THE UNLOVED .25s

By

Craig Boddington

Yes, that title will upset some folks. Funny thing about the .25-caliber cartridges, bullet diameter .257-inch: Those who love ‘em tend to be passionate about their “quarter-bores.”. Those who don’t love .25s probably don’t hate them, just ignore them.

This big feral hog dropped in its tracks to a single 100-grain Interlock from a Savage 1899 in .250 Savage. The old .250 Savage isn’t fast, but it’s as effective on deer-sized game today as it was a century ago.

The .25-caliber is a uniquely American bullet diameter, rarely seen in Europe, equally uncommon in Africa. I’m told the .25-06 has some following in South Africa, but I’ve rarely seen a .25 in use on safari.

Over here, the quarter-bores have a rich history, going back to the dawn of smokeless powder. The .25-20 was created by necking down the .32-20 case to .25-caliber, first by Marlin, then by Winchester, and chambered in their popular 1892 lever-action. Initially loaded with blackpowder, the .25-20 quickly transitioned to smokeless. Although occasionally used for deer, the little .25-20 was a common small game and varmint cartridge, popular among trappers.

On a Kansas deer stand with a Winchester M94 .25-35, made in 1906. Because of iron sights, Boddington is careful which stands he chooses, but he does a “sit” or two with this rifle most deer seasons.

Winchester’s .25-35 was the first .25 designed for smokeless powder. The .25-35 and .30-30 use the parent same case, and were introduced together in 1895, so were the first sporting cartridges designed for smokeless propellent. Although hampered by round-nose bullets in tubular magazines, the .25-35 shoots flatter than the .30-30 with a less recoil. The .25-35 was a common alternative to .30-30, plenty of gun for deer-sized game. Jack O’Connor’s outfitter in Sonora in the 1930s, Charlie Ren, used nothing but a Savage 1899 in .25-35. O’Connor famously quoted Ren as saying it was “all he needed.” Lord knows how much game that rifle accounted for.

In 1915, Arthur Savage engaged early cartridge genius Charles Newton to develop a high-velocity cartridge for his lever-action. Newton’s project for Savage resulted in the .250-3000 (.250 Savage), the first commercial cartridge to break 3000 feet per second. The Savage lever-action was stronger than the Winchester, and its box magazine could use sharp-pointed bullets. The .250 Savage was popular for decades…and a real thorn in Winchester’s side.

Gunwriter Gary Sitton was another huge .25-06 fan. He used his Dakota M10 .25-06 to take this fine buck on John Wootters’ South Texas ranch, “Los Cuernos.”

In 1920, Savage introduced the M20. Essentially a scaled-down Springfield action, it was not only America’s first commercial bolt-action; it was the world’s first short bolt-action, sized specifically to the .250 Savage case. In our Kansas deer season just past, Ryan Paul brought a cherry M20 and shot does with it, first M20 I’ve ever seen in the field.

The only way the .250 Savage could reach 3000 fps was with its original light-for-caliber 87-grain bullet. 1915 expanding bullets worked when they worked, but most hunters learned that the .250 Savage performed better with 100-grain bullets at about 2800 fps.

Wyoming gunwriter Bob Milek in the field with one of his beloved .25s. Milek used both the .257 Roberts and .25-06 for game up to elk. Boddington doesn’t believe the .25’s have enough bullet weight or frontal area for larger game, but with proper shot placement, they surely work.

Gunwriter Ned Roberts necked the 7×57 case down to .25-caliber, creating the .257 Roberts, adopted by Remington in 1934. Its longer case enabled heavier bullets at higher velocity than possible with the .250 Savage. Until the .243 came along, the .257 Roberts was the standard “crossover” varmint/big game cartridge. Although rarely chambered in new rifles today, it was extremely popular, and remains an important cartridge.

The .25-06 was developed at Frankford Arsenal during WWI as a military experiment. After the war, it remained a common and popular non-standard wildcat. Amazing to me none of the majors picked it up sooner, but it wasn’t adopted as a commercial cartridge until 1969, as the .25-06 Remington. To this day, the .25-06 is the most popular .25-caliber. With heavier bullets, it is fast, flat-shooting, powerful, and awesome on deer-sized game. With lighter bullets, the .25-06 is probably the largest and most powerful cartridge that could sensibly be used for varminting.

Boddington used his Dakota .257 Roberts with 117-grain SST to take this weird Kansas “management” buck. The buck went down so fast and hard it seemed to bounce.

The .257 Weatherby Magnum was one of Roy Weatherby’s original cartridges, introduced in 1944, based on a necked down and shortened .300 H&H case. It is one of the fastest and flattest-shooting of all commercial cartridges and was Roy’s personal favorite. It’s not especially popular; a limitation is that it has remained a Weatherby proprietary, thus limited sources.

In recent years there have been few new .25-caliber cartridges. An exception was the short-lived .25 WSSM. Great little fireplug of a cartridge, about the same performance as the .25-06, yet from a much shorter case, fitting into short actions. Several of the short, fat magnums introduced at the turn of the millennium have fallen by the wayside. Mostly, I put this down to “too many, too fast.” Too many new cartridges for the market (us) to accept. The “super short” magnums were so short that feeding problems occurred in some platforms.

For the record, I’m not a huge .25-caliber fan but I neither hate them nor ignore them. I have a long history with .25s. In the early ‘70s, on a cougar hunt, the houndsman handed me a Colt Lightning slide-action .25-20. Since then, I’ve hunted with all of them, even tried the .25 WSSM when it was new. I had a super-accurate .25-06, used it a lot, have had a couple of .257 Weatherby Magnums. As a lever-action buff, I’ve had a succession of .250 Savage rifles, have a good one now, made in 1920. Also have a 1906 M94 in .25-35. My current favorite .25, however, is a Dakota M76 in .257 Roberts, accurate and sweet-shooting.

This blacktail was taken with a .257 Weatherby Magnum. By far the fastest commercial .25-caliber, the .257 Wby shoots flat and hits hard.

I admit that I’m not passionate about .25s, but friends that I’ve respected have been. Great gunwriter, friend, and mentor Bob Milek was a quarter-bore guy. He loved the .257 Roberts and .25-06 equally. Gary Sitton, one of our greatest gunwriting talents, was also a .25-06 guy. My longtime boss at Petersen’s HUNTING, Ken Elliott, was a .257 Weatherby Magnum guy, thought it was the cat’s pajamas. So did Robert E. “Pete” Petersen, founder of Petersen Publishing. Sadly, all these guys are gone. Scott Rupp, one of the best Editors I currently work for, is still with us. He’s a quarter-bore guy.

Tastes in cartridges are often somewhat reginal. Usually, this is driven by game hunted, and by local hunting conditions. Texas is the great stronghold of the .25-06. Hard to find a Texas deer camp where somebody isn’t toting a .25-06. Medium-sized deer, shots often on the longer side. More than that: A common landform there is long, open cuts between brushlines, the famous Texas senderos. Here’s the thing about hunting a sendero: They’re narrow with few reference points. When a buck steps out he may not stop for long. No time to mess with a rangefinder, quick look at antlers and shoot. A flat-shooting .25 is a near-perfect choice.

In 2023, Ryan Paul brought a Savage M20 to Kansas, first time Boddington has seen an M20 in the field. An aperture-sight rifle, Paul used it to take does, using a scoped rifle for his buck.

In Central California, we hunt small-bodied blacktail deer. The .25-06 is popular here today, but, historically, I think the .250 Savage was a top gun. I say this because, for years, it was easy to find Savage 99s in .250 on almost any used-gun rack. In the .250 Savage’s heyday, we didn’t yet have feral hogs, and in our tight canyons, shots on our blacktails are rarely long. The .250 Savage was an ideal choice.

For me, the .25s are excellent for pronghorns and deer-sized game, questionable for larger game. Others disagree. Bob Milek used his .257 Roberts or .25-06 for elk almost every year. Milek was a Wyoming resident, usually looking for a fat cow or young bull for the freezer, rarely seeking (or taking) mature bulls. In that context, fine. For all-around elk hunting, I draw the line. Can work just fine, with caution, but I don’t think the .25s offer either the bullet weight or frontal area for general use on game larger than deer.

A nice Central Coast blacktail, taken with a .25-06 on a Ruger M77 action. Accurate and flat-shooting, the .25-06 is the most popular .25-caliber cartridge, a great choice for deer-sized game.

If there’s a fly in the .25-caliber ointment, it’s a bullet problem. Like our traditional .270 cartridges, the .25s have always been considered hunting cartridges. Historically, there have been almost no match-grade bullets or loads in .25-caliber. Today, with the rage for range, little development of modern, low-drag .257 projectiles. As with older .270s, part of this is a rifling twist issue. Since the 1920s, standard rifling twist for .25-caliber cartridges has been 1:10, stabilizing bullets from about 70 to 120 grains. Maximum G1 Ballistic Coefficient (BC) for the most aerodynamic 120-grain .257 bullets is about .400. Not bad, but not in the same league as the modern low-drag bullets with BCs well over .600.

We need longer, heavier .257 bullets to get there, but our 1:10 barrels won’t stabilize them, and many of the actions on our .25-caliber rifles won’t house them. There are some options out there. Berger makes a 133-grain .257 bullet, and Hornady has a new 134-grain .257 ELD-Match with G1 BC of .645. Undoubtedly, these choices will grow. However, none of my .25s will stabilize these bullets. I’m not interested in rebarreling. Same story as my pet .270 Winchesters regarding the new, heavier .277 bullets.

Two different approaches to varmint rifles. Left, a Savage .22-250. Right, a .25-06 on a Ruger M77 action, both with adequate accuracy for any varminting. Boddington believes the .25-06 is the most powerful cartridge that makes sense for varminting.

Doesn’t matter to me. I’m not an extreme-range guy. My .25s shoot well enough and flat enough for my purposes. Happy to keep them in their box as awesome, light-recoiling choices for deer-sized game, at shooting distances I’m comfortable with.

.338: AMERICA’S BIG MEDIUM BORE

By


Craig Boddington

In America, above .30-caliber, cartridge popularity drops like a thrown rock. This is as it should be. Little on this continent that can’t be done with a .30-caliber and good bullets. Millions of American deer hunters don’t even need a .30, filling their freezers and trophy walls just fine with lighter calibers.

Boddington and Jack Atcheson Jr. with a Montana mule deer taken with a .338 Win Mag. Atcheson is a huge .338 fan, rarely using any other cartridge…anywhere. For deer-sized game, Boddington usually uses lighter cartridges. But, as Atcheson says, the .338 “numbs them.”

Still, we do have larger game: Elk, moose, the big bears. Hunters who pursue them—and those who dream of such hunts—love to argue around the campfire about the best and most perfect cartridges. Calibers and cartridge choices are legion. I’ve had long affairs with 8mms, diameter .323. Few cartridges and, ultimately, not enough bullets. Friend and mentor Colonel Charles Askins was the ultimate 8mm guru. Askins begged for a 250-grain 8mm bullet, but 220 grains has been the limit. Whether .325 WSM, 8mm Remington Magnum (or one of Askins’ myriad 8mm wildcats), a fast 8mm with 220-grain bullet is a wonderful thumper on elk. However, in my opinion, available bullets aren’t heavy enough for the largest bears.

Pound for pound, Boddington doesn’t believe moose are as tough as elk, but moose are much bigger. This bullet was taken at about 300 yards with a .338 RUM, firing 250-grain Swift A-Frame.

I also love the .35s. There are bunches of older .35s: .35 Remington; .348, .358, .356 Winchester. Also new: .350 Legend and .360 Buckhammer. Great for black bears and feral hogs, but either marginal in power for larger game, or not enough velocity for versatility in open country. The .35 Whelen and .350 Rem Mag are almost there in both power and velocity. Wonderful for elk and moose, just a bit on the mild side for anything bigger. Oddly, there have been almost no fast .35s. The .358 Norma Magnum is rare; the .358 Alaskan (7mm STW necked up) never made it into factory form.

In October ’23 Boddington used a .338 Win Mag barrel on his Blaser R8 on a brown bear hunt on the Alaska Peninsula. Didn’t get a bear, but he was ready.

Tough to make a case for bigger. The 9.3mms (.366-inch) are popular in Europe, used for driven boar, also by Africa-bound Europeans as alternative to .375. The two most popular—the rimless 9.3×62 in bolt-actions and rimmed 9.3x74R in single-shots and doubles—are just slightly less powerful than the .375 H&H, so plenty for North America’s largest game…but maybe don’t shoot as flat as optimum for our conditions. The faster .370 Sako and 9.3×64 Brenneke are similar to the .375 H&H in bullet weight, velocity, energy, and trajectory. Like the .375s themselves, this means they are overpowered for almost everything in North America except our biggest bears.

