(Based on Page Views)
Compiled and annotated by Chuck Hawks
Source: Urchin Web Stats

www.chuckhawks.com/rea...ridges.htm


1. .308 Winchester
2. .270 Winchester
3. .30-06 Springfield
4. .45-70 Government
5. .30-30 Winchester
6. 7mm Remington Magnum
7. .223 Remington
8. .270 WSM
9. .300 Win. Mag.
10. .243 Winchester


Some interesting stuff here............... your .30-06 is here Bushy and so is your .30-30. And some thought your weapons were outdated.......... shame on them. At least I thought I heard someone hint at that, didn't you?
The .308 surprises me, I didn't think it was still that popular.

The 308 Win has a fallowing with the military rifle shooters, all of the "good" battle rifles used the 7.62x51mm NATO so alot of ammo in that caliber is probably shot.

That list is complied based on page veiws and by no means a really fair representation of what is the "Most popular", just mosted researched really.

Dimitri

Interesting topic. I have seen this list compiled previously based on reloading dies sold or ammunition sales. This may be harder to determine than it appears at first glance. Good reading anyway. All the best...
Gil

Gil you're right, I guess any way you try to determine which is most popular could be biased one way or another. Like "Mitri said with all the military rifles around there is apt to be a lot of ammo and or dies sold as well, therefore, possibly, the popularity of the .308. I guess the only way would be if rifle manufacturers gave out the # of rifles in every caliber sold. But I don't think they do....... at least I can't find it.

The popularity of one caliber over another, one rifle over another, and one game species over another has kept outdoor writers in jobs for a number of years. There is no free ride. For everything one caliber gains us, we lose to another. Velocity, recoil, energy etc. In the hands of a capable hunter, many drawbacks can be overcome. No amount of equipment will make up for a poorly placed shot. There is a model or style of rifle in every one of the mentioned calibers that I would be proud to own and hunt with.

That list looks good to me, that's everyting I reload in centerfire rifle.
Keep it coming...

If you guage the popularity by ammunition sales the last information I heard (last year) the 30-'06 was the most popular cartridge sold in the USA. It used to be the 30-30 but around ten years ago the '06 took it over. I don't know if you can judge the most popular just by page views - those of us who have the '06s look at other stuff too but our loads are pretty well established and we just don't have the need to look at much of the new data. I probably do that more than most but I haven't changed my loads for twenty years. Maybe a little less or more but its close. I spend more time looking at 308, 257Roberts and 22-250 cartridge innovations. I like to keep up on what those cartridges are doing compared to mine. I am considering getting a 257 Roberts so I am looking a lot at that one. It looks like a good choice for me. The 22s don't yet have much of a place in my heart. I like big bullets and the Roberts is going to be the first step below 30 caliber for me - other than 22 rim fire. I need to find a Remington 700 in that caliber or one that I can get the action cheap and build up a 257 like my 358. It will have to be built heavy to match my other guns and with that much weight it won't have much recoil. It will make an ideal deer rifle for my wife and me.

The .257 Roberts, like the 7X57 needs the extra action length to realize it's full potential with the heavier bullets. You can expect performance as good or better than .243 winchester with good handloaded ammo. The .257 Roberts is a good cartridge. My son has one in an older Rem. 721 left to him by his grandfather. It is a joy to shoot and has accounted for a lot of whitetails and a couple black bear in it's long term of faithful service.

What most folks fail to realize is that a "good rifle" has a lot to do with where you live and what you hunt. In the SE, the 308 and all of its offspring is very popular due to the size of deer and the distances. Out west, a different cartridge would be more popular due to distances and the size of the critters. In the cold climates you have big critters due to the body mass necessary to sustain life through the winter. But the good old 06 will in fact do it all, so it has gradually dawned on folks of all ages and locations that the 06 is a great round for those that own but one gun to hunt everything.

I never will forget what the outfitter in Africa said last year when I asked what caliber; Do you have an 06, then bring your 30-06.
Ed

have 7 of the 10

well to chime in my .02 cents I'll just relay an observation at the local larger gun shops. (By larger I'm talking about an inventory of over 200 rifles) What I see is over 1/2 of all the new rifles coming in are 300 win mag. I'm more fond of the 06 and 30-30 and the next hunting rifle I own will be a 308 just because I've never had one.

btw, the gun shops I loiter in have different colored tags on thier rifles to diferencate between new, long term on hand, and trade in.

Personally I don't like the '06. Looking at it ballisticly, I feel the .270 has an edge on it. As far as a good choice for the one rifle type of guy, I don't think you can beat a 7mm Rem. mag. After all, there has been cape buffalo taken with it. It can also be loaded for fast, flat shooting for antelope. I've had one and I've never had a deer take a single step when shot with it even out to just over 500 yards. Unfortunatly, push came to shove, the cars motor bit the big one and............... I will have to buy another one.

I have bin using the 308 for quite a few years for whitetail deer and it has performed very well. At the range it's hard to beat as well, it has shot many a group that was sub (moa). There's a fantastic selection of bullets for the 30 cal out there and my rifle is not that finicky . I don't think my gun cabinet would be the same without my 308 in it
Joe

Right there with you on that one Joe.
Yotebuster

I know what you mean Joe, my gun cabinet wouldn't feel the same without my 30-06 for the same reasons.