Whatchur Favorite Carhtridge?

[semperfi71]

This elk was shot at a measured 470+ yards with a .338 Lapua and the Berger 250 grain target bullet at about 2850 fps muzzle velocity. One shot behind the shoulders. A 50 cent piece bullet hole entering and a same size exit hole. Lungs completely jellied. Dropped at the shot and slid down the hill to land "perfectly" hung up in the tree as seen. Made the "carcass" work easy as the slope was about 45% or so and mud-slick.

I no longer hunt but was fond of the Sierra 120 jacketed hollow-point for mule deer in my .25-06. I never found a bullet inside the game, never found an exit hole. All were shot inside of 100 yards with several at about 15 yards. All lung shots. All literally dropped in their tracks. Lungs turned to jelly.

So what's your favorite bullet and why?

 

[MProSrSh9]

This elk was shot at a measured 470+ yards with a .338 Lapua and the Berger 250 grain target bullet at about 2850 fps muzzle velocity. One shot behind the shoulders. A 50 cent piece bullet hole entering and a same size exit hole. Lungs completely jellied. Dropped at the shot and slid down the hill to land "perfectly" hung up in the tree as seen. Made the "carcass" work easy as the slope was about 50% or so and muds-lick.

I no longer hunt but was fond of the Sierra 120 jacketed hollow-point for mule deer in my .25-06. I never found a bullet inside the game, never found an exit hole. All were shot inside of 100 yards with several at about 15 yards. All lung shots. All literally dropped in their tracks. Lungs turned to jelly.

So what's your favorite bullet and why?

Long gun, I don't have one. Hand gun, I'd go with AE 115Gr 9mm Luger or 230gr for .45acp round ball. Those are for range work. For HD/SD, Hornady Critical Duty 9mm (or .45acp).

 

[shouldazagged]

Somehow I suspect my favorite, the old .38 Special +P FBI load, isn't the kind of thing the OP is interested in.

Centerfire rifle, I was partial to .243 Winchester with a 105 grain boattail hollowpoint, back when I was able to hunt. But then I never hunted elk.

Second choice was .30-30.

 

[semperfi71]

My favorite handgun rounds: the Remington 125 and 140 grain SJHPS in .357 Magnum. A 158 grain lead, soft /hard semi-wadcutter (hollow-point or solid) in .38 Special. A 124 grain jacketed flat-nose in 9MM. Lead 240/250 grain semiwadcutters in .44 Special, .44 Magnum (target), and .45 Long Colt. Any 225/230 grain lead or jacketed for the .45 ACP.

I also have a very accurate H110 load for the Speer 135 grain Gold Dot Hollow Point in my 4 inch Python. I hope to loan it out to a friend for javelina this year. I think that bullet at the measured 1300 fps (average) will be quite deadly.

 

[semperfi71]

Somehow I suspect the old .38 Special +P FBI load isn't the kind of thing the OP is interested in.

Actually, as I posted above I do like the "FBI" load.

Iffen your favorite cartridge is a handgun, by all means post it here.

 

[brucev]

Okay! I'll play! What's my favorite caliber? Well... day in and day out it's the .22 LR. When it comes to general shooting and such, there is very little that can't be handled with the .22 LR. From targets at the range to small game in the woods and fields, the .22 LR is simply outstanding.

Once one begins to move to larger game, the lord of the rifle rounds is the .30-06 Springfield. Everything else is just... everything else. There are rounds that are most useful for over the course shooting. There are rounds more suited for benchrest shooting, etc. But for blue collar big game hunting up to and including the big bears, etc., there is nothing on the North American continent that the .30-06 will not handled. It is just a matter of choosing the right bullet and and knowing how to shoot.

