Do you still hunt with larger cartridges?

[Robobiss]

I basically only use them for the fun of it or nostalgia. I have no actual need/use for them. To be fair my “big guns” are a 270 and a 30-06. Both gifts from dad, one being a model 70 30-06 that killed most of the meat that I ate from birth to adulthood. I’ve shot one deer with it myself.

I am almost strictly 223 now. I am putting together a 6.5x55 chopped to 17” (at the smith as we speak) that will be the biggest gun that will actually see regular hunting use. It will be for fun, and for use cases where I may be shooting further than the 350-400 yards or so that the 223 is good for with its 16” barrel. Hoping to get 550-600 yards out of it with 147 ELD-M’s or 130 TMK’s.

 

[Hunter26]

I hunt with a 7saum and 300nmi for pretty much all big game and don't see myself going a different direction.

 

[Brandon_SPC]

99% of my hunting is deer size game under 500 yards. With 99% of my shots being under 300 yards. I personally hung up the "big cartridges" years ago and prefer to tote my 6mm ARC. Even with something like elk, I won't even carry a "magnum". Heck I don't even think I own a magnum cartridge anymore. My next "backcountry" hunting rifle will probably be chambered in something like a 25CM. With these high sectional density tipped match bullets like a ELDM, TMK, or Berger, I just do not see the need to shoot a magnum for anything in NA aside from maybe going after Kodiak Brown Bear or Polar Bear.

 

[Brandon_SPC]

I'm not trying to start an argument here. I'm genuinely curious and my searching on the forum and google didn't turn up much. The question only pertains to general rifle hunting.

Prompt: I'm going to leave this pretty open. If you've moved to a lower recoiling cartridge, whether that is from a 300RUM to a .280AI or a .270 Win to a .223 Rem, as a primary hunting cartridge, do you still reach back in the safe to pull out something larger now and then? Comment below why.

I only ask because I'm curious. I'm going to pick up an 8tw .243 Tikka. It's not a huge step down from the .270 that has been my primary for the last 5 years and I'm primarily switching to have an easy button for a can. Once I get my .270 rebarelled and/or threaded, I'll still use it occasionally. Primarily when hunting something special with my wife, who gifted the rifle to me.

I personally have not. I enjoy spotting impacts or watching how the deer reacts through the scope way to much for me to reach for heavier recoiling cartridges.

 

[CC55]

Most of the bigger stuff has stayed on the shelf over the last few years. Dropped from 30 cal magnum to 6.5CM and now at 6CM. Things all died the same and I just kept dropping down. Don’t see moving back up anytime soon. I’m not missing due to the extra 1.5mph of wind I’d gain from moving back to the 30cal stuff and bullets have done their job on impact. The biggest I think I’d move to now is something like the 6UM with a good bullet.

I was a “recoil doesn’t bother me” kind of person that took a chance and have really seen how much better I shoot from hunting positions with lighter recoil. Try the drill from Carl Ross if you are wondering. Try some timed shots in the mountains that aren’t from a shooting pad in prone. Try them with some ball and dummy drills if you want something to laugh at.

Also, I have a 223 trainer rifle that has really helped my shooting. Shoot it prob 20:1 over the hunting rifle. Not sure how guys are getting practice to benefit shooting with 30/338 magnums solely with those rifles.

 

[Elk botherer]

A Winchester model 70 chambered in 7mm rem mag was my workhorse from the time I was 15 until I was 36 and took a lot of game from bear, mountain lion, deer, elk, and antelope. I shot 160 gr nosler accubonds for a majority of those kills and was pleased and never thought I needed anything more or less. Fast forward to a white tail hunt in north Idaho and long story short, a gunsmith jacked up my 7mm mag and at the last minute, I had to take my wife’s .243 win on the hunt. It was loaded with 100 gr nosler partitions and it killed the crap out of those whitetails. It became my go to for north Idaho whitetails after that even after I fixed my 7mm mag. I bought a Tikka 7mm mag for my southern Idaho hunts and used it for about four years for those hunts.
Enter the .223 thread and my young recoil sensitive daughter and small framed nephew into the mix. The .243 (and 7mm/08 with reduced recoil loads) was too much for them so I took the leap and had them try the 77 tmk and a 73 eldm. I was very skeptical about the .223 rem despite the enormous amount of empirical data on that thread. But I saw each of the kids kill their deer with zero drama and they enjoyed shooting the gun. Honestly, the wound channels didn’t look that different than my 7mm rem mag’s wound channels. After seeing about 7 deer taken with the .223/77 tmk combo and seeing the consistent terminal damage, I thought I’d give it a go. I shoot way more than I used to because I can afford to and instead of about 10-20 shots at the range with my 7mm mags, I’ll shoot 50-100 rounds a session. It’s just plain fun! I’ve taken three deer with it now and my boy and nephew have taken a couple of elk and a few more deer with consistent killing effectiveness. My Winchester 70 7mm mag will never be sold and I might pull it out someday and hunt with it again for nostalgia but the tikka 7mm mag got sent down the road and converted that money into another suppressor. I had my .223 ackleyed and I’m hooked- super fun to watch impacts and be able to afford to shoot as much as I want. I’ll probably hunt with the .243 in the future as well with some 108 eldms. To each their own, but that’s my evolution.

Edit: If somebody would have told me they were using a .223 for big game 6 years ago I’d tell you you’re psycho and the .223 doesn’t have enough energy to kill an elk. Funny how things work out

 

[Ozarkansas]

I have a single gun that I’d consider “large caliber”: my 45/70. It gets a ton of use. All my other guns are 6.5 or below.

I had used my 45/70 exactly twice over 10 years until Arkansas allowed straight walls during muzzleloader season. Then I sold my muzzleloader and now do at least half of my hunting with that 45/70. I’m probably skewing your results a bit because if it weren’t for my state’s regs I wouldn’t use my 45/70 at all.

 

[il_cop]

Main go to is my 6.5 cm. Although I suspect it'll become a choice between that and my new Tikka 243 which is at the smith right now.

That said, I brought out the 30-06 for my elk hunt this year, it's now become my "big gun".

I still have all the others (308, 270 wby, 338 win, 9.3x62) in the safe, partially for fun, nostalgia, loaners and the idea that I may use one if I could ever find a place to truck hunt for elk (they're heavy) .

 

[noKnees]

Most of my hunting these days is pretty evenly split between moose and whitetails and I tend to a 7 SAUM or 300 WSM cal for the moose ( which is actually down from the 338RCM that was my standard for a decade)

The deer I mostly use a 250AI or 6.5 CM, which is less than I was using 20 years ago (308) and 30 years ago it was pretty much 30-06 for everything.

I guess I am on a general downward trend in power. I hope to add elk to my annual hunting in the next two years of so and am sort of feeling the 7mm SAUM is the way I will go there.

 

[RifleJunkie]

I shot one deer with a 35 Whelen this year , 2 more with a 6.5 Creed and one with a 7mm-08. Im a rifle/ reloading looney that likes to tinker with guns and loads in the off-season then look for real life results in the Fall. Im sure next season I'll have a few new combos to play with.