“My rifle does the job, too” (My usual response)

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d2wing said:
I agree too. BTW 2 mentions of the AMU. Anyone with the AMU in Germany in 1968 when I was there. Mannhiem Germany.
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Ft. Polk AMU '60-61. Two of our BAR team members had been on USAREUR BAR team previously, they were good.

Regards,
hps
 
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High Plains said:
Inspired by a recent thread of why Weatherby cartridges are well liked (or despised), I began thinking about what cartridges and rifle models I use. Examples: I’m often asked why I use a 280 Rem instead of a 270 Win and what a 308 Win can do that a 6.5mm Creedmoor can’t do. The 280 and 270 will both do the intended job with the right bullet in the right place. I load my own ammo and a 280 offers a wider range of heavy for caliber bullets so that is one reason I have one. My 280 gets long-range work and is used as a hunting rifle. It also happens to like virtually everything I load for it from 140 to 168 grain bullets of all manufacturers.
In my opinion, the semi new kid in town 6.5 Creedmoor and iconic 308 Win will do anything you need on plains game at ranges the rifleman is comfortable with. The Creedmoor has better long range ballistics than the 308. Don’t forget the Creedmoor was designed and built to be a target rifle that turned into a superb hunting cartridge. I have a hunting rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor and it excels with deer hunting and long-range plinking.
In the 1980s I was on an Army high power rifle team. We shot converted M-14s and knew the ins and outs of the 168 grain “Mexican Match” ammo. Knowing it very well made a massive difference with elevation settings (clicks up) at known distances of 100-600 yards. The difference in recoil of equal weighted 6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Win on a hunt is nothing to worry about. Numbers don’t lie and the lesser recoil of a Creedmoor in match shooting will eventually make a difference. By the way, that usually meant a bad cheek to stock setup meant a hard “kiss” on the cheekbone by the M-14s stock.
To wrap it up, when the rifle / cartridge does the work you need and in a way you like it, keep using it. If someone questions your choice, you might confuse them with facts concerning your choice if they aren’t good listeners.
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Pretty tough to argue with a .280 Rem, or it's stubby little brother the .284 Win like the one I'm building now. Like you say - they do everything you need.
 
There’s so much overlap in the rifle cartridge world that you can’t even say the hairs are being split anymore.

I’ve got a 22LR, .223, and 7-08. I can kill anything I have any interest in killing, and am pretty much out of the rifle market until a kid needs a deer rifle.
 
When I bought my .30-06 I didn't know that much about guns but I had been working with a bunch of older men that deer hunted for 5 1/2 years or so. Every one of them that hunted used a .30-06 so that was what I got. I have read more, learned more shot more stuff since then but I still don't believe it is a bad choice.
I have had several folks tell me why their rifle of choice & caliber of choice is superior to mine. I just smile & nod. In all honesty I do think some rounds might be better for some applications than what I use but for hunting white tail deer in Georgia woods where you usually can't see more than a couple of hundred yards I don't really believe what I have is inadequate. I would be reluctant to criticize what someone else chooses to use.
 
High Plains said:
Inspired by a recent thread of why Weatherby cartridges are well liked (or despised), I began thinking about what cartridges and rifle models I use. Examples: I’m often asked why I use a 280 Rem instead of a 270 Win and what a 308 Win can do that a 6.5mm Creedmoor can’t do. The 280 and 270 will both do the intended job with the right bullet in the right place. I load my own ammo and a 280 offers a wider range of heavy for caliber bullets so that is one reason I have one. My 280 gets long-range work and is used as a hunting rifle. It also happens to like virtually everything I load for it from 140 to 168 grain bullets of all manufacturers.
In my opinion, the semi new kid in town 6.5 Creedmoor and iconic 308 Win will do anything you need on plains game at ranges the rifleman is comfortable with. The Creedmoor has better long range ballistics than the 308. Don’t forget the Creedmoor was designed and built to be a target rifle that turned into a superb hunting cartridge. I have a hunting rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor and it excels with deer hunting and long-range plinking.
In the 1980s I was on an Army high power rifle team. We shot converted M-14s and knew the ins and outs of the 168 grain “Mexican Match” ammo. Knowing it very well made a massive difference with elevation settings (clicks up) at known distances of 100-600 yards. The difference in recoil of equal weighted 6.5 Creedmoor vs 308 Win on a hunt is nothing to worry about. Numbers don’t lie and the lesser recoil of a Creedmoor in match shooting will eventually make a difference. By the way, that usually meant a bad cheek to stock setup meant a hard “kiss” on the cheekbone by the M-14s stock.
To wrap it up, when the rifle / cartridge does the work you need and in a way you like it, keep using it. If someone questions your choice, you might confuse them with facts concerning your choice if they aren’t good listeners.
Click to expand...
It’s like when people ask why I hunt with an obsolete pre-soviet caliber. It’s what I started with, it does exactly what I tell it to do, no more, no less. I haven’t seen a reason to buy another caliber, especially now that I can reload it. Maybe someday, if it becomes impractical to shoot I’ll get the closest American equivalent (308 probably) and not think much about it, but for now *shrugs* I don’t care all that much.
 
DairyVet said:
There’s so much overlap in the rifle cartridge world that you can’t even say the hairs are being split anymore.

