Best small center fire caliber

[Bull72]

My favorite is a 204 Ruger, number 2 favorite is a 17 Hornet then the 223 Remington. I have owned swifts, 6MMs, 25-06 and other calibers.

204 in a varmit weight barrel will allow observation of the bullet impact through the scope. With a heavy barrel, recoil is so mild you can keep the scope on the target.

Another caliber to look at is a 17 hornet. It has very little muzzle blast, easy to reload, a pound of powder will provide almost 700 loads, out to 400 yards-has about the same flight trajectory as a 223. It is also very accurate. When components were reasonably priced, I could reload it for less than the cost of purchasing 17 HMR ammo.

223 is a good option, cost of rifles tend to be less, brass is inexpensive and there are many bullet options.

A 6MM caliber gives an option for use of the rifle to hunt in most states. 6MM flight trajectories, with 80 grain or heavier bullets, have a flatter trajectory after about 400 yards. I have found the smaller calibers IE 204,17 and 223, easier to run all day long when shooting lots of rounds.

I own a 6mm rem and a 257 weatherby both are great shooting. I am just looking for something to have some friendly father son companion at the range and I find myself really interested in the X-bolt 204 with a long barrel

 

[Bull72]

"Affordable"?

Now we know you're a high roller...

"Affordable"?

Now we know you're a high roller...

-Robert

My son is the one who planted the idea of the 204 in my head and I have taken a liking to the X-bolt model in 204

 

[Bull72]

Define "small."

I am interested in the 20 caliber and mostly I am interested in the 204

 

[trevi]

Do you reload? How about a wildcat in something like a 204-250 Remington?

 

[po18guy]

My son has a 220 swift and he loves it but he is interested in getting a 204 and that's why I am also interested in the 204 I am liking the X-bolt model I have had good luck with Browning

Trivia: The über modern .204 Ruger is simply the now "ancient" 222 Remington Magnum necked down.

 

[USMC-03]

I'll first note that I'm a hand loader and have experience with wildcats, so...

My favorite oddball cartridge for both velocity and accuracy is the .240 Cobra; it's a .220 Swift necked up to .243 caliber. Load it it with the Nosler 55 grain 6mm BT and it's devastating on sage rats and rock chucks out to 500 yards.

The other two I've been wanting to experiment with for a long time are the .22 Hornet and .221 Fireball for 250 to 300 yards. Set them up for the light 40 grain bullets and there should be no perceivable recoil - see the impact through the scope.

Food for thought...

 

[tac]

The thing is, gentleman and lady, that because of where you live and the way you live, all you need do is to waltz into the LGS of choice, do the BGC and walk out with the rifle of choice, and then, if you find it's not up to snuff, do the same thing all over again with a trade-in - ad infinitum.

Here in UK, if I decide on a calibre today, the paperwork and admin and cost entailed in doing it - not a lot, but enough to buy a box of bullets of choice - might take a few weeks, or even, if you are unlucky enough to live in more than a few counties, a few months. You might also be asked why you want that calibre in the first place...and, here's the thing, your application might just be refused altogether.

You buy US-branded rifles at about 2/3 or even 1/2 the price we pay - I know this to be a fact, since I live in both UK and the PNW during the normal year, and go to and spend money in a number of stores local to me in my time with you. Most times, though, it's pounds for dollars or thereabouts. Your thousand-dollar rifle costs at least fifteen-hundred here, often a deal more.

And for reasons totally incomprehensible to us poor shooters here, a rifle made in Finland, a spit and a fart over the North Sea and around the bottom of Sweden away, costs you about 25% LESS despite having cross the Atlantic Ocean AND the entire width of North America before it ends up on the rack in Cabela's in Tualatin.

My advice is to go exercise your RKBA and plastic purchasing device and buy a few that take your fancy.

Anything not up to your particular snuff can be disposed of on this very site by the simple interchange of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

[trevi]

The thing is, gentleman and lady, that because of where you live and the way you live, all you need do is to waltz into the LGS of choice, do the BGC and walk out with the rifle of choice, and then, if you find it's not up to snuff, do the same thing all over again with a trade-in - ad infinitum.

Here in UK, if I decide on a calibre today, the paperwork and admin and cost entailed in doing it - not a lot, but enough to buy a box of bullets of choice - might take a few weeks, or even, if you are unlucky enough to live in more than a few counties, a few months. You might also be asked why you want that calibre in the first place...and, here's the thing, your application might just be refused altogether.

