What caused the Rokslide shift to smallest caliber and cartridges?

Joined
Jul 21, 2019
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527
I own weapons on both sides, but find myself almost always picking up my tikka 7 mag.

I’d distill it down further. Both lighter and larger cartridges have their place. I don’t see the one as having more merit than the other, as they are both still placed in the hands of a shooter. And as we all know too well, shooters come in a wide range of capabilities. A shooter who is not able to manage recoil should avoid the larger calibers. A shooter who is less accurate and precise may want to avoid the smaller calibers. I believe a shooter would do well matching their capabilities with their weapon, rather than hitting the field filled with Internet forum wisdom. I think Abe Lincoln said that once.

My two cents!
 

mxgsfmdpx

WKR
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Hit the nail on the head. I would add minimum damage necessary which is often still excessive. Muley I killed a few weeks back with a 6.5 cm 143 eld-x lost big chunks of back strap, and most of front quarter on the impact side. Some of it is on me, with a tad high shoot placement, but man is that bullet devastating even out of a 20” barrel at 490 yards…
I'd rather lose some backstrap and front quarter any day, than lose the animal with a sub par bullet. I want animals to die, plain and simple. I want them to die quickly even if it means multiple shots or a bullet that causes "damage to meat" or is "messy". Shooting bullets that "properly pass through" so "I can have an easy blood trail" is backwards thinking.

I also want to be able to see my hits/misses easily without sacrificing position and having to re-acquire the target. Sometimes the difference between a very easy retrieval and a long night of waiting is a second or third shot, regardless if the "first shot would have killed the animal."

I was lucky to get into the .264 and .243 world back in the late 90's. Once I learned my long range comp and varmint guns could be used to kill big game effectively(.260AI, 6.5x55, and .243AI) I never really went back to .308 and .30-06 other than some fun open sight rifles and a .308 practice rifle.
 

Reddish

Lil-Rokslider
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Apr 1, 2023
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I actually think this isn’t really a new thing. When the .250 Savage came out it was used for everything up to moose and raved about.

The hunting space has become an industry since then…manufacturers make new stuff every year and incentivize writers and influencers to talk about how great it is so people buy it. Some of it is better, most isn’t. I attribute much of the bigger is better conventional wisdom to that.

Those that started playing with smaller calibers again with better bullets realized they kill stuff. And it’s just more fun to hunt with the ol .223. I killed my first deer with a .223 20yrs ago on a depredation hunt. Been doing it ever since bc it works.
 

mxgsfmdpx

WKR
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I'd rather lose some backstrap and front quarter any day, than lose the animal with a sub par bullet. I want animals to die, plain and simple. I want them to die quickly even if it means multiple shots or a bullet that causes "damage to meat" or is "messy". Shooting bullets that "properly pass through" so "I can have an easy blood trail" is backwards thinking.

I also want to be able to see my hits/misses easily without sacrificing position and having to re-acquire the target. Sometimes the difference between a very easy retrieval and a long night of waiting is a second or third shot, regardless if the "first shot would have killed the animal."

I was lucky to get into the .264 and .243 world back in the late 90's. Once I learned my long range comp and varmint guns could be used to kill big game effectively(.260AI, 6.5x55, and .243AI) I never really went back to .308 and .30-06 other than some fun open sight rifles and a .308 practice rifle.
And if you haven't seen what a .243AI shooting 106 Grain Clinch River VLD's at over 3340 does to animals, I can probably dig up a photo or two. Too much fun.
 

Lawnboi

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I’d say this thread’s about ripe for a meme. (Mods gonna hate me now)

maybe Avery with a Howitzer “2012” and then his face on the little guy from Christmas Story with his Red Rider “2023”

I can think of atleast a half dozen creedmoor memes that are probably crossing the line.
 

Drenalin

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87jr5t.jpg

You're welcome @robby denning
 

Rich M

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I dropped from 3006 to 243 to 357 mag rifle and also have 350 legend.

Flinch w 3006, don't really trust 243 after I high shoulder shot a big muley and he looked at me, the 357 mag is as good a gun as you need inside 100 yds and the 350 legend was a reflex buy one day when I was mad at the 3006.

Thinking to load some 125 and 135 gr 3006 loads. Have the gun, it is sub MOA rifle, just needs softer recoiling cartridges. Maybe some nerf bullets?
 

Happy Antelope

WKR
Rokslide Sponsor
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I'm the exact opposite, I like the old big stuff with a History. I love the hard to find bullets, the ones used at the turn of the century in Africa and the old west. I would much rather own a .425 Westley Richards, .404, .375 Flanged, .300 H&H or a .275 Rigby than a 6.5 PRC all day. Had someone in Africa once tell me American gun owners are basically buying a hammer vs something personal with History or a piece of art. Most of you are obviously correct though, pretty awesome what they can do with small bullets these days.
 

Wrench

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It was simple for me, I had shoulder surgery 2x that made recoil painful. I parked my 300's and bought an 11lb 6.5 06. I killed some elk with it. They died instantly. I could match velocity with a 308 case to what I was using....so I bought a machine shop and started cranking out rifles and killing critters.....all well before rokslide was even a thought.
 
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It seems to me that the main reason is you lot are getting to shoot more deer than hunters did a generation ago
That inspires confidence
In places like Australia, Africa and New Zealand where we get to kill much more game, hunters have been using small calibers forever with complete success
 
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