I'm curious:

My guess is, there will be a sizeable minority who will hunt and/or shoot some of the traditional magnums, including those based on the belted H&H case design.

There will be a big majority (with some crossover to trad'l magnums) who principally shoot, as I do, rounds in the .308 and .30-06 families, or that have cases that started life there.

And while there are new blastfire hotshot magnums introduced every year, I'll bet there aren't all that many fans of the .300 Lapua, .300 or .338 Remington Ultra, .300 or .338 Canadian, and so forth into the more arcane proprietary rounds.

No right or wrong answers, obviously, and if my premise is wrong, I will be happily surprised to eat crow and say so!

(Varmint rounds arguably are a sub-category, but if that's also what you shoot, please say so! After all, rounds like the venerable .22-250 started life as an '06 case!)

Thanks, and let's hear from youse!

Bill

.45-70 with a 300 grain hollow point. If I'm going to shoot something, like a wild pig, I want to shoot it just once, and I want it to know it has just been shot. Same thing goes if I ever have to shoot someone with that rifle.

.30-06
.30-30
.45-70

Nothing exotic, but they work!

257 Roberts, 375 Winchester, 32-40 Winchester

.308 Winchester & 45-70. Have my old 30-30 Winchester in the safe but don't use it much anymore.

I've become fond of my Sako 75 in 300 Ultra mag. It's proven quite accurate, now I just need to find something to hunt with it.

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

.243 Winchester. Takes care of anything I am going after.

50 BMG

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SC Army National Guard

.223 rem., .308 win., .221 fireball, .257 roberts. .357 mag., .45-70.

and if i remember correctly the 22-250 started out as the .250-3000.

good topic, interesting to see the results.

c.p.

I really don't hunt big game any longer, but the only time I really favored the magnums were for long range, western hunting and/or large game, That said, my favorite of the magnums for western elk was the .338 Win. mag., it's drive a heavy bullet a long way and at relatively flat trajectory, if I were to get back into elk hunting I might take a look at some of the newer .338 loadings. Other than that, my favorite varmint cartridges have always been the .22 PPC, .222 Rem and .220 Swift. For deer antelope, etc, I've always been partial to the .257 Roberts, .270 Win. and 7X57.

Any way you look at it, there are many, many cartridges that will do an excellent job on whatever game you're after.

I really like the ballistics on the old 8mm Remington mag from the late 70s. Take a 375 H&H case, blow it out and neck it down to 8mm and presto. I really think it has been underloaded all these years, and has great potential, of which I'm trying to wring out on my Remingotn 700.

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ken
SWCA #1959

Well, I like the .308 BECAUSE it's common, and because I really like the FN LAR, but I also like the 6mm Remington. That's for rifles. I also like the 7mm-08, but only because it's about as powerful a cartridge as I would fire in a pistol, my H-S Precision.

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Formerly Model520Fan

Good stuff so far; looks like I shoulda included the 7x57 case family (.257 Roberts, etc) in the discussion.

Chillypepper, while the .22-250 started as the .250-3000 Savage, both it and the .300 Sav. are WWI-era Charles Newton designs based on a shortened 06 case.

Thanks, and keep the comments coming!

Bill

.257 Roberts and .35 Whelen in pre'64 M/70 Winchester rifles. The Roberts is a superb pre war and the Whelen is a Randall Redman rechamber/rebore of a '50's vintage standard grade rifle. Both are very accurate and have accounted for their share of midwestern whitetails.

.358 Norma Mag, accurate, flat and the recoil in my very modified Remington 700 is not bad.

I use a 225 gr. Accubond with I think 75 or so grains of 4350. 2825 fps, and .75 moa.

Smaller stuff, 30-30, .257 Roberts, .22 Hornet. I also like the 22-250.

Gotta love the rifles too!
My favorites, all in Model 70 Winchesters:
280 Rem w/ 140 gr. Nosler B.T.
270 Win w/ 130gr. Winchester Power Points
30-06 Sprg w/ 150gr Hornady Spire Points
300 Weatherby w/ 180gr. Nosler Accu Bonds
And I can't leave out my Model 94 in 444 Marlin w/ 240 gr. Nosler H.P.

