What is the most underrated cartridge?

For a great bush cartridge, I vote for the .35 Remington as stated before! Been around since 1906 and it is still amazing out to 100+ yards that these shots are taken.
 
The 338-06 is one of the most underrated in the popular sense. It is one of the finest big game cartridges ever made. Why it does not catch on especially here in canada is beyond me.
 
And in that vein, why did the .318 Westley Richards die? It uses a .330" bullet (.318 designation is English, and refers to bore [land] diameter not groove like we use), and can be formed in a snap from .30-06, essentially a .338-06 but way earlier. Was one of the best light rifles of Africa, Bell used and spoke extremely highly of it.
 
Ardent said:
And in that vein, why did the .318 Westley Richards die? It uses a .330" bullet (.318 designation is English, and refers to bore [land] diameter not groove like we use), and can be formed in a snap from .30-06, essentially a .338-06 but way earlier. Was one of the best light rifles of Africa, Bell used and spoke extremely highly of it.
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And on that note consider the .333 Jeffery.
 
30-30 Win: will kill any non dangerous game at close range with the proper bullet.
The first "modern" hunting smokeless cartridge and still an excellent short range cartridge.

Alex
 
AlexF said:
30-30 Win: will kill any non dangerous game at close range with the proper bullet.
The first "modern" hunting smokeless cartridge and still an excellent short range cartridge.

Alex
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I have seen more Deer Lost to the 30-30 then any other cartridge. Just my 2 cents.
I have always found the 6.5 55 to be boring........till I bought one and started re-loading for it.
 
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I've never seen a deer "loosed" with a 30-30 if the shooter did his job and kept the range reasonable. That can be said with almost all cartridges though.
 
bassman said:
.375 Winchester

Performance way beyond what it's paper ballistics dictate. It's a hammer on whitetails. Accurate too, I had a Marlin that would put 3 x 220 gr Hornadys fuelled by AA1680 into 1 1/8" with boring regularity at 100m.
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X2! The .375 Winchester is a great cartridge for most North American game within 200 yds. My Big Bore 94 Winnie is deadly with factory 200 grainers. I'll soon be working up some nice cast boolit loads to best suit the critters I hunt around here.
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Wow #112 responses. Makes anything i say a repeat. Anyways, too me this means common calibers that apparently have been surpassed by modern chamberings.

Firstly there are the replacement calibers for ancient or potentially dangerous ones. In a modern rifle, there is no difference between 7x57 mauser and 7-08 rem. Factory ammo is lawyer friendly in the former due to 120 year old potentially liability risk firearms. Lump 45-70/450 Marlin, perhaps 375 H&H/375 ruger, 6.5x55sm/260 rem, and i am sure a lot of others that are effectively replacing/duplicating existing calibers.

Second are the marketing department calibers. How is the 300 WSM a improvement over the 300 Win mag. A fat cartridge and doing away with the belt; however, many of this family are notoriously difficult to handload. We had a number of families of calibers come out, WSM, WSSM, RUM. The super shorts are effectively duplicates of existing calibers and fading into oblivion. The most popular of the WSM is the 300, effectively a 30-06 and a half or a 300 WM minus a half. Only the 270 WSM surpasses in performance a cartridge it was meant to replace...the 270 Win. How is this to happen? The Rum family will be here to stay, considering the popularity of long range shooting. Do they surpass the calibers they are meant too...certainly. They also duplicate or nearly so, new kids on the block of 20/30 years ago or more. How does one live on the difference between 338 Lapua/338 Rum(brass cost perhaps), 300 Rum/30-378/300 wea, 7 rum/7 STW. I own a 375 Rum and it is definitely the king of the 375 bore, but at a great cost of powder, blast, recoil, throat erosion.

What are the overlooked calibers. In my opinion, all these "replaced" calibers. However with all the millions of great guns chambered for them they are going nowhere. I would bet many will be going strong when many of the replacements are rare, hard to find ammo and components, and no longer chambered by major manufacturers. Throw out a few of these underrated, 25-06, 6.5x55, 270 win,7x57, 30-06, and even the 300 WM. I am no doubt forgetting a dozen, but i doubt they will be forgotten or underrated to oblivion.
 
