I have all, but three of these. Is this why I have multiple personalities? My most challenging to shoot well is 375 H&H Magnum. I can shoot it OK, but not from a bench. Too much recoil in benchrest position.
None of my favorites made the list, except .223...And I generally despise the tacticool community that exists around that cartridge.
I am absolutely fickle. My favorite keeps changing. Its currently the 6.5 Grendel.
8. (my favorite)
.45/70 Government
You sir, were born a century too late. You find solace in a fat, stubby, fire hydrant of a cartridge that throws projectiles larger than the batteries for the remote control.
You have a serious man-crush on Yosemite Sam. When you shave that tiny part of your face that doesn’t sport facial hair, you finish with “Looking good, pardner.” The Cleveland Indians mascot makes you reach for your fetchin’-iron, and you don’t mind carrying enough lead in your cartridge belt to make your pants drop at light speed.
Oh, you can also work a lever action with your feet.
I like revolvers.
270 man myself. But my favorite is .257 Weatherby Mag. I know, not an off the shelf cartridge and expensive relatively speaking. But a delight to shoot and a mpbr of 342 yards.
Jack Hammer is definitely a .30-’06 guy.
The most generally useful caliber of those which are common and easy to shoot is probably the 243. Fairly easy to load an 85 - 100 grain bullet to move at 3000 fps or thereabouts and still no meaningful recoil.
I live in rolling hills with Whitetail Deer being the biggest game. If I’m going to bring home meat, I like my old cowboy rifle. Marlin lever action in .44 magnum. I can hit a paper plate with it at 150 yards all day and that is the longest shot you need.
For sport, hard to beat a nicely equipped AR-15 and some fun targets.
Killed more deer than I can count with my Daddy’s .270 Rem 700.
The .22 LR:
You are an expert and perfectionist. You do everything very well, due to long practice and preparation.
You excel at many different tasks, and are liked by everyone.
I’m child number 8 out of 10, but 30-06 is my round. I can use a heavy slug for white tails in the brush and brambles of PA, or a lighter bullet for flat shooting an antelope at 200 yards in Wyoming.
How about 7.62x39? Not the best for anything, but it works for everything, and the ammo is cheaper than dirt, especially at Cheaper Than Dirt.
.416 Rigby, just in case scientists manage to clone mastodons.
I burned through a ton of 7.62 x 39 back in the 80s in my el cheapo SKS. Seventy bucks for the rifle don’t get much better...than that cheap ammo!
At my age, I have to say .30-’06. It can do pretty much anything. Of the rifles I own most are 8mm Mauser because I collect them. It’s pretty much ballisticly identical to the ‘06.
I like the .223 because a normal person can carry enough ammo to fight Rambo. Not that Stallone would notice if you hit him, except for a slight wince as the beautiful girl in the bikini pulled the round out of his bicep using tweezers, but it’s enough for most other combat.
I like the 30-30 because it hits almost like a real .30 caliber inside 200 yards, but it’s not going 500+ unless you aim at the sky.
Of course, I like the .50 BMG because, while it’s a little weak on concealability, it’s pretty good at one-shot stop.
I do like the .308. Strangely, my favorite rifle in my collection is actually is a BM-59 which is basically a Garand with a short barrel which has been re-chambered to .308 and a modified receiver so that a box magazine can be used. It is similar to an M14. I actually got the rifle in a trade. I was very skeptical about it so I didn’t give much for it. The magazines are now hard to find, but I bought a bunch when I found a batch for cheap ten years ago.
It still has that classic WWII Garand good looks but with a big magazine hanging off of it and that tanker sized carbine length barrel. It is a little heavy to cart around, but is a great rifle for those zombie hunting expeditions.
I start with surplus once fired US government brass to make up my cartridges. I load them a little light so that I can use hardened bullets that I cast and heat treat myself. The gun cycles very well and the brass lasts a long time.