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Jeff
S&WCA #2132

.375 HH
30-06
.308
30-30
22.250
300 win.
32-20

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blkhand

I have two "big game" hunting rifles. A Model 721 Remington 300 H&H Magnum and my Dad's 1950's vintage Model 70 Winchester 300 H&H.

I had to give $80 for that brand new Remington in 1957.

I got my first elk with it at age 14, and several more over the years.

My Dad had a 300 mag, and I had to have one too. Now I have both of them.

In the last few years I have had lots of fun with various 45-70 single shots, but my sentimental favorite Big Guns are the 300 H&H's

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Eccentric old coot

While I own a lot of centerfire rifles in nearly all of the standard and traditional Magnums along with a few Short or Super Short Mags and a few Weatherbys, the vast majority of my actual big game hunting is done with one of 6 calibers.

6mm-284
257 Roberts
257 Roberts AI
280 Remington
7mm STW
338 Winchester Magnum.

Those 6 probably account for 80 percent of the big game I've killed in the last 48 years.

Varmint calibers is certainly something different and over all I've probably killed big game animalas with 40 or 45 centerfire rifle calibers in total.

R W Thomas
Owyhee County, ID

223/5.56
30-06
45-70

All I need, it's actually all I even want.

OK, I wish I NEEDED a 375 H&H.

Emory

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Hard To Kill

The go to hunt everything with rifle is a Remington M700 in .30-06. I used to reload my hunting ammo but I discovered Hornady Light Mag. That is some great stuff. I use the 165 grain interlock and never had a problem. I've taken Mule and Whitetail deer, Caribou and black bear with it but still haven't got a shot at an elk yet. I must stink or something.

For fun shooters:
6.5x55 CZ American
7mm Mauser Winchester M70 Lightweight
7.5 Swiss K31
7.62x39 CZ Bolt action carbine
last but not least 1903, M1 Garand and .30 Carbine

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Mike
USMCR 84-87, USAF 87-07

.270 Winchester, .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, .44 Rem Mag in Marlin lever action. These are my favorites that I have on hand now-have tried others I love equally well, even though I don't currently own. These include 7mm Rem Mag, .338 Win Mag, 30-30 Winchester, and .30-06 Springfield.

I don't really hunt, but I do blow up gophers and prairie dogs, so my calibers of choice are small, fastmovers.

I loves my 220 Swift.

I also like the 22-250 and my caliber for those long shots on windy days, the .243.

bob

I'm as traditional as they get. I like:

.30-06
.308
.30-30
.223

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G.P. Charlie

7.62x39 FMJ

.22-250
.257 Roberts
.264 Winchester
.41 Magnum

218 Bee
257 Roberts
280 Remington
30-30 WInchester
30-06 Springfield
375 Holland and Holland

All very fine choices ladies & gentlemen. My favorite is without a doubt the 300 Win Mag. I remember when I was a kid a neighbor had the first one that I had seen and I fell in love with it for no particular reason. I currently own 2 of them even though I don't hunt any more.

For those occasional zoo outbreaks this one then becomes the favorite!


I really just like shooting the big guns!!

Cheers,
Sam

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Beware the man with one gun...

Hands down favorite is 30/30. Next is 308 Win.
Those 2 will do anything in Georgia I am liable to do.

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Nothing to see here,move along

My current favorites:

17 Remington
6mm Remington
25-06
8mm RM
9.3 x 62 Mauser
375 H&H
50BMG

I'm told I'm about half a bubble off...
I guess I'm not alone

I've had mine since they first came out. If I could have only two rifles I'd take a 6mm Rem and an 8 Mag. The 8 is devastating with 200 grain Partitions at 3000 ft/s or Barnes 250 gn. Originals (if you can find some).

