I can hear the anguished cries already. For the followers of those cartridges, this a reckoning, a “Say it ain’t so!” second. But that doesn’t make it any much less true: like Rodney Dangerfield, these cartridges don’t get no respect. But they need to. All are nonetheless accessible at on-line retailers and all are nonetheless simply efficient immediately as they have been when launched.
cartridges with labels
.338 Win. Mag.
Once the cartridge to make use of for those who deliberate to hunt the world with only one rifle, it’s highly effective, flat-shooting, correct, and hard-hitting. But in a world awash with newer, even flatter-shooting rounds (just like the .338 Lapua), this graying cartridge is yesterday’s information, and its followers are getting older out of the game.
.338 Federal
This is a balanced and succesful spherical that received misplaced within the combine with all the opposite cartridge introductions within the early 2000s. I’ve used it—loaded with the 210-grain AccuBond—on virtually each kind of North American recreation, from antelope to moose and bear. It is a sweetheart to shoot and a stone-cold recreation killer. Federal and Savage try to breathe new life into it, so we’ll see if it will get a second likelihood.
READ NEXT: .338 Federal: The Best Deer Cartridge You’ve Never Tried
7×57 Mauser
This granddaddy of high-power rifle cartridges is thought principally as a historic footnote immediately, nevertheless it nonetheless makes for a wonderful all-around big-game cartridge. Developed in 1892, six years earlier than Outdoor Life was based, it was a cutting-edge army spherical, and I doubt there’s any animal on the planet it hasn’t efficiently taken down. But solely a small minority of hunters nonetheless use it.
.257 Roberts
At one time, the .257 Roberts had all of it. It was a sizzling little quantity primarily based on one of the vital revered cartridges of the time: the 7x57mm Mauser. But after the Thirties, it was not the “it” woman, and misplaced the limelight to cartridges just like the .243 Win. It nonetheless has a small however devoted following amongst those that know that it’s a nice deer and antelope spherical. Moderate ballistics additionally make it perfect for brand new shooters.
.25/06
Another quarter-bore within the Hall of Shame, it is a necked-down .30/06. Hunters who strive it like it, and for good purpose. It delivers energy and velocity in an easy-to-shoot bundle. But as a .25 caliber spherical, it labors within the shadow of the .257 Weatherby and is essentially neglected. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that’s going to alter, and its long-term prospects should not good. OL employees author and .25/06 fan thinks it might be probably the most under-appreciated cartridge of all time.
.308 Win.
Don’t get me mistaken, a number of shooters and hunters use the .308 Win. But even so, it doesn’t garner the respect it deserves. Solid, secure, and overshadowed by sexier newcomers, the .308 continues to be considered one of our premier searching rounds. It has average recoil, shoots moderately flat, delivers nice accuracy, and drops animals with authority.
READ NEXT: The Best .308 Hunting Rifles