The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

As I am sure many of you know, Dave Petzal has an article in the newest Field and Stream on the "the best ammo for every hunt" in his experience/opinion. I thought that I would share what he has for8 different categories of hunting and see if others have opinion?

1. Varmints -
First choice = .223 Remington
Second choice = .220 Swift
Honorable mention = .22/250 Remington

2. Varmints and Big Games -
First choice = 6MM Remington
Second choice= .257 Roberts
Honorable mention = .243 Winchester

3. Big Game: The light kickers -
First choice = 7x57 Mauser and 7MM/08 Remington in a tie.
Second choice = .308 Winchester
Honorable mention = 6.5X55 Swede

4. Big Game: The all-around rounds -
First choice = .30/06 Springfield
Second choice = .270 Winchester and .280 Remington in a tie.
Honorable mention = .338 Winchester Magnum

5. Big Game at long range -
First choice = .300 weatherby magnum
Second choice = .270 winchester short magnum
Honorable mention = 7MM Weatherby magnum

6. Heavy or dangerous north american game -
First choice = .338 Winchester Magnum
Second choice = .338 remington ultra mag and .340 weatherby in a tie.
Honorable mention = .325 winchester short magnum

7. Handguns -
First choice = .44 magnum
Second choice = .480 ruger
Honorable mention = .45 long colt

8. Africa -
LIGHT RIFLE
First choice = .30/06 springfield
Second choice = .270 winchester

MEDIUM RIFLE
First choice = .375 H & H
Second choice = .338 winchester magnum

HEAVY RIFLE
First choice = .416 Remington
Second choice = .458 Lott

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

Woot Woot! The 6.5 made a list :DI actually agree for the most part with that list.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I live in deer country and unless you are willing to drive 80 miles.

I highly doubt if you are going to find any shells for a sweed around here.

That is 1950 - 60 technology.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I disagree with the Big Game all around rounds.

First Choice: 7mm Rem. Mag.
Second Choice:30-06 Springfield
Honorable mention: .300 Win. Mag.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I live in Deer Country, and I see 6.5x55mm Swede at both of my local hunting goods stores, 25-30 miles away.

I bet in Canada, it's pretty popular.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

That is a pretty good list,all of us would change one or the other but it would be splitting hairs.I would of like to have seen the .300wm/45/70 some where on the list.Hey how about moving the .220swift up one,see it would be easy to do.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

Are you asking me to do something?

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

Leaving emotion out of the formula, its a pretty sensible list. NOW narrow that down to three like, 223, 270 and 416 Remington Mag.;)

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

AAAAGH!!!!! Real men shoot only .30 cal or bigger!:D

At last, a word after truth's own heart!;)

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I disagree with the entire list. There is not one single form of "ammo" on it. Those are all "calibers."

Ammo, refers to ammunition. This list should be more along the lines of:

Varmints:
1) VMAX
2) TNT
HM) HP

Medium Game:
1) Sierra Game King
2) Nosler Partition
HM) BT

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

While you are correct, Mr. Wiseacre, ;)it is how it was presented in the article.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

Alright...I'll play along...but I am going to go ahead and fix his list for him. My corrections will be listed in bold along his original attempts.


1. Varmints -
First choice = .223 Remington
Second choice = .220 Swift .204 Ruger belongs here
Honorable mention = .22/250 Remington - .222 Rem Mag

2. Varmints and Big Games [sic]-
First choice = 6MM Remington I wholeheartedly agree with him here
Second choice= .257 Roberts
Honorable mention = .243 Winchester .22-250 belongs here

3. Big Game: The light kickers -
First choice = 7x57 Mauser and 7MM/08 Remington in a tie. I concur.
Second choice = .308 Winchester - This should read .260 Rem
Honorable mention = 6.5X55 Swede - I like the 6.5 too...but you can't leave out the 30/30 Win.

4. Big Game: The all-around rounds -
First choice = .30/06 Springfield
Second choice = .270 Winchester and .280 Remington in a tie. Just .280 here....or perhaps tied with 7mm Mag
Honorable mention = .338 Winchester Magnum

5. Big Game at long range -
First choice = .300 weatherby magnum
Second choice = .270 winchester short magnum 300 or 7mm WSM would be better here
Honorable mention = 7MM Weatherby magnum I'd mention the 7mm STW

6. Heavy or dangerous north american game -
First choice = .338 Winchester Magnum
Second choice = .338 remington ultra mag and .340 weatherby in a tie. Neither one.... 375 H&H...and its a close second at that
Honorable mention = .325 winchester short magnum Nope 330 Dakota, and thats only because its not that well known and needs mentioning. It really should be at the top.

7. Handguns - For what...?
First choice = .44 magnum
Second choice = .480 ruger
Honorable mention = .45 long colt

8. Africa -
LIGHT RIFLE (I'd rather carry a shotgun for birds instead...but I'll bite)
First choice = .30/06 springfield Nope... 300 H&H
Second choice = .270 winchester No way.... put the '06 here
I will give an Honorable to 7x57, because its paid its dues on the Dark Continent.

MEDIUM RIFLE Which is really a "light" rifle in Africa....
First choice = .375 H & H
Second choice = .338 winchester magnum This is a good spot for the340 Weatherby
Another Honorable for the 330 Dakota should be listed here.

HEAVY RIFLE
First choice = .416 Remington Color me nostalgic. .470 NE
Second choice = .458 Lott .416 goes here
I'll add in an Honorable for the .460 Weatherby, if for no reason other than you could shoot down the moon with it, if you can handle the recoil that is.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

Swamp I was thinking the same thing.

