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My Favorite Cartridges

31K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  natdscott 
#1 ·
Nearly every day I field questions from various customers in regard to my opinions on various cartridges. There is no "right" answer to any of these questions, as there are so many different cartridges that can perform similar tasks. However, there are plenty of considerations that make some choices better than others for certain applications. I'm going to share my personal favorites with you. After, I hope you'll share your favorites with us as well!



1 - 22LR CCI Subsonic HP's.
There have been more things killed with 22lr than everything else combined. I live out in the middle of nowhere, and we get all manner of skunks and other vermin that wander onto our property. CCI Subs are accurate, hard hitting, and quiet. This is important as I predominately shoot suppressed. Everyone should have at least one 22lr, and I have about a dozen. My primary 22lr's are Sako Quad, Anschutz 64MPR, PWS T3, and a browning buckmark that has been worked over by TS Customs. I also shoot a ton of match grade ammo through the Annie and a couple 40X rifles. Then there are a handful of other 22's around like Stevens, Savage, S&W, Walther, and more. I love 22lr for critter getting and practice. It's an incredible training tool for rookies and veterans alike.

2 - 17HMR Hornady 17gr vmax
The 17HMR is probably one of the most controversial cartridges around. It's a very polarizing cartridge among coyote hunters specifically. One camp claims its more than enough, while the other says no way. I have shot it since about the time it was introduced, and have enjoyed my time with it. It is an exceedingly accurate and relatively inexpensive little rimfire. The 17gr pill at 2500+fps is absolutely devastating on small critters like gophers and rats. When I say devastating, I mean explode things and send their most precious parts flying across a 15yd area kind of devastating. English house sparrows are an invasive bird species that we have in abundance in South Dakota. They have the nasty habit of nesting in tractors and everywhere else that you wouldn't want them. The 17HMR detonates these little birds as if they had a self-destruct device or a small bottle of tannerite within! The HMR has a very flat trajectory to 150yds, but can get pushed around by the wind a bit. A skunk might take 3-5 hits from a 22lr before it gives up, but one hit from the 17HMR and its playing a harp and floating upward! My primary rifle for this cartridge is a Sako Quad.

3 - 22-243WIN
Winchester or Lapua brass, CCI200 primer, and 42.5gr of Varget behind a 52SMK produces 4100fps of coyote slaying destruction. If you want to cry about barrel life, cry to someone else. When this thing hits a coyote, it's like a lightning strike. A bad hit, still anchors them for a follow up shot. When I switched to this cartridge from a 22-250, my days of seeing fatally hit coyotes run after the shot were over. Some of you may have seen the video's on youtube of us putting this little beast to use on the local coyote population. It doesn't play around. With a 0.4mil come up to 300yds from a 100yd zero, it's quite flat shooting.

4 - 6.5CM
I use a variety of bullets in the 6.5 Creedmoor. It's an amazingly efficient and versatile cartridge. Pictured is the 140Amax, but I've had great success with 123Amax and 142SMK's as well. The lighter bullets favor Varget, while the heavier bullets prefer H4350. From competition to hunting, this cartridge gets it done. It will reach out toward 1200-1400yds impressively well. The very high BC of the heavy .264 bullets and stout 2800fps velocity afforded by the 6.5 Creedmoor means it is all business! A flat 8 mils to 1000yds is quite respectable. I'd put it a notch above .243win in regard to its authority when hunting big game. It gets the job done. Lots of deer shot out to 700yds with it. The very tame recoil of this cartridge makes it extremely easy to shoot accurately.

5 - 308WIN
The gold standard. The trusty 308win is probably the singular best long range training cartridge there is. Its ballistics are inferior as compared to the 6.5CM, and its recoil is strong enough to exploit any deficiencies in your firing position. Time spent at distance with a 308 will teach you more about your capabilities than nearly any other cartridge. For this reason, it will always have a place among my rifles. A 175SMK atop a stout charge of varget will produce 3/4moa or better results out of any rifle that doesn't need a gunsmiths attention. People get very wrapped up in the latest "whiz bang" cartridges, and often for good reason, given those new cartridges usually bring some serious improvements to the table. Yet it is only among the competitors and long range hunters that the 308 has fallen from favor. For those that want a good inexpensive and proven cartridge from which to learn long range shooting, I can think of none better than the 308win!

6 - 7LRM
The 7MM Long Range Magnum is the brainchild of Gunwerks. Someone had their thinking hat on when they built this thing. If someone would have asked me what the perfect 7mm looked like, this is what I'd have told them. Prior to this, we were stuck with 7WSM and 7SAUM, both of which had their shortcomings. The 7LRM runs on a standard magnum bolt face and feeds from all of the standard magnum magazines. Sure, it requires a long action, but all the so-called "short action" compliant WSM cartridges did as well if you shot anything but the tiny lightweight hunting bullets. The long neck gives it great bullet support and should protect the throat a bit better. No rebated rim and a normal magnum body dimension means excellent feeding from nearly anything. No nasty belt as found on the belted 7mm magnums. This means longer case life and much easier reloading, as a special collet die is not required to get that belt back into shape after multiple firings. We're seeing velocities as high as 3200fps with 180gr projo's from 30" barrels. From a 26" barrel, it's not that hard to break 3000fps. Can you say 6.4 mils to 1000yds? Yum Yum Gimme Some! This cartridge is more than just a fad folks. If you haven't heard about it before now... you better start doing some reading. My DTA SRS-A1 is getting a LOT of time with my TS Customs 7LRM barrel. We have Hornady 7LRM headstamped brass, Forster ultra micrometer seating dies, and various other components for sale. When someone starts asking me about 7rem mag, 7WSM, or 7SAUM... I start talking about 7LRM. Usually doesn't take much convincing. This cartridge is a real winner and I hope it continues to come on strong. We've been testing a lot of bullets lately to find some good load combos. H1000 is hot to trot, but Retumbo is showing promise with the heavier bullets from 175gr and up. The lighter stuff seems to prefer H1000.