I’ve used various 9.3s on African buffalo, and in North America for hogs and black bear. Over here, I’ve used .375s for elk and moose, and for big bears. Awesomely effective…but more powerful than absolutely necessary. Truth is, for North American hunters on home turf, there’s little justification for a 9.3mm, .375, or larger. Fun to own, limited utility.

Left to right .325 WSM, .8mm Rem Mag, .338 Win Mag, .338 RUM, .340 Wby Mag. As a group, the “medium magnums” are extremely effective on game larger than deer. Boddington has hunted with all these and more but believes the .338 Win Mag is the most useful: Fast enough, without excessive recoil, and available in the greatest variety of loads.

If you’re looking for a cartridge with more knockdown power for North America’s large—and largest—game, it seems to me the caliber to pick is .338. Bullet selection is rich, standard at about 180 to 250 grains. There are numerous good cartridges using this bullet diameter at various velocity levels, including: .338 Federal, .338 Marlin Express, .338-06, .338 Ruger Compact Magnum (RCM), .338 Weatherby Rebated Precision Magnum (RPM) .338 Winchester Magnum, .340 Weatherby Magnum, .338 Remington Ultra Magnum (RUM), .338 Lapua Magnum, and .338-378 Weatherby.

All are adequate for elk and moose, and all are fast enough for at least medium ranges. However, if we include the biggest bears—and want the utmost in versatility—then we probably want a cartridge with enough case capacity to propel heavy bullets at meaningful velocity. I think the place to start is in the middle of that cartridge list, with the .338 Winchester Magnum.

Boddington has found most .338s to be accurate and non-finicky. His .338 Win Mag barrel for the Blaser R8 is simply amazing, producing sub-MOA groups with 250-grain bullets

 Winchester started their line of .30-06-length belted magnums in 1956 with the .458. In 1958 the family grew with two new cartridges in versions of their beloved Model 70 bolt-action: The .264 Win Mag in the “Westerner;” the .338 Win Mag in the “Alaskan.” The .338 Win Mag was intended for the largest Alaskan game, which includes elk, moose, and our biggest bears. Most common factory loads are 200, 225, and 250-grain bullets. Respectively, velocities are around 2950, 2800, and 2650 fps, all producing about 3900 ft-lbs of energy.

.33-caliber has deeper roots among British cartridges. The .333 Jeffery, available in both rimless and rimmed (.333 Flanged) versions, was loaded with 250 and 300-grain bullets. The .318 Westley Richards was more popular. Its designation comes from the inconsistent British convention of naming cartridges by the smaller land vice groove diameter: The .318 uses a .330-inch bullet, so also a .33. In the days before caliber minimums were instituted, both the .333 Jeffery and the .318 WR were used to take game up to elephant (with non-expanding solids). WDM “Karamoja” Bell, best known for preferring the .275 Rigby (7×57), wrote that his largest one-day bag of elephants was taken with a .318, using 250-grain solids.

PH Cliff Walker and Boddington with a Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, taken with a .338 RUM. Although not especially common in Africa, all the faster .338 cartridges are adequate for the full run of large African antelopes.

Gunwriter Elmer Keith (1899-1984) hailed from Idaho and hunted elk in black timber. He became a lifelong believer in larger calibers with long, heavy bullets. Working with Charles O’Neil and Don Hopkins, he used the .30-06 case and .333 Jeffery bullets to create the wildcat .333 OKH.

Winchester’s .338 used a literal .338-inch bullet. In 1902 Winchester introduced the .33 Winchester in their M1886 lever-action, using a 200-grain .338-inch bullet at 2200 fps. The .33 predated the British cartridges, but why Winchester chose the .338-inch diameter isn’t known. Although Winchester quit loading .33 Win in 1940, it’s natural that Winchester used the same diameter for their .338 Win Mag. All “.33s” that have followed, including Elmer Keith’s later wildcats, use .338-inch bullets.         

The .264 and .338 Winchester Magnums were introduced together in 1958. The .264 debuted in a version of the Winchester Model 70 called “Westerner;” the .338 was brought out in an M70 dubbed “Alaskan.”

Like most new cartridges, the .338 got a lot of buzz, but initial sales were slow. Probably because the word spread about sharp recoil. Duh! Although the lighter bullets kick less, you cannot produce nearly 4000 ft-lbs of energy without recoil, and not everyone needs this level of power. Over time, those who do discovered the .338 is wonderfully effective on large game. Lighter cartridges work fine on elk, but elk are tough, and many hunters want more. The .338 has become a standard “big gun” for elk, excellent for moose, and a sensible, fully adequate minimum for our largest bears.

Although lighter cartridges certainly work, Boddington believes the several .33-caliber cartridges are ideal for elk. This Roosevelt elk was taken with a .338 Win Mag using a 210-grain Nosler Partition.

Let’s go back to that list of current .33-caliber cartridges. The .338 RCM and Weatherby’s new .338 RPM are ballistically about the same as the .338 Win Mag, with more modern case design: The short, fat, unbelted RCM is a short-action cartridge; the RPM is unbelted. Despite its out-of-fashion belted case, the primary advantage of the .338 Win Mag is its greater popularity, offering a wider selection of loads from more manufacturers.

The last four cartridges on that list–.340 Wby Mag, .338 RUM, .338 Lapua, and .338-.378 Wby Mag—all have greater case capacity and are considerably faster than the .338 Win Mag. Energy yields approach or exceed 5000 ft-lbs.  Trajectories are flatter, thus extending effective range. These are valuable attributes, but it depends on what you need, and how much recoil you’re comfortable with. I haven’t spent much time with either the .338 Lapua or .338-.378 Wby Mag…and probably won’t. I used the .338 RUM when it was new, also did a lot of hunting with the .340 Wby Mag. Both were wonderfully effective, hard-hitting and flat shooting.

Donna Boddington used a Proof Research .338 Win Mag and a single 225-grain InterBond to take this big Alaskan brown bear on Admiralty Island.

I took the .340 to Africa a couple of times. I’m not especially sensitive to recoil, but that’s where I learned my limit. In the context of shooting plains game almost daily, I decided the .340 was more fun than needed. I circled back to the .338 Win Mag. It kicks, but I’m comfortable with that level of recoil. The faster .33s come back a bit too hard and too fast for my taste, especially on a sustained basis. Like everything else, they can be tamed with muzzle brakes. I prefer not to use brakes because of the blast and, anyway, I’m not an extreme-range shooter on game. The .338 Win Mag shoots flat enough for my purposes, with acceptable recoil.

A good black bear from southeast Alaska, taken with a Proof Research .338 Win Mag. There are many great cartridges for black bear, but the .338 is adequate for the largest bears that walk.

My old friend Jack Atcheson Jr. is a major .338 fan. Great sheep hunter and Montana elk hunter, he uses almost nothing else…all over the world. On deer-sized game the fast .33s speak with authority, but they are needlessly powerful. Trajectories are flat enough for great versatility, but I prefer lighter, faster cartridges for mountain game. For me, the .33s are fantastic for elk and moose, devastatingly effective on our largest black bears, and fully adequate for the largest bears. Perhaps oddly, I’ve used the .338 relatively little in Africa. Not sure why. It is unquestionably fully adequate for the full run of large plains game. I’ve often stated that a .338 matched up with a .416 makes the most perfect African battery.

For big bears, moose, and in Africa, I’ve usually loaded up with 250-grain bullets. It’s important to understand that the 250-grain .338 bullet has slightly higher Sectional Density (SD) than 300-grain .375 or 400-grain .416 bullets. So, if construction and velocity are similar, it will penetrate at least as well as these famous bullets. For elk and smaller game, I usually use lighter bullets from 200 to 225 grains, increasing velocity, flattening trajectory, and reducing recoil. Not everyone needs a .338, but if you want more power for larger game, I’m convinced a fast .33 is the way to go.

WHY HANDLOAD?

By

Craig Boddington

Like most kids, my first shooting was with a single-shot .22, but, absent a modern Kansas deer season, we were shotgunners, no need for centerfire rifles. Couple hundred miles southeast, Warsaw, Missouri, had a sign proclaiming it “Gunstock Capitol of the World,” home to both the E.C. Bishop and Reinhart Fajen gunstock companies. There, my Dad’s friend Jack Pohl, owner of Bishop’s, was an avid benchrest shooter, big-game hunter, and handloader.

As a youngster, Boddington did almost all of his hunting with handloads, secure in the belief he could build a better cartridge than he could buy. His first “good” mule deer was taken in 1978 with a Ruger .30-06 using 180-grain Nosler Partition and a near-max charge of IMR 4350. The shot was about 450 yards, a very long poke back then.

Mr. Pohl was enlisted to introduce us to the centerfire rifle world. I was probably 12. The deal: He’d take us to the range, and woodchuck shooting. As a graduation exercise, we’d join him on a pronghorn and deer hunt in Wyoming. Big stuff! First, I had to learn how to handload. We started on his bench, then got a basic setup in our basement. Dad knew how to supervise his young son, but I did all the loading. I loved it, spent countless hours with that green RCBS press. Sixty years later, it’s not my only press, but I still use it.

Back then, there were two primary rationales for handloading. First, save money. Second, more important: It was an article of faith that you could load better ammo than you could buy.

Going back 60 years, Boddington has spent countless enjoyable hours at the loading bench. This is his new bench with new Hornady tools, but he still has—and uses—a lot of the reloading equipment he’s had since he was a teenager.

Today, both arguments hold less water. Ammo was cheaper back then, so were the basic tools and components. Even then, you had to do a lot of shooting to amortize the equipment. Of course, handloading drives you to shoot more, not a bad thing. You must try this load and that and keep searching for a better combination.

Today, I’m shocked at the cost of factory ammo. However, reloading components and equipment have also gone up (like everything else). Buying in bulk, especially powder and primers, reduces the per-cartridge cost. Still, it takes a lot more shooting to break even.

This is Boddington’s lifetime-best group, .052-inch with an 8mm Remington Magnum and a carefully-worked up handload. Groups like this are uncommon with anything, but most attainable through careful, precise handloading.

I started handloading in the Sixties. By the Nineties, factory ammo was so good, and so varied, that it was no longer a given it could be beat…depending on your purpose, and how serious you are. For ultimate accuracy, such as benchrest, long-range, and precision shooting, carefully concocted handloads usually win.

No matter how good, any factory load is just one assemblage of the four components: Case, primer, propellent, projectile. Changing any of them can make a difference in any rifle. In handloading, you can vary all of them, almost endlessly. Different brands and strengths of primers. Even cases vary among the brands. When I was young, our primary choices in bullets were Hornady, Nosler, Sierra, and Speer. More brands today, more weights and shapes. Back then, we might have had two dozen propellants to choose from, including pistol, rifle, and shotgun powders. Today, into the hundreds, new ones all the time.

The .348 Winchester is one of Boddington’s favorites. Into the 1980s, components were relatively available with multiple choices. Today both ammo and .348-inch bullets are scarce; handloading is the only sensible option for uncommon cartridges.

I’ve always been a lazy handloader. My searches for perfect loads have rarely been exhaustive. I tend to use the cases I have (and, today, the primers I can get), and there are plenty of bullets and powders I’ve never tried. Still, I work up loads for my rifles. I experiment with different powders and bullets, varying charge weight and seating depth. As good as factory ammo is today, I can usually build a more accurate load than I can buy…if I care to try.

I don’t always try. Maximum accuracy isn’t always essential. I’m not a competitor, mostly a hunter, and some of my rifles, older lever-actions and double rifles, are specialized in purpose and limited in range. I can beat factory loads, but not by enough to increase performance.

This Uganda buffalo was taken with a .470 made in 1906, firing a handloaded 500-grain Hornady DGX-Bonded. Since volume is low, factory ammo is currently scarce for most big-bore cartridges.

By the Nineties, factory ammo had gotten so good, and the choices so varied, that I wasn’t loading much anymore. A few years later, not at all. For some years my loading gear was boxed up. Thank God, I kept it!

I restarted mostly because I missed my time at the bench. Cost and performance aside, my single greatest reason for handloading: It’s fun! It is a mindless exercise, except you must stay focused. Do that, inspect constantly, use common sense (and loading manuals), and you can’t get into too much trouble. The results are wonderfully satisfying. I get a huge kick out of shooting a nice, tight group. Even better when it’s a load I cooked up. As a hunter, I still get the same old thrill from taking an animal. Rifles matter to me, so it’s better with a special rifle. Better still with a load I’ve worked up for that rifle and hunt.

