When I bought my first rifle there were 3 deciding factors when selecting the caliber. Recoil, ballistic performance and round availability. I wanted something manageable to avoid developing a flinch. I wanted the keep the ballistic performance within a realistic range for ethical kills. Lastly I looked at the store shelves to see what rounds were available during hunting season at reasonable prices. If a round cost me $5/shot Im not likely to shoot it very much. I want to be able to practice year round without breaking the bank. I can also go to any store in remote Alberta and buy a box of .308 if I need to but likely they will not have many of the exotic calibers in stock. This did happen to a hunting partner once who lost his ammo from his pack. The store had .270. 30/06 and .308 on the shelf but no .338. Care to guess who filled their tag and who didn't on that trip?
The .223 I use for target practice because ammo is cheap. I also use it for coyotes on the farm when the .22 doesnt have enough range.
The .22, well ammo is cheap and quite often I'm shooting less than 100 yards at small game, plinking or at the odd coyote. Everyone should own a .22
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" Everything in life that I enjoy is either illegal, immoral, fattening or causes cancer!"
"The problem was this little thing called the government and laws."
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