7 - 338LM
I've been a huge fan of 338LM for as long as I've been into long range shooting. Though it is not until recently that I really fell in love with it. When Hornady released the 285gr HPBT, the entire 338LM community was given a gift sent from heaven on the wings of angels. My 30" TS Customs barrel sends these little babies at 2875fps and produces 1/4moa groups. They are by far and above the most forgiving and accurate 338 bullets I've ever used. They also perform quite well on big game. I've shot about a dozen deer with them from ranges of 90yds to 945yds, and it gets the job done. Retumbo and CCI250's in a Lapua container to go along with the 285's. Granted the recoil is there. 338LM rifles are some of the most returned rifles on earth. People buy them thinking they are going to be some uber-sniper with them. Then they realize they don't know jack about shooting, and can't drive the rifle through the recoil impulse. Ergo; they can't hit a pop can at 100yds. Yet in the hands of someone that knows what they are doing, the 338LM with these bullets is a force to be reckoned with out to a mile.

8 - 375CT
The 375 Cheytac is the most capable and impressive ELR cartridge on the market today. It is capable of pushing a 352gr lathe turned solid with a G1 BC of .890 upwards of 3100fps. 1000yd come up from 100yd zero? 5.4 mils. It's straight up boring to shoot it that close. This cartridge, when paired up with one of our DTA HTI rifles can achieve first round hits about as far away as you can see an IPSC plate.

That's my list, and I'm sticking to it. Obviously I could talk a lot more about each of the above cartridges, but this is a good primer.

What's everyone else shooting?
 
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#3 ·
My list is boring in comparison, but the same in a couple of areas:

22LR: Nuf said

22 WRM: Killed a few big items with this in my younger, more foolish days.

243 Win: 75 gr hollow points will ruin a coyote's day and 100 gr. will take any local blacktail deer.

257 Roberts: One of my favorite rounds, I own a couple, from ground squirrels to elk in a pinch with 115 Noslers it is one of those rounds I have full confidence in.

308 Win: Own a few, can't argue with anything Orkan said.

30-06: How can you go wrong? I wish more people/manufactures thought of this as a long range round. It used to be the gold standard for 1000 yards shoots. My favorite everyday elk carry gun is an '06 in a light weight Ruger #1. Absolutely love it!

300 Win Mag: I agree with Cheaptrick on this. With over 100 inches less drop at 1000 yards than a .308, it takes a lot of guess work and human error out of the equation. Owned a few over the years, wish I had them all back!

338 LM: Working on one now, never shot one yet, but I am impressed.

In my area, 375 and 408CT or 416 Barret are too much. Th only place I could get that kind of distance is if I shot down Main Street. I am pretty sure I would get in trouble for that.

Kenny
 
#4 ·
Hello
My list goes pretty much the same.
22LR : great for practice and small game
223 Rem: losts of fun in an AR and great on goffers
6.5 grendel: my newest toy
7mm-08: great cartridge base off the 308
308 Win: can't say enough about it
300 WSM: great for filling the freezer
 
#5 ·
Orkan, pretty extensive list. All good rounds, except never had much use for the 17 HMR. 308 has been an excellent round for a long time followed by the 6.5 in any designation. For hunting in the U.S.,
there's not much game that can stand against the 30/06. My favorite all around round is still the 308 and I've shot my share of different calibers. Haven't had a chance at the 375 CT, but will some day.
Overall, Elmer Keith said it best: "If it ain't big, it ain't s--t". I just like big hard recoiling rifles, never been recoil sensitive.
 
#8 ·
Hello
The 7mm-08 was my choice round for HP silhouette but now it looks like the 6.5's are taking over and since my 7mm-08 barrel is shot out it will be replaced with the 6.5 creedmoor. I Will still use the 7mm-08 for the hunter class silhouette rifle.
Cliffy
 
#9 ·
1) 22lr
2) 223 cheap to shoot and practice with
3) 6mm Remington everything a 243 can do with a little more power
4) 280 Remington in a bolt action in my opinion best all around hunting round
5) 308 nothing else needs to be said
6) anything 338 minus 338 federal
 
#10 ·
Not sure I can rank one over the other, but so far I'm loving:

* 22LR - obviously
* 260 (I can't wait to load some 0.618 BC bullets and stretch the legs on this gun!)
* 7mm-08 (my rifle sucks but I like this caliber better than 308)

I've had ups-and-downs with:

* 223 (cheap, powerful, can be accurate, but a dirty AR is not very accurate, which is a buzz kill)
* 204 Ruger (flat and fast, easy for kids to handle, undecided how accurate it is)
* 243 Win (the gun is a Tikka T3 Lite, which makes this little cartridge kick like a mule hopped up on PCP)

So far I really enjoy the 308 Win family of cartridges (I haven't tried 338 Fed). I'd love to try a 7mm SAUM or 7mm LTM or 7mm STW next.
 
#11 ·
Mine isn't all that special... :/
22lr: A 22lr rifle was my first firearm, but unfortunately it is retired; so I only shoot 22lr pistols now.
7.62x39: I figured I needed a home defense rifle, and the AKM was the most cost effective. I've shot mine with acceptable accuracy out to 350 yards.
30-30: My first center fire rifle was a Winchester 94 30-30. Shooting this round is what taught me about shooting in the elements.
30-06: If there is something that absolutely needs shot today, I grab the trusty 30-06. ;)
 
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