Which caliber would you pick ?

[Sausagedog 7,381]

54 minutes ago, Meece said:

If I were only shooting rabbit and fox it would be the 22 LR. I've taken a lot of both with no problem with my 22 OR. If I was shooting bigger stuff, then I would use a 270 win. A proper animal of a calibre.  Downloaded it can be like shooting a 20 bore and maxed out to have that much poke that the recoil  hurts.  It will take the largest red stag way out there. A 130 grn pumped out at 3300 fps has over half a ton of energy at twice the speed of sound out at 300 yds. 

Excellent choice. A mate has used one for years. Seen him shoot rabbits at 500 yds with his. He took scores of deer. The longest was a red stag at about 400 yards. The 130 BT passed through the rib cage completely.

Did you know the 6.5 Swede and 270W are actually closer to being a true 7mm round than any other cartridge named 7mm (including .275Rigby)!

[ChrisJones 7,973]

Different circumstances for me based on geographical location but I'd go .223. It's up to almost anything and when paired with right rifle it's pretty handy against all forms of pest. Easy to source. Cheap to feed. Rifle parts and accessories are everywhere.

[Meece 1,957]

1 hour ago, Sausagedog said:

Excellent choice. A mate has used one for years. Seen him shoot rabbits at 500 yds with his. He took scores of deer. The longest was a red stag at about 400 yards. The 130 BT passed through the rib cage completely.

Did you know the 6.5 Swede and 270W are actually closer to being a true 7mm round than any other cartridge named 7mm (including .275Rigby)!

When read, the generall comments about the 270 are that it is a banger, that it damages carcasses,  that it kicks like a mule and other ill informed nonsense written by people that have never used one. A 30.06 or 308 don't get labeled as such and they poke out bigger bullets at similar velocities.  Some years ago basc published a load for the 270 which was a gun that they used of forest lets. The load which I .can't  tottally recall ( anyone know/remember what the load was ) ? was something like a 130grn being propelled by a reduced charge of  H4895. This was a sweet, accurate  quiet load with enough power to be over the 1750 flb.  A 270, like a Ferrari doesn't have to be driven at full throttle all of the time. Especially in built up areas.

Ps. A 500 yard shot on a rabbit is a blooming long way and is either a specialist shot or a fluke.

Pps. It has been known for red deer to be shot by a 270 in the body and for the neck to be broken by the impact shock. A tidy calibre. 

Edited June 19, 2019 by Meece

[Sausagedog 7,381]

23 minutes ago, Meece said:

When read, the generall comments about the 270 are that it is a banger, that it damages carcasses,  that it kicks like a mule and other ill informed nonsense written by people that have never used one. A 30.06 or 308 don't get labeled as such and they poke out bigger bullets at similar velocities.  Some years ago basc published a load for the 270 which was a gun that they used of forest lets. The load which I .can't  tottally recall ( anyone know/remember what the load was ) ? was something like a 130grn being propelled by a reduced charge of  H4895. This was a sweet, accurate  quiet load with enough power to be over the 1750 flb.  A 270, like a Ferrari doesn't have to be driven at full throttle all of the time. Especially in built up areas.

Ps. A 500 yard shot on a rabbit is a blooming long way and is either a specialist shot or a fluke.

Pps. It has been known for red deer to be shot by a 270 in the body and for the neck to be broken by the impact shock. A tidy calibre. 

I never thought it a harsh recoiler. More a good shove to the shoulder..

Good ear protection makes it much better to shoot too. Many I know didn't!