Cartridges you just hate

[CoElkHunter]

Dislikes: 6.5x49, .264 Hornady, 787x82, 20mm Mauser and 787x102. The latter three because they’re too heavy for mountain hunting and have heavy recoil without a very large and LOUD brake which I don’t care for, especially in a DR. AND, it’s very difficult to get the CRF bolt extractor to “snap” over the case rim on those. But to each their own.
Likes: .338 WINCHESTER MAGNUM.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Opposite for me, I dislike the 275 Rigby because it’s just a rebadged 7x57

Fair enough, then call it a 7mm Mauser, but calling it a 7x57 is like going to a hardware store

 

[CZDiesel]

6.5 Manbun (aka 6.5 creedmore or less) the biggest scam to sell rifles and ammo I have ever seen!

 

[CoElkHunter]

6.5 Manbun (aka 6.5 creedmore or less) the biggest scam to sell rifles and ammo I have ever seen!

Yeah, unfortunately I remember during the height of the recent ammo/component shortage, you could buy any ammo you wanted as long as it was 6.5 Creedmoor because there was nothing else on the shelves. You could also buy any rifle you wanted as long as it was chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor because that’s 90 percent of what stores had in stock. Hornady and their partnered rifle manufacturers played all of us when OUR chips were down and that’s why I’ll NEVER buy one. Sometimes we have to stand for something or we’ll fall for anything.

 

[FlyGuy]

No hate... More dislike.

.243 - 90% of the rifles I've struggled to get good loads for were 243's.
Some shoot lights out, others should be used for firewood.

6.5CM - Over hyped for what it is, and certainly for what it's capabilities as a hunting cartridge are.

308 - Won't do anything that the 133 year old 7x57 can't do, and the old 30-06 has more horsepower and versatility across all bullet weights.
Hell... even a properly hand loaded .303 Brit can meet or slightly exceed .308 performance!

300WM - Not a fan of the sharp recoil impulse and short case neck. You can't argue with the performance though. Especially with well constructed bullets.

.30-378 Wby - Why?

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

No, not at all.
I have .308 and .300wm among others.

I have never owned a .30-30, they were popular here once but the so was 7.62x39.

I believe the .30-30 is great but is probably best used with open sights in close range hunting. Even with a red dot or low power scope it still probably best used within its limits.

I only say this because it’s a bit like the 6.5creedmore hype. Some consider it to be a big gun and the be all and end all. With the right ammunition I used accordingly they excel but neither are a big cartridge if you look a little closer .
Horses for courses.

What makes the 30-30 great is how "handy" it is. I grew up when people had gun racks in pickup trucks and a lever action rifle was a common sight, in Idaho and Washington state. Very useful in short range hunting, utilizing iron sights, or in my case a peep sight (or ghost ring). A lever action rifle fits well in a horse scabbard too, a lot less bulk than a scoped, bolt action rifle. That makes for a better ride for the hunter. My recent hunt with a 30-30 was excellent. It's a very pleasant experience to shoot a low recoiling rifle and witness up close its still significant stopping power.

 

[Flipper Dude]

However, the main reason for this post:
Do you also hate or dislike some specific cartridge or class of cartridges? For real reasons or just so? Are we nuts? Am I?

No. Not applicable. Some are. Definitely.

 

[cmk]

"Hate" is a strong word, but I don't really see the need for any of the new (post-WWI) inventions. And as most of us know, they don't bring much/anything new to the table (for us hunters), but are rather being created so that more rifles can be sold. In fact, all of the relevant inventions* were made before 1900, and some of the resulting cartridges** also saw the light of day in the late 1800's. Some others came along slightly after that, but by the start of WWI, we were pretty much done. There are a few of the higher-velocity small bores that came out in the 20's and 30's (e.g. 300 HH, 220 Swift, 22-250 etc) that may be considered relevant still.

Sure, there are a few things that have happened in the last 100 years, e.g. even better powders, primers and bullets, better optics etc, but not new cartridges as such.

Given what was available in 1914, are there really any newer cartridges that have been meaningful in a hunting perspective?

(That being said, even though I've never fired one, I have a soft spot for the 8x68S. It looks nice, and I would not mind owning one).


* self-contained metallic cartridges, jacketed bullets, smokeless powder etc.
** e.g. 8x57, 7x57, 6.5x55, 303 British, 450 NE etc

 

[pilar]

.22 birdshot. Anyone ever actually able to kill a bird with that stuff?

I have killed a canoe full of birds ( woodpeckers, pigeon, black birds) with a .22 Lr & .22 mag with rat/ bird shot, only way to remove them from a barn without damaging the barn, killed a few poisonous snakes & rats with them too, but they are useless out of a pistol!
I’m not a fan of these new straight wall deer calibers they make hunters use now
Or a 300 black out, .30 carbine
I’m a fan of .243win - 375 ruger and lots of classic stuff like .264wm , 270 , 7x57 , 303 British, 8x57 , 8mm Remington mag, 35whelen

 

[Boyd Brooks]

For your 22 shotshell needs.

 

[Tom Leoni]

CMK stole my thunder. If we are talking big-game hunting cartridges, I love to hate every number introduced after 1930. If I had to pick the cartridges that I see as lice in Satan's beard (in jest, of course) I would mention the various Lazzeronis, STWs, WSMs, WSSMs, 6.5 Creedmoor and its many "me too" spawns, as well as any cartridge with "Wby Mag" as a tagline.

Also, for some reason I've always had it in for the .270 Win. Don't ask me why--I don't know, also because it's a perfectly good cartridge.