Son-in-law Brad Jannenga used Boddington’s Savage 99 in .300 Savage with handloaded Swift Scirocco to take this big Axis buck. Tens of thousands of .300 Savage rifles are still in use…but the majors haven’t done runs of ammo in several years. Handloading is the best answer for many older cartridges.

As we know, things have changed. I didn’t foresee the late-teens ammo shortages, and for sure I didn’t anticipate that nasty little virus. My loading bench kept me sane through the pandemic…and still keeps me in business. Supplies are getting better, but still aren’t right. I’ve been out of standard large rifle primers for months, using magnum primers and dropping the load a wee bit. For sure I can’t always find the exact bullet or propellent I want.

Fortunately, there are lots of choices, usually something out there will work. Just the other day, I shopped this site, found two of three propellant I needed (not bad), and bullets I’d been looking for. Things are getting better…depending on what you shoot. On the shortages: I am not a conspiracy theorist. I put it down to increased demand. Millions of new shooters buying ammo, and that’s a good thing. Also, panic buying and hoarding. I believe the ammo makers are doing their best to catch up. However, it costs gazillions and takes time to gear up for unprecedented demand. This must be done with caution…because peak demand has already subsided.

Boddington isn’t a blackpowder guy but needed to work up loads for his son-in-law’s .500 Black Powder Express, made in 1885. This hog was taken with a 440-grain Hawk bullet with smokeless equivalent load…and lots of Dacron pillow stuffing to keep the powder down on the primer.

The biggest problem for many of us: The catchup process has focused on cartridges with the highest demand and deepest backorders. Outlets are awash in .223, 6.5 Creedmoor, and .308 ammo. I shoot them, but I also shoot older cartridges. Plenty rifles still out there, but factory ammo is scarce because the majors haven’t done runs in years: .250 and .300 Savage, .257 Roberts, .303 British, .348 Winchester.

Handloading has been my salvation. I also use several large-caliber cartridges: .405 Winchester, .450/.400-3”, .450 and .470 Nitro Express. Now we’re down to limited suppliers…and few or no recent runs. PHs all over Africa are dying for ammo (almost literally). So am I. I have great faith in my handloads, no qualms about hunting with them. Except, on dangerous game I prefer to use fresh factory ammo. If something bad happens, just as soon the post-mortem does not suggest it was my handload’s fault. In ’21 I wanted to use a new-to-me but very old .470 on a buffalo hunt in Uganda. Couldn’t find any fresh .470 factory ammo to save my soul. No problem, I’ve had dies since 1980. Getting a double rifle’s barrels to shoot together can be tricky. Got lucky, this rifle responded to a standard recipe. Took two nice bulls with my handloads, great performance and extra fun.

With double rifles, the challenge is getting the barrels to group together. This 1895 double in .303 British has been a treat. Regulated with 215-grain bullets, it also prints well with lighter bullets at the same velocity. These pairs represent changes in sight elevation.

As a lazy handloader, I’ve generally resisted complex projects. This is my primary reason for avoiding wildcat or non-standard cartridges. Slothfulness aside, I think we have enough standard factory cartridges to choose from. However, with shortages and interrupted supplies, sometimes handloading is the only solution. Gotta have dies, but even with non-standard cartridges, custom dies can be made (extra-simple if you have fired cases from the chamber)

Again, I try to stay out of this game, but recently I’ve had some unusual handloading projects. I bought a .50-115 Sharps from a dying friend. No factory ammo for that one, but the rifle came with cases, dies, and a bullet mold. That one has been fun. I’m not a blackpowder guy, nor a cast bullet guy, but it shoots well with a 515-grain cast bullet and Tin Star, a blackpowder-equivalent propellent that I’d never even heard of before.

The .348 Winchester is one of Boddington’s favorites. Into the 1980s, components were relatively available with multiple choices. Today both ammo and .348-inch bullets are scarce; handloading is the only sensible option for uncommon cartridges.

Although scarce today, the .303 British isn’t rare. My rifle is a very old double, regulated for the old 215-grain bullets. Woodleigh in Australia still made them, but their factory had a major fire. I found a supply, am hoarding them. Took some work, but I have loads that regulate well with 150 and 174-grain Hornady as well as the 215-grain Woodleigh. In May, I shot a nice Alberta black bear with the old double and 215-grain handloads. Awesome penetration, sort of double the fun!

A nice Alberta bear, taken with double in .303 British, firing a handloaded 215-grain Woodleigh. This was the original .303 bullet weight, so this hundred-year-old rifle was regulated with that bullet weight.

The biggest recent project: My son-in-law bought an 1885 exposed hammer double in .500 Black Powder Express (BPE). Of course, no ammo, but there are bullets, and case dimensions are the same as for .500 Nitro Express. This one has been a nightmare, but we’ve got both barrels shooting together with a mild charge of smokeless IMR 4198 and about 15 grains of Dacron pillow stuffing on top of the powder. Between poor light and my fading eyes, it took several outings, but I finally pounded a wild hog with it. If there’s an ammo problem, handloading can almost always solve it…and it’s fun!

DON’T OVERLOOK THE ‘06

By

Craig Boddington

A writer friend was in black bear camp this past spring, shooting a .30-06. At the sight-in range, younger hunters gathered to admire his rifle. They’d heard of the .30-06…insisted they’d never seen one.

By about 1930 the .30-06 reigned as America’s most popular hunting cartridge, holding this position for at least 40 years. Times change, but I’m shocked there are grownup hunters who have never seen or given passing consideration to the .30-06.

46 years after his first safari, Boddington still believes the .30-06 is among the best and most versatile choices for Africa’s non-dangerous game. This fine waterbuck was taken in 2019, using a left-hand Ruger M77 with 180-grain Hornady Interlock.

In 1903 the United States military adopted the Springfield bolt-action rifle, mated with a rimless bottleneck cartridge firing a .30-caliber (.308-inch bullet). Rifle and cartridge were so close to Peter Paul Mauser’s designs that Uncle Sam paid Mauser a royalty until WWI. The original 1903 cartridge used a 220-grain round-nose bullet. In 1906 the case was modified slightly, the bullet changed to a lighter spitzer with greatly improved aerodynamics. The new cartridge was called “Caliber .30 US Government Model of 1906.” We soon shortened that to .30-06.

The first sporting use of the .30-06 doesn’t seem recorded. Well-known is that Theodore Roosevelt swore by his Springfield throughout his epic nine-month 1909 safari. At that time the lever-action was America’s most popular sporting rifle. There were no domestic civilian bolt-actions at all until 1920.

.30-06 velocities vary considerably among manufacturers. With 165-grain bullet, Hornady’s Superformance load yielded 3016 fps…that’s edging into .300 magnum velocity.

The Savage M20 was America’s first bolt-action sporter, Sort of a mini-Springfield, it was sized for the short .250 and .300 Savage cartridges and could not house the .30-06. The first American sporter that could was Remington’s M30 in 1921, based on the big 1917 US Enfield action. Winchester followed in 1925 with the M54, forerunner to the M70 (1936).

Shortage of commercial rifles didn’t deter the .30-06. Surplus US Enfields and Springfields were cheap and available. The supply from both world wars lasted through the Sixties. My own first centerfire, purchased in 1964, was a surplus ‘03 Springfield. I think it cost $39.95. I didn’t hunt with it until years later, but I shot it a lot, and lovingly “sporterized” it.

We hear about new cartridges being inherently accurate, but don’t sell the ’06 short. This lightweight Kimber Terminal Ascent produced sub-MOA groups right out of the box with the first load tried, Federal 180-grain Trophy Tip bonded bullet.

Starting in 1925, the flatter-shooting, softer-kicking .270 gave the .30-06 competition but never overtook it. Even Jack O’Connor, high priest of the .270, conceded that the .30-06 was more versatile. The first magnum craze of the Fifties and Sixties eroded the .30-06. I bought into that stuff; I had a .264 and a .300 Winchester Magnum before I hunted with a .30-06.

Although she later switched to a .270, Donna Boddington did most of her early hunting with a left-hand Ruger M77 .30-06. She used a 180-grain Hornady Interlock to drop this excellent Mozambique sable with one shot at sundown.

I read my Roosevelt, and my Hemingway, and my Ruark, so when planning my first African hunt I knew I had to have a .30-06. I trotted down to the PX and bought a Ruger M77 and worked up handloads with 180-grain Nosler Partitions. Even though I’d been a confirmed magnum maniac (“magniac”), I was amazed at how well the .30-06 performed. All ranges, all sizes of plains game. Became, and have remained, a .30-06 fan.

The flood of unbelted magnums at the turn of the millennium gave us new choices. Recent cartridges designed for maximum efficiency (PRCs, Noslers, Westerns) give us more options. Today we have plenty cartridges to choose from. It’s easy to overlook the .30-06.

The .30-06 probably isn’t an ideal mountain cartridge, but it shoots flat enough. Grancel Fitz took his first sheep, a Dall sheep in Alaska, in 1935 with his Griffin & Howe Springfield. 20 years later, he was the first person to take all varieties of North American big game…all with this same .30-06.

Old, but not tired. The .30-06 is a powerhouse. Standard issue for our forces for 50 years, the .30-06 is the most powerful cartridge adopted by a major military. Not as fast as our many magnums, it is not slow. Standard velocity for a 180-grain bullet is 2700 fps. In perspective: The same speed as the 6.5mm Creedmoor…with a 140-grain bullet. With 180-grain bullet, the .30-06 offers 28 percent more bullet weight…with .044-inch more frontal area. There is no comparison in hitting power.

Wife Donna did her early hunting with a Ruger M77 .30-06. Not the same one. I was doing a lot of hunting with a left-hand action M77 .30-06. Also a lefty, she’s shorter, so I took a sliver off the butt and reset the recoil pad so we could both shoot it comfortably.

Sadly, not all new rifles are chambered to .30-06. This is Chapuis’ new ROLS straight-pull, made in France…with .30-06 among its many chamberings. So far, out of the box accuracy is about one MOA…not unusual for good rifles in .30-06.

Now, let’s be clear. The .30-06 is not a low-recoil option. Generations of recruits complained about the brutal recoil. They were not wrong. Donna is one of those people who is uniquely impervious to recoil. In general, I don’t recommend the .30-06 for youngsters, for women of smaller stature, or for anyone with aversion to recoil.

To this day, the (nominally) 2.5-inch of the .30-06 defines “standard-length” actions and cartridges. Factory cartridges based on the ’06 case include, left to right: .30-06, .270 Win, .280 Rem, .25-06, .35 Whelen, .370 Federal, .280 AI. Boddington believes the .30-06 is still the most versatile of all.

The .30-06 is a big gun, needlessly powerful for any deer hunting. It is a far better elk cartridge than deer cartridge! I still have magniac tendencies. I see the medium magnums, typified by the .338 Winchester Magnum, as the most ideal elk cartridges. Yes, but the .30-06 is plenty of gun for any elk, especially with today’s great bullets. I’ve taken as many bull elk with the .30-06 as with magnums. None have gone farther, most down in their tracks. Because of heavier bullets with more frontal area, I think the .30-06 is more effective on elk than any of the 7mms.

One of the advantages to the .30-06 is lots of loads…and lots of handload recipes. This Savage 110 .30-06 grouped variously with different loads…and then shot quarter-inch groups (bottom center) with Federal factory with 180-grain Barnes.

The .30-06’s strongest suit is versatility. Awesome for larger game, such as elk and moose. I still can’t think of anything better for the full run of non-dangerous African game. The .30-06 kicks but lacks the bone-jarring recoil velocity of the fast magnums…and it works.

Versatility isn’t just about size of animals. Today’s newest cartridges use faster rifling twists with extra-heavy bullets with super aerodynamics. The .30-06’s traditional 1:10 twist stabilizes bullets from 150 to 220 grains. How much versatility do you need? For deer, a 150-grain bullet zips along at 3000 fps. For elk, and for Africa’s variety, I’ve always been a 180-grain bullet guy. I’m not keen on using the .30-06 for big bears, but more grizzlies and brown bears have fallen to the .30-06 than all the rest put together. Old-timers relied on the long, heavy 220-grain slug, which can be loaded to 2550 fps, credible velocity for such weight, offering wonderful penetration. I also don’t recommend the .30-06 for extra-large beasts. However, in the days before minimum legal calibers, the .30-06 with 220-grain solids had a great reputation for reliable penetration all the way up to elephant.

The .30-06 is probably needlessly powerful for deer…and also dramatically effective. This big Colorado buck was dropped in its tracks by a single 180-grain Fusion bullet from an ’06 made by Kenny Jarrett.

