Most Overrated Cartridges

[raab]

Originally Posted by markg

I think an important part of this conversation is application. If your a northern or central Alberta deer moose or elk hunter then the 30 cals are wonderful. If your a target shooter then not so much. If your a Southern Alberta prairie hunter then your often looking for something with the ability to reach out.

It all comes down to buy and use what you like and are comfortable. I will say the 6.5 mm bullets seem to have the highest BC to grain weight ratio with an incredibly wide varitey of choices and cartridges. The 7mm cartridges also have some great bullet choices and with the magnum cartridges they certainly have velocity.

You hit the nail on the head with regards to the problem. Everyone wants a one size fits all gun that's good for target shooting, and hunting while being light enough to backpack with.

I've come to realize there's no such gun, and you probably need 3 or 4 guns.

One for targets like a 308 or 6.5CM. A flat shooting light gun for prairie/backpack hunts in something like 25-06, 257 Weatherby, 6.5 PRC or 270Win for antelope, deer, and sheep. A heavier flat shooting prairie gun for Elk like a 300 Win Mag or bigger. Lastly a nice carrying open sight 30 cal or bigger for Moose hunting in the bush, something like a 30-06 or 35 Whelen in a Rem 7600.

Now in saying that, all these cartridges will work for everything, there's just trade offs if you only want one gun.

[3blade]

Originally Posted by 270person

Rumor has it you're really a closet 270 guy.

At least there’s a couple people who get the spirit of the article and commentary, a whole bunch of

[Sashi]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

The 6.5x55 can be loaded to higher pressure in modern firearms

You don't need a modern firearm, all 96's were proofed at 66,000 psi, Only the Norwegian Krags require the lower pressure (and I've never even seen one.)

[EZM]

Brilliant article ..... the "paid writer and expert" just played us all - here we are all talking about his stupid article, stupid comments and silly observations got us all worked up and commenting on this (three pages on this thread already) as we all, like rats to cheese, start clicking on the article giving the writer more hit to up his stake at his publication ........

well played ...........

The only overrated cartridge is the silly 6.5 CM .... the hype on that one is spectacularly overblown by people happily filling their diapers with fairytales of it's prowess.

[Phil McCracken]

Originally Posted by EZM

Brilliant article ..... the "paid writer and expert" just played us all - here we are all talking about his stupid article, stupid comments and silly observations got us all worked up and commenting on this (three pages on this thread already) as we all, like rats to cheese, start clicking on the article giving the writer more hit to up his stake at his publication ........

well played ...........

The only overrated cartridge is the silly 6.5 CM .... the hype on that one is spectacularly overblown by people happily filling their diapers with fairytales of it's prowess.

Please don't shoot the messenger (ie. me the OP).

My original post questioned why the 7MM Mag, most short mags, and the 22mag being on this list.

"Well played"? Come on...

Had nothing to do with the credibility of the author of the article, which I wouldn't know if I tripped over him.

Simply a conversation piece.

Man some of you guys need to take a big breath and relax a little.

And to the ones with thin skin, I am genuinely sorry if I offended you, and I mean that...

And yes...the 6.5 Creedmoor is overrated!

Glad my only one hunting rifle for the past 40 years (.338 Win Mag) was not on the list...

Carry on!...

PS: I own a .22 Mag for beavers and close range predators...great caliber!...

[Pathfinder76]

99% of shooter haven't used, hunted with or loaded for enough different cartridges to qualify to have an opinion on the matter.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by EZM

Brilliant article ..... the "paid writer and expert" just played us all - here we are all talking about his stupid article, stupid comments and silly observations got us all worked up and commenting on this (three pages on this thread already) as we all, like rats to cheese, start clicking on the article giving the writer more hit to up his stake at his publication ........

well played ...........

The only overrated cartridge is the silly 6.5 CM .... the hype on that one is spectacularly overblown by people happily filling their diapers with fairytales of it's prowess.

Dave Petzal is no fool.

[scalerman]

I have done exit interviews with all of the game that has been killed during my hunting career. I asked each one of them if they thought that they would rather have been killed by a different caliber than the one that caused them to meet their demise. I wondered if they thought that maybe there was something deficient in the caliber that was used. The strange thing is that every last one of them had nothing to say. Dead is dead I guess. I really don't care what you use to hunt so long as you arre able to quckly, efficiently and humanely dispatch the game you hunt. If it works for you then it is the right gun for the job.

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by pikergolf

Trophy deer experience things differently?

If I was a meat hunter I'd be using my .243

[urban rednek]

Originally Posted by Phil McCracken

My original post questioned why the 7MM Mag, most short mags, and the 22mag being on this list.

Short answer: they don't have enough advantage over an existing cartridge to justify their existence. Especially true in the case of the 7RM and most of the short mags. It doesn't mean they are bad or not useful in their own right; his opinion is they are highly overrated.
You know what they say about opinions...we've all got one.
Marketing 101- create a perceived demand, offer a product to fill the niche, profit.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by MountainTi

If I was a meat hunter I'd be using my .243

There is truth to this. The main reason I shoot the bullets I do is I have zero interest in passing up shots because of angle.

