Your 3 favorite hunting cartridges of all time

[Uxas]

.280 AI
375 H&H
.404 Jeffery

 

[Bigmedcin]

25/35 AI
30-06
9.3X62

I do need to stick the 45-70 in there though!!

 

[BeeMaa]

25/35 AI
30-06
9.3X62

I do need to stick the 45-70 in there though!!

No, no you don't need to stick the 45-70 in there.

You NEED to step up to a proper DG cartridge.

 

[Bigmedcin]

No, no you don't need to stick the 45-70 in there.

You NEED to step up to a proper DG cartridge.

lol, damn it, Yeah I know....the 9.3x62 has never taken DG... properly!

 

[BeeMaa]

lol, damn it, Yeah I know....the 9.3x62 has never taken DG... properly!

Welcome to AH. No offense meant, just having some fun.

 

[WAB]

Welcome to AH. No offense meant, just having some fun.

Now you’ve done it!

 

[franzfmdavis]

I see that many have selected the 7x57 as one of their favorites; but I have to say the .275 Rigby head stamped version just makes me smile

Equally so does the .375 H&H.

There is something about the history and lore around these two cartridges that evokes visions of dusty rides down far away trials and sweaty stalks through thorny bush.

I would add the .300 WM because it reminds me of hunting in the western mountains of the US.

 

[Field28]

I don't know if I can pick just three but the 25-06 Rem would be one of them!

 

[Letzhunt]

300 Weatherby mag
375 Ruger
458 Win Mag+

 

[375Ruger416]

300 Weatherby mag
375 Ruger
458 Win Mag+

Great choices, though favoring the big and heavy recoiling. I’d sub the 257 Wby for the 300, my favorite of the weatherby calibers.

 

[Letzhunt]

I wanted to put the 7mm PRC in there also but the OP said 3!
As much as I hate to admit it it does wonders with less recoil and factory ammo in mine is 1/2 moa or better.

 

[BeeMaa]

I wanted to put the 7mm PRC in there also but the OP said 3!
As much as I hate to admit it it does wonders with less recoil and factory ammo in mine is 1/2 moa or better.

My wife has been asking for an extra half MOA for quite a while now.

I'm still keeping it small.

 

[amschind]

.300 HAM'R
.300 WSM
9.3x62mm

The .300 HAM'R, basically a .300 BLK stretched to maximize velocity with a 150 grain bullet at the expense of shooting subsonic, might be my favorite in NA. There is surprisingly little that a 150 SST at 2250 FPS can't do in North America, and recoil is only marginally above a 5.56x45. Basically it's Bill Wilson and Kurt Buchert answering the question "how much oomph can we fit into a slightly modified STANAG magazine and a standard AR bolt face?"

I have shot a .300 WSM since I was 17, and still love it as an all around caliber. Recoil is tiny for a .300 magnum, so you can shoot all day without hurting your shoulder. It holds more than one F-class and 1000 yard record, and a 200 or 212 ELDX is devastating to 400 yards.

The 9.3 is a new addition, but seems to punch well above it's size in terms of hunting big game. I think that's on the list because it opened my eyes to the possibility of hunting Africa.

If I had ever gotten a .338-06, it might've stolen the 9.3x62 spot, but alas I never did and now have too many reloading projects in front of it to start a new one. I will note that it's hard for me to divorce the cartridge from the rifle for me. More experienced shooters with large collections likely don't have that issue, but I think of the caliber and see the rifle. I'd like to call that wisdom in matching the cartridge to the gun, but it's probably more accurately termed "bias".

 

[Rick Cox]

.300 HAM'R
.300 WSM
9.3x62mm

The .300 HAM'R, basically a .300 BLK stretched to maximize velocity with a 150 grain bullet at the expense of shooting subsonic, might be my favorite in NA. There is surprisingly little that a 150 SST at 2250 FPS can't do in North America, and recoil is only marginally above a 5.56x45.

I have shot a .300 WSM since I was 17, and still love it as an all around caliber. Recoil is tiny for a .300 magnum, so you can shoot all day without hurting your shoulder. It holds more than one F-class and 1000 yard record, and a 200 or 212 ELDX is devastating to 400 yards.