Maybe it’s also not the best choice for mountain game. As with deer, .30-caliber bullet weight and power aren’t essential for sheep and goats. I’ve taken both with the .30-06, but I’ve usually chosen cartridges that shoot flatter. Not because I needed them, but because they seemed a better “fit.” Once you get to the point where you must either hold over or start dialing your turret for range, trajectory is just a number. Know the number and you can solve the problem.

I’ve done a lot of 1000-yard shooting on steel with various .30-06 rifles and loads…as have long-range competitors for 120 years. Once you start adjusting, a few more clicks is a matter of knowing how many. I’m not an extreme range shooter on game. If I were, then there are better tools. However, because that’s what I was carrying—and because I knew the trajectory—I’ve made some of my longer shots in the field with the .30-06.

Boddington believes the .30-06 is a wonderful elk cartridge…and better for elk than deer. This bull dropped in its tracks to a single 180-grain Barnes TSX at about 150 yards.

Many of our newer cartridges offer great versatility on game, at varying levels of recoil, and are often touted for accuracy. Cartridge design matters, but rifle, barrel, and ammo are more important. It’s an article of faith that the .308, with its shorter, more efficient case, is more accurate. Maybe, but the margin is slim. I’ve rarely seen accuracy problems in a .30-06 rifle. With higher velocity, the .30-06 is more powerful, thus more versatile.

So many choices, so many conflicting and confusing cartridges. Here’s one good reason why the .30-06 may be worth your consideration. Availability. Everybody loads .30-06. It is no longer our most popular centerfire…but it’s still in the top handful. There are hundreds of factory loads, from all manufacturers, throughout the world…offered with just about any bullet you can think of. No, these days, we can’t get them all. But the .30-06 is not a one-company wonder, as new cartridges must be until they catch on. For handloaders, we have a century of loading data to fall back on. Can’t get this powder or that bullet? Plenty of choices.

Willem van Dyk, trackers, and Boddington with a big fringe-eared oryx, taken in Kenya in 1977 on Boddington’s first African hunt. This was the first time Boddington hunted with the .30-06; impressive performance made him a lifelong fan.

Just yesterday, I went to the range with a new Chapuis ROLS, a fine, state-of-the-art straight-pull rifle. Made in France…chambered to .30-06. Finding the best load for this rifle is still a work in progress, but the loads I grabbed randomly from my garage grouped within one MOA. That’s performance I expect—and usually get—from a good .30-06. 

Not all great new rifles are chambered in .30-06. I suppose that’s a sign of the times. Explains why some younger folks consider it a curiosity. For sure, it’s not as sexy as the hot new numbers. It’s still an accurate, powerful, and versatile choice. And the .30-06 is still out there, hundreds of loads, jillions of rifles…of all vintages.

CHOOSE YOUR LOAD

Midsummer, hunting season a long way off. That makes it a good time to dust off Old (or New) Betsy and try her out with some different loads.

By

Craig Boddington

Midsummer, hunting season a long way off. That makes it a good time to dust off Old (or New) Betsy and try her out with some different loads. It’s never been a good idea to wait until just before Opening Day before getting in some serious range work, far worse today. Supplies are better today, but there are still shortages and back-orders.

There’s no predicting what load a certain rifle will group best with…until you try. This particular 7mm-08 likes Hornady’s inexpensive American Whitetail load, with plain old 139-grain Interlock bullet.

So, maybe you can’t find the brand you’re looking for. Any factory load is just one assemblage of its four components: One bullet, propellant charge, primer, and case. Factory ammunition is wonderful today, but there’s no predicting if any one load will shoot well in your rifle. 

So, for accuracy, you try this and that. If you shoot a popular cartridge, something like 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Winchester, or .30-06, you’ll get old or go broke before you try every load. You’ll quit when you find a load accurate enough for your purposes. I have stacks of partial factory boxes, because, after just one group, I knew my rifle didn’t like that load.

For utmost accuracy, serious handloaders use advanced techniques, such as weighing each case and discarding anomalies.

Handloaders have a huge advantage. Oh, we can’t always get the specific bullet, primer, powder, or brand of case we’re used to, but we can surely find components that will work. Then we can put them together…and vary the recipe infinitely.

I’m a lazy handloader. I start with a bullet I like, usually a favorite powder, primers I’m used to…and whatever once-fired cases I have. To save range time (and components), I’ll load just five, then another five with a grain or two more powder, and so forth. If I weren’t so lazy, or if I was in search of utmost accuracy, then I’d weigh cases and bullets for consistency, vary seating depth, and other tricks. Usually, I’m thinking about hunting ammo, so my goal is to find a load that produces the level of accuracy I need to hunt with that rifle…with a bullet that has the performance characteristics I’m looking for.

The four components of all self-contained metallic cartridges are: Case, primer, propellant, projectile. A factory cartridge is just one assemblage, while handloaders can vary all four to find the perfect recipe.

With factory loads, we can only vary powders, primers, and cases by changing brands. At least with popular cartridges, we can usually vary bullets. Most manufacturers load several different bullets. Again, there’s no telling what bullet or load a given rifle might shoot best. Some rifles are finicky, others or not. I had a Remington M700 Mountain Rifle in .280 Remington, usually an accurate platform…and usually an accurate cartridge. At that time, Remington was the primary source for .280 Rem. One of my better editors once commented, “Remington rifles tend to shoot well with Remington ammo.” Though about it and agreed, but this darn rifle didn’t shoot anything well. With all existing factory loads, it fired shotgun patterns, not groups. By this time, I had dies and plenty of once-fired cases. I looked up a random recipe and loaded up some Nosler AccuTip bullets. Good Lord, instant MOA groups.

That degree of finicky is unusual. Also unusual to get an exponential accuracy increase just by changing loads. Usually, differences between loads and bullets are very incremental. Since it’s impossible to try everything, we usually limit experimentation to bullets that suit our purposes.

Keep in mind that, ultimately, it’s the bullet that does the work. Lots of brands, lots of weights, shapes, and styles, and different types of internal construction. With today’s precise manufacturing, I don’t think there are any bad bullets out there. Modern bullets do what they’re supposed to do, but performance characteristics vary. When choosing bullets, it’s important to know the performance you want. Then, you must cut through the hype and understand what a given bullet was designed to do.  

All-copper bullets aren’t perfect, but are probably the toughest and deepest-penetrating expanding bullets, especially useful for larger game. This muskox was taken with a single 130-grain Barnes TSX in .270 Winchester, not a big gun for such a large animal.

If I wanted maximum accuracy, I’d start with match bullets…understanding that, in some rifles, they may not be as accurate as some hunting bullets. Some match bullets are non-expanding “solids,” thus illegal for hunting in many jurisdictions. Many match bullets are hollowpoints, a design proven for accuracy, and hollowpoints expand, thus always legal for hunting. However, match hollow-points are designed purely for accuracy, not for terminal performance on game. Some hunters swear by them, but I fear them. When they work, they often drop game like lightning, but performance on game can be erratic. Match bullets are simply not designed for consistent penetration and expansion on game animals.

The more popular the cartridge, the more robust the selection of factory loads…and the more likely you’ll find a superstar. These are just a few of the options in .375 H&H, far and away the world’s most popular large-caliber cartridge.

Historically, the most common .30-caliber match bullet was a 168-grain boattail. Today, we have .30-caliber match bullets up to 250 grains. This illustrates a key point in bullet selection: Bullet weight overcomes shortcomings in bullet construction. If your accuracy standards are such that you simply must use match bullets for hunting, then use heavier bullets.

Hunting bullets must be adequately accurate for the game and shooting distances but are designed first and foremost for consistent terminal performance on game. On impact, expanding hunting bullets are supposed to upset or “mushroom,” creating larger wound channels.  However, a hunting bullet must penetrate at least to the vitals on the size of game it is intended for.

Some rifles group extremely well with all-copper bullets and, like anything else, some do not. Boddington’s 40-year-old Joe Balickie .270, built before copper bullets existed, is one that does. The top right group was fired with 130-grain Hornady GMX

Here’s where it gets complicated. Expansion is the enemy to penetration: The more a bullet expands, the more resistance it encounters. Thus, the more quickly it slows and must come to rest. Also, velocity is the enemy to bullet performance. Staying with a .30-caliber example, the .30-30 propels a 150-grain bullet at about 2400 fps. The fastest .30-caliber magnums might be 1200 fps faster. No bullet can perform equally across that velocity range. Obviously, bullets slow at greater distances. By about 500 yards, even the fastest .300 magnum has dropped to .30-30 velocity. Out there, you’ll probably get reliable and consistent performance…with less expansion. With fast cartridges, I start with a tough bullet that will hold up at the highest velocity, lest it come unglued if you draw a close shot.

Absent design feature(s) to keep them together, lead-core bullets usually have at least some of the lead wipe away. Not all bullets are intended to hold together and retain weight. Varmint bullets are designed for rapid, explosive expansion, for maximum damage on rodents, and to reduce ricochet. Big game bullets must hold together well enough to penetrate to the vitals.

If you like to recover beautifully mushroomed bullets from game, then your best choices are all-copper bullets, top; or bonded-core bullets, bottom. Multiple brands are present in both groups.

Provided I have confidence adequate penetration is certain, it doesn’t bother me if a bullet isn’t recovered showing a near-perfect, intact mushroom, or if loses 30 or 40 percent of its weight. Generations of hunters have been happy with the performance of good old lead-core bullets: Core-Lokt, GameKing, Hi-Shok, Interlock, Power Point. They often aren’t pretty, but they work.

More frangible yet are simple lead-core bullets with polymer tips, such as AccuTip and SST. Such bullets tend to be exceptionally accurate, but expansion is rapid. In my experience, these bullets drop deer-sized game like lightning. However, at extreme velocity they can come apart. Again, bullet weight matters, but I avoid such bullets for close shots in fast magnums, and rarely use them on game larger than deer.

Properly testing loads for accuracy takes concentration, good bench technique, and lots of time. Long summer daylight helps, but in warm weather much time is lost to waiting for barrels to cool.

Polymer tips increase aerodynamics and prevent battering in the magazine. Upon impact, the polymer tip is driven down into the bullet, initiating expansion. If you like to recover pretty bullets “against the hide on the far side,” then go to bonded-core bullets, which may or may not have polymer tips. The core is chemically bonded to the copper jacket, an additional process that increases cost. Just about everyone has them now: AccuBond, Core-Lokt Bonded, InterBond, Terminal Ascent, Trophy Bonded Tip, Swift A-Frame and Scirocco, more. Bonded-core bullets offer big mushrooms with high weight retention, often above 90 percent.

For hunting bullets, bonded must be the way to go, right? Maybe, but it’s never that simple. Bonded-core bullets are rarely the most accurate, or the most aerodynamic, and upset decreases at lower velocities. So, bonded-core bullets may not be the best choices at longer ranges.

For sheer accuracy, match bullets are the logical place to start. This .308 Winchester group was fired with Nosler Match Grade. The only thing: Match bullets are designed for accuracy, not for consistent performance on game.

For years, the Barnes X (series) was the lone expanding all-copper (copper alloy) bullet. Today there are many: Copper Impact, CX, GMX, Trophy Copper, more. All copper bullets are hollowpoints, with a skived nose around a frontal cavity, the nose peeling back in petals to the limit of the cavity. Unless a petal breaks off, weight retention approaches 100 percent. Expansion is not as wide as with lead-core bullets, so copper bullets are deep penetrators. If you like through-and-through penetration with exit wounds, you’ll love them…but you won’t recover very many. 

Expansion decreases along with velocity. And, since, copper is lighter than lead, aerodynamics cannot quite reach the off-the-charts BCs of today’s low-drag bullets such as Berger and ELD. As with all bullets, some rifles love them, others don’t produce their best groups with all-copper. You never know until you try. I use a wide variety of bullets, depending on my immediate purpose…and what works best in a given rifle. Even with today’s limited availability, there are lots of good options. Even though I’m lazy, I don’t give up experimenting with different loads, a perfect pastime for these long summer days at the range.

THOUGHTS ON RECOIL

I was just hunting Cape buffalo in Mozambique with buddy Gordon Marsh, proprietor of this site. Gordon brought his CZ 550, chambered to the huge .500 Jeffery. Propelling a 535-grain bullet at over 2500 fps, the .500 Jeffery was long our most powerful sporting cartridge.

By

Craig Boddington

I was just hunting Cape buffalo in Mozambique with buddy Gordon Marsh, proprietor of this site. Gordon brought his CZ 550, chambered to the huge .500 Jeffery. Propelling a 535-grain bullet at over 2500 fps, the .500 Jeffery was long our most powerful sporting cartridge.

