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Knew to an old timer in Springfield. He claimed to have killed more than 500 deer through the years, especially the hard times of the 40's when he was young. Said deer season was open year round in Lane County. Claimed this number was to feed his family and neighbors whose men were off to war or working in the woods away from town. Ammunition in larger calibers just wasn't available. He said he killed the majority with .22 Long Rifle. He had pictures of commercial fishing off the Oregon coast and Alaska. Was featured on a local bank commercial in his drift boat. Said he was well known by all the Game Wardens First name was "Wally." Didn't question his integrity or challenge his facts of success with a a .22 Long Rifle.
 
Time will tell which ones will be available and still supported and which ones will be left in the past. I dont see the 30-06 or the 270 leaving mainstreme in forty years will the 6.5creedmoor still be supported? Time will tell. I think the 6.5 creedmoor is a fad.
 
Time will tell which ones will be available and still supported and which ones will be left in the past. I dont see the 30-06 or the 270 leaving mainstreme in forty years will the 6.5creedmoor still be supported? Time will tell. I think the 6.5 creedmoor is a fad.

The real mainstays in bolt action cartridges are the 243, 270, 308, 30-06, 7mm Rem Mag and 300 Win Mag. Cartridges come and go depending on where the pendulum is.

We went through a big magnum fad with the RUMs and WSMs in 1990s. None of which are especially popular anymore. We've drifted back toward the mild side with the 6.5 CM. Soon, people will be attracted to more horsepower or something that doesn't have a belt. Rifles, ammo, and components will sell.

All the while, the people using the mainstays will save money on new fads and will keep hitting targets and killing game. They will be able to buy whatever rifle they want since everyone chambers for those cartridges. Ammo will be bought anywhere.
 
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Coulda said the same thing about the .45-70 about 30 years ago.:cool: Savage chambered the .250 in a 110 variant not too very long ago.

So, just so I understand: your criteria is if there is no new factory gun available, the cartridge is "dead". Don't think I wanna live in that world.

As a big fan of the 280, I feel your pain. But they 280 is pretty much dead as well. The only thing keeping it somewhat relevant is the current attempt to commercialize the 280 AI. That too, will pass.
 
Best caliber debates never seem to die but somewhere in all the possibilities of what can be done is a line for whats appropriate for the task.
After discussing here I think the CM will fare much better than I thought but as someone who bought into the "lighter/faster/better" many years ago to me that line is drawn at the quarterbore for elk but I still wont recommend one. There are so many variables to executing a clean quick hunting kill to list but lets just say the smaller the bullet on the larger the game eliminates several variables as options to even consider overcoming. All these people are buying the CM for its long distance ability its marketed for and thats a bad combination on larger class 3 game with a smaller bullet... lets just say the farther out you take it the more precise your shot has to be and the CM has but just very few load choices with good sectional densities to potentially punch thru heavy shoulder bones instead of deflect. Half the average hunters out there sight in on a tin can and dont even know what their group is.
 
I never really understand the whole this cartridge is better than that cartridge debate / argument / whatever...

True if hunting small game , a .22LR may make for a better cartridge choice than a .30-06...but one can load yer own and "down load" a small game loading for the .30-06.
So exceptions can always be found.

What I am getting at with my opening statement is that deer and other such critters don't read ballistic charts or do math formulas very well.

What they care about , and you should as well , is :

Real world performance of a given cartridge at a given range...
This may be different than what is said in a ballistic chart or load book etc ...when you shoot it.

Speaking of when you shoot...

Knowing how to shoot under field conditions ( Not just being a good shot on the range or from a bench )

Respecting your shooting skills when shooting at a animal , in the field , under poor light , with a less than picture perfect broadside shot , after carrying your rifle all day....

Are all as important as what cartridge your are using.

Sure look into and do research for the proper cartridges ( not whatever some says is "Best" ) for the game you wish to hunt.
Just remember that what is best for someone with how and where they hunt , may make for the worse possible choice , for where and how you hunt.

Learning how to hunt and shoot is of far more concern , to me at least , over this cartridge or that cartridge is better for or better than_________.
Andy
 
Real world performance of a given cartridge at a given range...
This may be different than what is said in a ballistic chart or load book etc ...when you shoot it.

...and therein lies the problem, the reason for the endless best cartridge debate.

and moreso with hunting, which has no official textbook... one of the last old-world skills that can only be learned thru mentorship, or trial and error.

For each class of game, there is a minimum line. Exceptions shouldn't be passed as rules though.
 