When it comes to handguns, my favorite round is the .38 Special/.357 Magnum. I put the two together for the simple reason that in my usage, the two are joined at the rim like twins. With handloads, one can load the .38 Special mild or wild. Loaded light, it is unexcelled for targets and small game. Loaded heavy especially with a good LSWC, it will handle game up to hogs and deer. If still more power is desired... the .357 Magnum is just about ideal. It can be throttled back to .38 Special mid-range levels or it can be loaded hot as the hinges of the theological place of eternal torment. Almost anyone can learn to shoot it well. It is profoundly accurate. With 125 gr. JHP's, it is the standard for SD against which everything else is judged. With heavy LSWC's, it will handle game such as hogs and deer. JMHO. Sincerely. brucev.

 

[ChuckS1]

.45 ACP and .44 Special, with the .38 Special not too far behind. The .45 is my favorite target round, but the .44 and .38 are my two favorite for reloading versatility. Oh yeah, toss in the .32 S&W Long for for plinking.

 

[Fat Frank]

I've shot lots of different ones that I like. For varmints and such, I had a great handload worked up for a Rem 788 in .222 Rem. It was the most accurate rifle I've ever had. For deer-sized critters, I've used .25-06, .308, .30-40 Krag, .32 WinSpl, .270, .30-06, and a few others I'm sure I've forgotten. They were all great shooters, but for hunting, I prefer to get as close as possible to my target. I also spent most of my time carrying an older rifle with open sights (i.e. receiver sight, tang peep, etc). Not that there's anything wrong with a scope, I just wanted the hunt to be more about HUNTIN' and less about SHOOTIN'.
Favorites? Again, for deer-sized hunting, I used a Winchester Model 1895 chambered in .30 US (.30-40 Krag). Made in 1898, it was still quite accurate, was a joy to handload with a wide variety of .30 cal bullets from which to choose, and just fun to carry.
For bigger stuff, I had another Winchester Model 1895 in .405. This one was made in 1904, but had been re-stocked somewhere along the line, which allowed me to have it checkered in the proper pattern and put a nice solid red pad on the butt. A bit on the heavy side, but still a real pleasure to tote around and shoot. After trying a few different recipes, I chose one that shot well and had plenty of "oomph" you would expect out of the .405. (I think I chose that load from Ken Waters' Pet Loads). So, I guess those would be my two favorites - .30 US and .405 WCF.

Here I am on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington back in '95 with the .405


Stalked to within 100 yards. Success.

 

[DR505]

My favorite is a 250 grain Nosler Partition loaded in a .350 Remington Magnum case, fired from a Remington 673 Guide Rifle at 2,550 fps or so.

It drops elk like the Hammer of Thor. The elk below acted as if someone had pulled a rug out from under her...all four feet left the ground and she landed on her side, dead when she hit the ground.

 

[Fishinfool]

Too many bullet / cartridge combos for too many uses to pick just one; but if pressed, I would have to say the .44 mag with a 240 grn cast lead bullet will handle anything I do with a handgun, depending on the load I use.

In a rifle, I feel about as confident with my old Mauser 35 Whelen as with anything. cast, pistol bullets, and heavy rifle bullets all work well in this cartridge, for a variety of uses.

Larry

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I noticed Fat Frank's Model 95 Winchesters. I used one in 35 WCF for years. Good rifles, I had 5 of them at one time. Now my favorite rifle caliber is a 308 Win in my Model 88. Handgun cartridge is a 357.Shotgun is a 16 gauge Win. double.

 

[gunfighter48]

For a pistol 45ACP or 45 Colt. For a rifle 308 and 5.56. They will all get the job done and ammo is easy to get.

 

[federali]

7mm-08 Rem.

I'm an eastern woods hunter. My favorite cartridge is the 7mm-08 Rem. I have it in both a custom Sako and a Remington Model 7, stainless synthetic, a rifle/cartridge combo I love.

I'm also very fond of hunting with older calibers such as the .35 Remington. I would also add a Savage 99 in .300 Savage if I could find one at a good price.

But, I've taken more deer with a Ruger .44 carbine than with anything else.