[WV911]

Originally Posted by 3blade

Never did. Antiquated low pressure military round vs modern match round. What someone “can” do with handloading, custom barrel and reamer, fire forming, etc isn’t relevant to what it is. Probably the most annoying thing in the gun world.

You know what’s overrated? The 30-06. It just farts along, not doing anything new or cool but people still buy it

If Petzel and Spomer had a stupidity contest the weight of the resulting pile of BS would create its own gravitational pull.

Except consistently kill game

Among other rifles I have a 30-06 and a 270 and I don't think the deer knew the difference

Ammo choice and availability was once a consideration but not now with everything in short supply. Saw a guy on the trader wanting $90 for 30-06 partitions

[6.5 shooter]

Just some numbers :

6.5 Creedmore
143 gr (9 g) Hornady ELD-X 2,710 ft/s (830 m/s) 2,283 ft⋅lbf (3,095 J)

6.5x55
140 gr (9 g) SP 2,651 ft/s (808 m/s) 2,185 ft⋅lbf (2,962 J)
140.4 gr (9 g) DK 2,854 ft/s (870 m/s) 2,540 ft⋅lbf (3,440 J)

.260 Rem
140 gr (9.1 g) Soft Point 2,750 ft/s (840 m/s) 2,351 ft⋅lbf (3,188 J)
\
6.5x284
142 gr (9 g) Hodgdon 2,850 ft/s (870 m/s) 2,557 ft⋅lbf (3,467 J)

Grendal
130 gr (8 g) Norma 2,510 ft/s (770 m/s) 1,818 ft⋅lbf (2,465 J)

Not one big game animal in the country will notice the difference between the cartridges. And trajectories will be very similar. (except for the Grendal it will loose a bit in that end of things)

All numbers stole from Wiki... you can figure out the trajectories if you want. So much hate with so few facts. Talk about getting on the band wagon....

[markg]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

Just some numbers :

6.5 Creedmore
143 gr (9 g) Hornady ELD-X 2,710 ft/s (830 m/s) 2,283 ft⋅lbf (3,095 J)

6.5x55
140 gr (9 g) SP 2,651 ft/s (808 m/s) 2,185 ft⋅lbf (2,962 J)
140.4 gr (9 g) DK 2,854 ft/s (870 m/s) 2,540 ft⋅lbf (3,440 J)

.260 Rem
140 gr (9.1 g) Soft Point 2,750 ft/s (840 m/s) 2,351 ft⋅lbf (3,188 J)
\
6.5x284
142 gr (9 g) Hodgdon 2,850 ft/s (870 m/s) 2,557 ft⋅lbf (3,467 J)

Grendal
130 gr (8 g) Norma 2,510 ft/s (770 m/s) 1,818 ft⋅lbf (2,465 J)

Not one big game animal in the country will notice the difference between the cartridges. And trajectories will be very similar. (except for the Grendal it will loose a bit in that end of things)

All numbers stole from Wiki... you can figure out the trajectories if you want. So much hate with so few facts. Talk about getting on the band wagon....

You forgot the 6.5 PRC I think the same 143gr eldx is comming out of the pipe around 3000 fps

[markg]

I got this from Hornady's page on the precision hunter ammo

2960fps at the muzzle and 2782 foot pounds of energy

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

Just some numbers :

6.5 Creedmore
143 gr (9 g) Hornady ELD-X 2,710 ft/s (830 m/s) 2,283 ft⋅lbf (3,095 J)

6.5x55
140 gr (9 g) SP 2,651 ft/s (808 m/s) 2,185 ft⋅lbf (2,962 J)
140.4 gr (9 g) DK 2,854 ft/s (870 m/s) 2,540 ft⋅lbf (3,440 J)

.260 Rem
140 gr (9.1 g) Soft Point 2,750 ft/s (840 m/s) 2,351 ft⋅lbf (3,188 J)
\
6.5x284
142 gr (9 g) Hodgdon 2,850 ft/s (870 m/s) 2,557 ft⋅lbf (3,467 J)

Grendal
130 gr (8 g) Norma 2,510 ft/s (770 m/s) 1,818 ft⋅lbf (2,465 J)

Not one big game animal in the country will notice the difference between the cartridges. And trajectories will be very similar. (except for the Grendal it will loose a bit in that end of things)

All numbers stole from Wiki... you can figure out the trajectories if you want. So much hate with so few facts. Talk about getting on the band wagon....

In other words, poor Stinky?

P. S. They’ll all kill.

P. P. S. The guy in the article complains about coyotes dragging themselves after being shot with .17.

[~altiplano~]

I love all the 6.5cmr hate so consistently posted on various boards.

Who cares? It's a good cartridge. It's mild to shoot. There's good availability. It kills animals pretty good!

[buckman]

Originally Posted by gunluvr

Lol. Hopefully you meant 300 yds.

