What do you think is the major "sleeper" cartridge out there?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Rifle cartridges being very much unrated and ignored (currently):

6.5x55mm Super accuracy, good killing power low recoil.

(260) is a short version of the 65.x55 ballistically.

35 Whelen,

358 Win what the 338 federal wants to be when it grows up.

338-06

7x57mm,

250 Savage aka 250-3000 it was cool , before anyone was sure what cool was....
 
7.62 x 39 - in a bolt action. It is dang near perfect as a deer round in a bolt action at any distance deer are normally taken. There is a tremendous array of ammo out there from mil-surp to soft point hunting loads. And you can buy a box of ammo for under $4!!! There is no western cartridge that you can buy cheaper.

7.62 x 54r - the cheapest full power round you can purchase. I think Caribou has killed just about every large dangerous animal in North America with it. I just wish Marlin chambered an XL-7 combo in this caliber.

5.45x39 - the cheapest varmint round you can buy. It is half the price of 17 hmr and 2x as capable. I wish CZ or someone chambered a 527 in this caliber. So what if I have to clean the gun, I do it anyway. .22 LR is the only thing cheaper, it is also the only thing dirtier.

Everyone gets excited about the super duper magnum whatever, but they never shoot it because it is so dang expensive. No thanks, I'll take the cheap ammo and lots of practice over a nominal difference in performance.
 
Last edited:
5.45x39, and 7.5x55 Swiss.

7.62x54R is also a very good round, for hunting it can probably take down just about anything in North America.
 
.45-70

Everything thinks it's slow and weak because of the factory loads but in a modern marlin 1895 you can buy ammo or load ammot almost up to .458 win mag levels. It's been proven on all of the africa's big 5 and big 6.

It is the most versatile cartridge you could own.. you can load it up or down depending on what you want to use it for (coyotes/varmints or dangrous game, self defense) or you can buy bullets from 250 grains up to 550 grains, i've even saw 100 grain bullets for sale... very versatile and in a lever action rifle it gives you numerous follow up shots more than a bolt action and faster follow ups
 
.350 Rem Mag. You get .35 Whelen ballistics (actually, slightly hotter) in a short action. Really, it's the perfect North American game cartridge.
 
+1 10MM 1 mean semi auto cal.

7wsm/270wsm/338 fed.

.338 fed is mine, mean enough to kill deer and black bear but not so mean that it distroys all the meat on the anamal. all tat in a ar15 platform.
 
The problem with the 350 Rem mag is it's better suited to lighter bullet weights while most 35 Whelens can effectively use heaver 250gr. bullets.
 
The problem with the 350 Rem mag is it's better suited to lighter bullet weights while most 35 Whelens can effectively use heaver 250gr. bullets.
Click to expand...

200 and 250 grains were (are) the standard factory loads. With either weight, you get slightly more powder capacity than the Whelen.
 
.30-30 and .45 colt.

.30-30 may not be a high speed low drag cartridge today but it was in its day.

if you have a .45 colt rifle and hand load you can load the thing into a mini .45-70
 
Can we ask people with ComBlock guns to just stop telling us what they own please?
Thanks;
Al
PS: The .327 Mag can't be a sleeper -- it hasn't woken up yet. But give it time!
 
Second on the boltie 7.62x39mm Soviet. It's a catch 22 on demand for that, though. 7.62 Soviet isn't in high demand in the bolt action community because bolt action owners want an "inherently accurate" cartridge. The imported 7.62x39mm Soviet ammunition isn't horrible, but it is far, FAR from match grade. If you found a wider market for brass and reloading components (and commercial ammo) in that caliber, you'd find more people wanting bolt action rifles chambered for it. Problem is, I don't think any domestic cartridge makers want to compete with the cheap stuff. Can't solve one problem without the other.

I think there is hope though... the AR-15 market is pretty saturated, so it's possible the AK might be the next "big thing" in black rifles. If AKs come out as more precision-made rifles than they are now, it might spur an interest in using the platform for more competition-oriented shooting. Then the big boys will be making stuff for it.

Hornady's offering of more Soviet loads in their catalog is a good sign.
 
I agree with you kcmarine. I think also shows how most shooters shoot at fixed distances from a bench. It won't make pretty shamrock groups at the range but Wolf 7.62x39 is plenty accurate for offhand shooting, or a quick shot resting against a tree.
 
My vote is for the 30WCF and the lever actions that house it, they are all to often overlooked today. Yeah I bought into the hype when I was younger that I had to have the latest and greatest. Or that one really needed to have a 30-06, .308, 7mm mag, or .270 Win in order to be a truly succesful hunter so that you can make those all to common 300+ yd shots. After few years reality hit me in the head like a 10 pound sledge hammer.
I realized at that point in time that I had not once taken a deer over 100yd. I hated the awkward feeling of toting that long barreled bolt gun into the thick woods. I bought me a Marlin .30WCF soon after that and all is well.

Few firearms scream Americana such as the lever action rifle. Unlike the bolt action the lever action was originated and designed right here in the good Ol' United States of America, the same can't be said of the bolt ation. The .30WCF may be out of fashion and old school to many but that is fine with me, many to include my wife say the same about me. I'm sure that the the 30WCF will out last all of us here and still be putting game on the table. As more modern and new cartridges come and slide into obscurity the .30WCF will still be trundeling on as it has been doing for over a century.
 
Last edited:
.35 whelen has been mentioned , likewise .260 , .45-70 and a whole slew of other nice cartridges.

But am I the only one still shooting a .257 Roberts?
 
The .260 is not ignored by competitive shooters. It was used to win the nationals this year at Perry and set a new high score record. The same person used it to set the record for the highest 800 point and 1000 point agg scores ever shot across the course.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Zak Smith
  • Locked
Finally a 7mm: AI-AWSM in 7mm Remington Magnum
Replies
5
Views
6K
240SX
2
N
  • Locked
PDWs: What do you think?
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
RyanM
R
Back
Top