Don Fischer
New member
I'm pretty fond of 6.5's, especially the 6.5 Sweed. But I think the 7x57 would trump it for the heavier bullet's.
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The most versatile cartridge ever invented.
- Thread starter rc
- Start date
Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
If I had to guess on a rifle cartridge. Only one center-fire caliber that I know of that has out sold everything else.> 30-30.
2damnold4this
New member
I have to go with the 12 guage as the most versatile cartridge. I can shoot birds out of the sky or kill a large animal like a bear.
I have to go with the 12 guage as the most versatile cartridge. I can shoot birds out of the sky or kill a large animal like a bear.
only at short range, even a long range rifle round can do the job at close range
as long as you don't use varmint grenades, shooting small game even at close range is fine because regular ammo most often will not have mushroomed
rc I have to agree with you. My Marlin 357 rifle is my favorite of all the guns I own. If I had to grab one gun and run it would be my 357 rifle. And all the stuff to reload for it.
I have round ball loads in 357 cases that will shoot a little over 1" groups at 45 yards and those will work for small game. And I have loads in all ranges of power up to full blown original magnum loads, not the watered down factory 357 loads.
Ross Seyfried wrote about using a BPCR to kill a cow elk at 70 yards. The rifle shot a .360 diameter lead bullet that weighed 160grs and went 1600fps. That bullet shot through the elk and made a clean kill. That load mirrors the 357 loads from a rifle. And the 357 can be loaded past that.
So with the right loads I can go from small game to large as long as I keep the range suitable for this round. Add a 4" revolver in 357 and I am pretty well armed.
Forgot to add but I can also do about the same thing with a 30-30. If I couldn't have my 357 rifle my Marlin 336 would be my second choice. And I have loads from .310 round ball up to regular hunting rounds. Pretty versatile too.
I have round ball loads in 357 cases that will shoot a little over 1" groups at 45 yards and those will work for small game. And I have loads in all ranges of power up to full blown original magnum loads, not the watered down factory 357 loads.
Ross Seyfried wrote about using a BPCR to kill a cow elk at 70 yards. The rifle shot a .360 diameter lead bullet that weighed 160grs and went 1600fps. That bullet shot through the elk and made a clean kill. That load mirrors the 357 loads from a rifle. And the 357 can be loaded past that.
So with the right loads I can go from small game to large as long as I keep the range suitable for this round. Add a 4" revolver in 357 and I am pretty well armed.
Forgot to add but I can also do about the same thing with a 30-30. If I couldn't have my 357 rifle my Marlin 336 would be my second choice. And I have loads from .310 round ball up to regular hunting rounds. Pretty versatile too.
The OP heading was "The most versatile cartridge ever invented..."
If we are talking cartridges in general, The venerable 30-06 has it hands down. Think about the .25-06, .270 Win, .280 Rem, .30-06, .35 Whelen... they are all commercial cartridges based on the 30-06 case.
Then you have the shortened 30-06 case used for the .243, 7MM-08, .257R, 260 Rem, .308, .338 Rem, and the .358.
Just how many of the top 10 selling rifle rounds are found in those calibers?
Then you have the 1,000’s of wildcat calibers using cases of the same proportions. And if my old brain remembers right, aren't the the .223 and 5.56MM cases proportionally the same???
Just my .02
If we are talking cartridges in general, The venerable 30-06 has it hands down. Think about the .25-06, .270 Win, .280 Rem, .30-06, .35 Whelen... they are all commercial cartridges based on the 30-06 case.
Then you have the shortened 30-06 case used for the .243, 7MM-08, .257R, 260 Rem, .308, .338 Rem, and the .358.
Just how many of the top 10 selling rifle rounds are found in those calibers?
Then you have the 1,000’s of wildcat calibers using cases of the same proportions. And if my old brain remembers right, aren't the the .223 and 5.56MM cases proportionally the same???
Just my .02
2damnold4this
New member
only at short range, even a long range rifle round can do the job at close range
as long as you don't use varmint grenades, shooting small game even at close range is fine because regular ammo most often will not have mushroomed
Sure, a rifle can outrange a shotgun. But a 12 gauge shotgun with saboted slugs can give most folks all the range they'll ever use for medium to large game and it's a lot easier to hit a flying bird with a shotgun than it is a rifle in 7-08 or .357 magnum. I don't think there is any game animal in my area that I can't legally or ethically take with a 12 gauge but I'll get into trouble if I take one of my deer rifles to the dove field and start blasting away.
Only problem isIt seems pretty clear that the most versatile round is many different things to each of us.
Availability, economical and favorite are not synonymous with versatile.
I wouldn't try to change a truck tire with a screwdriver and I wouldn't try to hit a flying quail with a .458 win mag. I like the .357 and have a Ruger model 77 with a ultralite Leupold 2.3X in the factory rings. I can hit a beer can offhand at 50 yards with it and it is a lot of fun, but I wouldn't try to shoot everything with it including antelope at 300 yards.
But each to his own. If you prefer a flintlock and wear buckskin that's great fun too, what ever trips your trigger.
But each to his own. If you prefer a flintlock and wear buckskin that's great fun too, what ever trips your trigger.
Quote:
"I have to go with the 12 guage as the most versatile cartridge. I can shoot birds out of the sky or kill a large animal like a bear."
only at short range, even a long range rifle round can do the job at close range
as long as you don't use varmint grenades, shooting small game even at close range is fine because regular ammo most often will not have mushroomed
Deep in the Appalachian Mountains were I grew up and live, most people had a 22 rifle for the kids and a 12 gauge they used for everything. In the mountains, everything was at close range and whether it as a deer, bear, coon, rabbit, squirrel or anything else, the shotgun was used and got the job done. It was and is the most versatile ammo for many of us.