Favorite caliber and why
 

What is your favorite caliber and most importantly WHY?

I was having this dicussion here at work yesterday with some of the others who are looking forward to deer season and i was amazed at all the opinions. I didn't think there would be so many.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

30-06;good all around cartridge and with the Federal high energy and Hornady light magnum premium loadings you can approach 300 Win Mag velocities,ammo for it is available everywhere and reasonably priced.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

22 LR for a mulitple reasons.

But since you mentioned deer hunting I'd go with the .308. The 30-06 would be second. I'm just old fashioned in my caliber choices and like the availabililty of ammo, loading components, etc. I also find the .308 and 30-06 to be accurate, flexible and hard hitting enough for anything I'll probably ever hunt.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

My favorite deer caliber is the 257 Roberts. Light on recoil and with 115-120 gr bullets is plenty of caliber for deer. I handload this caliber and trajectory is flat enough for 300 yard shots. That is if the Rifleman is capable of shooting at that distance.

My second pick is the 280 Remington. Manageable recoil for the average shooter and a very flat trajectory with 140 gr. bullets. I have also loaded this caliber with 175 gr. Nosler Partition's and have had good success on elk and large feral hogs.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

30-06 because of its versatility in bullet weight. I use it in my custom mauser for javelina to elk. I also like the .270 Winchester.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

I've used the .25-06 for many years until I found a .257 Roberts M-70 featherweight and it quickly took over as my favorite. However I always wanted a tad more bullet so now I'm building a .260 Rem on a M-70 action to take the throne as king of my deer/antelope rifles.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

30/06 I fill it is the most verstll out there

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

My favorite caliber for deer hunting would be the 270-Winchester. My 270 has worked just fine on Whitetails, Mule deer & Pronghorn Antelope for many years.:)
I forgot to answer the reason why?
I like it because it is light to carry, recoil is mild & ammo is easy to find.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

45/70, just old fashioned, I love the big bullets and getting close in and then BAM! Let the 440 grain Cor-Bon fly. Of course, if you need a follow up, jack that lever and let her fly. Just a great caliber that has done awesome things.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

It would be awful hard to pick a favorite. For deer size game I would stay with my 257 Roberts with the 260 and 6.5x55 right in the same class. The 257 Roberts may be a little better for varmits than my two 6.5 calibers . If I had to only keep only one of my rifles I would have to keep my 7600 30-06 Pump. For now though the 257 Roberts is my favorite to shoot every day. As with Big Bore, I love my 45-70 and 44 mag rifles as well.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

7 mm Mag - I've had this caliber for years. Not too much overkill for whitetails, and can handle most any other North American game....except the big bear family.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

30-06 Wide range of loads and you can get it in a wide range of rifles.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

300 wm. I feel comfortable hunting anything in North America, ammo isn't ridiculously priced, and its not too extreme

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

You mentioned Deer. My favorite deer cartridge would have to be the .270 Win.I use a 7mm RM,30-06 and other cartridges but if I had to choose just one it would be the 270.I've laid many a deer low using a 150 grain 270.Most dropped in their tracks.When something works well for you ,you stick with it.

Ruger Redhawk

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

My favorite would have to be the 7mm Rem Mag. The round is extremely accurate and flat shooting, very effective on most North American game and you can find it readily available at any Wal-Mart in the country. It won't let you down!

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

If I had to have just one of the rifles to do anything, I'd take my 300 Weatherby Mag. With the right bullets it has killed everything on the earth, maybe not the best for everything but it has done it.

KC

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

My favorite for deer is also the 270 Winchester. Why? Good flat shooter, low recoil and ammo can be had anywhere.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

It depends on what you want the rifle for. There are many calibers and every shooter has his or her own favorite depending on needs. If you are planning on buying a new rifle I would recomend buying a newer caliber. Meaning I would not buy a 45/70, 35 remington, 257 roberts, 30/30, etc. I am not saying these calibers are bad in anyway(I love my 30/30) but there are newer calibers that will get you better balistics and shoot flater.

Personaly if I could only own 1 rifle it would be the 300 Win Mag. This caliber is very versitle. You can use light magnum loads for deer, use regular ammo for bear(small to medium), and heavy loads(federal 200 grain) for moose. If you reload then you can load this rifle to a 30-06 performance and get less recoil at the range. I have never tried it buy you can load 100 grain bullets in this caliber. You can hunt any game in North America with this round(assuming you arent hunting varmets). Of the 30 cal mags it is the most reasonable at about $20 a box.(price out all the 30 cal ammo) I own a ruger M77MKI in this caliber and absolutley love it.

If I was buying 3 rifles(match the game to the gun) I would get a 22 caliber(or the new 17), a 7mm caliber(or 25) and a 338 or 375 caliber. That way I could hunt small game with the 22. Deer, preadtors, small bear with the 7mm and Moose, large bear, about anything that moves with the 338 or 375. I agree with the guy about walmart. They have a Ruger model 77 for $460 and a savage 111G for $370. A good woods gun for the price is the savage combo with scope for $420 and they have many calibers including Win short mags(check the ammo price first). If you are looking to hunt mostly deer the 30-06 combo with a scope for $340 is a steal. They even sell browning, weatherby, and have a special order catalog.

I would read a book on balistics or check out a reloading book. That way you can see what each caliber can do. You can also check out remingtons web site and compare 3 diffrent balistics(thier loads).