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Please read Jack O'Conner on the taking of big game in North America with the .270. If I remember correctly, he harvested everything from the Kodiak bear in Alaska on down to the smallest game in the lower 48. He was a big fan of the .270.
 
For rifles I like calibers I can find on the shelf of most gun stores. I don't want to be 8 hours from home only to discover that the ammo can I loaded into the truck at 0'dark thirty that I thought said 300 win mag really said 30 carbine and then not be able to find ammo at the local hardware store for my rifle. One thing I look at is for bullets at what velocity will they expand at reliability. If the bullet has a working range of say 1800- 3300 FPS then at what range does the speed drop below the lower value. The bullet might punch paper way past that but I want a humane harvest.
 
Please read Jack O'Conner on the taking of big game in North America with the .270. If I remember correctly, he harvested everything from the Kodiak bear in Alaska on down to the smallest game in the lower 48. He was a big fan of the .270.
So who wants to go hunting a grizzly bear with 270? This falls into the category of just because it can be done doesnt mean you should..
 
While I purposely would not hunt grizzly with a .270 I wouldn't feel helpless if attacked by a grizz while toting one. The .270 is a potent round with good penetration, I can fit 4 +1 in the gun and the recoil is such that getting 5 hits on the bear in very short order is not out of the question.

On another tack ... after taking 2 elk with my .270 I felt I needed more, so I picked up a .338WM. I've take 3 elk over the years with the larger rifle. Funny thing, they all died after I shot them. I used Nosler 160 gr. Partitions in the .270, and Nosler 250 gr. Partitions in the .338. All one shot kills, the furthest travel after being shot was about 80 yards and the wound channels were impressive. FWIW

So, now ... needing more "power" I've bow hunted for the last 15 years! Go figure.

So, what do I take out hunting now if I'm using a rifle? Why my .257 Roberts! <Okay, I'm ducking now> :s0077:
 
And when you can't find ammo in your cartridge size at the store (and you don't reload)?.:s0092:

Rrrright.... Plenty of trading still going on in the more "common calibers". But seriously, learn/stock up..... reload (as a back up plan).

Aloha, Mark
 
Please read Jack O'Conner on the taking of big game in North America with the .270. If I remember correctly, he harvested everything from the Kodiak bear in Alaska on down to the smallest game in the lower 48. He was a big fan of the .270.
Yeah, he was a huge fan of the .270,, but everybody forgets what he said in one of his writings;
"When it comes to Elk you're getting into .375 territory."
I go along with that.
For shorter ranges, Elmer Keith said in his book; "For hunting Elk in close timber the best rifle is an 1886 Winchester carbine in .45-70", he allowed that he used a "healthy" charge of, (IIRC,) 3031, pushing 405gr slugs at ~1,700fps,, now that load hurts at both ends, I learned that the first time I touched one off.
 
said in his book; "For hunting Elk in close timber the best rifle is an 1886 Winchester carbine in .45-70", he allowed that he used a "healthy" charge of, (IIRC,) 3031, pushing 405gr slugs at ~1,700fps,, now that load hurts at both ends, I

Elmer Keith was of the opinion that a small bore rifle was 33 caliber ... The man hunted Jack Rabbits and Mule Deer alike with a 44/90 Sharps.
 
I own both i bought my 270 in 1984. I bought my 6.5 in early 2019. I have 3 boxes of ammo thru my 270 and still have two boxes left one is federal at 8.99$ a box and a box of Remington at 12.99$ both from Academy. I have over 500 rounds thru my 6.5. I use it for varmints over 500yds. If you like trigger time 6.5 all day. But thats me. I like both calibers and since 270 was the first I ever owned will always have a spot in my arsenal.
 
During the previously mentioned Dall Sheep hunt, we saw inland Grizzlies every single day. I never felt inadequately armed with the .270 if push came to shove. We DID, however, upon crossing a willow thicketed draw, post one hunter, safety off at port arms while second hunter crossed. #1 hunter then took his turn while buddy stood guard: All the time talking loudly, "Hey, Bear! Hey Bear!"

When our bush plane was 3 days late (unguided drop camp) and our rationed food ran out and the Sheep meat was dwindling (supplemented by low-bush blueberries), we started lookin' at them bruins as potential food. (You start looking at EVERYTHING that way.) The .270 would have worked for that too.

The Caribou hunts utilized the same technique, but bears were fewer in the lower latitudes of the Mulchatna herd.

Jack O'Connor also said he'd have no qualms about walking across the African Continent with a .30-06. (But please don't tell Orygun that.)
 
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