I’ve got a 22LR, .223, and 7-08. I can kill anything I have any interest in killing, and am pretty much out of the rifle market until a kid needs a deer rifle.
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I won't be specific and spark arguments, but there's no doubt there's a wide range of centerfire calibers of which you could choose one and be done in terms of what you actually need in a centerfire rifle.

7mm-08 is underrated, by the way. It's probably my favorite short action hunting caliber.
 
IdaD said:
I won't be specific and spark arguments, but there's no doubt there's a wide range of centerfire calibers of which you could choose one and be done in terms of what you actually need in a centerfire rifle.

7mm-08 is underrated, by the way. It's probably my favorite short action hunting caliber.
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The 7mm-08 is so underrated it's crazy. I was doing the math one day on one of my 7mm-08 loads, and in a moment of curiosity, compared it to my 30-06 elk load at 500 & 600 yards. Long story short, I no longer own an '06.
 
Hokkmike said:
High Plains - what is your view of the 6.5x55?
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I suppose nobody wants to hear about the alternate history story I have where the US adopted the 6.5x55 along with the Krag. Then kept the 6.5 with the 1903, modernizing it with a Spitzer bullet.

Short version: Russia still uses 54R, US would still be using 6.5x55. Our intermediate cartridge would likely also be a 6.5.
 
Newtosavage said:
It would take care of 3/4 of the critters you'd hunt there anyway.
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I wouldn't use it on the big bears there, and it may be a little bit marginal for moose. The only moose I ever shot was with a 30-06 and it dropped quickly with one shot so they're not indestructible by any means, and it was a decent sized bull. I suppose in most cases the 7mm-08 would work fine on moose too.
 
IdaD said:
I wouldn't use it on the big bears there, and it may be a little bit marginal for moose. The only moose I ever shot was with a 30-06 and it dropped quickly with one shot so they're not indestructible by any means, and it was a decent sized bull. I suppose in most cases the 7mm-08 would work fine on moose too.
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I don't expect to hunt Moose here either. No chance of drawing a tag. The wolves have pretty much wiped them out and other causes I suppose. When I lived up North I used to see a lot of them in 1980's. I was charged by a big bull once. I stopped him by pissing since I was up wind of him. I only had a 20 gauge with # 6 birdshot. A 7-08 would have worked if I had a tag and it was in season and I had one with. I had several encounters of the Moose kind. I saw an awesome big bull in a swamp. No camera and before cellphones. Thanks for stirring up the memories.
 
There are very few rifles (chamberings) that won't do the job. Pick your favorite and go hunting.:thumbup:
Me? I seem to have a new favorite every couple years or so. Ok, so maybe every couple months or so...:uhoh: My latest hearthrob has been the .243 (again). I am curently having a blast with the Mauser M18 and the Browning 1885 Low Wall. :)
Hey! What's not to like? They DO say variety is the spice of life. And who am I to argue with them? :evil:


<By the way, who are THEY?> :scrutiny::eek:
 
Garandimal said:
Lead core 150 gr. .270 WCF at ~ 2800 fps from a scope sighted bolt rifle.

Yeah.
GR
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Several years ago I talked to a guy who lived and hunted on Kodiak Island for 20 years. His go-to load was a 150 grain Nosler Partition for his 270 Winchester. I didn’t ask him what game animals he used that for
 
Certain folks - mostly young ones, I guess - get all fizzed up by "new". That certainly was true for me, and I had to try everything that came out. Eventually I figured out - as do most folks, I think - that while sometimes "new" fills a useful role, it often isn't any better (or really even any different) than what is already available. Pretty much all the whiz-bangs that I bought because the gun rags told me to have gone on down the road, because I eventually realized that they didn't fulfill any need that the .30-'06 didn't, at least for me.

A couple of days ago some poor member of a Facebook hunting group to which I belong posted that he had just moved out west and had been convinced that he wouldn't be able to kill anything out here with his old .308. He was asking advice about which brand of 6.5 Creedmore to buy. (I honestly don't have anything against the cartridge but really am getting annoyed with the fan club.) At any rate, I tried to convince the gentleman that his .308 had not become obsolete by crossing state lines, but I don't think he really bought it. Oh well, I guess.
 
.38 Special said:
Certain folks - mostly young ones, I guess - get all fizzed up by "new". That certainly was true for me, and I had to try everything that came out. Eventually I figured out - as do most folks, I think - that while sometimes "new" fills a useful role, it often isn't any better (or really even any different) than what is already available. Pretty much all the whiz-bangs that I bought because the gun rags told me to have gone on down the road, because I eventually realized that they didn't fulfill any need that the .30-'06 didn't, at least for me.

A couple of days ago some poor member of a Facebook hunting group to which I belong posted that he had just moved out west and had been convinced that he wouldn't be able to kill anything out here with his old .308. He was asking advice about which brand of 6.5 Creedmore to buy. (I honestly don't have anything against the cartridge but really am getting annoyed with the fan club.) At any rate, I tried to convince the gentleman that his .308 had not become obsolete by crossing state lines, but I don't think he really bought it. Oh well, I guess.
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I think I saw the same posting poo-pooing the 308 Win. Sure, it is not the new kid in town. It is still perfectly capable.
 
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