 

[Donn]

Pistol, 38 Super. Performance exceeds 9mm. Extra 1-2rd capacity, less recoil on the 1911 platform than a 45acp.
Rifle, 223/5.56. Time and experience has shown this to be as good an all-around cartridge as is available today. Ammo's plentiful and is reasonably priced.

 

[Rick_A]

Most of my uses are covered by 45acp and 223/5.56.

22lr and .177 airguns see a lot of action.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

It's been said you cant go wrong with a 30-06, I sorta agree with that. For handgun I gotta go with the .45 Colt.

 

[BigBill]

My number one rifle caliber is still my 338 win mag. I purchased one of the llast Remington 700's. She can put two rounds through the same hole at 100yds using new over the counter Winchester super x ammo. With this kind of accuracy with new ammo why reload. But I did purchase the dies oanyway. While benchresting sighting her in by the 4th shot zeroing in the scope she took out the center x with number 3 & 4 bullets. She's my bear hunting rifle. I wanted something more powerful than a 30 caliber. She has 4,000ft.lbs. @ muzzle and 2,700ft.lbs.@ 200yds. That's the muzzle energy of a 30-06/308 @ 200yds.

I owned the 338win.mag. before all the newer modern calibers were offered. She old school but still can do the job.

For a favorite handgun caliber I'd go with the 44 mag. But the 41mag is growing on me. Don't leave out the 357mag. Elmer Keith proved all three Magnum calibers can hold there own.

 

[RobertJ.]

My Top 5 cartridges, in no particular order:

.38 Special
.44 Magnum
.357 Magnum
.22 LR
.30-30 Winchester

Runners up:

.270 Winchester
8mm Mauser
12 Gauge
.45 Colt
9mm Luger

Favorite bullets:

.44- 240 gr. Hard Cast SWC.
.44- 300 gr. XTP
.38- 148 gr. Hard Cast DEWC
.270- Speer 100 gr. HP

 

[semperfi71]

BigBill, I like your choice.

I like all the choices actually. I had a Browning 1895 Winchester repro in .30-06 and wanted to use it for hunting but I quit hunting.

The Father of the elk shooter in my pic has a favorite rifle and load. A Winchester late 60's/early 70's push-feed Model 70 in .30-06. His ONLY load is the Remington 180 grain Core-Lokt. A bullet that pre-dates WWII I think??

I always thought a .35 caliber "anything" would be a great elk killer. Especially the .35 Magnums. BUT...if I were serious elk hunter...like my friend who shot the elk above; I'd be shooting a .338 Winchester or a .338 Lapua. Elmer had it right when he designed that cartridge.

Another cartridge I always wanted to have was the 6.5 Swede, or 6.5x57, or 6.5 Remington Magnum, or a 6.5-06. The 6.5, with its great sectional densities, low recoil, and accuracy potential is so seductive. However I learned that you must choose your barrel rifling to match the bullet as the 6.5 "any cartridge" does not do as a .30-06 or 7mm Magnum does which is shoot most bullet weights accurately.

The same above elk shooter also has a 6.5/284 as his "antelope" rifle. Good choice.

But then a .270 Winchester with almost any 130 grain bullet is a great killer of medium game. But I never had one although I wish I did.

We are blessed in this nation, the only one in the world, to have access to so many interesting, accurate rifle and handgun cartridges. The "gun-banners" don't know what fun they are missing..............

 

[K.38]

Favorite hunting rigs would be a Remington 700 in .30-06 with 150 gr Hornady Soft points for deer and such. When I was living in Alaska I used the same rifle with good results with the Hornady 190 gr soft points.

I took my last two deer with a CZ 550 chambered in 6.5 Swede with 140 grain Hornady soft points. The CZ rifle is a thing of beauty and one of the most accurate rifles I've ever owned.

For small edible game I just use a Ruger 10/22. For target or varmint hunting I use a CZ 452 Lux in 22LR.