Boddington is flanked by great gunwriters Gary Sitton and John Wootters, both now gone. Wootters lost the sight in his right eye due to a detached retina. Although it didn’t happen while shooting, he came to believe that heavy recoil may have cumulative effect and increase the risk of detached retina.

Surpassed in 1957 by the .460 Weatherby, the .500 Jeffery, yields over 7000 foot-pounds, a real powerhouse. It and the .460 are among few cartridges that, with ideal shot placement, might drop a Cape buffalo…and keep him down. Gordon proved this on his bull.

He also proved he’s one tough SOB. He suffered two severe scope cuts and had his front scope mount loosen under recoil. Gordon put the rifle (and himself) back together, re-zeroed, shot a one-inch group, then went on to flatten his buffalo and shoot a hippo.

Prone is one of the worst positions for recoil; the body has nowhere to go, plus the head must be cocked forward, increasing chances for scope cuts. This scope has plenty of eye relief, so it’s not going to hit him

Recoil is the embodiment of Newton’s Third Law of physics: “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” The action is the projectile traveling down the bore; opposite is recoil, in which the firearm becomes the projectile.

Proper stock fit matters greatly, and there are actually two primary factors to recoil: Energy and velocity. In the US, we speak of recoil energy in foot-pounds, and recoil velocity in feet per second. Because of the force required to move a heavy firearm, both are much lower than projectile energy and velocity. Fast magnums and light rifles seem to hit us faster…because they do. This is why cartridges that are large, powerful, and fast, such as .338 Lapua Magnum and .378 Weatherby Magnum, seem to produce especially violent recoil. They hit hard and fast, on both ends.

Slower big-bore cartridges, such as .458 Win Mag and all the old Nitro Express rounds, at around 2150 fps, produce lower recoil than cartridges like the .500 Jeffery and .460 Weatherby, which are 20 percent faster. At these levels, we’re splitting hairs between recoil velocity and energy; the effect is brutal.

Boddington takes a serious bash with a .700 Nitro Express from Bill Jones’ collection. This is more than 150 ft-lbs of recoil, note the “catch team” in case he loses control of the valuable rifle. Boddington no longer does this kind of thing for fun.

Thanks to the Internet, actual recoil figures are at our fingertips. Some examples for comparison:  A 7.5 pound .243 with 100-grain bullet produces about nine ft-lbs of recoil energy. No problem, right? A 6.5 Creedmoor kicks about a dozen ft-lbs, a .270 Winchester in the upper teens. An eight-pound .30-06 with 180-grain bullet kicks just over 20 ft-lbs, while a .300 Wby Mag goes up a third, over 30 ft-lbs.

This .375 Wby Mag was fine in the states in winter with a jacket on, but needed a bit more eye relief in shirtsleeves in Cameroon. After multiple scope cuts Boddington gave up and removed the scope and used iron sights, the only time he has ever traded a functioning scope for irons.

More powerful rifles are usually heavier. This is a good thing, because sheer gun weight is always the easiest way to mitigate recoil. A nine-pound .375 H&H will stay below 40 ft-lbs. With practice, most shooters can learn to handle this level. The .378 Wby Mag jumps to over 70 ft-lbs of recoil. At 11 pounds, my double .470 kicks in the high 60s. With similar bullet weight at higher velocity, the .460 Wby and .500 Jeffery reach 100 ft-lbs, a lot of kick…for anyone.

A good shock-absorbing recoil pad helps a lot, but adding gun weight is often the simplest way to reduce recoil. The Break-O mercury recoil reducer adds weight, plus the heavy mercury acts as a piston under recoil, slowing the impulse.

I used to think I was impervious to recoil. I was wrong! Some years back I had a .600 Nitro Express “double” on me while shooting an elephant. Not my rifle, so I don’t know if it was a malfunction that fired both barrels when I pressed the front trigger. Or, if, after firing the first barrel, recoil caused me to inadvertently hit the rear trigger. Doesn’t matter, 300 ft-lbs of recoil, no desire to shoot it again to find out. The elephant dropped. So did I. I was briefly stunned, sore for a few days, but no apparent damage until, weeks later, I lost a major tendon in that shoulder.

Possibly repairable if I were a pro athlete, not worth it for me. No residual pain, no loss of motion. But I can’t risk drawing a bow on that side, and I take more care in the recoil I subject myself to. At that time, I’d already started to ration recoil, but for an entirely different reason: Risk of detached retina.

Boddington and Bill Jones with the only buffalo Boddington has taken with the .500 Jeffery. From Jones’ collection, this famous rifle belonged to Fletcher Jameson. Effect was devastating, but Boddington decided this is too much recoil.

John Wootters was our star writer when I was Editor of Petersen’s HUNTING magazine, an invaluable mentor. John suffered a detached retina while on the NRA’s “Great American Hunters” speaking tour. He didn’t get to an eye surgeon quick enough and lost sight in his right eye, transitioning to left-hand shooting in his 60s.

Wootters did a lot of research. Severe recoil can contribute to detached retina. My old friend Bert Klineburger experienced a detached retina while checking zero on his .460 Weatherby in Central Africa. He knew what had happened, caught a plane to Paris, got it repaired, and hunted for another 30 years. Wootters came to believe that recoil effect can be cumulative: After untold thousands of 12-gauge, shells, veteran competitive shotgunners frequently experience it. And, all too many older gunwriters have suffered detached retinas.

The .470 produces about 68 ft-lbs of recoil. That’s plenty, but the other three are much faster and kick at about 100 ft-lbs, an awful lot of recoil. Despite shorter case, the .500 Jeffery is loaded a bit hotter and is slightly more powerful than the huge .505 Gibbs.

Scared by Wootters’ experience and trusting his research, by the time that .600 doubled, I’d slowed down, avoiding shooting big guns for fun. Mind you, I still believe in the right gun for the job at hand. Usually, I find myself well above minimums, but I avoid maximums.

Gordon Marsh at the bench in Mozambique, checking zero on his CZ 550 in the mighty .500 Jeffery. The bench is one of the worst positions for felt recoil because the body has little give.

I shot exactly one buffalo with a .500 Jeffery. It was Fletcher Jameson’s famous rifle, featured in John Taylor’s African Rifles and Cartridges, and part of Bill Jones’ collection. Quartering-to, aiming for the point of the on-shoulder, the first shot slammed the bull down so hard that my PH and I agreed I must have hit too high. Likely to get back up, better hit him again. No further reaction, so I worked the bolt and we advanced. Halfway there, I realized my left (shooting) arm was completely numb from shoulder to wrist. Good thing the bull was dead; no way could I have fired again! This was just a year after my shoulder got ruined, so I don’t know if this was residual effect, or if the .500 Jeffery is too much gun for me.

Donna Boddington on sticks, watching a pig trail into a vineyard. Note the clearance between cap bill and ocular lens; almost impossible for the scope to hit her.

Either way, I have no intention to find out!  We all have different recoil “thresholds” that we can withstand without ill effect, and without acquiring hard-to-cure bad habits…like flinching. Everybody is different, and experience counts, but we all have recoil limits that we exceed only at peril. Trust me, it’s not a matter of toughness or male machismo. Obviously, a youngster or 110-pound woman is likely to withstand less recoil than a 220-pound man. However, this is not locked in stone. Everybody is different, so in my experience it’s more of a nervous system tolerance. There is no formula for “how much is too much,” but this I know: When you push yourself to uncomfortable recoil, accuracy will suffer.

Muzzle brakes are extremely effective for reducing recoil and generally have no impact on accuracy. They work, but Boddington avoids them for hunting because of the increased muzzle blast.

There are options. Muzzle brakes work. Systems vary, depending on how the gas is vented, but at least 40 percent recoil attenuation can be reached. That said, I no longer have any rifles with muzzle brakes, because of increased blast. My thinking: I’m already deaf enough! I carry Walker Game Ears while hunting, but I know that, sooner or later, I’m going to forget to put them on. Also, I hunt a lot in Africa, where trackers and PHs are close by. I don’t want to blow out their ears so, despite unquestionable benefit, I avoid muzzle brakes. If a rifle kicks so hard that I can’t handle it, I’ll add lead in the butt and fore-end channel, or mercury recoil reducers. If that doesn’t work, time to drop down to a lighter cartridge. While this is my answer, hunters who hunt primarily alone may be well-served by modern brakes.

The worst scope cut Boddington ever got was on this Nevada mule deer, shooting a very familiar .30-06 from a hasty prone position across a canyon at long range. It happens, usually more a matter of hasty or weird shooting position than too much recoil

I mentioned Gordon’s scope cuts, accepted with sheepish grins. Sooner or later, most of us get them. Usually, it isn’t a matter of excessive recoil, but weird shooting positions. The worst scope cut I ever got was from a familiar .30-06. I lay prone on a rimrock for a cross-canyon shot, got the buck…and a nasty cut. Prone is bad, but any hasty position is suspect.

Adequate eye relief is critical, and a bit extra helps. In 2004 I took a .375 Wby Mag to northern Cameroon. Shot great on my range, wearing a light jacket in our mild winter. In shirtsleeves in Equatorial Africa, I couldn’t stay away from the scope, deeper cut with every shot. Most unpleasant. At the tail end of the safari, I gave up. This was the only time I’ve removed a functional scope in favor of iron sights.

Brittany Boddington instructing shooting off sticks at one of her She Hunts skills camps. Women aren’t particularly sensitive to recoil, but don’t like scope cuts. Brittany’s trick is to wear a baseball cap. If the hat brim clears the ocular bell, then there’s enough eye relief to make a scope cut highly unlikely.

Women usually have higher pain thresholds than men, but are less jocular about facial scars. Daughter Brittany has a great trick she shows the ladies at her “She Hunts” skills camps. Wear a baseball cap. If the forward edge of the brim clears the rear of the ocular lens, then a scope cut is highly unlikely.

For me, I still shoot big guns when and as I need to. This means I practice with them, but at the range I wear a PAST “Recoil Shield.” I still believe in the adage to “use enough gun,” usually with power to spare. But I’m not as tough as Gordon Marsh. I no longer shoot big guns for fun!

THE SHORT, FAT CARTRIDGE

Creating a new cartridge is complex and expensive; it is simpler and cheaper to modify existing cases. Performance characteristics can be changed by necking the case up or down, changing shoulder angle and body taper, and by shortening or lengthening the case. Such modifications create “families” of cartridges based on a parent case.

By

Craig Boddington

Creating a new cartridge is complex and expensive; it is simpler and cheaper to modify existing cases. Performance characteristics can be changed by necking the case up or down, changing shoulder angle and body taper, and by shortening or lengthening the case. Such modifications create “families” of cartridges based on a parent case.

This awesome group was fired from a .300 WSM when the cartridge was first introduced. Short, fat case design is conducive to accuracy, but good barrels and consistent ammo is more important. The short, fat concept is really more about efficiency

Peter Paul Mauser created an extensive family of cartridges based on his 1888 7.92x57mm cartridge. Our .30-06 has a longer case, but rim and base diameter are suspiciously similar to Mauser’s case. (Actually, our 1903 Springfield action was so similar to the Mauser that Uncle Sam paid Mauser a royalty until WWI.) To this day, the majority of unbelted rimless cartridges are based on the .30-06’s .473-inch rim and base diameter. These include .270, .35 Whelen, and Hornady’s 6.5mm (and 6mm) Creedmoor.

Since its introduction in 1912, the .375 H&H Magnum case, with .532-inch rim and belt, has served as the parent for almost all belted cartridges. The only exceptions have been Weatherby’s smallest cartridges (.224 and .240 Wby Mag); and their largest cartridges, based on the big .378 Wby Mag with .582-inch rim and belt.

Proving that short and fat isn’t everything and extreme velocity can produce accuracy, this group was fired with a Lazzeroni 7.82 (.308) Warbird, 4000 fps with a 130-grain Barnes X bullet.

Earlier cartridges tended to have a lot of body taper and gently sloping shoulders. With new smokeless powder pressures, both features were thought essential for smoother feeding and reliable extraction. One of the most archaic of all case designs still around is the .300 H&H. Introduced in 1925 by necking down the .375 H&H case, the .300 uses the full 2.850-inch case, lots of body taper, and a long, gentle 8.5-degree shoulder. From today’s perspective, we reckon there’s no way it will shoot well or fast. Except it does both. The .300 H&H became popular when Ben Comfort used it to win the 1000-yard Wimbledon match in 1935. With good handloads, velocity is surprising, and that long, tapered case literally flies into the chamber.

 Boddington took this javelina in 2002 with a .243 WSSM, when the WSSM cartridges were introduced. Fast and efficient, they do what they’re supposed to do, but didn’t become popular and have nearly vanished…perhaps because of feeding issues in many platforms.

