By that I mean, which cartridges do you hold in some type of high or mystical esteem of sorts, and have you owned or shot them ?

And by high esteem, if possible, I mean not the run of the mill of otherwise fantastic general purpose and well known cartridges, but rather those that may not be currently widely used, out of general use, or of historical significance that you personally admire ?

For me it's the 375 Holland, 7x57 Mauser, and 348 Winchester.

I have a plethora of big game, ‘deer’ type rifles. I started with a 308, not much reason to move on from that.

That mentioned, I hang my hat most often with the 284 Winchester. No need to look for ammo at Walmart. I have 2, a Browning and an older Ruger flat bolt. Yes, it’s a slightly glorified 7mm-08.

I enjoy talking rifles & ballistics, but with hunting, shot placement is the biggie. We can assume one will use an adequate bullet.

Since my son has a high interest in guns, I got a 284WIN plate for my truck. With that, I almost have to use that round for most hunting.

The 30-30 was a game changer and still an extremely effective cartridge. The 30-06 has a long history of great performance and service.

I’d have to go with .35 Whelen. If I weren’t trying to lower the number of calibers in the house, I’d surely get a rifle chambered for it.

.257 Roberts A.I. - Mythical status as a great caliber for plains type game. Never had one, but read lots of magazine stories by the great writers of yesterday.

Was always a secret dream that when I won the lottery, a trip to Africa for antelope would be planned. A custom Mauser bolt action with a Claro walnut stock in this caliber would be included

Hot take: .30 Carbine. Not "holy" or "mythical", but I do think it's very underappreciated.

Partly due to limited guns being chambered in it, and partly due to some frequently spread bullshit old wives' tales about how "my grandpappy shot a marauding Chicom eleventeen times back in Korea and the .30 carbine just bounced off them". (No, your grandpappy missed!) These same folks tend to overlook the actual fact that loads of soldiers and cops from the 1940s through 1980s carried M1 Carbines by choice - even over other alternatives - and that it was well liked and has an actual good track record of putting down bad guys.

Sure, .30 Carbine is barely a "rifle cartridge", being more like a souped-up pistol round. But it's equivalent in performance to .357 Magnum out of a lever gun, just in a light and handy semiauto package, and has way better performance than the 9mm PCCs that are quite popular. Surprisingly accurate, and effective out to a couple hundred yards if needed. (Basically usable out to iron sight distances for most shooters.)

I planned to take some hogs with one of my M1s loaded with Hornady Critical Defense, but my hog hunting friendship petered out before I could make that happen. I have zero doubt it would have work well.

Not my very top choice in a modern defensive or hunting caliber, but quite far from the worst, and if I needed to defend myself with a M1 Carbine with modern loads I wouldn't feel undergunned.

The 30 Carbine seems like a beefier 10/22. It’s light & handy, like a 10/22.

9.3x62mm. About 90% the punch of my .375 H&H, but fits in a standard length action.

Have an early production CZ550 mannlicher stock carbine, and it is titties and beer. Wish it would have taken off in America, but it is popular enough elsewhere that they make components and ammo for it here.

If I could ever find a barrel in that caliber for my SHR 970 I'd die happy.

45-70, 375 H&H, and 470 NE.

I killed my first deer with a 7x57 and ever since I have held it high. I have one now, a Ruger M77.

I have always wanted a 220 Swift. Not really sure why except that I love velo. Seems like such a cool rifle that I’m keeping my eyes open for.

Another one that I’ve always been intrigued with is the 264 Win Mag. Not sure why except just seems like a fast, flat, deer killing machine. I don’t need the velo but I want it. And with 6.5mm billets so en vogue lately, maybe it makes a big comeback. I’ve stayed away because I wasn’t hand loading and there were limited factory offerings.

And if you love hunting but don’t have a special feeling whenever you hear “375 H&H” then you just haven’t read the right books about Africa.

7.62x51 leaving an M14.

