Favorite Rifle Cartridge Just Because…

[MikeInOr]

Surely I’m not the only person on THR who has a cartridge they love for no real reason. For me, it’s the 6.5x55. I have a couple rifles chambered in the x55 and I can’t explain exactly why I like it so much. I don’t reload, so it is nothing more than an expensive, long-action 6.5 Creedmoor for me. I guess it’s just nostalgia, but I really like that round and I’ve accumulated nearly as much 6.5x55 ammo as I have anything else, including 22 LR even though I rarely shoot the two rifles I have outside of hunting season.

So, let’s hear it. Who else has a rifle cartridge they love for no real reason?

The first time I took my first 96 Swedish Mauser out (about 35 years ago) it obliterated a GatorAid bottle at 80 yards (the range seems to grow about 10 yards every time I tell the story) on the VERY FIRST SHOT, off hand! (The shot even impressed my buddies!) I instantly fell in love with the Swedish Mauser and the very low recoiling 6.5 x 55 cartridge. Eventually I had to buy an AG42 Swedish Ludgman semi auto in 6.5 x 55. I will have to be unoriginal and declare the 6.5 x 55 my favorite cartridge too!

I do reload my own ammo and the 6.5 x 55 was one of the first rifle cartridges I started reloading. Being able to refine my loads makes the cartridge infinitely more versatile. The cartridge always seems to shoot accurately with a wide range of different powder charges and several bullet weights. It certainly doesn't need heavy charges to make it a good and effective shooter.

If the rest of the world's militaries were smart they would have adopted the 6.5 x 55 way back then and stopped messing around with trying to develop new better cartridges. For a battle round it has the reach and power without the recoil which I feel makes it better than both the .223 and .308. M1A or AR10, both would have been better chambered for 6.5 x 55.

 

[jag1954]

6.5 Creedmoor and .350 Legend.

 

[EIB0879]

.30-30. I have other rifles chambered in calibers that are better but sometimes I just want to shoot a lever action .30-30.

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

22short ! I have a winder and custom 4.5inch barreled Ruger mkII.

 

[redneck2]

Yeah, all of em is the truth. Except for 270....

Eeeewwwww70.......no debate from me that its a great round tho.

My irrational dislike bordering on hatred for the .270 comes from my youth. My uncle had a featherweight I used to shoot groundhogs. With 150’s “loaded hot” and a steel butt plate, I’d be black and blue after a couple shots. Funny thing is now perhaps my favorite round is my 7 Remington Mag. My 7 mag X-Bolt has a fantastic pad and the recoil is very mild though it should kick harder than the .270 did

 

[rayatphonix]

I agree with Bangswitch. The 6.5 Grendel is a near perfect all around cartridge for my needs. It does well in smaller rifles like the CZ 527 and Howa which are easy to pack. Many of the benefits of the Creedmoor, but without the hate.

 

[JDeere]

7-08, I can load 120s or 165s and go either way with it...

I see the .270 talk. I have one of the very early Model 700 BDLs that I hunted with as a kid. My Dad bought it and I kind of took it from him cause he liked his .308. I used it for years with my loads. Darn thing shoots cloverleafs at 100yds all day.

 

[JerkyFreak]

Can't really decide between 223Rem or 308Win.

A 223 with a good barrel and 75gr bullets you can easily shoot 1000 yrds. And it is fun to shoot.

The 308 has just enough recoil to know you have shot a rifle, but not so much that it becomes unpleasant. Doesn't hurt that any safe load is a reasonably accurate load provided you use reasonably quality bullets and brass. It's easy to develop a good load.

 

[dobedo]

Mine is the 45/70 along with the .500 S&W magnum which is harder hitting than the 45/70.

 

[slicksleeve]

Mine would be the .264 Winchester Magnum. I read about these as a kid and always liked the way it sounded. I finally pieced one together on a Savage platform and love it. Also amusing is the amount of people who I tell about it who say “I never heard of that one.”
For years I loved the .444 Marlin, but that affair is starting to fade as I run out of 265 grain Hornady bullets that were specifically designed for it.

