Forgotten Calibers

280 Remington: Man what a fantastic cartridge and it is a shame it is not chambered in many rifles currently. I built a 280 AI for myself after considering going the 280 Remington route, but I would be just as happy with the standard chambering if I had gone down that road.

6mm Remington: Man they got it screwed up when they first came out with the 244 Remington and had a 1-12 twist in the barrels. The 6mm Remington is a better designed case than the beloved 243 Winchester and has better ballistics. It is also as accurate on average or more so. Folks we need to make sure the 6mm Remington is kept alive as it's just too good to die. The 6mm Creedmore does not have any ballistic advantage over the 6mm Remington and the only thing it does have is the barrel twist rate is faster for those long bullets. Twist a 6mm Remington like the 6mm Creedmore and the 6mm Remington will come out ahead!

338-06: It was made legitimate but not enough folks started to chamber for it. Much to good of a cartridge to completely disappear.

These are my picks.
David

I plan to keep the 6mm Remington alive...having a new barrel put on one right now, with a 1-8 twist. Sure would be awesome to see nosler come out with a 105-108 grain accubond.

Hopefully my rifle will be ready to rock this fall.

I've shot a couple dump trucks full of big-game with mine.
 
With 6.5s, magnums and AIs all the rage, I wonder if in 20 years folks will be saying the 7mm08Rem is a forgotten cartridge? I really like mine, but may be a bit of a tweener.
 
Another lover of the 6mm Remington here... my go to for antelope and it stacks em up!
I also carry a 338RCM when elk hunting in the timber. It doesn't kick near as bad as folks think, not much worse than a 308 but man does it have knock down power
 
With 6.5s, magnums and AIs all the rage, I wonder if in 20 years folks will be saying the 7mm08Rem is a forgotten cartridge? I really like mine, but may be a bit of a tweener.

Could very well happen. Magnums and AIs are more being reborn, than becoming a new rage. Both were done, and done frequently, a long long time ago. 6.5’s aren’t that new either. After all, 6.5mm is .256”. There were plenty of 6.5mm wildcats of yore with .256”-.257” grooves.
 
Last edited:
I have and reload for the 225 Win. Down to my last few new cases. It will be wall art soon.

Bill
 
With 6.5s, magnums and AIs all the rage, I wonder if in 20 years folks will be saying the 7mm08Rem is a forgotten cartridge? I really like mine, but may be a bit of a tweener.

Doubtful, lots of people shooting them...they are easy to load for, stingy on powder, low recoil, fun to shoot, short action, light to carry, accurate...and kill way better than one would think.

I think the 7-08 will be around longer than 20 years from now.
 
When I was younger, I really wanted a 224 Weatherby. I didn’t wind up getting one because the 22-250 and 220 Swift were faster and much cheaper. It looks like it has become a forgotten cartridge.
 
Last edited:
I really like the .280 Rem. and have had one since 1996. That caliber just works for me. Sad to say it hasn't been used a lot in the last 7 seasons though, mainly to it having a wooden stock and my living in AK now. Another caliber dying off I always wanted since they released them and finally have one is the .260 Rem. Wit the popularity of the 6.5 Creedmoor, there's lots of new bullets for 6.5 caliber, which I appreciate, but I'm going to have to hand load to use many of the bullets in the .260 Rem.
 
I plan to keep the 6mm Remington alive...having a new barrel put on one right now, with a 1-8 twist. Sure would be awesome to see nosler come out with a 105-108 grain accubond.

Hopefully my rifle will be ready to rock this fall.

I've shot a couple dump trucks full of big-game with mine.
If they'll fit, I'd give the 105gr Scenar or 108gr ELD-M a hard look in that rifle. I'm looking forward to hearing how this turns out for you.
 
How about a 6.5mm Remington Magnum? I have one in a Model 660 from the late 1960's. Shoots great, although its more of a collector item. I have hunted and killed with it though.

Or the 350 Remington Magnum. I have that in a Model 600 with the plastic railroad track going down the barrel! While I despise and detest iron sights, the front on on this gun stays! Its also a killer despite being more of a collector item. It has a small following and I think only Nosler loads factory ammo for it at about $77.00/box.

Ok, last one - 222 Remington (we won't even mention the woebegone 222 magnum). Great cartridge, set a lot of benchrest records, accurate and milder report than many faster ones such as 22-250. But, this has been replaced by the 223 Remington/5.56 mm NATO. I have one of those in a Model 700 BDL that my dad bought in 1966 when I was 12. I still load for it, shoot it and hunt with it a bit.
 
The only gun I have that's suitable for class 2 or 3 game is the obsolescent 300 H&H magnum - granddaddy to almost countless other magnums. Ballistically, it's almost identical to the 300 Win Mag, which won out because it doesn't require a true magnum-length receiver.

Due to the recoil and availability/price of ammo, I'd love to get something smaller for class 2 and keep the H&H for class 3 only, but I've been back and forth about which chambering. The reduced recoil of a short-chamber is appealing - especially as I have a daughter and no plans for a son. A quarter-bore is really what I want, but the only real option is the 25-06 - the 257 Roberts going the way of my H&H maybe due to older chambers that can't handle the +P loads. I'd never heard of the 25 Souper, but it seems like that would be an ideal round for one of the manufactures to standardize - that or revitalize the Bob+P. Especially given the warm reception the 7mm-08 has received from a new (or aged) generation that has no desire to try to control unnecessary '06 or magnum recoil for shots on deer at reasonable distances.

Then again, there's not much separation between a quarter-bore and the offerings at .264/6.5. Maybe I need to just put on a tweed coat and felt hat and buy a 6.5 Swede or 260 Rem or grow a man-bun and buy a 6.5 CM.
 
Its all about marketing today, in the past gun writers would make or break a cartridge. Look at some fantastic cartridges that never took off, either because of poor gun writer reviews or they weren't loaded the way they should have been. Some Remington examples were the 6mm 6.5mm and 8mm. All great rounds, but at that time metric cartridges weren't popular. 350 Remington was another. Today speed is all the rave.

And honestly barrel burners are never an issue for the average hunter. Say throat will be toast in 1,000 rounds. The average hunter is going to shoot maybe 100 times the first year with break in and finding a load. Then 20 rounds a year or less after that. That rifle will last them a lifetime.
 
Back
Top