6.5 Jap
28 gauge
20 gauge
30-06
22 mag
45-90
don't own a hand gun unless you count the 28 gauge.

 

Hand gun 44 magnum.
Rifle 30-06

 

.308 versatile round.
.600 Nitro. If you ever get to fire one of these antique, 20 pound, pre-muzzlebrake, elephant guns, you'll never forget it.

 

heck, I could talk about favorite loads all day long.

My 45-70 barrel just LOVES 350 grain Hornady RN with some 2400 behind it.
I can keep them in the 9 ring at 100 with a 2.5 power scope...I know...I cheat.

My BEST bunny buster though is my 10" 45 Winchester Magnum barrel, 250 grain Speer LWC (normally used for 45 LC) and about 9 grains of Unique. Its actually a duplicate load I picked from a 45 LC for Cowboy Action shooters....and I tell you, no powder or lead fouling, its right at about 850 FPS 5' from the barrel.

My 12" .223 is the one I use to break hearts with at the range. I will set it up on the 100 or 200, depending on how froggy I feel, and just start plinking with it. Then some dude comes up with a Weatherby or Sako and you just look at him and know he has more money than common sense...Thats when you get serious. First...he is upset that your muzzle-braked PISTOL is louder than his "super, kill a grizzley with just the muzzle flash" magnum rifle. Second, when he is shooting his rifle at upwards of 100$ a box of 20, I am rolling mine for less than $.02 ea. Yes...2 cents. And lastly, and MOST importantly, you go down range to retrieve targets....and he realizes that he ain't the next Simo Hayha or Carlos Hathcock, because while I have taken a simple single shot pistol and at 100 yards shot 3/4 MOA, he has succesfully made swiss cheese out of the entire target.

 

plinking/small game....either one of my .22's (ruger 10/.22, browning .22 lever-gun, .22 semi-auto handgun), or my 55# recurve bow w/ a 525-550 grain aluminum arrow with a hard plastic (rubber??) blunt

hunting deer and elk...personally prefer 7mm Rem Mag w/ 162 gr hornady ammuntion, or anything decent in 175 gr....also my 55# recurve (max range of 25 yds) w/ 525-550 gr. aluminum arrow, in cluding 125 gr double blade broadhead, well sharpened (shaving razor-sharp) of course

for a regular packing pistol...ruger blackhawk .44 mag

upland bird/duck...12 gauge (pump or single shot) in 2 3/4 or 3" mag...want to try bird hunting w/ my bow this year, tho...lol

MontanaFord

 

I like the 243 rifle, good all around cal.
22lr for plinking.
45 acp pistol.

 

Ruger #1 in .375 JRS, with mercury tube in the stock, approx. .338 cal. recoil.
.41 mag. revolver, titanium Taurus.
.223 Rem. 700 w/ Burris 8X-32X

 

I love my .300 Win Mag. Never had a problem with it, great knock down power.

.45 ACP for my handguns. Don't really have a reason, I just do.

 

Personally I love my .30-30 Lever Action. I can even charge it "Cowboy Style".
But if I really feel like scaring somebody, I'll take out my dad's .22 Magnum revolver. It may be little, but it's got a HUGE sound to it. Only weapon we have that I'm truly scared of.
Greg

 

If you've got some time to kill, go to www.federalcartridge.com and download their ballistics program. It's very comprehensive and easy to use.

A lot of .308 supporters here, I had one, and I'd never have another. I certainly wouldn't call it a "reach out and touch something" caliber, quite the opposite acutally in my experience.

I'm a 7mm Rem Mag guy now. Best ballisitics for the price.

Check the ballisitics comparison of the two cartridges, there really is no comparison.

Waxy

 

Agreed. Liked the .308 in my M1A, _loved_ it in my HK-91A2. Always thought of the 7mm Rem Mag and .300 Win Mag as better candidates for the "reach out and touch someone" category.

 

.300 Winchester Magnum. Helps if your half deaf too...

 

I was enjoying reading the different calibers that people shot, it is just a shame that someone had to ignore db_tanker's plea, and tell us why their round is better than someone else's. I hope this doesn't start a trend. I really am enjoying hearing about what people like.

On Edit:So there is no confussion:

 

Handgun = 9mm
Rifle = 7.62x39 (my AK)

Why= Both are very cheap, and therfor I can blast away and have fun and not break the bank. 9mm @ wal-Mart is $10.97/100 rds. 7.62x39 is $72/1000 rds.

In no way are these the BEST calibers, but for me they are the best bang for the buck $$$

 

I like the 30.06 for all around shooting. It can be loaded for everything from varmints to Kodiak bear, although I would rather have a larger, much larger, caliber for the bear, LOL.

I like the .40 for a pistol cartridge. My wife with her weak wrists can shoot it fairly comfortably and it still is a pretty efficient one-shot people stopper.

Chris