By this time, gun tinkerers had discovered that powder capacity and efficiency could be enhanced by removing body taper and sharpening shoulder angle…with little impact on feeding and extraction. The resulting non-standard cartridges were called “wildcats.” P.O Ackley (1903-1989) was one of the most prolific experimenters. He messed with every known case and bullet diameter but, rather than reinvent the wheel, his cartridges were mostly “improved” by removing body taper and sharpening shoulder angle, thus increasing velocity.

Ackley’s rule for an “improved” cartridge: Standard factory ammo could still be used, the result a fire-formed case. The .280 Ackley Improved has been his most popular, now loaded by several companies. Based on the .280 Remington with sharp 40-degree shoulder, the .280 AI duplicates 7mm Rem Mag performance, but in a more compact case while burning less powder.

In the 1990s John Lazzeroni got the majors thinking with his fat-cased Lazzeroni Magnums. His long cartridges are perhaps best-known, but it was his short, fat cartridges that got things going. Left to right: 7.21 (.284) Spitfire; 7.82 (.308) Patriot; 10.57 (.416 Maverick).

Roy E. Weatherby (1910-1988) also started as a wildcatter. Weatherby’s initial cartridges were based on the .300 or .375 H&H case, necked this way and that, sometimes shortened, always with body taper removed to increase powder capacity and velocity. His flagship cartridge, the .300 Wby Mag, wasn’t the first but, since it used the full-length case, it was essentially just one of various “improved” versions of the .300 H&H. The Weatherby difference is Roy’s distinctively curved “double Venturi” shoulder. The effect of this is still debated but, for sure, the Weatherby Magnums were, by bullet diameter, the fastest cartridges out there.

Boddington and noted Ruger collector Lee Newton with a fine Kansas whitetail, taken with Ruger No. One in .280 Ackley Improved. The most popular of P.O. Ackley’s many cartridge designs, his .280 AI has become extremely popular.

In fact, the only the way to get higher velocities is to use a bigger case. Problem is, you quickly get into over bore capacity. This can be likened to a water hose. A hose can only pass so much water. You can increase pressure, but at some point you reach diminishing returns and not much more water comes out of the hose. In a rifle barrel, that point of diminishing return is over bore capacity. You can use a bigger case and burn more propellant, but you can’t get much more velocity. You’ll start to see this with unburned granules of powder spewed in front of the muzzle, but the real problem is throat erosion and reduced barrel life.

So long as we use nitrocellulose-based propellants, we can’t get much faster than Weatherby’s 1940s velocities. Nitrocellulose expands (burns) at about 5000 fps. This sets a practical limit, but you can’t get there because of friction. The .220 Swift broke 4000 fps in 1935. To this day, only a handful of commercial cartridges exceed 4000 fps, none by much, and all with short barrel life.

Boddington took this javelina in 2002 with a .243 WSSM, when the WSSM cartridges were introduced. Fast and efficient, they do what they’re supposed to do, but didn’t become popular and have nearly vanished…perhaps because of feeding issues in many platforms.

So, no matter how much superheated gas you pour down your barrel, unprecedented velocity is not the result. You can, instead, go for efficiency, and that’s a primary concept behind today’s short, fat cartridges. We learned from tank cannons that burning efficiency is achieved when the primer flame can access a greater percentage of the propellant charge. Burning efficiency is conducive to accuracy. More important: More energy per grain of powder burned. For instance, with a 180-grain bullet, the .300 Wby Mag needs 70.9 grains of IMR4350 powder to reach 2900 fps. The .300 WSM needs just 62.1 grains of the same powder. That’s ten percent more propellant—more heat, more recoil—to reach the same result.

The .308 Win is based on the .30-06 case shortened from 2.494 inches to 2.015 inches. At some point case capacity tells; the .308 is not as fast as the .30-06. However, it’s only about seven percent slower…while burning 20 percent less propellant.

For sheer efficiency, the perfect cartridge case is as wide at the base as it is long. No such cartridge exists because no known action can feed such a thing. However, there are fatter cartridge cases. A longtime favorite has been the .404 Jeffery case, an unbelted rimless cartridge with a .543-inch rim and base. The .416 Rigby case is even fatter, with a .590 rim and base.

Hornady’s growing PRC family, all based on the .375 Ruger case. Left, the just-released 7mm PRC, case shortened to house the longest bullets in standard actions. Center, the original 6.5 PRC, suitable for short actions. Right, the .300 PRC, possibly suitable for standard actions, but requiring a full-length action for the longest .308 bullets currently in use.

In the late Eighties Tucson wildcatter John Lazzeroni started developing fat-cased wildcat cartridges, creating parallel lines of long and short-cased Lazzeroni Magnums. Most use similar dimensions to the .416 Rigby, but some use the .404 Jeffery. As Roy Weatherby did in the 1940s, Lazzeroni made the big boys nervous.

Manufacturers liked the concept and the performance, but most production bolt-actions cannot house the big Rigby case. So, the big boys did their own things. Remington struck first with the long Remington Ultra Mags, based on the .404 Jeffery case. First the .300 RUM in 1998, then 7mm, .338, and .375 RUM two years later. Good and fast cartridges, all needing .375 H&H-length actions. Winchester struck back with the .300 Winchester Short Magnum, 2.1-inch case for short actions. The RUMs have a .550 base, with the rim slightly rebated to .534. Winchester’s WSM case is similar, but not the same: .555-inch base, rim rebated .535.

Remington quickly added 7mm and .300 Remington Short Action Ultra Mags, sized to fit their little Model Seven action. Soon we had four RUMs, two RSAUMs, and four WSMs…plus three Winchester Super Short Magnums (WSSMs). To my thinking, this was a large and confusing array of new cartridges. The .300 WSM has become the most popular, but several of these cartridges are languishing and the WSSMs vanished quickly. The short, fat cartridges are efficient, but remember my comment about actions for the ideal “triangular” cartridge?  All the short, fat cartridges show feeding issues in some platforms, and I believe this is what killed the WSSMs, too short and fat for many actions.

: This huge feral hog was taken with a Lazzeroni 10.59 (.416) Maverick. Maybe too much gun, but the proprietary Lazzeroni short magnums are still the fastest in their class.

In 2007 Hornady introduced the .375 Ruger. It was successful, but its case design is brilliant: .532-inch rim and base, same as the rim and belt of the .375 H&H but, absent belt, more case capacity. Also, easy to manufacture: Same bolt face as a belted magnum, and untroubled feeding in most actions.

The .375 Ruger case quickly spawned the .416 Ruger and, shortened, .300 and .338 Ruger Compact Magnums (RCMs). These have not been especially popular, but recently, the .375 Ruger case was used for Hornady’s PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridges). Specified for faster-twist barrels and intended for use with modern extra-heavy, extra-long, super-aerodynamic bullets, there are now three PRCs: 6.5, .300, and the just-released 7mm PRC. 

The three PRCs are designed for maximum efficiency and to avoid over bore capacity. Interestingly, case lengths are different. 6.5 PRC is a short-action cartridge. .300 PRC uses the full (2.5-inch) .375 Ruger case. With the longest and heaviest bullets, it really needs a full-length action. The 7mm PRC splits the difference with a 2.280-inch case, allowing it to be housed in standard (.30-06) actions with extra-heavy 180-grain 7mm bullets.

Nosler cartridges: The Nosler family of cartridges, now 26, 27, 28, 33, and 35 Nosler, are all based on the RUM/.404 Jeffery case. The 26 (6.5mm) Nosler was first. So far, the 28 (7mm) Nosler has been most popular, now loaded by multiple major manufacturers.

The PRCs aren’t alone in being specific to actions lengths and bullets. Starting in 2012 with the 26 Nosler, Nosler’s family has now grown to five siblings: 26, 27, 28, 30, and 35 Nosler, all based on the RUM (.404 Jeffery) case shortened to 2.5 inches. all intended as standard-length-action cartridges. Most popular so far has been the 28 Nosler, calling for faster rifling twist, and now loaded by multiple manufacturers,

Winchester’s 6.8 Western takes a different approach. Based on the .270 WSM case shortened, it is designed for short actions, so is sort of an extension of the WSM family. Except: It calls for fast-twist barrels, and is designed for the new, extra-heavy .277 bullets up to 175 grains.

In 2022, the somewhat fatter (and sometimes short) case is still in vogue, but current cartridge design is more specific to actions, bullets, and rifling twists than ever before.

READY FOR FALL? Trust me, it’s not too early! By Craig Boddington

For some of us, hunting season is right around the corner. Here on the California Central Coast, our archery deer season is already open, with rifle season starting the second Saturday in August.

For some of us, hunting season is right around the corner. Here on the California Central Coast, our archery deer season is already open, with rifle season starting the second Saturday in August. For most, hunting season is still months away, but it really doesn’t matter. Time has a way of slipping past, so the dog days of summer offer a good time to get some practice in—and make sure your equipment is up to snuff.

Flanked by Tony Lombardo and Clint Wiebe, John Stucker used Boddington’s Winchester 88 in .308 to take this California hog. It worked perfectly, but a week later Murphy’s Law applied and this rifle went to the gunsmith.

I’ll start with the latter. The physical law that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion” was proposed by Sir Isaac Newton clear back in 1687. Sporting firearms are a bit like that. If they work, then with just a bit of maintenance they should continue to work…for many years. However, anything made by man can fail, and all firearms have moving parts, subject to wear.

I agree with Newton, but accept Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong surely will.” Also, Murphy’s First Corollary: “…at the worst possible time.” A firearm will probably keep functioning until it doesn’t, absent warning signs. I’ve had guns go down in the field, which is the worst possible time, but for me it usually happens on the range.

A nice California hog taken with 1950s Savage 99 in .300 Savage. Boddington’s hand is covering it, but at this moment the fore-end is held in place with duct tape. Weeks later, this rifle is still in the shop. Right now, parts—especially for older guns—can be hard to find.

Probably because I do more shooting on the range than afield. With every shot taken on the range, you are also function-checking. Funny, I haven’t had a failure in years, but this summer began I’ve taken three rifles to our local gunsmith. All three happen to be lever-actions, but I think this is mostly coincidence; I have several lever-actions, and some are old.

It started with my Savage 99 in .300 Savage, a 1950s rifle. At the range, I noticed the fore-end was rattling. I thought I got the screw tight, but I failed to remove the fore-end and inspect. Sure enough, a few days later I was scrambling up a slope after a once-hit hog when the fore-end came off in my hand. Got the pig and, for the moment, found yet another use for duct tape. Dumb. I knew there was a problem and I ignored it.

Although he doesn’t always use it, Boddington has been carrying the light Javelin bipod the last couple of years. In Tajikistan in February ’22 it was the salvation for a tough uphill shot at an ibex.

In 2019 I did some deer and hog hunting with my Mossberg 464 lever-action .30-30, but haven’t used it since. I loaded up some California-legal flat-tipped Barnes bullets, so I took it to the range.  This one violated all the rules, because the rifle was essentially a body in motion: It functioned perfectly the last time I fired it, no reason to suspect otherwise. Big surprise: The extractor was broken, no duct-tape cure here!

Boddington’s 2019 Kansas buck was taken with his Mossberg .30-30. It was working perfectly after that season. Taken to the range in the summer of ’22, the extractor was broken. Parts give out on their own schedule, not yours.

Third one, just don’t know. An old friend had a gorgeous reworked M88 Winchester .308, a rifle I’ve sought for a long time. I had just a few factory Barnes Vor-Tx; it produced a one-inch group and came perfectly into zero. Buddy John Stucker came out to visit, so I handed it to him with my half-dozen remaining California-legal cartridges. First evening, he made a perfect head shot on a nice hog. Week later, I sat down to the bench, different load. Third shot I had sticky extraction, couldn’t get the lever to open. The 88 is among few lever-actions ever made with forward-locking bolt, strong action for high-pressure cartridges. With much hand pressure, I got the action open, but then the lever wouldn’t close. Too nice a gun to force.

Prone with bipod is about as steady as it gets, but terrain and vegetation will often preclude its use. Good position to practice, but not good to get married to.

Straight to local gunsmith Jason Cardinale. In due time, maybe I’ll know what happened. For sure, I’ll start over with light handloads and work up. Jason now has three of my rifles, and gunsmithing isn’t an overnight fix like getting a tire repaired…especially if parts are needed. It’s not like I’m disarmed, but this fall I hope to hunt with all three. Here’s the point: Don’t wait ‘til the last minute. This weird rash of gun problems occurred with plenty of time to react.

On the range, an upended bin can replicate a boulder or log, using pack and jackets to cushion the rifle and adjust the height.

