Favorite 'Odd' Caliber

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For me, it's definitely .45-90 WCF, the .45-70's big brother. I took a flyer on building a custom Browning 1886 chambered for it, and it is without question the sexiest gun I own. Sure it won't do much past 200y (mostly due to lack of a tang/ladder sight) but within the envelope where it shoots passably flat it is a total monster. It can be loaded down for deer, bear, hogs, elk etc, or loaded up to drive a 425gr northfork solid at about 2050 ft/s, which is enough to brain an elephant from the front and suitable for use as a stopping rifle for any game anywhere on Earth.

1886.png

My example also happens to be far more accurate from the bench than is required (or really, useful) for such a rifle.

IMG_20160731_135802461.jpg

I should have bought a lottery ticket instead of going to the range :what:
 
7.5 x 54 MAS 36 was my first c&r rifle. Its a great round.
35 Whelen was the last mauser I built. Its a real thumper.
Most guys you talk to have never heard of either round.
 
Anyone said 5.7x28 yet? Small, lightweight carbine that'll shoot practically forever & plink steel at 150yds reliably is hecka fun. It could be said I like the platform more than the round, but in a different platform with a locked breech & higher pressure/faster bullet potential, I'd like the 5.7x28 even more.

TCB
 
For me, the 220 Swift. Forget the current factory loads, I load it with a sierra 50grn semi-pointed, slightly over 4000 fps. Duplicates the old Norma factory load.
 
Hmm... Gotta go with the .30 Rem. AR. It never had a real chance at being successful, unfortunately, due to premature claims of velocity, boneheaded marketing decisions, and good ol' fashioned poor timing (overshadowed by .300 Blackout soon after it was finally ready for market.) It's not perfect, however it is a very fine hunting cartridge and is marvelously accurate.

Other contenders for me are the .450 Bushmaster and .35 Remington.
 
I'll throw my fav. older odd caliber in the mix. It's the .284 Winchester. I have a model 100 that has taken many a critter over the years. Anyone know where I can get a new magazine for one? I have seen a few used ones over the years in worse shape than mine and they still want $75+ for them.
Next in line would be the .444 Marlin. I cant convince my pops to let me buy it from him, yet:)
 
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I don't know how odd the members here would consider it, but you can't them at Walmart ...

5.7

30 Tokarov

6.5 Creedmoor ... But this one is up and coming.
 
I know I have already posted the 25-20 as my favorite, but this one is equally fun in my book.

The .280 Ross, the original 7MM magnum and first commercially loaded cartridge to exceed 3000 FPS. NO....it was NOT the 250-3000! The 280 did it in 1907. Sir Charles claimed 3000 FPS with the 175 gr bullet.....which proved that LSD was around in those days. The original load was a 145 gr "copper tubed expanding point" bullet @ 3145 FPS. A guy named Grey thought it would be a good lion stopper. It wasn't.

Today, it can be loaded about halfway between a 280 Remington and a 7MM Remington magnum. Only problem is the .287-.288 dia. bullets it needs.

I rarely shoot my M-10 Sporter anymore. but I still pull it out now and then to admire its sleek, graceful, elegant profile. A classic beauty from a bygone era.
 
Once a fellow told me he shot a custom rifle in .275 Rigby. Classic Mauser action. I later saw his rifle, a Bubbasmith Spanish Mauser, 7x57mm. And yet what he said was perfectly true.

If I had had my wits about me I would have said my favorite is the Browning design 7.62x51R. :p


Winchester_Model_1894.jpg

Photo: By Antique Military Rifles - originally posted to Flickr as Winchester Model 1894, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6610240
 
I'll go with the much maligned 6.5x52mm Carcano. If I use the proper sized bullets, it shoots just fine. Reload with a bullet that's 0.005 or more undersized and it won't work as well. I enjoy the YouTube videos of shooters using the Carcano and ringing one square foot steel plates at 800 yards.
 
6.5 x 55 that I bought in 1988 is no longer odd. I can find several different loads at local gun shops.
Savage 99 in 300 Savage is becoming odd - very difficult to find locally and only a couple of different loads available online.
Winchester 1876 in 45-60.
XP-100 in 7mm International.
 
How is it that simultaneously nearly everyone likes Tokarev, yet there are more modern handguns chambered for 50GI, a cartridge practically no one has heard of & even fewer want to shoot? :confused:

TCB
 
The Tokarev was popular when surplus pistols and ammo were dirt cheap. Not as popular these days. Still cheaper than .50 GI though.
 
356/358 Winchester. They aren't exactly rare or odd. Both of them are converted rifles. One is a Savage 99E that started as a 308 and is now 358. It got a full refurb. The second one is a Marlin 336W that started as a 30/30 and is now 356. Both only see cast bullets.

I really like 35 Remington as well. Not rare or odd in this area but I've heard it is in other areas.
 
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