My Essential Battery of Rifle Calibres
When I first chose many years ago to put together my Essential Battery of Rifle Calibers, I first had to define for myself the calibre/firearm combination’s that were to have a place as tools in my outdoor’s toolbox or determine a special need that a specific calibre fulfilled. From the diminutive .22 Long Rifle to the massive .416 Rigby, this tool box can be as detailed and specific as my needs would dictate. As to myself, I hunt and fish primarily in the North Central United States, and though I have never done so…One day I would like very much to hunt in Alaska. As to Essential Batteries, many times in my life I have had just this very conversation with various outdoors aficionados of my acquaintance. I have formed my opinions and the calibre selections of my personal collection based largely upon these conversations and more heavily through my personal experience. And each time that I purchase a new firearm in a new calibre, this discussion is begun anew.
.22 Long Rifle - To begin any Essential Battery of Rifle Calibres, this list could not be considered serious without the inclusion of the .22 Long Rifle. I’ll go even farther and state that every Essential Battery of Rifle Calibers list should include the venerable and time tested .22 Long Rifle. Basic Marksmanship, the development of Recoil Tolerance and establishment of beginning hunting skills all begin with good shooting habits. Any shooter that wants to effectively graduate to the larger calibres is well advised to begin their shooting career by first mastering basic shooting through the use of the .22 Long Rifle. The ammunition is inexpensive and widely available…it’s the perfect combination for the beginner that is just starting out in learning their shooting skills and for the advanced shooter that wants to maintain his shooting skills with an impromptu shooting session or two. Bolt Action, Single Shot, Lever Action or Semi-Auto the .22 lr is a versatile cartridge that can be had in most any shooting platform. I have learned much of my hunting skills while carrying a .22 lr and cautiously slipping down hedge rows while stalking rabbits, squirrels and prairie dogs…or even just stump shooting random targets while on my way home after a long day in the field. Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and the .22 Long Rifle…it’s a true American Classic.
The Small Bore center-fire calibres always create controversy and lengthy discussions among the members of the shooting fraternity. I have spent untold hours debating the strengths of this calibre balanced against the weaknesses of that calibre. I lump my Small Bore selections into the same category as my Varmint Calibres; and as such my selections reflect the needs that I have in this area of my shooting endeavors.
.22 Hornet – This is a calibre that I discovered late in my shooting career. I enjoy hunting prairie dogs and have spent many days in my youth slinking down small ditches and crawling through open ground trying to close the distance so that I could get a better shot at a prairie dog with my little bolt action .22 lr. The .22 Hornet was initially a compromise calibre for me. At the time that I purchased my .22 Hornet, I deeply considering the addition of a .22 Magnum to my growing collection of firearms. But I found that the ballistics of the Hornet more than matched .22 Magnum. The Hornet possessed the added advantage that I could reload it; meaning that I could tailor my loads to the specifics of the firearm that I owned. I bought my first .22 Hornet as a gift to myself after I graduated from college with a degree in Biochemistry. It was shortly thereafter that I was impressed by the fantastic accuracy that could be had with the .22 Hornet. My current rifle in this calibre is a Ruger 77/.22 Hornet and is a fantastic shooter. With 32 grain bullets up to 45 grain bullets I can shoot ¼ inch groups all day out to 100 yards and with 55 grain bullets my groups open up to only ½ inch at 150 yards. The quiet report of the .22 Hornet coupled with its fantastic accuracy at moderate ranges make this cartridge my “goto gun” while varmint hunting on many of the small-acreage farms and woodlots that dot the landscape where I live and hunt much of the time. The .22 Hornet now has a firm place in my Essential Battery of Rifle Calibres.