For reasons of personal preferences and history I vote for three. The 30-30 and its close cousin 32 Special and the certainly the 303 Brit.. I'm a lever fanatic and the 303 is just so Canadian and capable. It seems to be in a sweet spot in power and there is an endless supply of sporters for new hunters and those not interested in expensive guns and equipment.
 
nowarningshot said:
Wow #112 responses. Makes anything i say a repeat. Anyways, too me this means common calibers that apparently have been surpassed by modern chamberings.

Firstly there are the replacement calibers for ancient or potentially dangerous ones. In a modern rifle, there is no difference between 7x57 mauser and 7-08 rem. Factory ammo is lawyer friendly in the former due to 120 year old potentially liability risk firearms. Lump 45-70/450 Marlin, perhaps 375 H&H/375 ruger, 6.5x55sm/260 rem, and i am sure a lot of others that are effectively replacing/duplicating existing calibers.

Second are the marketing department calibers. How is the 300 WSM a improvement over the 300 Win mag. A fat cartridge and doing away with the belt; however, many of this family are notoriously difficult to handload. We had a number of families of calibers come out, WSM, WSSM, RUM. The super shorts are effectively duplicates of existing calibers and fading into oblivion. The most popular of the WSM is the 300, effectively a 30-06 and a half or a 300 WM minus a half. Only the 270 WSM surpasses in performance a cartridge it was meant to replace...the 270 Win. How is this to happen? The Rum family will be here to stay, considering the popularity of long range shooting. Do they surpass the calibers they are meant too...certainly. They also duplicate or nearly so, new kids on the block of 20/30 years ago or more. How does one live on the difference between 338 Lapua/338 Rum(brass cost perhaps), 300 Rum/30-378/300 wea, 7 rum/7 STW. I own a 375 Rum and it is definitely the king of the 375 bore, but at a great cost of powder, blast, recoil, throat erosion.

What are the overlooked calibers. In my opinion, all these "replaced" calibers. However with all the millions of great guns chambered for them they are going nowhere. I would bet many will be going strong when many of the replacements are rare, hard to find ammo and components, and no longer chambered by major manufacturers. Throw out a few of these underrated, 25-06, 6.5x55, 270 win,7x57, 30-06, and even the 300 WM. I am no doubt forgetting a dozen, but i doubt they will be forgotten or underrated to oblivion.
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Well reasoned and thought out post.
 
Since nobody has mentioned it I will add the 9.3X57. Very weak factory loadings and its perceived as a short range, mysterious and antiquated cartridge.
Put it in a strong action, crank up some stout hand loads and you have about the most efficient and manageable cartridge for nearly any game out to most real world hunting ranges. Serious power. 30-06 type recoil in very light and fast handling rifles.
 
I think most of the heavy bullet, moderate velocity cartridges like 9.3s had been overlooked for a long time in favour of speed and the magnum craze. Little kills more reliably than a heavy for caliber bullet at moderate velocity, in Africa where the toughest game on earth is hosted sectional densities of the .300 range are prized (6.5 160gr, 7mm 175gr, 9.3 286gr, .375 300gr, .404 & .416 400gr, .458 500gr, .470 500gr, and so forth) along with heavy for caliber bullets typically between 2,000 and 2,500fps. It's a century old proven lethal recipe.
 
Physics is physics... many love to point out the semantics... yes, a 286 grain bullet travelling at 2400 fps is MORE deadly than one travelling 2200 fps (all else being equal)... but how does it help me to be shooting the .400 Jiffy, that will blow through three bull moose end for end, when I have one tag in my pocket?

I tend to fall back on the intangibles rather than on pure physics to make my choices... the history, the experiences of my ancestors, and simply what captures my imagination and interest... as long as I am comfortable that I am above my own personal (moral) minimum and that I accept the limitations of my choice and stay within those parameters, then I feel I am good to go.

Many of these choices are reflected in the "overlooked" cartridges noted above.
 
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