So, let’s start now. If you cleaned your rifle after last season, clean it again, get the gunk out of the bore. While you’re at it, check all the screws (sort of like I should have been doing on that pesky fore-end screw). Freshly cleaned, your zero may be off and, if screws needed more tension, it probably will be. Taking nothing for granted, you’re going to get good and steady on the bench and check zero first. While you’re doing that, run some cartridges in and out of the magazine to check functioning. This process revealed the broken extractor on my .30-30. That rifle hasn’t been fired for two years, so I will never know how, when, or why, but parts can fail…preferably not at the worst possible time.

The Javelin bipod system uses a fixture that replaces the front sling swivel stud, using a strong magnet to attach the bipod when desired. Standard sling swivels can be used at the rear of the fixture.

Let’s hope you don’t encounter the same problems; your rifle is working perfectly, and zero is where you want it. Now’s the time to get away from the bench and do some real practice. Wife Donna has a hunt coming up before I do, a tough mountain hunt. Her pet .270 hasn’t been out of the safe for months. She can clean it, but I had other rifles to tend to, so I scrubbed her barrel, checked everything, and we took it to the range. Couple fouling shots, slight adjustment, left it 1.3 inches high at 100 yards with the load this rifle really likes: Hornady’s Plain-Jane American Whitetail, 130-grain Interlock, clocking 3030 fps in her 22-inch barrel.   

I get lazy. It’s simple and convenient to zero at 100 yards, less human error, half the back-and-forth to check targets. This time we wanted it just right, so I put up a new 200-yard frame. Off sandbags it was fine, just like the charts said. Donna has trained with a bipod, but doesn’t like the extra weight, or the appendage on the rifle. Makes sense because her little MGA .270 weighs 5.7 pounds with VX3 3.5-10X scope.

Donna Boddington “building her house” for a prone shot using both bipod and pack

Okay, but summer is a good time to try new wrinkles. I feel pretty much the same about bipods. Very steady, but nothing works in every situation, and, weight aside, I don’t like junk on the rifle. So, as I’ve often written, my go-to is finding a way to rest over a pack. But, even at my age, I’m willing to learn new tricks, and summer shooting, absent imminent pressure, is a good time to experiment. Lately, I’ve been using the Javelin bipod system from Spartan, light, strong carbon fiber. Instead of attaching to the forward sling swivel stud (or a rail), the Javelin fixture replaces the forward stud. The bipod attaches instantly by a strong magnet; until needed it can go on your belt or in a pack pocket.

Not only light, it’s not even there until needed. I don’t use it all the time, but I’ve been carrying it. In Tajikistan earlier this year, it saved my bacon on a tough uphill shot at an ibex. I thought Donna might like it; if she didn’t, no harm done: That’s what summer shooting is all about.

Boddington isn’t OCD about gun cleaning, but if a firearm has been stored for some time it’s good to start by getting any old solvent or oil out of the bore. Thereafter, Boddington likes to clean his barrels after about 20 shots.

Donna is brilliant off sticks, steadier than me, and good off a pack, but she doesn’t like the bench. Don’t blame her; that light .270 bounces hard. She shoots well with a bipod, too, just hates to carry one. The light Spartan system intrigued her, so she started with it on the bench, sandbag under the butt. No benchrests in the field, but I was curious to see if she could hold her 200-yard zero with the bipod. Oh, yeah, she put the first three within an inch and a quarter, spot on, just favoring an inch to the right.

Now it’s time to get serious…and leave the bench behind. I put a tarp on the gravel, and she took a few shots prone, using the bipod and a pack. Then I upended a storage tub, replicating a boulder or log, augmented with pack or rolled-up jacket to get the height right. Groups are going to open up from such genuine field positions, but who cares? If you’re really prepping for field shooting, “minute of vital zone” is what you care about.

In between centerfire sessions, the Boddingtons “work out” with .22s, always a painless to get good position training for field shooting.

Hunting season is not an exam you can cram for. Shooting often is to the good, but shooting a little bit now and again is better than overdoing it, especially with centerfire rifles. In between various positions, our drill is to use a .22, off the same positions, or from sticks. With a .22, just use a smaller target. On our range we’ve got miniature metallic silhouettes, challenging at 25 yards. Recently, we added got a Birchwood Casey “target tree” with swinging gongs. Fun, no pain, invaluable practice. We’re not ready for hunting season yet; we’ll do this a few more times. Great way to pass a summer morning, before it gets too hot and the barrels heat up too fast.

USE ENOUGH GUN…For All Game

The phrase was made famous by author Robert Ruark (1915-1965). Actually, his memory, because Use Enough Gun is a posthumous collection. Naturally, we assume the admonition applies to large and dangerous game.

By

Craig Boddington

The phrase was made famous by author Robert Ruark (1915-1965). Actually, his memory, because Use Enough Gun is a posthumous collection. Naturally, we assume the admonition applies to large and dangerous game. So, let’s be clear: This story is not about animals that might gore, trample, bite, or eat you.

The greater kudu is a large African antelope, not as big as fully mature elk, but similar in size to a three-year-old five-point bull. Like elk, shots can come at any range. “Enough gun” at 200 yards is one thing, and quite another at twice that distance.

I’ve written those articles (and entire books), but that’s a simple subject. Most African jurisdictions have game laws that tell us what constitutes “enough gun.” In some countries, these are broad, such as “minimum .375 for all dangerous game.” Other areas have more specific rules, sometimes including minimum energy standards. Rather than guidelines, these are enforceable statutes. We can disagree and exceed the standards, but if our chosen rifles and cartridges don’t meet the minimums, we’re breaking the law.

Most US states that allow rifle hunting have a minimum legal caliber. Today, thanks to the widespread popularity of the AR platform, most jurisdictions now allow .223s, at least for deer. Some elk states maintain a higher standard but in most areas, we can now legally hunt deer and wild hogs with .22 centerfires.

“Enough gun” for dangerous game is subject to much debate but is simplified by minimum standards in most African jurisdictions. Widespread belief is the .375 H&H is the usual legal minimum, but it’s more commonly the European equivalent 9.3mm (.366-inch), with either the 9.3x74R or 9.3×62 Mauser usually legal.

On mature bucks and big boars, I’m not convinced this is a great idea, but many of us do it (me included). Light recoil and accuracy make shot placement easy. For brain and neck-shot specialists, the .223 is plenty of gun, and it doesn’t much matter what bullet is chosen. Folks like me, who prefer body shots, are better served by tough, heavy-for-caliber bullets designed for larger game.

Still may not be the best choice. Entrance holes are tiny and exits are unlikely. On larger deer, definitely on hogs, my experience is recovering game shot with .22 centerfires requires more tracking…and there isn’t much trail to follow.

This Texas hog was taken with a brain shot from a little .22 Hornet. Definitely not enough gun, but careful close-range hunters who specialize in brain shots can be a bit more flexible in cartridge choices.

Whether you’re one of the guys who “only does brain shots,” or, like most of us, you usually take the biggest, surest chest shot, when hunting big game with .22 centerfires the bottom line is the same. You must get close. In the first instance, because the head shot is a tricky target; 100 yards is a long brain shot. In body shots with .22 centerfires, you don’t have much bullet energy anyway, and you need all you have. Faster cartridges like the .22-250 offer more range, but when I hunt deer with a .223 I figure about the same 100-yard maximum. 

Now, it’s impossible to quantify exactly how much gun is “enough.” No two shots are exactly alike, with nuances of angles, distances, shot placement, and bullet performance. There are no absolutes. Ideal shot placement—with a bit of luck—may mask inadequacy…until it doesn’t. And the reverse: Make a bad shot, and one’s natural impulse is to blame the cartridge or bullet. There’s no precise formula, but our vast array of cartridges offers plenty of good choices.

Boddington and Zack Aultman with a Georgia hog, rolled with a body shot from a .22 centerfire AR. Although many use .223s for hogs, this is a bit of a false reading: .22 centerfires aren’t enough gun for body shots on big hogs…and this isn’t a very big hog!

Recognizing “enough gun” for dangerous game may be the easiest of all. Nobody takes long shots at big bears or buffaloes, so there’s little concern about trajectory or residual energy. What you start with better be enough. Everything else is more difficult, especially with today’s fascination with shooting at longer ranges. We really need to think about two criteria: Enough velocity, energy, and bullet weight for the close shot we might get; and enough for the long shot we might want to take. These are not exactly the same.

In North America, elk is a major animal that sparks the “enough gun” debate. Boddington used a .270 to take this New Mexico bull, very cleanly with one shot. The .270 is the lightest cartridge he has used for elk, but believes the faster 6.5mms are enough gun…but not at longer ranges.

I like the 6.5 Creedmoor, but I don’t credit it with magical powers. Its 140-grain bullet is not heavy, and its 2700 fps velocity is not fast. Past 300 yards it starts to drop quickly…as does residual energy. A young writer friend who did credit the Creedmoor with magical properties was convinced it’s a 400-yard elk cartridge. At that distance, his elk was wounded and lost. Sometimes we get away with folly, sometimes we don’t, but the Creedmoor is well below the line for elk-sized game at longer ranges.

Boddington used his .264 Winchester Magnum to take this excellent Wyoming mule deer. Ballistically identical to the 6.5 PRC, faster 6.5mms are ideal for deer-sized game at any sensible range, but perhaps a sound minimum for elk-sized game, and not at extreme range

Ringing steel with the Creedmoor at 1000 yards is easy and fun, but that isn’t the same as shooting at game. The steel target doesn’t care how hard or soft the strike; it’s going to ring. My longest shot on game with a Creedmoor was a whitetail at 325 yards. On deer-sized game, the Creedmoor has power and performance beyond that, but you must do things right. We mis-ranged the buck, adjusting for 300 yards vice 325. Doesn’t sound like much, but I needed two more clicks up and hit the buck low. The rangefinder probably caught an unseen branch, not uncommon. I corrected, held higher and hit him again. A flatter-shooting cartridge would have eliminated an almost-miss.  

With perfectly steady position, John Stucker is about to shoot a zebra at 400 yards with his Christensen 6.5 PRC with 143-grain ELD-X.

 I like the awesome downrange performance of the 6.5mm’s long, aerodynamic bullets, so I’m becoming a fan of the 6.5 PRC. With 140-grain bullet at 3000 fps, it is 300 fps faster than the Creedmoor, delivering more energy and shooting much flatter. There’s no magic in this formula; the old .264 Winchester Magnum does the same, as do the 6.5/.284 Norma and the new 6.5 Weatherby RPM. I have a good .264, but the 6.5 PRC, with modern case design, is better-suited for today’s longer, heavier “low drag” bullets. Although I’m new to the 6.5 PRC, I’ve taken a lot of game with the .264: Deer, sheep, goats, African plains game. I thought I had a pretty good idea of the size of game this level of 6.5mm was “enough gun” to handle. For sure, I considered it elk-adequate to considerable distance, if not extreme range.

B oddington and John Stucker with Stucker’s Burchell’s zebra, taken at 400 yards with a 6.5 PRC. Maybe it would have worked perfectly if the first shot had been two inches left…and maybe not. Collective summation: Not quite enough gun for large, tough animals at that distance

My buddy John Stucker has a Christensen Ridgeline in .300 Winchester Magnum, accurate, powerful, a wonderfully versatile rifle. Last year in Georgia, John used a borrowed 6.5 PRC and flattened a big-bodied buck in its tracks. He liked the cartridge so much that he bought another near-identical Christensen in 6.5 PRC.

This year we had a South African plains game hunt planned with Carl van Zyl’s John X Safaris. Stucker had an obvious choice in his Christensen .300. However, he was focused on smaller antelopes often taken at longer ranges: Vaal rhebok, klipspringer, steenbok, mountain reedbuck, nothing “big” on his wish list. He decided to take his 6.5 PRC and, for sure, I agreed 100 percent.

Boddington’s son-in-law, Brad Jannenga with a nice axis deer (similar in size to mule deer), taken with an old .300 Savage lever-action. For deer-sized game there are dozens of adequate cartridges. On larger game, more thought should be given to cartridge adequacy

Africa’s pygmy antelopes often mean difficult shooting. Obviously, the 6.5 PRC was plenty of gun, and Stucker was on a roll. With great shooting and good luck, he was done early, so he added zebra and maybe a kudu to his list. An average kudu bull is much the same size as maybe a youngish five-point or raghorn elk. At possibly 800 pounds, a zebra is as big, and as tough, as a big bull elk. John’s .300 would have been perfect, but we had no reason to question his 6.5. His PH, “Stix” Hoole, an astute “gun guy,” was also in agreement. Should be fine.