The 9.3 is a new addition, but seems to punch well above it's size in terms of hunting big game. I think that's on the list because it opened my eyes to the possibility of hunting Africa.

If I had ever gotten a .338-06, it might've stolen the 9.3x62 spot, but alas I never did and now have too many reloading projects in front of it to start a new one. I will note that it's hard for me to divorce the cartridge from the rifle for me. More experienced shooters with large collections likely don't have that issue, but I think of the caliber and see the rifle. I'd like to call that wisdom in matching the cartridge to the gun, but it's probably more accurately termed "bias".

The 35 Whelen is practically a 9.3 but made in the USA. Too bad it is dying out. Better than the .338/06.

 

[amschind]

The 35 Whelen is practically a 9.3 but made in the USA. Too bad it is dying out. Better than the .338/06.

I actually posted about that on the .35 Whelen thread, but I broadly agree. My first rifle was a push feed Model 70 Ranger in .270. I wound up selling it to a gun collector neighbor (who still regularly kills deer with it) to get an M70 classic stainless in .300 WSM that I've steadily modified over the decades. But the .270 taught me that no matter what I did at the reloading bench, I would always be at the mercy of the bullet makers. A .277 160 grain spire point in a .270 Win AI would be amazing, but I cannot mass produce that bullet. The .358 suffers from the same issue: there are VERY few bullet options that unlock its potential, and even those are unusually scare compared to scarce reloading components. A 300 grain .358, .366 or .375 solid bullet striking at 2200 FPS will kill any creature that walks the Earth. The market has decreed that only two of them are allowed to do so in practice.

 

[62flint]

22Lr
300Wm
375H&H

 

[Neophyte]

Can’t believe I missed this thread.
My three with a caveat. The caveat being that this is for large game anywhere in the world and doesn’t include rabbits, foxes, skunks, etc., etc. and factory ammo is readily available usually.
In order of preference:

.338 Win Mag
.375 Ruger
6.5 Creedmoor

I love the .338WM for its versatility. The Ruger for its efficiency and the 6.5 Creedmoor for its availability. If I could only have one cartridge it would be the .338WM.

Per a friend that has made more trips to Africa than I can count the .338WM will work on Cape Buffalo very well. He’s used the .338, .375, and .458 on those critters. He made his trips in the 1970’s with his last one being about 1986 or so for Hippo. His .375 was the H&H version and the .458 was a Win Mag.

The newer cartridges Ruger and Creedmoor are well supported, especially the Creedmoor, but Hornady and Ruger do a great job supporting the .375 Ruger cartridge. I would love to see some other ammo companies start making ammo for the cartridge. Do you hear that Barnes?

I stopped reloading as I don’t have the time to be working up loads and such. I got rid of all my reloading equipment and find factory ammo to be sufficient. Especially with premium ammo manufacturers. I’d rather shoot than spend my time working up sub MOA loads for a factory gun.

If I could only have one cartridge it would be the .338WM. If only two cartridges it would be the 6.5 and .375. There’s a lot of other cartridges but based on ammo availability locally these are what I’d select. It’s a good thing I’m not limited as I also like the 25-06, 6.5 Grendel, .223 Remington, .35 Whelen, and 45-70. It was hard limiting myself to three but based on local availability and cartridge efficiency I made my selection.

 

[Capebuffalo]

Can’t believe I missed this thread.
My three with a caveat. The caveat being that this is for large game anywhere in the world and doesn’t include rabbits, foxes, skunks, etc., etc. and factory ammo is readily available usually.
In order of preference:

.338 Win Mag
.375 Ruger
6.5 Creedmoor

I love the .338WM for its versatility. The Ruger for its efficiency and the 6.5 Creedmoor for its availability. If I could only have one cartridge it would be the .338WM.

Per a friend that has made more trips to Africa than I can count the .338WM will work on Cape Buffalo very well. He’s used the .338, .375, and .458 on those critters. He made his trips in the 1970’s with his last one being about 1986 or so for Hippo. His .375 was the H&H version and the .458 was a Win Mag.