You buy US-branded rifles at about 2/3 or even 1/2 the price we pay - I know this to be a fact, since I live in both UK and the PNW during the normal year, and go to and spend money in a number of stores local to me in my time with you. Most times, though, it's pounds for dollars or thereabouts. Your thousand-dollar rifle costs at least fifteen-hundred here, often a deal more.

And for reasons totally incomprehensible to us poor shooters here, a rifle made in Finland, a spit and a fart over the North Sea and around the bottom of Sweden away, costs you about 25% LESS despite having cross the Atlantic Ocean AND the entire width of North America before it ends up on the rack in Cabela's in Tualatin.

My advice is to go exercise your RKBA and plastic purchasing device and buy a few that take your fancy.

Anything not up to your particular snuff can be disposed of on this very site by the simple interchange of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Yes, I was amazed by the cost of even some of the local guns in Czechia, Poland, Germany and Finland - their rifles cost more in the country they are made than in the USA, but it all comes down to sales, eh. Meanwhile, in Russia...it is the opposite.

 

[Zingger]

My experience with the 204: It's a great little cartridge, so long as you don't have variable crosswind and keep your shots inside of 200 yards. A few years ago I took the 204 as the primary and my 22-250 as the backup for a "pasture poodle" hunt. Wind was variable 15-25. For anything outside of 200 I might as well have been throwing corn at them. After giving the '250 the nod.....things changed in my favor. It wasn't too long after the "new, best varmint caliber ever" was re-homed. Give me a 223 or 22-250. For these reasons I whole-heartedly give the 223 or 22-250 the nod. Something different? The 32-20 is a great little plinker if you reload.

 

[Spitpatch]

Small?

How about the smallest cartridge ever factory chambered by one of the most famous rifle manufacturers in the whole world?

The .40-50 Sharps Bottleneck:

It launches a 400grain bullet at a blistering 1186 feet per second.


Versatility is its watchword. Prairie Dogs to Pronghorns, this cartridge will do it all.



(Sorry: They ran all us "small cartridge" guys out of Montana.)

 

[Bobbygun]

Trivia: The über modern .204 Ruger is simply the now "ancient" 222 Remington Magnum necked down.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. .222 Rem Mag brass is hard enough to come by as it is.

 

[Dinglenutz]

.233/5.56 for sure

I'd second (or fourth or whatever) this, and if it's too pedestrian, then consider something like a 22-250.

 

[Lilhigbee]

Not much love for .221 Fireball??
If you aren't set on a rifle, might I suggest a Remington XP-100 in .221 Fireball??
34 gr. HP bullet and 13.6 gr. of Lilgun and have a blast!!
Another personal favorite if you are a handloader is .256 Win. Mag. Get a barrel for your T/C Contender (you do have a Contender, right?? Everyone should!!). Make brass from .357 Magnum (easy to do) and load 75 grain bullets and it's a fine shooter.

 

[Hopeful_Vet]

Something better than a rimfire, cheap to shoot and reload as well as just being fun? 22 Hornet.

 

[tac]

Not much love for .221 Fireball??
If you aren't set on a rifle, might I suggest a Remington XP-100 in .221 Fireball??
34 gr. HP bullet and 13.6 gr. of Lilgun and have a blast!!
Another personal favorite if you are a handloader is .256 Win. Mag. Get a barrel for your T/C Contender (you do have a Contender, right?? Everyone should!!). Make brass from .357 Magnum (easy to do) and load 75 grain bullets and it's a fine shooter.

I had a Contender in .45-70 with a JSK muzzle brake on it. All that thing did was spread the misery sideways, and in the end I took it off. Didn't seem to make a lick of difference, too, either.

 

[03A3Sporter]

5.56 / 223 I like availablity in my cartridges that has it .

 

[belshawelk]

small to me is a .243. With varmit loads it hitting 4000 FPS. Capable of taking any NA deer and elk ( I do not recommend it on elk)

 

[Hopeful_Vet]

May I throw in some Chuck Hawks wisdom?

Varmint Cartridges

 

[Stomper]

"Affordable"?

Now we know you're a high roller...

-Robert

Hey, it's legal now…. don't be harshin' his mellow, man!

 

[aflineman]

I can't say "best", but I do have a soft spot for .22 Hornet.