O.K. Folks:
Everybody that hunts, target shoots or uses a rifle for personal defense has their "pet" cartridge or pet load. Whatever your choice, I would like to give ya'll a place to "vent".
Similar to the "Knife of the week" thread, we can continually use these topics, again and again. They can be added to and updated from time to time. Seeing as we are still in our infancy over here on this forum, it will be good to look back, over time, and see what was said from the inception of this forum. I believe that we will find these posts quite useful, informative and helpful as a reference source.
So: Let us begin! I'll start out with, not only one of "my" favorite cartridge choices, but a caliber/cartridge that is ever-popular the world over. The 30-06 Springfield!
I would ask Kevin Lough to come in here and set this thread up, similar to the "Knife of the week" thread. We will need a pinned, "drop-down" list that we can click on.
I'm working on it....More to come.
Best, Capt. Chris

.308 lot's of ammo for it easy to make up your own loads. I run it in my Remington 700 and my M1-A1. I also like 06 and 7mm mag.

Capt.

I do not shoot a centrefire much these days, but it is a 30-06 if I do. I have been shooting one for 40 years.

Just had my Remington 700 "upgraded" with a Bell and Carlson stock, action bedded and all the metal parkerized and teflon coated.

I agree the 30/06 is a great round! The bullet and load combo's for this cal. is overwhelming! I killed my first deer with a post 64 model 70. As far as lock time goes the cal. has no meaning. Lock time is the time it takes the sear to release and set the firing pin in motion. Trigger groups can be changed to shorten lock time.

Warren,
Oh, believe me, the 308 was going to be discussed, along with dozens of other calibers in times to come. I own a couple of them. One thing, when comparing the "closeness" in 308 and 30-06 that often gets overlooked is the following:
The heaviest factory load for a 308? 180 grain.
The heaviest factory load for a 30-06? 220 grain
The maximum velocity for a 308, 150 grain (factory)? 2820fps
The maximum vel. for a 30-06, 150 grain (factory)? 2920fps

They are certainly close, but hardly the same. At ranges I have to "ambush" whitetails on my lease (500 yds. or so) that extra 100 fps starts to get into the realm of a clean miss verses a kill shot.
I'm not putting the 308 down. I like 'em alot. With handloads they can more than duplicate the 30-06..."BUT" (There comes that word again),with handloads, a 30-06 is a 300 H&H Magnum! It goes on and on. Both are good. My "go-to" is always going to be the '06.
Best, Capt. Chris
P.S. The medium 308 action is easier to operate, "quickly" from the shoulder. Not "lock time", but "bolt time"...Of course: We don't "really" ever get (nor need) a second shot...or do we?...CCS

Captain,

You are correct I meant bolt time not lock time. But you know what I meant. I agree with everything you said but I can't remember shooting anything larger than 180 grain. Like I said I have them both, but prefer the .308 now for the versatility in 2 guns.

Best,
Warren

I'm surprised the .270 Winchester hasn't got a mention.
I would have thought it would be perfect for Whitetail deer.
Here in the south east of Australia we have Sambar deer that would average around 600 pounds. We stalk them on foot so most shooting is done off hand, no rest. Because of the dense forest, a long shot would be 300 yds.
Over the years I’ve used a .303 Brit, 270 win, 340 Weatherby, 300 win Mag, 30-06, .308 Win., 7mm Rem Mag and .375 H&H. My current rifle is a Ruger 77 Hawkeye in .338 Win Mag.

The .270 I bought in 1979 and apart from the new .338 and an old .303 backup it is the only large CF rifle I’ve kept and used continuously for all that time. With 130grn soft point boat tails it is adequate for Sambar to 300yds and beyond. It also makes a fine varmint rifle especially on those days when the high speed.17 -.22’s are blowing away in the wind. Like a 30-06 you can shoot it all day, even off a bench, without getting a head ache or a sore shoulder.

The Weatherby and H&H are too hard to buy factory ammo for, especially if you are hunting in New Zeeland or New Caledonia, and airlines get real nervous about shipping ammo with guns these days.
The 7mm and 300 magnums I find have a lot of muzzle blast, in practical dense bush hunting rifle length barrels of 22 to 24”. In a stalking weight rifle the larger magnums have too much recoil for constant shooting. Maybe not, if you’re built like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I’m not.

The .308 Win lacks a bit of power at longer ranges. The 30-06 is about perfect, but like the .308 is restricted in some places due to it military origin and it is not as versatile for varmints as the .270.

If I was restricted to one high powered rifle (a definite possibility in Australia) the .270 Win will do it all for me.

270 Winchester will be covered also, over time...but I have never, I repeat "never" liked it. It's like kissing your sister.
A 270 Win. cannot and will not do anything a 30-06 cannot do, but the opposite most certainly cannot be said. The 270 Win, was originally a "wildcat" created by necking down the (you guessed it) 30-06 Springfield. It is most accurate and in it's element with bullet weights of 130 gr. or so. I can do that with my '06.
Alright: Come on all of you "Ladies gun" shooters. Tell me how wrong I am. Jack O'Connor made the 270 famous, but I'll stick with Dr. Frank Barnes. O.K. My rant is over. I really will bring up the 270 Winchester topic later.
My favorite calibers, having shot a bunch, will be told in due time, and they are numerous. I guarantee one of them is "not" the 270. A lot of folks like them. To each his own. That's why rifle and ammo companies make more than one caliber.
Best, Capt. Chris
P.S. We still have a few states that require 7mm or larger bullets for deer. A 270 measures .277 inches, not .284 (7 mm)...CCS