look at it; it was ridiculous. Sold it at a huge loss to a friend who likes the -06 cartridge and jammed it into a synthetic stock.

That was my third or fourth absolute-last-never-again Kimber. I've only had one more since then. Never again. :mad:
 
I've never had any luck with 270s. None that I ever owned would shoot well. Never shot any game with one.

I know it's one of the best cartridges introduced in the 20th century, but I'll never own one. I've had far more success with assorted 7mms.
 
Joel said:
I have never had luck with a 30-30 in my hands. Never saw game, or never had time to get my act together and shoot.
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^^^ This! I have a couple of nice ones, but I never see anything with one in my hands.

SuperCub said:
I've never had any luck with 270s. None that I ever owned would shoot well... I've had far more success with assorted 7mms.
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... and this^^^. I have shot things with one, but I've never had one that was an exceptional shooter, and, in spite of Jack O'Connor's best efforts, I've never been able to warm up to the .270.
 
Remington. A 870 12 gauge was ok. Never had a Remington rifle shoot. Never had loaded Remington ammo shoot consistent, small groups, or even acceptable groups. Recently acquired a 7600, in 35 whelen, and corelokt 200’s and 250’s. Remington gun, round, and ammo. Wish me luck.
 
woodlotowner said:
NWS,

The X-Bolt was a great move. My hunter in .308 is all holes touching at 100 with a tuned hand load. Also very nice to carry.
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I'm an idiot for selling the varmit/target. Second most accurate rifle I've ever owned. The xbolt is about 8-8.5 lbs, synthetic, and stainless. Since I live coastal, literally 300yds from the ocean and 200ft above, that's great. Don't ever see myself hiking to 9000 ft after sheep, so it doesn't have to be ultra light.

Going through the storage, I came upon about 7 boxes of 25-06 factory. For many years, although I owned standard calibers, actual hunting rifles had magnum headstamps. How did I end up with safes full of magnums, living on a island were I could ethically hunt lilliputian blacktail with a 223?
 
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The ones I have never warmed up to are the 223, the 243 and the 308 Winchester.
Very popular, and commonplace, but no love from me.
In those brackets, I have the 222 Remington, the 6mm Remington and the 30-06.
Those I prefer, and it's unlikely I'll change. Dave.
 
For me, 223, 30-30 and 303 British have never been in my interest category, though all are capable within their limits. I have several other calibres that fill those voids and then some.
 
Had a beautiful Model 700 stainless laminate mountain rifle in 270 that I couldn’t get to shoot worth a damn no matter the loads I tried.

Tried multiple 30’06 rifles. None impressed. Always felt this cartridge was overrated and recoil worse than it had to be.

To each their own, but I gave up on these ones.
 
I have the opposite problem, one manufacturer I'm a sucker for, and one cartridge I claim I dislike, but am never without.

For manufacturers, it's Browning. A deal on a Browning for me is like offering a cold beer to an alcoholic. Of course I want it. B78s, 1885s, BARs, BLRs, A-bolts and A-bolts IIs, X-bolts, and of course the BBR and older FN Mauser based rifles. Citoris, 725s, Cynergys, BPS, Silvers, Gold's, BL22s, T-bolts, whatever. Get in my safe, gun!

For cartridges, it's the 7mm Remington Magnum. Whenever I don't have one, the next gun I buy is usually a 7-mag. When I want to try a new rifle, it's usually a 7-mag if that's an option. Whenever I go hunting, I bring a "primary" rifle and I always bring a backup. One of those is always a 7-mag. I've taken moose, elk, bear, whitetail and mule deer, pronghorn, caribou, and even a few coyotes with the 7-mag and it has always done the trick, mostly bang-flops, but never needed a second shot.

A Browning in 7-mag is my kryptonite.
 
No1 and No4 sporters....can get them hunting accurate, but they are no tack drivers compared to my P14's.
6.5CM...shoots fine, but no improvement over my various 6.5 Swede rifles, one of those why did I get on that hype train regrets.
Now the 6CM I am taking more of a shine to then my 243's and it may make them obsolete in my cabinet.
 
6.5 grendel is cursed for me.
Two consecutive bad AR/straight pull barrels, and a Howa mini that's been a serious PITA to develop a load for. Made worse by the powder and bullet shortage
Hopefully I can find a bullet/powder combo that works by the time my 3yr old is old enough to go deer hunting. LMAO
 
270 win.. the outdoor store I used to go to as kid and eventually started working at. The guys there
Loved the 270 Like it was made by god himself. Drilled into me just about everyday. I bought a
FN and tried liking it. Couldn’t do it , the damage was done. It sits scopeless in my safe
for the last 12 years.
 
For me it's the .308, I know there is lots of love for it here, never gone well for me, whenever someone starts praising the .308 I just think 7-08 and agree,
 
Not a specific caliber, but the Savage 24 combo gun in 12ga/.223 was an absolute nightmare for me and I hate the gun more than anything.
Perhaps these work well in .22LR, but for .223 the extraction was just absolutely pitiful resulting in extraction failures galore culminating in a bent extractor.
A piss-poor design for centerfire IMO, and its one of those guns that seems like a great idea on paper but impractical for actual use.
 
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