Good Luck
Jay

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

i am with Wile E. on this one.

i love my 35whelen don't get me wrong. but since i don't reload i don't get to utilize the other selections of bullets out there.
so i would have to vote for the 30-06sprg. ammo is cheap for plinking and their is a good selection of ammo from 150gr. to 220gr. depending on what you are hunting. i even find rem core-lokt's every once in awhile going for $10.00 a box.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

If i could only own one rifle i've always said it would be the 30.06 and i've killed more deer with that caliber than any other. However, several years ago i started using a 25.06 and absolutely fell in love with that caliber and that is now my number one deer rifle.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

Here in central Maryland, most if not all public land forbid breech loaded rifles. My favorites have become 20 ga slub and 50 cal muzzleloader.
Formerly my favorites are swede 6.5 x 55 and win 270. Light recoil and plenty power to reach out to my limit of 200 +/- yards.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

My favorite caliber has to be the 308, I like this caliber several reasons. Short action, hard hitting,low recoil and most of all its the most accurate caliber out there. It also a great allaround caliber for what ever u hunt.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

12 ga. its the only gun you can use around here(well any shotgun) and its very versitile

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

I most often have used my Win. model 70 in .264 win. mag. for everything. I have used a .35 whelen, a 7X57 mauser, a .243, a couple of muzzleloaders (.58 cal., 54 cal., 50 cal.) and a 12 ga shotgun with a rifled slug barrel.

I am surprized to see .257 Roberts, 260 rem. and 6.5 X 55 mentioned above so often. I have thought about getting each of those from time to time. The April 2004 issue of "HANDLOADER" magazine has a piece on the 6.5s (Petite Power! Loads for the 6.5) that is very interesting.

The first rifle I ever hunted with was a borrowed Savage 99 in .300 savage. With it I killed my first B.G. animal a moose. I have a yen to get one now for my daughter and son to use and I'm sure I would pack it when hunting Mule deer and white-tails in the woods .

Robin

Forgot the why. Years ago I had a .308 in a rem 600 carbine. I didn't like the noise and recoil of it so was looking for something else. Ended up looking at two used rifles a 7mm and the .264. I always like to be diffrent so I went for the .264. There is nothing I have killed with it that would not have been killed just as easily with a .270 or 30/06 or the 7mm. I just liked the idea of a flat shooting high velocity cannon of a diffrent color.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

308 Win. For one, it was my grandpas rifle. It shoots great, is pleasant to shoot, is sufficient for most big game, easy to handload for, easy to find ammo for.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

My favorite caliber this month is 350 rem mag. I got the rem. 673 guide gun and let me tell you it is one shooting machine. Now this gun might only last for a couple of weeks because I have the 6.5 rem mag and am about ready to take it out for a trial run.
Polack

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

That would have to be either the 243 Win or the 25-06 for deer . I don't usually shoot at game over 300 yds so they will do anything I need .

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

.22 LR- without it, I wouldn't be doing 1/10 the amount of shooting I do.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

My favorite has to be the 7Mm RM. I got one a couple of years ago and it has quickly replaced my .308 as my go to gun! For deer, the 7MM RM could be considered overkill, but not that much.
My intention with the 7MM is to have a good, flat shooting deer gun, with the idea of having a gun that I am familiar with when I get hthe opportunity to go Elk or Moose hunting. Since I don't intend to go after dangerous game I think that the 7MM RM is the last gun that I will ever need! Not that it will be the last one that I ever buy though!:D

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

With the results I have had with my .270 I would have to vote for that. Reasons why include amazing accuracy with even the cheap factory ammo, not a bad recoil, and it is like an a-bomb on deer. I have other guns and enjoy em all..but when its time to hit the hills the .270 is always the one I grab.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

My .30-30 it recoils light, i shoot great with it, and it dont cost a lot. I can hit a pieplate every time at 110 yards and thats all i have to shoot at

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

While the 270win will always be hounding in my mind why would I need anything more than that for anything I hunt. I found my personal choice in the 300 win mag. To me its one of the best all around calibers wether your shooting heavy big game or taking it to the limits of distance on Antelope. In the right rifle its very pleasant to shoot and the accuracy is superb. It is very versatile in bullet weight selection for the guys who like to change loads. I prefer to stick with the one load. The very flat accurate one.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

308 Winchester. Nothing shoots better right out of the box!!
McD

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

I think I'll have to go with the 7 x 57 Mauser cartridge....just my favorite personal pick....not sayingit's the best for everything (if there is such a thing)
It is what my first hunting rifle was chambered in....and the first round I learned to load on my single stage press. A darn good versatile round that's also pretty freindly to your shoulder but can get the job done on pleanty of sizable game.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

i like my 30-06 its just a good all around caliber i can shoot pretty much anything huntable here where i live and if i ever get to go hunting for elk or something it`ll do that to and i think you can shoot moose and bear with it to never done it persoanlly but ive herd of alot of people doing it so thats my pick

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

I'm a big fan of the .308. It's generally very accurate, has a wide variety of bullet wieghts available, you can buy ammo everywhere, and you can get milsurp ammo very cheap for plinking (and reloading spent brass).

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

Mine is the 12 ga. From the clays to deer to anything it is the most versitile gun. Its fun to shoot and has enough stoping power for a lot of game.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

Im stuck on the 30s. 30 30, 30-06, 300s. Not to big not to small.

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

I would have to say the 30.06. Its a good all around gun, and the fact that I bought it with my dad when I was 13 years old. It just bring back memories!

RE: Favorite caliber and why
 

7mm-08. Low recoil even with a 140gr bullet, flat shooter despite its low recoil, and absolute hot death on whitetail deer.