I haven't hunted game in years but, that's not to say I'm not ready to go. Favorite hunting/long distance cartridges are:
.30-06
.308 Win.
Favorite varmint cartridge:
.223

Bruce

Some of my personal favorites are:
.300 WIN MAG
.270 WIN
.257 ROB
.243 WIN
.22-250 REM

.308, .30-30 & .45-70. Nothing fancy, they just work.

However, I do have a great fondness for 16" lever guns in pistol calibers: .357, .44 Special/Magnum & .45 Colt.

Like most I have a gun for all occasions 22-250 257 roberts 7mm mag 44 mag in win 94 trapper. I have others but these are the ones I use.

My sentimental favorite is the 250-3000 Savage. I have two Model 99's in that caliber. One was my first centerfire, passed from my Grandfater to my Dad to me. I've been shooting that gun for almost 50 years now.

After that I like the .308, .223 and 5.56

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S&WCA #2018

.30-06 is my GP big game chambering. .223/5.56mm serves for varmints, Tannerite, and plinking. .30-30 in a Contender Super 14 is the rifle cartridge in big pistol package when weight and easy carry count.

+1 on the Hornady Light Mag.

When hunting south of the US/CANADA border my favorites are 270 Win loaded with Hornady Light Mag 130 gr, followed by 30-06 Spr stoked with the Hornady Light Mag 150 or 165 gr. If hunting North of the border its 300 Wby Mag with 165 gr Barnes TSX so that I can reach out there and touch them when it really counts. Longest made shot north of the border was with the 300 Wby Mag, 588 yards through a lazer ranger, on an 12 pt mulie. Longest made shot south of the border was actually with a 50 cal T/C White Mountain Carbine w/105 gr Pyrodex pushing a 240 gr 44 cal XTP in a sabot. Took a 5 point white tail with that shot, 191 yards, again through the lazer range finder.

But this was about center fire, wasn't it.

Order of Preference/Use
270 Win.
30-06 Spr
300 Wby Mag
308 Norma Mag
30 WCF
30 Carb
222 Rem Mag (Varmint)
204 Ruger (Varmint)

Class III

I haven't seen the .25 or the .30 Gibbs yet.

Also, the .204 Ruger on the small side and the .340 Weatherby on the other end.

Good shooting!

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Good shooting.

.270Win, handloaded 130gr Hornady Interlock in front of 48ish grains of H4831.

.223 - and when that load is worked out, I'll let you know.

308 and 375 H&H

30-06, 257 Roberts, 222 remington

.22 Magnum.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

.257 Roberts (Dad gave me his M722 when I turned 16 -- bought in 1950 w/ a K4)

7mm/08 (inherited Dad's M7 and Leupold compact 2x7 -- what a great gun to carry in the woods deer hunting!)

7mm Rem mag (bought a M700 when I was looking for a '06. $345 w/ a Redfield 3x9 a few years ago -- too good to pass up. Sure burns a lot of powder, though!)

Of course, to quote my dear old Dad, "Every good Swede needs a 6.5x55". Ya, sure I got vone.

I let a real sweet 6.5 Swede get away from me at an auction a couple months ago. A Carl Gustav 20" bbl, mannlicher stock, Lyman receiver sight. I bid $100 more than I was going to and it still got away! Wish I'd gone a little further!

.30-06
.38 WCF

Smitty

Sir, the vast majority of my rifle shooting is NRA high power competition, plus JCG matches. I've shot a good bit of .223 in high power, but now stay with the .30 calibers: .308 across the course and .30-'06 in the as-issued matches. I also have my granddad's old Winchester .270, but haven't shot it in some years.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

7.62X39
.308 Win.
.30-06
.30 Carbine
.221 Fireball
.22 Hornet
.303 Brit
.223

.260 Rem

6.5-06

7.62x39

30-06

358 Win

300 Wby

340 Wby

45-70

30-06
303 British
6.5mm & 8mm Mannlicher Schoenaur
6.5x53R
8mm & 9mm Mauser
44WCF (Win73)
9.3x74R
500x3 BPE

7mm Rem Mag.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

.223, .308, 30-30, 30-06 and .45-70...Pretty Standard but they work for me......