The newer cartridges Ruger and Creedmoor are well supported, especially the Creedmoor, but Hornady and Ruger do a great job supporting the .375 Ruger cartridge. I would love to see some other ammo companies start making ammo for the cartridge. Do you hear that Barnes?

I stopped reloading as I don’t have the time to be working up loads and such. I got rid of all my reloading equipment and find factory ammo to be sufficient. Especially with premium ammo manufacturers. I’d rather shoot than spend my time working up sub MOA loads for a factory gun.

If I could only have one cartridge it would be the .338WM. If only two cartridges it would be the 6.5 and .375. There’s a lot of other cartridges but based on ammo availability locally these are what I’d select. It’s a good thing I’m not limited as I also like the 25-06, 6.5 Grendel, .223 Remington, .35 Whelen, and 45-70. It was hard limiting myself to three but based on local availability and cartridge efficiency I made my selection.

Hello @Neophyte

Everything you say make sense to me. Although I like some of the older classics too, such as the 6.5x55 SE, 280 Rem, 30.06, 35 Whelen, 375 WH&H, I decided on the 7mm-08 Rem instead of the 6.5 CM due to same ballistics to 500 yards, but a larger diameter (I never shoot beyond 400 yards). The 375 Ruger is only 100-150 ft/sec faster than the H&H but it results in around 350-400 ft/lbs which is enough for me to have chosen the Ruger...the faster 375's would have been too much for me. Then the rifle that I will never be without in my safe or on a trip to Africa is the 338 WM. The way this rifle plugged the life out of each animal I shot in the past just made me grow in confidence with this rifle.....so I agree with you, if only one rifle for me, it would be the 338 WM.

 

[amschind]

Hello @Neophyte

Everything you say make sense to me. Although I like some of the older classics too, such as the 6.5x55 SE, 280 Rem, 30.06, 35 Whelen, 375 WH&H, I decided on the 7mm-08 Rem instead of the 6.5 CM due to same ballistics to 500 yards, but a larger diameter (I never shoot beyond 400 yards). The 375 Ruger is only 100-150 ft/sec faster than the H&H but it results in around 350-400 ft/lbs which is enough for me to have chosen the Ruger...the faster 375's would have been too much for me. Then the rifle that I will never be without in my safe or on a trip to Africa is the 338 WM. The way this rifle plugged the life out of each animal I shot in the past just made me grow in confidence with this rifle.....so I agree with you, if only one rifle for me, it would be the 338 WM.

The one knock on the 7mm-08 is that it doesn't incorporate the genius of the 6.5 CM. SHORTENING the case a touch sacrifices a bit of powder capacity for the ability to use modern, long bullets. I believe that a "7mm Creedmoor" could be an absolutely perfect all around caliber by pushing 180 grain bullets at 2750 FPS from a short action. Also less bore erosion than the 6.5 CM.

 

[Capebuffalo]

The one knock on the 7mm-08 is that it doesn't incorporate the genius of the 6.5 CM. SHORTENING the case a touch sacrifices a bit of powder capacity for the ability to use modern, long bullets. I believe that a "7mm Creedmoor" could be an absolutely perfect all around caliber by pushing 180 grain bullets at 2750 FPS from a short action. Also less bore erosion than the 6.5 CM.

Well amschind, if I don't shoot beyond 400 yards and the ballistics of the 7mm-08 are better than the 6.5 CM to 500 yards, why would I prefer a CM then, especially if I can shoot a heavier bullet. I only shoot premium bullets 150-160 grains with Staball 6.5...giving me 2900 ft/sec with the 150 Swift Sirocco's and touching 2800 ft/sec with 160 grainers....I guess that is better as what I ever thought I would get with the 7mm-08 when I started out with it...that is enough MV and ME for me on the animals I shoot with it (deer, antelope and elk) inside 400 yards. So for now I am more than satisfied with the 7mm-08 and recommend it for anybody wanting a deer rifle with which you can also shoot elk size game if you keep your distances under 400 yards.