.223 Remington – This calibre selection has vexed me more than any calibre choice that I have ever made for an Essential Battery of Rifle Calibres. My initial series of calibre selections ran the gamut from the Uber-Accurate .22 PPC to the incredibly popular .22-250 Remington. The selection was finally paired down over time by the tri-ffecta of basic calibre accuracy, ease of acquiring reloading components and the availability & cost of commercial ammunition. My .223 Remington is a bolt action Winchester Model 70 Extra-Grade. This gun will shoot a 55 grain pill into groups that are a hair over ¼ inch at 100 yards, any time that I want it too. I have used this great accuracy to zip prairie dogs and coyotes out to 300 yards on many occasions. At the peak of the fur boom, back in the late 70’s, my very first .223 earned me enough money in one weekend to buy me my very first car…1972 Buick Skylark with a 455. I still have the rifle, and I wish that I still had the car. I have had no regrets with this calibre selection; the .223 Remington meets all of my demands for its intended purpose. It is my opinion that accurate guns are so much more interesting to shoot and tack drivers are simply outstanding to shoot. The .223 fills the bill as my Varmint Gun when out hunting in the open plains of eastern Colorado, Wyoming or Montana. If my shooting ranges exceed the limitations of the .223, it’s not a problem…I have another essential calibre in my arsenal that I can reach for to fill the bill.
Medium Bore guns are so very broad in their use and application. In fact, this range of calibers is where my Essential Battery of Rifle Calibres will end. With the hunting that I do and the woods that I have wandered, I have not yet developed a need for the BIG BORE Grand Daddy’s of the shooting community. The remaining calibers that I feel are essential to my Battery of Rifle Calibres will now all fall into the Medium Bore range. Disagree with me if you wish as to my selections…many do…my Dad among them. But I am quite comfortable with my logic and with the results of my selections. Over the years many calibers have come and gone, but those that remain over the years have earned their place.
.270 Winchester – I was 12 years old when I got my 1st .270 Winchester. It was chosen for me by my uncles as the best calibre for me to explore the hunting of big game. With this old gun I have taken Antelope, Deer and Elk. This calibre is so respected within my family that each child is given a .270 bolt action as their first gun when they come to hunting age. This can make hunting camp a bit confusing when everyone is breaking camp on opening morning and grabbing their gun to head out to their hunting stand. The .270 Winchester is a fantastic shooting firearm for the beginning shooter due to its mild recoil and inherent accuracy. Couple this with the fact that the .270 Winchester possesses a significantly flat trajectory of the projectile, making range estimation for the novice shooter a negligible consideration if the game is within 325 yards. This means that if a novice shooter can see their quarry clearly with the naked eye…they can hit it with a .270 projectile. Ya just gotta love that logic. My basic load is a 130 grain bullet propelled by 54.0 gr of IMR 4350. My son inherited my great uncle’s beautifully made custom .270 Winchester and that firearm has proven itself to be both accurate and effective on big game, thus continuing the family tradition. I have come to believe that there are two draw backs to this wonderful calibre. The first drawback with the .270 Winchester is that shot placement becomes critical when taking big game such as the majestic elk. I’ve passed up a few wall hangers simply because the proper profile was not offered and I did not wish to risk a wounded animal. The second drawback is bullet selection. For the shooter…heck even the reloader of this calibre is very limited with their available selections of bullet weights when compared to other medium bore calibres that are available. For me it’s not a huge factor, if I have a need that the .270 doesn’t meet then I grab another of my essential rifles. My bases are covered and the .270 Winchester has earned its place many many times over.
.308 Winchester (7.62 X 51 NATO) - I own a .30-06 Springfield. This firearm is a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in immaculate condition. I inherited this rifle from my grandfather and have had many years to shoot it and explore its many strengths and few limitations. But experience has shown me that the .270 Winchester will do everything that the ’06 will do, and do it with less recoil and a flatter trajectory. If I had received the .30-06 first it might have been a toss-up between the .270 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. But the .308 Winchester is in a class by its own. I’ll say it again, “Accurate guns are interesting to shoot and tack drivers are simply outstanding”…and the .308 Winchester is outstanding. I have this calibre in two configurations. My first rifle platform is an FN FAL made by DSA Inc. and it is just an amazing Firearm/Calibre combination. With open sights I so enjoy taking this gun to the range and beating the pants off the guys shooting their tricked-out Uber-Accurised AR-15’s, M-14’s or M-1 Garands. That FN FAL just amazed me to the point that I started researching the calibre looking for a fine bolt action. And my bolt action in this calibre is a Remington 700 Mil-spec…it is the most accurate out-of-the-box rifle that I own. With my reloads of a 168 gr HPBT at 100 yards, the groups are always around 0.3 inches when shot from a solid rest…and under the same conditions at 300 yards I can easily keep the shots within 2.5 inches. If I really push myself and concentrate on my breathing, groups drop to less than 2 inches. When I’m Varmint Hunting and I know that the ranges will be long and challenging…conditions where my .223 Remington won’t do the job… it’s the .308 Winchester that makes the trip to the hunting grounds. Yes I love my Varmint Hunting…and to really make this activity worth your time, accuracy is not a “want” it’s a “necessity”. Give me a quality range finder and I can drop coyotes at 700 yards with my .308 bolt action. Were I forced to cut my Essential Battery of Rifle Calibres to a lower number…the .308 would be a keeper, its part of my eternal arsenal.
