Monday, October 23, 2017

The Great Cartridge Debate: .308, .30-’06, 6.5 Creedmoor & More

 

We’re all guilty, each and every one of us, myself included. We’ll be at a summer barbecue, or sharing a beer at the local pub, or sitting around the campfire, and the cartridge debate will begin.

And, once it begins, you’re bound to hear all sorts of boastful claims, insistent arguing points, hand-me-down tales of perfect, flawless performance in the hands of various uncles and grandsires, and all sorts of reasons why any other cartridge than the metallic hero receiving adoration at that moment is a silly, wasteful, childish design. Sometimes you’ll hear – possibly simultaneously, if the crowd is large enough and the tongues are loose – that old cartridge should be put out to pasture, as their time is over, or that anyone using a new-fangled this or that magnum is a damned fool and should stick to the tried-and-true cartridges, like the late Mr. so-and-so did.

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7 comments:

  1. I got a 30-06 deer rifle back when I was in high school in the late 70's. I have made the long shot with it hunting sheep out in west Texas but most of my shots less than 100 yards. I really don't need anything else.

    Then I get the wild hair on an AR build. I put together a mid-range gun in 6.8SPC. It is another option. Then we have the pistol caliber carbines...

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  2. The debate over which cartridge is better is boring. The reason why some of the old school cartridges are as popular as they are is because they work. A deer is just as dead if it shot by an 30-06 as it is by a 6.5 Creedmoor. We would not have had the progress with the newer rounds had it not be for some guy wondering if there is room for improvement. The perfect do-it-all cartridge does not exist. There are always trade offs and compromises to be made and the real world has too many variables. The real value in the cartridge (and gun and every thing else) debate is for the opportunity to learn some thing new and to just maybe recognize our own biases. But debating cartridges is to be preferred over listening to some adult boys bragging or whining about how well "THEIR" team or quarterback did in the last game. Each gun guy is going to have his favorites, so let it be. When in doubt, get both. .308 vs. .03-06 vs. 6.5 Creedmoor: my solution is to get one of each. There problem solved! YMMV.

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    1. . But debating cartridges is to be preferred over listening to some adult boys bragging or whining about how well "THEIR" team or quarterback did in the last game.

      Amen!

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  3. What he said---Ray

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  4. Amateurs debate hardware while the seasoned discuss software.

    -BiblicalViolence

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