driftrider

While I believe that there may be some degree of merit to the argument that some cartridges are better than others, I don't believe that most of the reputation for accuracy some cartridges have can be entirely attributed to the cartridge itself.

The PPC and BR cartridges are renouned for their accuracy, but has anyone considered that the accuracy benchrest shooters achieve with these cartridges might also be attributed to the fact that they shoot them through highly refined, specialized $10,000+ benchrest rifles and not the practical rifles you and I'd take to the field? Or that maybe it's not just the cartridge, but also the time, care and attention to detail the benchrest shooters put in handloading each round so that it is as close to perfect as they can make it? Or maybe also that the benchrest shooters themselves are outstanding marksmen?

Also consider that many of the cartridges known for accuracy are the smaller calibers. One thing I'd consider is that maybe the reputation can be attributed to the fact that the lighter varmint cartridges are usually fired through heavy barrelled varmint rifles, which are almost always going to produce better accuracy than their sporter-weight counterparts in heavier big game calibers. Another thing that might contribute significantly to the reputation of lighter cartridges is that they are much more pleasant to shoot in terms of recoil, which means that the shooter is far less likely to develope a sub-conscious flinch. They will also likely practice more and have longer more productive range sessions because one can shoot a lot of rounds through a 22-250 without needing a chiropracter, but 10 rounds through a 300 Ultra Mag. and most people are done for the day.

I guess my point is that I feel that there is a lot more to a cartridges reputation than the cartridge itself. The 6mmBR may be a preferred benchrest round, but if it were chambered in a typical factory rifle that you and I could buy off the shelf, would it really be noticably more accurate and an identical rifle chambered in .243Win? Same thing goes in reverse, would a $15,000 benchrest rifle in .243 really be that much less accurate than the 6mmBR? Remember that the benchrest matches are won and lost on .001MOA differences in group sizes. But .001 MOA doesn't mean crap in terms of practical hunting accuracy unless you hunt chipmunks out past 1000 yards.

Mike