Left to right: 6.5×55 Mauser, 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Remington. These 6.5mms are almost identical in ballistics: 140-grain bullet at about 2700 fps. They are awesome for deer-sized game, but adequate for elk only at closer ranges…with excellent shot placement.

Here’s where nuances of shot placement, distance, and luck come into play. John got a shot at an older, big-bodied kudu bull with terrible horns, a “management” bull. One 143-grain ELD-X crumpled the bull, perfect shoulder shot at 380 yards. We were all stoked and gratified; the 6.5 PRC was obviously plenty of gun.

Unfortunately, the zebra told a different story. John’s first shot was just over 400 yards. The way folks tell it these days, that’s not far, right? From a steady position with data well dialed-in, very do-able. However, from muzzle energy of 2782 ft-lbs, residual energy at 400 yards was 1800. Again, nuances. Maybe the animal was quartering a few degrees, or maybe the first shot was a couple inches too far forward. Whatever. The first shot on the shoulder didn’t do the job. Nor did additional shots, apparently perfectly placed despite increasing distance. The animal went down, but when we approached it jumped up and needed a close-range finishing shot.

Faster 6.5mms flatten trajectories and deliver more downrange energy. These 6.5mms all deliver 140-grain bullets at about 3000 fps, left to right: .264 Winchester Magnum, 6.5-.284 Norma, 6.5 PRC, 6.5 Weatherby RPM. All are fully adequate for elk, but their relatively light bullets suggest caution at longer ranges

I can’t tell you how many more feet per second in velocity, how many more foot-pounds of energy, or how many more grains of bullet weight we should have had for that zebra. Nor, precisely, can anyone else. I don’t even know for absolute certainty that we didn’t have enough. Maybe if the first shot had been two inches farther left we’d still be congratulating each other on a great shot, made with a perfect choice of cartridge and bullet. But I don’t think so, because the lesson isn’t new. The last time I used my .264 in Africa (140-grain bullet at 3000 fps, so ballistically the same as Stucker’s 6.5 PRC), I remember thinking that larger, tougher antelopes—and zebra—traveled a bit farther with well-placed hits than would have been the case with 7mm or .30-calibers with heavier bullets. The problem with using “enough gun” is that nobody can say exactly what that is for various sizes and types of game. It only becomes obvious when you don’t have quite enough!

UNDERSTANDING THE PRCs

Introduced in 2018, the 6.5 PRC got in under the wire before Covid struck. It jumped on the 6.5mm bandwagon, and made significant inroads before the world shut down. Formally introduced at SHOT Show in 2019, its sibling .300 PRC had less fortunate timing.

By

Craig Boddington

Introduced in 2018, the 6.5 PRC got in under the wire before Covid struck. It jumped on the 6.5mm bandwagon, and made significant inroads before the world shut down. Formally introduced at SHOT Show in 2019, its sibling .300 PRC had less fortunate timing.

I try to keep up on new developments, but the .300 PRC was nearly out of diapers before I laid eyes on a cartridge! And it didn’t much matter: Couldn’t get a rifle to play with and, even if I could, no ammo! I first saw the 6.5 PRC in the fall of ’19, but didn’t hunt with it until the following season. I was slower yet to gain experience with the .300 PRC. In the fall of ’21 I hunted with two borrowed .300 PRCs, but just now got my hands on a rifle I can spend quality range time with.

Hornady’s_Neil_Davies
Hornady’s Neil Davies, sighting in his GA Precision .300 PRC in Tajikistan. Of four hunters in the party, two used .300 PRCs and two used .300 Win Mags, clearly a split decision between old and new.

Despite similar names, the 6.5 and .300 PRCs are quite dissimilar cartridges. Both are based on the .375 Ruger case, jointly developed by Hornady and Ruger in 2006. It follows the “model” of shorter, wider, unbelted case design. However, instead of a much fatter case, which causes a bolt face mismatch—and feeding problems in many actions—the .375 Ruger uses the same .532-inch rim and base of standard belted magnums, without a belt. The .375 Ruger quickly spawned the .416 Ruger and, shortened, the .300 and .338 Ruger Compact Magnums (RCMs).

PRC stands for “Precision Rifle Cartridge,” after the Precision Rifle discipline. The 6.5 PRC is actually based on the .300 RCM case necked down to 6.5mm (.264-inch bullet), short enough to fit into a short action. Despite supply challenges, the 6.5 PRC seems to have caught on nicely. This is almost certainly because, at long last, the 6.5 Creedmoor made American shooters aware of the ballistic advantages of the long, aerodynamic 6.5mm (.264-inch) bullet.

Springfield Waypoint in 6.5 PRC
John Stucker borrowed a Springfield Waypoint in 6.5 PRC to take this ancient ’21 Georgia buck. He was impressed enough that, within weeks, he bought a 6.5 PRC.

The .300 PRC uses the full-length .375 Ruger case (2.580 inches), necked down to take a .308-inch bullet. So far, it has not been as popular as its 6.5mm little brother. This may be pandemic timing, but there are other factors. The shooting world fell in love with the efficient, light-kicking 6.5 Creedmoor, but folks are asking it to do more than it should. It is a wonderful long-range target cartridge. In my view it is not a long-range hunting cartridge, and at best a marginal elk cartridge. About 300 fps faster, the 6.5 PRC shoots flatter and delivers more energy. It has more recoil than the Creedmoor, but remains pleasant to shoot.

The 6.5 PRC’s performance, 140-grain bullet at roundabout 3000 fps, is not new. That’s what the .264 Winchester Magnum has offered since 1958, and the 6.5-284 Norma comes close. All three are credible long-range hunting cartridges and fully adequate for elk. Faster 6.5mm cartridges deliver more, but they are over bore capacity. Powder selection is limited, and barrel life is reduced. I think the 6.5 PRC is in the 6.5mm “sweet spot.”

On the range with a new Bergara in .300 PRC.
On the range with a new Bergara in .300 PRC. The Bergara shoots extremely well, and is an amazingly affordable rifle

I love my .264, but let’s face it: The cartridge is nearly obsolete. There are no flies on the 6.5-284. However, despite a cult-like following, the 6.5-284 has been chambered to few factory rifles, the .264 now to almost no new rifles. Actual cartridge performance depends on loads and pressure, but case capacity offers a ballpark gauge. The 6.5 PRC has a case capacity of 68.8 grains. The .264 Win Mag’s case capacity is 84.1 grains, while the 6.5-284 has case capacity of 68.3 grains. Since velocities are much the same, obviously the PRC and 6.5-284 have more efficient case designs.

John Stucker on the range with a Springfield Waypoint in 6.5 PRC
John Stucker on the range with a Springfield Waypoint in 6.5 PRC. The Springfield, with carbon-fiber barrel and adjustable stock, is a wonderfully modern platform, offering much rifle for the price.

Wit sleek, modern case, the 6.5 PRC was designed around the increasingly long, high BC “low drag” projectiles. SAAMI specifications call for a fast 1:8 twist, but many shooters building 6.5 PRCs use faster twists. Virtually all .264s, and many early 6.5-284s, are barreled with 1:9 twists. I’m not re-barreling my .264, and I doubt staunch 6.5-284 fans are abandoning their babies, but the 6.5 PRC is coming on fast, chambered to more platforms, with growing ammo sources. Haven’t given up on my .264, but I bought a 6.5 PRC, the excellent (and excellently priced) Springfield 2020 Waypoint.

So far, the .300 PRC has not come on as strong. We Americans love our .30s but, unless we need the capability, we aren’t crazy about .30-caliber recoil!  With or without the word, the .300 PRC is a full-up magnum cartridge, and we already have plenty of fast .30s. It’s a crowded field, the .300 PRC going head-to-head against the world’s most popular magnum, the .300 Win Mag.

Boddington borrowed Zack Aultman’s Allterra in .300 PRC
Boddington borrowed Zack Aultman’s Allterra in .300 PRC to take his 2021 Georgia buck, using a 212-grain ELD-X. Truthfully, “fast .30” power isn’t necessary for deer hunting, but the results were decisive!

With similar case length, the .300 PRC’s wider case has slightly more case capacity than the .300 Win Mag: 77 grains for the PRC; 72.7 for the Win Mag. This suggests it’s capable of more velocity. Also, it was specified for higher pressure: 64,000 psi for the Win Mag; 65,000 for the PRC. Raw powder space is one thing, but how it’s utilized depends on bullet seating depth, and how far out bullets can be seated and still fit in magazine boxes. As with the 6.5 PRC, the .300 PRC was designed to take advantage of long, heavy bullets.

It is a standard-action-length cartridge…sort of. The .300 PRC case was SAAMI-specified for a much great maximum overall length than the Win Mag: 3.7 inches vice 3.34 inches. So, competition shooters going to the .300 PRC are often using full-length (.375 H&H) actions so they can use the longest, heaviest bullets seated out, taking greater advantage of the case capacity. Similarly, some shooters are also putting the 6.5 PRC in a standard (.30-06 action), rather than a short (.308 action).

.300 PRC Groups
These days you can’t squander ammo. Initial groups from the Gunwerks NXT .300 PRC are promising, but the barrel needs to be broken in and additional loads must be tried.

That’s one beauty of the PRCs: As new cartridges, they are chambered in the most modern platforms. Depending on the bullets you intend to use, the .300 PRC can also call for a faster twist. Most .30-caliber cartridges use a 1:10 twist. With the heavier—and especially longer—bullets currently in vogue, this isn’t fast enough. The .300 PRC is SAAMI-specified for a faster 1:8 twist, able to stabilize the long .30-caliber match bullets up to 250 grains.

Velocity suffers with heavy bullets, but that’s also what the PRCs are about: Getting those long bullets out there where they can do their work. Honestly, if you want to shoot standard 180-grain (to maybe 200-grain) hunting bullets in a fast .30-caliber, the .300 PRC offers no appreciable advantage over established fast .30s. The PRC is faster than some, not as fast as others, but comes into its own with long, heavy, high-BC bullets.

Georgia hog was flattened with by Zack Aultman’s Allterra in .300 PRC.
This Georgia hog was flattened with by Zack Aultman’s Allterra in .300 PRC. This was Boddington’s first use of a .300 PRC, impressive!

So far, if you want a fast 6.5mm that really struts 6.5mm capability, the 6.5 PRC is the clear winner. The .300 PRC is not such an obvious choice. Better with heavy bullets, for sure, but I doubt it will become as popular as the .300 Win Mag, and it brings the full complement of fast .30-caliber recoil, not needed by everyone.

Oh, did I forget accuracy? If unprecedented accuracy were assured, then all old favorites would be discarded. Reality: Maximum accuracy is not dependent on case design. The modern wider, unbelted cases are conducive to accuracy, but quality of barrel, sound assembly and bedding, and good ammo are more important to accuracy than case design. So far, my experience with the PRCs is limited: Four each in 6.5 and .300. Most have been “high end” rifles from Allterra, Christensen, Gunwerks, and Springfield. Expected them to shoot, and they did. So did a wonderfully inexpensive Bergara in .300 PRC!

.300 PRC Groups
These days you can’t squander ammo. Initial groups from the Gunwerks NXT .300 PRC are promising, but the barrel needs to be broken in and additional loads must be tried.

Just yesterday, I took a new Gunwerks NXT .300 PRC to the range. Awesome rifle. I suppose I expected a miracle, but you rarely get one on the first try. First two five-shot groups were 1.5 inches. Not exceptional, but a good start from a brand-new barrel, and at the moment I only have one load to try. After break-in, and fiddling with loads, all the PRCs I’ve shot have grouped much better. I’m certain this one will, looking forward to seeing just how well it groups. However, let’s get real: Two of my pet rifles happen to be a Jarrett .300 Win Mag; and a .264 with an exceptional Obermayr barrel. I have yet to see a 6.5 PRC that groups as well as my .264; or a .300 PRC that groups as well as my Jarrett. They’re out there, but exceptionally accurate rifles—in any chambering, old or new—are tough to beat…and cannot automatically be beaten by case design alone.

Boddington and Zack Aultman with a fine Georgia buck, taken with Springfield Waypoint in 6.5 PRC
Boddington and Zack Aultman with a fine Georgia buck, taken with Springfield Waypoint in 6.5 PRC. Popular among competitors, the 6.5 PRC is a fine cartridge for deer-sized game.

I’m not rebarreling either of them just to get a modern case—or to shoot heavier bullets. Now, if I were starting from scratch and I wanted a versatile, fast 6.5mm, I’d go with the PRC. And, if I wanted a fast .30, I’d take a hard look at the .300 PRC. Understanding, if will be a long time, if ever, before it’s as available as the .300 Win Mag.