7.62 X 39 Russian – I do not consider myself to be a doom & gloomer…it’s not part of my nature. Being prepared, however, is very much a part of my nature. And in a world of Sheep and Wolves, I like to think of myself as a Sheepdog...meaning that if I were in an emergency situation, I would have just enough “wolf” in me to level the playing field and protect myself and my family (the Sheep) from the bad guys (the Wolves). There are many self defense choices out there, but in rifles calibers, I looked very hard at both the .223 Remington and the 7.62 Russian. In the final analysis the 7.62 won based on ballistics, firearm selection and cost. When I made my selection, years ago in this direction…I quickly determined that for the price of an AR-15 and 1000 rounds of .223 ammo…I could have two SKS’s, 2000 rounds of ammo and still take my wife out to dinner with what was left over. Since that time I have spent many fun days at the range shooting steel knock-downs with both rifle and pistol; one day while at the range my brother let me shoot his AK-47. That firearm made quite an impression on me to the point that now I have two AK’s and I’m down to one SKS, as a distant backup. For my AK’s I went out and purchased a few 5 round magazines and loaded up some soft-point ammunition. Yes, I did the unthinkable and took an AK-47 to the deer woods. What I found was that the 7.62 x 39 is a great short range deer cartridge, so much so that Ruger even offered a bolt action in this calibre many years ago. Long story short…I got my deer, with one well placed shot at 92 yards (range finder) using those crappy AK open-sites. The deer took two short steps and dropped cold. I was impressed. These days, I shoot Wolf Brand ammo…it was cheap when I bought it and it was relatively accurate out to about 100 yards. I’m a curious person by nature and I played around with the FMJs and the HPs offered by Wolf. I found that in wet newspaper I got 36 inches of penetration with the FMJs…but only 13 inches of penetration with the HPs. That little field test made the HP a very good defensive round with limited shoot-through problems. It further cemented my selection of the 7.62 x 39 as a defensive rifle cartridge. I’m currently looking again at the AR-15 platform, but this time in a 7.62 x 39 calibre. The 7.62 x 39 Russian is a great rifle cartridge, that offers some nice versatility to the shooter and it deserves to be included in more of the Essential Battery of Rifle Cartridge that I have read in this thread.
.300 Winchester Short Magnum – This was an easy choice for me to make as a calibre to be included in my Essential Battery of Rifle Cartridges. I have shot the .300 Magnum and the .300 Weatherby, both are outstanding calibres and are considered to be corner stones of their respective hunting niches. Then Winchester released the WSM series back in the early 2000’s. I was intrigued to say the least. My .300 WSM is a Winchester Model 70 Coyote with a semi-heavy stainless steel matte finished barrel. I no longer own a .300 Magnum or a Weatherby…And in my opinion the .300 WSM is just amazing. This is the newest addition to my essential list, but this is a calibre that combines the power and authority of the .300 mag with the proven accuracy potential of the .308 Winchester. At 700 yards my stock “out-of-the-box” bolt action .300 WSM, firing reloads, will keep everything within a 5 inch group, under good shooting conditions (I’ll admit that things do open up a bit under actual hunting conditions). Someday I’ll take that great hunt to Alaska, and I’ll be packing a .300 WSM in some rugged terrain on a hunt of a lifetime. But until that time comes, I’m looking at the .300 WSM as a 1000 yard miracle worker.
So there you have it. This is my Essential Battery of Rifle Cartridges and the reasons and logic as to why I have carefully selected each one. It’s a short list, limited to only 7 calibres. But there are so many representatives within several of these calibres as to make it a very broad and effective range. Shooting is a joy that I possess, and accuracy is a passion within that interest. And accurate Rifle is interesting and exciting to shoot; but a real tack driver is simply awesome to shoot.
