So, I recently was in the market for a new rifle. It was supposed to be my buy once cry once use it for the next 10 years kind of rifle and I was dead set on going with a 300 WSM. And then it hit me, the ammo costs are significantly higher and options are significantly lower for these newer rounds vs the tried and true and I really wouldn't really be gaining much in my case. I think I read/heard somewhere that .30-06 only accounts for ~3% of rifle sales now.......
So, if you're part of the masses switching to the new flavor of the month of PRS, WSM, AI, creedmore, why? Are you in the boat of better ballistics means everything? Is it because of marketing? If you have switched, do you still practice a lot and just increased ammo budgets? Also, for those that are much older than me. Doesn't it feel like these new cartridges are being adopted and pushed super fast? I think I've been into guns for just under a decade but even I can remember the 6.8 spc coming and going as well as 224 valkery, SAUM's etc.
My personal situation: I jumped on the 6.5 creed train after it was the same price as .308 and wont be jumping on any new calibers until ammo situation chills out. I ended up getting a .30-06 this time around because I already have another. I also felt like it has plenty of power for my hunting distances without stepping up to magnum recoils and costs where as the 6.5 creeds and .308's that I have are questionable for hunting elk depending upon distance and bullet type. In effect, its a great middle ground IMO. Lastly, even though I was dead set on 300 wsm and then 7 prc and then 7 rem mag, etc, etc. I ended up realizing that you can still get a ton of decent .30-06 loads for relatively cheap and keep trying different types until you find one your gun likes. My buddies that have newer PRC's have double the cost per box comparing low end to low end and only have a couple of options. Plus, I can reload mine cheaply. Also, even though there guns are better balistically, they still have to hold over for wind and drop just like I do and if i can afford 2x as much ammo as them then i should be mutch better practiced at judging situations. Granted, some of them are the kind of hunters that shoot one or two boxes a year to sight in and call it good where as I'm buying my rifle for next year right now so I can practice year round. Anyway, my personal rambling over. I'm genuinely curious why people are flocking to the new stuff and adopting it so quickly even though it seems like the gains are real but marginal and the costs are high. Who knows, maybe in 10 years you'll see me here again asking why I didn't switch to the new stuff sooner and complaining about not being able to find ammo lol.
Hopefully this doesn't turn into a giant argument that I regret posting lol.
So, if you're part of the masses switching to the new flavor of the month of PRS, WSM, AI, creedmore, why? Are you in the boat of better ballistics means everything? Is it because of marketing? If you have switched, do you still practice a lot and just increased ammo budgets? Also, for those that are much older than me. Doesn't it feel like these new cartridges are being adopted and pushed super fast? I think I've been into guns for just under a decade but even I can remember the 6.8 spc coming and going as well as 224 valkery, SAUM's etc.
My personal situation: I jumped on the 6.5 creed train after it was the same price as .308 and wont be jumping on any new calibers until ammo situation chills out. I ended up getting a .30-06 this time around because I already have another. I also felt like it has plenty of power for my hunting distances without stepping up to magnum recoils and costs where as the 6.5 creeds and .308's that I have are questionable for hunting elk depending upon distance and bullet type. In effect, its a great middle ground IMO. Lastly, even though I was dead set on 300 wsm and then 7 prc and then 7 rem mag, etc, etc. I ended up realizing that you can still get a ton of decent .30-06 loads for relatively cheap and keep trying different types until you find one your gun likes. My buddies that have newer PRC's have double the cost per box comparing low end to low end and only have a couple of options. Plus, I can reload mine cheaply. Also, even though there guns are better balistically, they still have to hold over for wind and drop just like I do and if i can afford 2x as much ammo as them then i should be mutch better practiced at judging situations. Granted, some of them are the kind of hunters that shoot one or two boxes a year to sight in and call it good where as I'm buying my rifle for next year right now so I can practice year round. Anyway, my personal rambling over. I'm genuinely curious why people are flocking to the new stuff and adopting it so quickly even though it seems like the gains are real but marginal and the costs are high. Who knows, maybe in 10 years you'll see me here again asking why I didn't switch to the new stuff sooner and complaining about not being able to find ammo lol.
Hopefully this doesn't turn into a giant argument that I regret posting lol.
