The 3 most underrated hunting calibers.

22-250
243
7x57/7x57Ai
280/280ai
8x57
35rem
358win
9.3x62

But to pick 3
243win
280rem
35rem

I have 4 that I use for deer:
223
243
300 BLK, subsonic & suppressed
6.5 CM
They have all proven themselves more than capable. The first 3 are often considered "marginal at best".

Well, certainly if a specific distance is stipulated there could be room for discussing additional hunting calibers but just in general and on first thought...

.358 Winchester. It's the Rodney Dangerfield of the .30 cal class.

Any .50 cal in a sidelock black powder rifle such as a Hawken/Kentucky/Pennsylvania etc. If not underrated then certainly overlooked and under appreciated.

I always think the 410 shotgun is under rated. Taken everything from dove to deer with mine.

I'll add in 300 Savage. My Dad's old hunting rifle has taken more deer in that caliber then I can count.

.250 Savage
22 Hornet (and its K cousin)
7x57
.32 Remington

Since you said big game, I guess the Hornet should be eliminated.

22-250, 30-30, and any patched round ball.
Is mind blowing that people will save about the 223 and 300BO but poo all over the first 2.
Everyone knows a prb use only good to 50 yards unless you've actually shot something with one.

.250 Savage
.280 Rem
.300 Savage

I'm speaking from the "deer" realm before long range deer sniping over planted fields became a thing. That being said, the .280 will get there. All 3 have been handicapped by the factory loadings and/or rifles chambered for them. In a quality bolt action with correct twist and loadings, they are all marvelously efficient and accurate deer hammers.

Mn Fats said:

I just read an article that appeared on my Google homepage titled "The 3 Most Underrated Hunting Calibers". I don't how I get these ads (I assume my search history).

The article threw me off. I assume the author meant for deer hunting, but he never did specify in the title. Lol.

His mentions were for .300 Blackout, 338 Federal and 280 Ackley Improved as underrated "calibers". I love the Ackley. Is it underrated? Those in the know may disagree.

I think the current trend towards hunting cartridges may lean in the direction of old school cartridges as being "underrated". 30-30. 35 rem. Rimmed cartridges in general. But then again it has to do with distance and what your after.

What would you say are "The 3 Most Underrated Hunting Calibers". (Cartridges). Let's say for North American big game.

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The 300 BLK deserves to be underrated. It's good if you wish to shoot 220 grain subsonic bullets through an AR-15 and I have no doubt it's lethal but so is a 223. In my opinion its claim to fame is for shooting heavy subsonic bullets. I don't think the 338 Federal is underrated but ammunition isn't as widely available as say 338 Winchester Magnum ammo; I see little point for the 338 Federal. The 280 AI is a fine cartridge but 280 Remington isn't the most widely used cartridge and 280 Remington brass doesn't become 280 AI brass until fire formed. If you want a fast 7mm, I think you're better off with a 7mm Remington Magnum.

For me the three underrated cartridges would be:

222 Remington
30/30 Winchester
30/06 Springfield

And how about the overrated cartridges? I'm thinking all the 6.5mm cartridges like the 6.5 Creedmore, etc.

All that said, everyone is welcome to their own opinion and I have had some off the wall ones like the 357 Herrett, the 375 JDJ, the 7.5 Swiss, etc. They all work. What you get depends on how much money and trouble you're willing to invest in feeding it

.257 Roberts
.243 Winchester
.300 Savage
.30-30 Winchester
.30-40 Krag
8x57 Mauser are my picks.

These are all fine old calibers that work very well.

45-70, 30-30 and 30-06.

Kids think old rounds can’t kill anything and 30 years is old, more than 100 is time for the graveyard.

I guess reading isn’t that cool either or they wouldn’t knock the 30-30 while talking about how great the 300 blk is.

I suppose one of my favorites, the 7mm BR isn’t even a consideration to ignore by most people, even the ones that know what it is.

How about 3 lever action rounds.
32 special
444 Marlin
375 Winchester
35 Remington
Ok that's 4

None of any of the ones listed would I consider underrated for deer hunting. If they still make ammo for them then how underrated can they really be?

Maybe underused or just unpopular. @George P mentions .32 Rem. That one is unfortunately obsolete. (I guess that is the word they use even though I don’t agree with it). Was it underrated in its day and that is why there is no ammo or rifles made for it anymore? I don’t know. Sometimes ideas just don’t pan out. That maybe can be said for any “underrated” cartridge. It didn’t work out for the .25 or .30 Rem either and they all came out at the same time.

6.5 Creed isn’t even overrated. Just over-hyped and over-talked about (over-marketed?) but no less effective in performance and no less popular despite all these perceptions.

To play along though, many older designed cartridges could be thought of as underrated. However, changing trends and expectations drive changes in popularity and cause new cartridges to be introduced.

That said, I personally think the 35 Rem is underrated compared to 30-30. They are both ancient designs and have similar performance but I think the 35 is a technological step up. More efficient and packs a marginal increase in power coupled with a larger diameter and the ability to hot rod it a little further in the Marlin 336 action. (As far as I know, there are no Win 94s in 35 Rem).

Next is the 25-06. This one is pretty popular really but it never caught on the way .243 and 7mm-08 seem to have. Some call it over bore but it really doesn’t matter if hunting rifles are over bore since they won’t get shot often. Then again folks do like to practice with what they hunt with.....

