RE: appropriate cartridges for short barrels?
 

25-06 and .270's are over bores, they dont quite burn all their powder even in longer barrels. shoot an -06 at night and shoot a .308 at night. That 25 is a fire breather big time.

RE: appropriate cartridges for short barrels?
 

Heh, heh. Night shooting can be telling on how much powder is burning outside the bore. I see it as a trade off. I would expect light, relatively handy bolt sporters to sacrifice some muzzle velocity. I see smaller cartridge casings as more effecient, but I doubt that they would catch on as far as the market is concerned. The 22 hornet, the russian 7.62 short, the triple deuce, the old thirty-thirty... pretty good stuff but the ballistics don't sell magazines. Doggone.

RE: appropriate cartridges for short barrels?
 

The 30-30 would be my choice for a small handlinggun. And those lever guns look Coooool ! He He !

RE: appropriate cartridges for short barrels?
 

Zrex, you're not the only one to think that way!

RE: appropriate cartridges for short barrels?
 

I'm with driftrider, et al, on this. I would avoid the full-length cartridges and the magnums, in such a rifle. Any of the .308 family should do nicely (.308, 7mm-08, .243, etc.)...as well as the old 7 x 57. The venerable 7 x 57 would be a great cartridge for this type of rifle. Not too much to choose between the 7 x 57 and the 7mm-08, though. I have a sentimental attachment to the 7 x 57...and it usually can be made to perform well at lower pressures than the 7mm-08...but it's a bit of a toss-up. If you don't handload, then I think the 7mm-08 would be just about ideal. If you do, the 7 x 57 would be a great choice.