Your most usefull chambering?

Linefinder

No questions why. Mine's the 6mm Rem.

Mike

earlyagain

The one Ive used the most in my lifetime is 22lr.. Bar none.

Ive got some comfort from handgun, shotgun, and rifle cartridges during times I would have otherwise felt vulnerable. But Ive never had to actually use them for the purpose the were being put to.

Bigslug

.30-06 & .357 Magnum.

Diver43

.223  Rem and 9mm Par
Can defend and get food

10canyon53

Bigslug said:

.30-06 & .357 Magnum.

There is not much that combination can't do.....except maybe bring home squirrel for dinner.  Wouldn't be much squirrel left to dine on with a hit from either one.

10canyon53

I think if I had to pick only one......12 gauge.  With the  vast selection of load choices available it can be used for anything from home/self defense to bird and squirrel hunting and with the proper load out and short enough range is capable of bringing down any game in North America.  That was reinforced to me yesterday when I used the VEPR to hunt paper targets with slugs.  A projectile the same diameter as your thumb will leave a mark on anything it hits.

Elk creek

Can’t narrow it down too far, that’s why there are so many😉

bullsi1911

22LR

Linefinder

10canyon53 said:

I think if I had to pick only one......12 gauge.  With the  vast selection of load choices available it can be used for anything from home/self defense to bird and squirrel hunting and with the proper load out and short enough range is capable of bringing down any game in North America.  That was reinforced to me yesterday when I used the VEPR to hunt paper targets with slugs.  A projectile the same diameter as your thumb will leave a mark on anything it hits.

Hard to disagree with that. Unless your target's 300 yards away.

Mike

Jayhawker

.223 and .45 ACP...is what I shoot most of nowadays...

10canyon53

Linefinder said:

Hard to disagree with that. Unless your target's 300 yards away.

Mike

If you can't get closer than 300 yards.....stalking ain't your thing.    But then I can't see much past 300 yards anyway.

Linefinder

300 yards in Colorado is close. 

Mike

10canyon53

300 yards in Florida is out of sight.  Might as well be in the next county. 

Zee

10canyon53 said:

Bigslug said:

.30-06 & .357 Magnum.

There is not much that combination can't do.....except maybe bring home squirrel for dinner.  Wouldn't be much squirrel left to dine on with a hit from either one.

I’ve shot squirrels with a .30-06 before. Just shoot them in the head. 

It was a slow day deer hunting. 😒

Zee

.308 Winchester

Next would be .223 Remington. 

I’ve done a lot of things with those two cartridges. 

Diver43

10canyon53 said:

300 yards in Florida is out of sight.  Might as well be in the next county. 

Very TRUE

gator

Guess I will have to go with the 12 ga. or 22lr. Put more meat on the table with those 2 than anything else I own.

Pegasus

.308 Winchester.

.223/5.56 is a distant second


.270 is for losers.  Discuss

ojr

For me in New Zealand, first a  6.5x55 in a modern action, second a 223 with a 1-7 or 8 twist.

Bigslug

10canyon53 said:

Bigslug said:

.30-06 & .357 Magnum.

There is not much that combination can't do.....except maybe bring home squirrel for dinner.  Wouldn't be much squirrel left to dine on with a hit from either one.

.357 is just a .38 Special with an extra 0.10" of brass, so all them super light wadcutter loads - still an option.

The '06 can be dialed waaaaaay back - some guys even tweaking it to shoot a 00 buck pellet with tiny charges.  At least one 'net vid of a single sheet of nitrocellulose magician's flash paper being used as the propellant for such a thing.

I am in the earliest stages of investigating the .375 H&H's qualities in this discussion.  Report to follow soon.

ojr

Well you could include the 9.3x62 in your investigation Bigslug, possibly not the same range and I haven't yet shot a rabbit with mine so not sure of it's meat saving ability on a 5lb animal but it is certainly ok on a fallow deer.

waipapa13

.22 LR, 12 gauge and 38 special. The .38's are Partizan LRN out of a 16" Rossi for pigs.

orchidman

222. Shot everything from mice & rats to wild cattle with it. Close second is the 204 which has taken very small critturs up to a mature red deer......

Freezer

Zee said:

10canyon53 said:

Bigslug said:

.30-06 & .357 Magnum.

There is not much that combination can't do.....except maybe bring home squirrel for dinner.  Wouldn't be much squirrel left to dine on with a hit from either one.

I’ve shot squirrels with a .30-06 before. Just shoot them in the head. 

It was a slow day deer hunting. 😒

There is a technique known as barking. Back in the ML days folks would shoot the limb under the squirrel and the concussion would kill it without destroying the meat. I thought this was hog wash until one day in the woods a squirrel was harassing me and wouldn't stop. I decided to scare him away with a shot from my 357. I took aim at the branch under him and pulled the trigger. I hit right under him,  he jumped to the trunk of the tree stood there 10 seconds them fell over dead! Not mark on him.


Now to answer the question:22lr, 30-06, 44 mag and 12 gauge. Ya just can't play golf with one club.

GunNut

Bigslug said:

10canyon53 said:

Bigslug said:

.30-06 & .357 Magnum.

There is not much that combination can't do.....except maybe bring home squirrel for dinner.  Wouldn't be much squirrel left to dine on with a hit from either one.

.357 is just a .38 Special with an extra 0.10" of brass, so all them super light wadcutter loads - still an option.

The '06 can be dialed waaaaaay back - some guys even tweaking it to shoot a 00 buck pellet with tiny charges.  At least one 'net vid of a single sheet of nitrocellulose magician's flash paper being used as the propellant for such a thing.

I am in the earliest stages of investigating the .375 H&H's qualities in this discussion.  Report to follow soon.

I used to load single lead balls with a small charge of Unique for my Ruger Vaqueros.  It was a hoot, pretty accurate and the kids LOVED shooting the big cowboy guns.  It probably would have been a good small game load.

Gene L

For me, it's the .22 LR.  I download most CF rifles that I can because I don't hunt and don't compete and I dislike recoil, but the most useful CF round is one I don't have to download to enjoy: the .223.

Antonio

.22LR by far.

Here shooting ranges are few and mostly for handgun use; ammo is expensive, usually twice the US price, and since I like to shoot as lot as possible, this round is the most reasonable choice.

JerryBobCo

Most of what I use firearms for is big game hunting, or at least it used to be that way.  I have done quite a bit of hunting for elk, deer and proghorn.  I've sworn off elk hunting simply because it's too damn much work, and quit hunting prairie goats a while back because my wife doesn't like eating or cooking them.  Still, I will make my choice based on game animals ranging in size from antelope to elk.

For that, my 7 mm Remington Magnum is by far the most useful.  I've taken all three of the animals mentioned above with this round.  If I travel anywhere to hunt, I take it.  But, I don't recall the last time I actually shot anything with it.  I think the last time I carried it in the field was 2011, and that was a couple of days AFTER I killed the elk in my avatar with another rifle.  I haul it along as a sure fire backup rifle.

It allows me to use one of my pet rifles, such as .243, .284, ..338x.284 or .358.  I just like using those, but it's nice to know I have good ol' reliable to fall back on if problems arise.

bellcat

22 LR or 12 ga.......or 416 Rigby

Lonewolf-Peru

22 l.r and 9mm

10canyon53

If you are going to bark squirrels with a 416 Rigby you better aim for the next tree over.  Hit the branch under the squirrel and you will launch fuzzy tailed rat goo into low earth orbit. 

But you made me look it up....I think I am in love!  😍

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dp2OfM9C9U