Oops yes I did!!

[58thecat]

The 270win once was, spattered all over outdoor magazines once upon a time.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by ~altiplano~

I love all the 6.5cmr hate so consistently posted on various boards.

Who cares? It's a good cartridge. It's mild to shoot. There's good availability. It kills animals pretty good!

It seems alot of people simply don't like the 6.5 CM because it's popular. I'm a big fan.

[sns2]

I like the 6.5 Creedmoor. Don’t own one currently. At some point, I will again. Funny how most of the guy’s that make fun of it say the writers claim it as the best ever. Funny, I never read things like that. Most writers say it is good because it does what it does quite well. Wasn’t designed as a hunting round, but is perfectly suitable for deer sized game, and will let the air out of anything else if shots are taken judiciously. No different than a 243 or 260 Rem. Great gun for new hunters and recoil sensitive shooters too. Can’t get behind it being a good choice for moose or elk, but it is legal, certainly meets the 1500lb accepted energy target out to 300 yards. Why hate it? It’s an inert object. Doesn’t make sense.

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by ~altiplano~

I love all the 6.5cmr hate so consistently posted on various boards.

Who cares? It's a good cartridge. It's mild to shoot. There's good availability. It kills animals pretty good!

I don’t hate the creedmoor. I don’t see what all the hype is about. It replicates the performance of a 140 year old cartridge with a slightly shorter action.

I know it’s a capable round, it’s a twin to the very capable Swede. It has groupies continually raving about it, but it isn’t doing anything worthy of the praise in my opinion. If it had 300ft/sec on the Swede, or burned 15% less powder I’d be a believer too.

[waldedw]

I never caught the 6.5 CM fever but it seems that it does what it was designed for and does it well, shoot with a couple guys that have them and they really like them and they shoot well, like all cartridges keep them within their capabilities and they are fine. Even though the race is on to manufacture the perfect cartridge nobody has got to the finish line yet, IMHO

[sns2]

Originally Posted by waldedw

I never caught the 6.5 CM fever but it seems that it does what it was designed for and does it well, shoot with a couple guys that have them and they really like them and they shoot well, like all cartridges keep them within their capabilities and they are fine. Even though the race is on to manufacture the perfect cartridge nobody has got to the finish line yet, IMHO

WTH? This thread convinced me that a 6.5 PRC was pretty much perfecto, so I bought one. I feel so used. Gotta go wash the skank off in the shower.

[waldedw]

Originally Posted by sns2

WTH? This thread convinced me that a 6.5 PRC was pretty much perfecto, so I bought one. I feel so used. Gotta go wash the skank off in the shower.

I thought so too that's why I bought a 6.5 PRC I'm now thinking the 7mm PRC might be better so who knows I might end up with one of them

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by sns2

I like the 6.5 Creedmoor. Don’t own one currently. At some point, I will again. Funny how most of the guy’s that make fun of it say the writers claim it as the best ever. Funny, I never read things like that. Most writers say it is good because it does what it does quite well. Wasn’t designed as a hunting round, but is perfectly suitable for deer sized game, and will let the air out of anything else if shots are taken judiciously. No different than a 243 or 260 Rem. Great gun for new hunters and recoil sensitive shooters too. Can’t get behind it being a good choice for moose or elk, but it is legal, certainly meets the 1500lb accepted energy target out to 300 yards. Why hate it? It’s an inert object. Doesn’t make sense.

I bought a 6.5 CM because I wanted a 6.5 and I found one in a full stock Ruger M77 Hawkeye. I always wanted a RSI so this was a match for me. I don’t pay much attention to all the talk of the 6.5cm one way or another, to me it’s a deer rifle and it’s has done it job as intended. And I don’t think I have every said “ send it” before I pulled the trigger.

[Demonical]

Originally Posted by 3blade

Never did. Antiquated low pressure military round vs modern match round. What someone “can” do with handloading, custom barrel and reamer, fire forming, etc isn’t relevant to what it is. Probably the most annoying thing in the gun world.

You know what’s overrated? The 30-06. It just farts along, not doing anything new or cool but people still buy it

If Petzel and Spomer had a stupidity contest the weight of the resulting pile of BS would create its own gravitational pull.

That is so completely wrong that I have to call BULL**** on that statement.

.30-06 is the best all around cartridge there is, which means it's actually the MOST UNDERRATED.

[Trochu]

Originally Posted by Demonical

That is so completely wrong that I have to call BULL**** on that statement.

.30-06 is the best all around cartridge there is, which means it's actually the MOST UNDERRATED.

Typically an emoji indicates the poster is joking, being sarcastic, tongue in cheek....

[32-40win]

You want a braindead writer, go look up Ron Spomer and his cartridge comparisons, bunch published in mags and on NRA site. Why anyone pays him for an article is beyond my comprehension.

[Demonical]

Originally Posted by Trochu

Typically an emoji indicates the poster is joking, being sarcastic, tongue in cheek....

I see...