Next would be 22 WMR. Seems like nobody likes the bridge that spans between 22 LR and 22 Hornet. No one seems to be able to accept that 1) 22 Mag is not a target rifle. It’s not bad either though 2) The ammo is more expensive. So what? That is why you have an LR. Go shoot that at the range and let the serious business of shooting woodchucks and raccoons be left to the Magnum since they have better constructed bullets that go faster. I don’t even use my LR for hunting anymore. And no the WMR does not blow a squirrel apart.

.223 - it works well, but as has been said numerous times here, it has a reputation held over from when it was loaded for smaller stuff, before advances in projectiles.
7.62x54r - There is just no reason these aren’t used more often. When I was looking for my first hunting rifle these were an option in $80 rifles. I floated the idea to an experienced hunter who advised me on the purchase, and he said, “no, get a real hunting round,” before advising me to get a .308 win. I love that .308, but he talked me out of something that is so similar to what he talked me into that it borders insanity! Having now shot a deer with the Russian round, I saw its capability first hand.
8x57mm js mauser - this May be rifle bias because I love the Mauser from which I’ve experienced shooting these, but I am hard pressed to think of a better chambering for deer hunting. Other than stigma from who used them against allied forces, I can’t figure out why it isn’t more widely used here.

with all of those, reloading makes a huge difference.

Mn Fats said:

"The 3 Most Underrated Hunting Calibers".

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I'm not sure if there are only three...,
I'd say .35 Whelen ...., .358 Winchester..., and 6.5 Grendel, are highly underrated among shooters these days...among others.
.35 Whelen is an old cartridge c. 1922 where they upped the .30-06 to .35 caliber. It has recently over the past few years gained again in popularity. For a reloader and shooter, it gives you much more umph from a long-action rifle.

.358 Winchester is the same idea and not quite a century old as it's circa 1955, but based on a .308 Winchester case, and .358 bullets. So works fine in a medium action, and..., with a special order barrel, should work in an AR-10 platform, for all the semi-auto folks. Browning offers it in a lever action rifle. Again the reloader can easily create the brass, and there are plenty of nice bullets to choose from.

6.5 Grendel is my third. It puts a zippy 6.5 cartridge into an AR-15 platform, and is based on necking down the 7.62x39mm cartridge. It can reach out quite well to 1000 yards (personal experience).

The other advantage of the three above is they are not belted magnum cartridges, and the Grendel especially is a lower pressure round. This should lead to longer barrel life for the shooter.

LD

.250-3000 (.250 Savage), 7x57, and .358 Win. That's a cartridge in each range that is quite capable of doing its job.

Note that NONE of them are magnums.

Can we do the overrated next?

Can we do the overrated next?

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It would be the same list.

jmr40 said:

It would be the same list.

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Except we would be mad about it.

I've been participating in various internet gun forums for about 15 years now. Every few months on each of them there is a "most underrated" and "most overrated" thread. Most end up being locked.

Name ANY cartridge and you'll find just about equal numbers of people who think it is overrated as think it is underrated. Especially with anything that isn't mainstream. But you'll still find as many people who think 30-06 is vastly overrated as those who think it is vastly underrated. And it doesn't get much more mainstream than 30-06.

Personally I think they are all a lot closer in performance than different. Most every modern cartridge from 26 caliber on up will kill every animal in North America and all but about 3-4 on the planet. The 24's and 25's are probably ideal for deer size game, which are the most commonly hunted game. But are starting to be too close to borderline for some of the bigger stuff.

We hunt for fun and you should choose the rifle and cartridge you enjoy hunting with even if it isn't the most efficient. Nostalgia and family history are a big part of hunting. If using the most efficient cartridge is important then there is nothing wrong with that either. From a practical perspective the deciding factors are how much recoil you want to deal with, how far or close you want to shoot, as well as cost and availability.

I agree with alot of the posts above...the 8x57 is way underrated, solely because it is a European cartridge.
The 30-40 Krag also. I would love a traditional single shot in it. Granted, its case design is very dated and easily out performed in a much more efficient shell (.308).
Considering all the folks jumping on the new 6 mm bandwagon...few of them do anything the great .270 has been doing for a hundred years. If all cartridges released in the past twenty years disappeared, no one would know the difference. Nothing new under the sun. Certain wt projectile at given speeds.

I am glad someone added .257 Roberts to the list.

There is a large difference between underrated and just not all that popular. 300 blackout has been one of the new craze of ar15 calibers and while it can absolutely get the job done, there's a reason as to why its not all that popular in deer hunting. When most people need more bullet weight out of their rifle than the 308 offers, I've found that 220 grain 300 win mag is typically the most popular step up. That's not so say that the 338 federal isn't a good cartridge or that I don't like it, there are just more popular and available ways to achieve the same thing. As for the Ackley it seems that those who own it tote it as the bees knees for their purpose so to say underrated isn't exactly the right terminology, its just not as popular yet.

With all that being said, "underrated" calibers are just as easily "overrated" if you talk to someone on the other side of the argument. You could ask my 300 win mag hunting grandpa about the 243 and he'd say that it's way overrated and too anemic to actually hunt deer with. Then ask my 243 toting friend and he'll tell you he's never lost a deer with it and its so underrated purely because each side is polarizing.

223, 30-30, 6 CM for both lists