I was very surprised not to see the .300 WM on that list.

I pretty much agree with the list for the categories that I have experience in.

Tom

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I concur with Swamp Collie. He did a better job with his version of the "ammo" list. ;)

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

The problem here is that Petzel is trying to group the "ungroupable" so to speak. The issue with calling any one thing the "best in all circumstances," is that no two circumstances are exactly alike. Along that line of thinking, it would be correct to state that the .375 H&H is the best rifle for everything, anytime, any place, any game and any season. Sure..its overkill for coyote's and whistle dogs....and its as light as I'd opt for elephant and buffalo....but it will get the job done. Second...heck...why not the .460 Weatherby...or the ultra sporty 20mm Vulcan? I just have to look at lists like this out of the side of my eyes....

There are a few catagories that I think Petzel "left out," or more appriopriately, should have included. Although, it is his article and he can do with it as he wishes.

I do, however, think that a catagory for the flat shooters (bean field rifles to us southerners and mule deer/antelope guns for y'all out west) andwoods rifles (for the up north boys) would have been appropriate catagories. I also think that he should have split up "big game" to include a medium game, such as deer, mulies, coues, black bears,goats, sheep etc, and left big game to include the "bigger" stuff such as caribou, elk, moose, brown/whitebears and musk ox/bison.

With that spirit in mind....here is my vote for the two catagories I feel were unduely left out: Feel free to comment, and re-write your own.

Bean Field Rifles:
1) 25-06
2) .270 (in either long or short fat configuration)
HM) 6mm Rem

Woods Rifles
1) 30/30
2) Tie b/w .444 and 45/70
HM) .35 Rem. However, I can't help but feel love for the .348 Win and the .358 Win....all but obsolete anymore.

I also have to give one grand overall Honorable Mention to a chambering that you will not find in my personal list, but its usefulness and subsequent offspring abound in nearly every varmint, light and medium duty rifle found; that would be the .308. Infact, I would place it on the HM list for best all around. It is not, by any stretch, THE BEST, however, its benefits for darn near everything, and its family from the .243, 260, 7mmm-08 and 338 Fed are undeniably some of the best around. The 7mm-08, just happens to be THE best of whats around....but thats purely subjective now isn't it. :D

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

That's a really long list of calibers. While I would love to own that many guns, I don't think there's anything on this continent you couldn't kill with a .223, .30-06, or .308.

I don't know about African game, the only thing I shot at there was shooting back at me. Come to think of it, .223 and .308 worked for that too.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I think you just thought up another catagory Petzel left out :)

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I was thinking the same thing, but I guess if the writer made the mistake, that's a shame, 'cause I really would be interested in seeing what he thought about what was the best bullet.

He hada pretty stupid list for the "all-around rounds", for the average hunter.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I have a few problems:

First those are calibers not ammo.

Second there is no mention of the 25-06 which should have been included in at least three catergories..... Varmint/Big Game, Long range, and Light kickers.

Finally, there is way better varmint rounds than the ones mentioned. Such as 20VT, 17 MIV, 221 FB, 204 ruger, 17 Rem, 20 tactical..... just to name a few.

Thats the great thing about lists they are made to be argued about.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

Don't even think about it, I can be nerdier, those are CARTRIDGES, not CALIBERS or AMMO.:Dj/k

Standardwar weapons (as inspired by Big Tiny)

1st - .308 Win. Plenty of power, and a short action as opposed to the 30-06's long action, making the .308 better for semi-auto.

2nd - 6.8mm Grendel, Great automatic AR-style weapon for close quarters. Pretty popular with SWAT teams, I believe.

Honorable mention - .45 ACP, great pistol, great submachine guns, and the chamering of the second most important conventionalweapon of WWII, the Thompson submachine gun.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

Not in this lifetime.;)

.220 Swift is the fastest factory ammo available cartridge there is that isn't a wildcat, like the Benchrest cartridges.

My great grandpa loved his, and when he and my grandpa were hunting, my great-grandpa shot an antelope from 875 yards away, closer to 900 paces.
He practised with that rifle all the time, and with a gallon of luck, and skill, he killed that antelope, but it was one of those once in a lifetime shots, I wouldn't want to do that, more likely than not, it would be missed completely, since the wind could affect it.

But if I were ever to spend money on an expensive varmit rifle, I would get a .220 Swift, very high velocity and power. The only thing I would classify as close would be the .22-250 Rem, both those cals are what we call "smokers", you see the humidity coming out of the barrel whenever you fire it on a hot, humid, Tennessee summerday.

I really find it strange you didn't bother putting the .22-250 on your list.

Just for the sake of talking trash, the .204 is one of the biggest wastes of brass in firearms history.:D

No offense.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

I just think someone screwed up when 45/70 was left out.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

Well you are right about his choices being cartridges and not ammo.However your choices are all bullets and not ammo either.

RE: The Best Ammo for Every Hunt?
 

IMHO

the 22-250 because of availability for those that don't handload
the Swift is a stellar round but not available wherever one goes
the 25-06 for larger varmit and deer sized game. More than managable recoil.
Next would be a toss up, a 7mm Rem Mag or a 300 win mag.
Anything requiring a bigger punch for me it's a 375 H & H unless a .40 is a requirement by law then it would probably be a 416 Rigby.
V max moly for the 22-250 and what ever load shoots best out of the rest. Premium bullets like partitions, tbbc woodlieghs etc.