So many to choose from!! In no particular order 30.06, 303 British and 7x57 Mauser. I tend to lean towards traditional military type cartridges, so the 30.06 is a no brainer. Have three M1 Garands chambered in ‘06, as well as a Springfield rifle and two semi-auto hunting rifles, a Benelli R1 and a Browning BAR.

303 British has sentimental value since my Dad Sporterized a mk4 #1 Enfield when I was very young and that rifle was something special. My first milsurp was a mk4 #2 Enfield.

I used to own a few very nice South American Mauser in the past, a couple of Brazilian M1908 and a M1895 Chilean and really looked shooting them due to the mild recoil and historical aspect.

A new favorite is Jack O’Connor’s favorite, the 270 Winchester. I ‘won’ a Tikka Roughtech in 270 earlier this year and just love the rifle. Also not sure if the .22lr would apply, but it is a classic as well.

6.5 Swede. Great ballistics (especially after they went to a Spitzer bullet in the 1940s), manageable recoil, and no stupid rim (I'm looking at you, .303 and .30-40). And it took over 100 years for the American market to realize what the Swedes had already been doing for a century. Yeah, the .260 guys knew about it, but it didn't really go mainstream until the 6.5 Creedmoor came along.

I'm getting older, so I've sold most of my rifles.

I kept an O3A3 (30'06) that I've owned and shot for some 20+ years and a little Cimarron copy of a 92 Winchester SRC in 45 Colt that shoots like a house afire. I'm picking up an SKS (7.62X39) tomorrow that I may have owned in the past from a friend. I've never had a bad-shooting SKS.

I like other cartridges, of course, but these will take care of most anything I might need them for.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
I’d have to go with .35 Whelen. If I weren’t trying to lower the number of calibers in the house, I’d surely get a rifle chambered for it.

Ahhh.. I forgot about that one. It's a true classic BEAUTY. IIRC it was a popular big game round for a time. Maybe after WWII when GIs re-barrelled their 06 bolt guns with the bigger bore, something that was a lot cheaper than buying a 338 for heavier game.

I would have to grab my 257 Weatherby magnum as my choice.
The 257 Weatherby shoots flat and has more energy than a 25 cal should.
Recoil is modest.
The rifle has gorgeous blued metal work. The laser carved Walnut stock is something to just look at and enjoy, working the Weatherby Mark V action is smooth like glass, Making small groups at 200 yards is easy.
Problem is, Its almost too nice to want to take to the range,but I do, and enjoy it.I don't enjoy the cost of feeding it.

My safe is full of "plastic stocked" rifles.Picking up and looking at, and handling, a great wood stocked rifle is a very different experience than the "plastic" rifles.I feel a greater attraction to the wood vs plastic.I can also appreciate the hand work and time a actual craftsman spent on my rifle.
I have a "plastic" Weatherby Mark V in 375 Weatherby Magnum ( also shoots the 375 H&H Magnum round) and a Weatherby Mark V, 9 Lug action in 30/06 both with plastic stocks,I pretty much pass over them when the safe door swings open, my eye and my hands immediately goes to the Wood guns.
The plastic stocked rifles are like tools, the wood stocked rifles are like art.They feel like they have a soul.

30-06
303 British
45-70 in Black Powder
8mm Mauser (7.92x57)

All military calibers.

I’ve owned rifles in all three, several times..down to the 303 now.

I would like a 1903, but can’t justify the cost for a range gun now. I haven’t hunted since my stroke.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Hot take

What's that mean?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
.30 Carbine.

I'm there with you. I have an ammo can full of it I'm being incredibly stingy with because I don't want to run dry, but I've been focusing on acquiring stuff in other calibers. I have a 1943 Quality Hardware that's all Type 1 and Type 2 parts, and a '44 Inland that's all Type 2 and Type 3. If I had to choose between either one as a "that's all you ever get to have" rifle, I wouldn't feel like I was getting seriously shorted. That round out of that gun will get it done.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Hot take

What's that mean?

It’s an admittedly unpopular opinion.