Give me a nice old cartridge pushing a heavy-for-caliber bullet at moderate velocities, and see me melt like a schoolgirl in love.

 

[ftrovato]

@ftrovato
And Samuel Colt had it right before that with the 45 colt then J.M. Browning invented the 1911 and the grand old 45 ACP was born.
The 45 is the 30-06 of pistol cartridges. Ain't to many people that will stay standing when hit with a 45.
Bob

I have 3 `911 45 ACP's for a reason.... ;-)

 

[Vashper]

I am dubious about belt cartridges. And aesthetically, and I'm not sure about smooth feeding. But I like rant cartridges. 7.62x54R. Just like the usual ones. 8x57.
It is a pity that it was not possible to resuscitate the "Russian Berdan" 10.75x58 R.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

9,3x 62.

 

[grand veneur]

9,3x62.

Interesting, but why ?

 

[Uncontrolled_round_feed]

9,3x 62.

 

[rookhawk]

I hate the 270 - It's marginally smaller than a 7mm, being .277 vs .284, yet it tops out at a 150gr bullet whereas the fractionally larger 7mm can handle 175gr. I just think there are better calibers adjacent to it.

The Creedmore, the PRC, the 6.5x284, and all the rest. There was and is nothing wrong with the 6.5x54MS and the 6.5x55. Everything since is a retread. Stick with the original champ and don't act you invented the wheel Mr. Creedmore, you stand on the shoulders of giants.

The 280AI, 7mm Rem, 28 nosler, 7x61, 7STW, and all the others. Marginal improvements on the 7x57 and 7x64 that were already around.

The 338. Its not a 300 win mag nor is it a 30-06, nor is it anywhere near as good as a 375HH. It just feels like it is a lid for a pot that doesn't exist.

Anything that copies the ballistics of an original safari load. 375 Ruger, 416 Ruger, 416 Remington, can't we just stick with what worked for a hundred years and does the same exact thing?

Weatherbys. If you need a Weatherby because the equivalent caliber non-weatherby isn't enough, can't you just step up a caliber and call it a day? It seems like a lot of pain and effort to make a small hole when I could make a much larger hole with the same recoil going to the next proven cartridge.

And anything made in the last 30 years. They almost all end up being fads that burn out and fade away. Things ending in WSSSM, RSAUM, WSM, that stuff.

 

[akrifleman]

.22 birdshot - seems pointless, ruins rifling

.243 - I don't hate the cartridge, but I hate it for competition, reloading, and terminal performance. Burns barrels (notable barrel makers have confirmed this), excessively stretches, and masters nothing. I'd rather pick a 22-250 for predators and 6.5s or better for game. Ruins fur and is light for game. I shoot 6mms extensively for competition, just not hunting. Popular when somebody could only afford one gun. Hardly anyone qualifies for that anymore. </end rant>

257 Roberts, 270, 30-06 - Nothing against the cartridges, its the people who claim magical properties for them.

30 Carbine - Headspaces on the rim. So be it, but there are far better choices.

30-30 - No military reason for it. Just don't like it. Could have had a 38-55, 35Rem, 348 Win.

High pressure belted magnums - 375/300 H&H I've never had issues. 7mmRem/300WinMag/etc are difficult to size the base, and the brass doesn't live as long as the newer cartridges. They perform well enough for hunting, just hate the reloading problems. Still, I've shot a ton of .300 Win Mag and was never found wanting (except for reloading the absolutely unnecessary belt).

WSMs - They work, just as long as your magazine does.

460/500 S&W - Handguns that are as heavy as a lightweight rifle.

Berdan primers, crimped primers. - OK, not a cartridge. Still irritating.

Magazines and magazine springs - So many stamped pieces of shite out there, that make perfectly functional rifles not function properly.

All qualify as nothing more than an opinion, and probably as irrational as the next guy. Most of my irritations are around pointless reloading problems that well designed cartridges don't have.

 

[IvW]

458WM.....

 

[akrifleman]

I hate the 270 - It's marginally smaller than a 7mm, being .277 vs .284, yet it tops out at a 150gr bullet whereas the fractionally larger 7mm can handle 175gr. I just think there are better calibers adjacent to it.

The Creedmore, the PRC, the 6.5x284, and all the rest. There was and is nothing wrong with the 6.5x54MS and the 6.5x55. Everything since is a retread. Stick with the original champ and don't act you invented the wheel Mr. Creedmore, you stand on the shoulders of giants.

The 280AI, 7mm Rem, 28 nosler, 7x61, 7STW, and all the others. Marginal improvements on the 7x57 and 7x64 that were already around.

The 338. Its not a 300 win mag nor is it a 30-06, nor is it anywhere near as good as a 375HH. It just feels like it is a lid for a pot that doesn't exist.

Anything that copies the ballistics of an original safari load. 375 Ruger, 416 Ruger, 416 Remington, can't we just stick with what worked for a hundred years and does the same exact thing?

Weatherbys. If you need a Weatherby because the equivalent caliber non-weatherby isn't enough, can't you just step up a caliber and call it a day? It seems like a lot of pain and effort to make a small hole when I could make a much larger hole with the same recoil going to the next proven cartridge.

And anything made in the last 30 years. They almost all end up being fads that burn out and fade away. Things ending in WSSSM, RSAUM, WSM, that stuff.

I'm pretty much with you on all of it, except the 375 Ruger. I have had a couple 375 H&H, and my wife got a 375 Ruger, because it happened to fit her better. I've come to the opinion that having four less inches of barrel length is nice, and the reloading options equally superb, except for the brass choices. It just doesn't have that nostalgia magic, but it flat works as well.