 

[King Medallion]

Toss up between the 45/75 and the 45/60.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

.35 whelen

 

[marksman13]

Mine would be the .264 Winchester Magnum. I read about these as a kid and always liked the way it sounded. I finally pieced one together on a Savage platform and love it. Also amusing is the amount of people who I tell about it who say “I never heard of that one.”
For years I loved the .444 Marlin, but that affair is starting to fade as I run out of 265 grain Hornady bullets that were specifically designed for it.

I really want a Model 70 in 264 Win Mag.

 

[Chuck R.]

For me it's the 350Rem Mag.

Overkill on everything I use it for, but I find myself going out of my way to kill stuff with it. A 200 grn at 2830 or 225 at 2740 just smacks things an kills with authority. My M7 is just over 7lbs "all up" loaded with scope and sling. It carries like a dream and leaves a mark on both ends. This summer I'm going to investigate loading cast bullets just to get to shoot it more.



Making brass from 7mmRM:

 

[jdsingleshot]

I like the 7x57. And the .222 Rem. looks like a 7x57 junior. I tend toward first generation cartridges. Only centerfire caliber I own that is an offspring is the .25-20 WCF.

 

[marksman13]

For me it's the 350Rem Mag.

Overkill on everything I use it for, but I find myself going out of my way to kill stuff with it. A 200 grn at 2830 or 225 at 2740 just smacks things an kills with authority. My M7 is just over 7lbs "all up" loaded with scope and sling. It carries like a dream and leaves a mark on both ends. This summer I'm going to investigate loading cast bullets just to get to shoot it more.

View attachment 1156972

Making brass from 7mmRM:

View attachment 1156973

Every time you post anything about this rifle, I get a little jealous.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

17 HMR in rim fire. 223/556 in center fire.

 

[.308 Norma]

So, let’s hear it. Who else has a rifle cartridge they love for no real reason?

My screen name of course. It won't do anything either of the two 300 Win Mags I used to have wouldn't do, and in reality, it won't do anything I can't do with the 30-06 I still keep around for "no real reason" - EXCEPT make me smile as much.

 

[LimaCharlie]

50 Beowulf


Compared to the 5.56X45mm/223.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

7mm Mauser. And I don't even own a 7mm Mauser. How's that for irrational.

I just think it's really fascinating how one of the first smokeless spitzer calibers basically hit the sweet spot on the first try.

The dominance of machine guns in WW1 got every military juicing up their rifle bullets for maximum HMG range - your 30-06s and 8mms and such. But whenever anyone sits down and tries to design a optimal long range shoulder fired round, it always comes back to something that looks like 7x57. 280 British, the 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 Creedmoor, they are all knocking on that same door.

And I love 3 position safety Mausers, they are some of the finest manual-action rifles made. So when you chamber them in a really excellent cartridge... that's a must have for me. I don't own one, but it's on the bucket list.

 

[bangswitch]

50 Beowulf
Compared to the 5.56X45mm/223.
View attachment 1156991

Looks like a ballerina standing next to a couple of Sumo wrestlers.

 

[Bwana John]

7mm X 57mm Mauser

 

[d2wing]

7-08, but I like several others, 308, 30-06, 243, 223, 30-30, 35 Remington.

 

[marksman13]

7-08, but I like several others, 308, 30-06, 243, 223, 30-30, 35 Remington.

I feel the same. I’ve got a soft spot for 6.8 SPC, 308, 30-06 and 6mm Creedmoor is growing on me.

 

[CapnMac]

Yeah, all of em is the truth. Except for 270..

More like "Except for .280" you mean

6.5x55 is addictive.
As is .243, as well.

My true love does not, yet, exist: 7x45 Oh there are .276 & 280 & 6.8 dancing all around it. Pedersen was close with his 276 at 7x53; the 280nato at 7x50 was even closer. There's a "sweet spot" there that designers have been dancing around for a century.

7mm diameter would make the cross-section folks happy; a 45mm case length means fitting in standard AR magwells. Only downside is that you're looking at 20-22 in a 30 round-length mag. Oh well, nothing is perfect.