Favorite uncommon calibers

[MagnumManiac]

My wildcats .30 LARA and .338 Thor. I own the reamers, so there's only 1 .30 LARA and 2 .338 Thor (a friend/LRH Brother built one with my reamer).

Well, I guess my line of 416 Rigby Improved wildcats are also unique. I own all the reamers and I just named them as xxx-416 Rigby Improved 30°, 35°, 40° & 45°. The first prototype with 30° shoulder has been dropped and the rest are all works in progress, the 30 cal 35° will most likely be re-designed for a 40° shoulder when this barrel is toast (No 2 barrel now), and the 338 cal will stay the same at 45°, while the 375 cal will be increased from 35° to 40°. Throats on all will also be altered in the future.
I am also tinkering with the idea of using the 33/37 XC case as a starting point for more wildcats, but just thinking at this point.

Cheers.

 

[FEENIX]

Well, I guess my line of 416 Rigby Improved wildcats are also unique. I own all the reamers and I just named them as xxx-416 Rigby Improved 30°, 35°, 40° & 45°. The first prototype with 30° shoulder has been dropped and the rest are all works in progress, the 30 cal 35° will most likely be re-designed for a 40° shoulder when this barrel is toast (No 2 barrel now), and the 338 cal will stay the same at 45°, while the 375 cal will be increased from 35° to 40°. Throats on all will also be altered in the future.
I am also tinkering with the idea of using the 33/37 XC case as a starting point for more wildcats, but just thinking at this point.

Cheers.

Unless I misconstrued, the OP said favorite uncommon caliber/chambering, so yes

 

[turkeyguide]

225 Winchester along with its big cousin the 220 swift. I know they won't do what cartridge xxxxx will do but there is something about shooting woodchucks with the classics.
Carbon, Kevlar, aluminum and stainless steel are amazing materials but good ol walnut and blued steel definitely have soul.

I agree! Both are great cartridges. The 225 Win. is nearly impossible to get brass for. Winchester used to make an annual run of what they used to call heritage cartridges. I used to buy whatever amount that I could get every year, however I haven't seen a run of this brass in quite a few years. The 220 Swift is arguably the king of Chuck calibers, it will do pretty much anything the new calibers will do, and it has a heritage and nostalgia value to it that they don't. Keep em shootin unclecroc!

 

[ntsqd]

My first centerfire rifle was a partly Sporterized '03-A3 in .308 Norma Mag. I used to think it was an uncommon caliber, until I found this forum. Traded in my 10/22 on it. Dumb move! Should have kept the 10/22. The 03-A3's action is a Smith-Corona and the .308 Norma was stretching it. Back when those parts were still somewhat available I had it put back to .30-06, and haven't shot it much since.

Found a .375 Win M94, those aren't all that common. Wish that I could shoot std. .38-55 in it. The original intent was to find one of the .38-55 Commemoratives as a shooter.

Likely the oddest is my .30 Carbine Blackhawk. Not an uncommon caliber, or an uncommon firearm, but put the two together and it's pretty uncommon. Those of you who like fireballs at the muzzle need to get one!

 

[sable tireur]

Rotten,

I suggest that you buy a copy of Cartridges of the World 17th Edition:

https://www.amazon.com/Cartridges-World-17th-Essential-Reloaders/dp/1951115597

This a good resource for common and uncommon cartridges. History as well as some reloading data.

There are other reference books available, do a little searching and start your library.

 

[ntsqd]

Along those lines, John J. Donnelly's "The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions" book had a surprising (to me anyway) level of information about each of the cartridges covered.

 

[cajun]

Fav uncommon caliber is 6.5 Rem Mag, belted short mag, many consider the precursor to current day short mags. Developed with too slow of twist and too short barrel. Still a laser with 120-130 gr pills. 22" factory barrel on a light weight carbine equals bad medicine on all NA critters.

350 rem mag. 200 gr .35 bullet moving 2800 is deer poison inside 200 yds. Oh yeah thats from a 18" barreled rifle that weighs 7 lbs loaded.

 

[sable tireur]

Along those lines, John J. Donnelly's "The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions" book had a surprising (to me anyway) level of information about each of the cartridges covered.

One of my all-time favorite resources. I spent tons of time reading all the specifications. What I did discover though is the fact that John made a significant number of dimension errors in those drawings. I created a list of correction which I sent to him which he ignored. This volume was never edited.

Be sure to double check some suggestions and cartridge dimensions for sure.

 

[iShoot17]

Fav uncommon caliber is 6.5 Rem Mag, belted short mag, many consider the precursor to current day short mags. Developed with too slow of twist and too short barrel. Still a laser with 120-130 gr pills. 22" factory barrel on a light weight carbine equals bad medicine on all NA critters.

350 rem mag. 200 gr .35 bullet moving 2800 is deer poison inside 200 yds. Oh yeah thats from a 18" barreled rifle that weighs 7 lbs loaded.

I've had a fond appreciation for the Rem Mag cartridges for some time. I've used them to take whitetail, black bear, elk, and moose. I started with a 7mm Rem Mag in an ADL and it went from there.

The 8mm Rem Mag is probably my favorite. It absolutely hammered a bull elk and bull moose for me. 200gr TSX flying at 3,120FPS.

The 350 Rem Mag is my go to for hunting PA for whitetail and bear. It does extremely well in the thick woods and has taken many whitetail for me and one black bear.

The 6.5 Rem is a fun one as well and has taken a few whitetail for me - though, it is not my favorite in the woods. In my opinion, it is better suited for open areas where brush, limbs, etc. are not of concern.

From top to bottom (the 7mm Rems were absent on picture day):
M700 BDL 6.5 Rem Mag
M700 BDL 350 Rem Mag
M600 350 Rem Mag (Go to hunting rifle!)
M700 BDL 8mm Rem Mag

Each of the BDLs is factory configured from Remington. The first two aren't very common with around 1,500 of each being produced (to my understanding).

 

[Rotten]

Thank you I do need to start investing in books on the subject. I've been a Machinist since '91 and was wanting to start gunsmithing for a hobby.
So The more information on guns and cartridges on the subject is always welcome.
I like all firearms but I find myself more attracted to the older firearms. They are more than a gun it's more like a work of art. The combination of wood work and machinist skill with a good dose of artistic talent in the old guns is just not their with mass production plastics and CNC machined parts in the mass produced firearms of today

 

[coop2564]

I have a 250 savage in a Ruger No.1 that I love. Has 10 twist and with 110gr ELDX hammers deer size game.

 

[Rotten]

I love the 1/4 bores. I really wanted a 257 bob. But they want way to much money for the rifles and finding brass and ammo is difficult. So I built a 25 creed. I guess that's kinda a compromise between the 250 savage and 257 Robert.

 

[waveslayer]

Love my Lazzeroni Warbird, freaking missile that destroys anything that comes in contact with

 

[Rotten]

Love my Lazzeroni Warbird, freaking missile that destroys anything that comes in contact with

I bet it also destroys your wallet when you buy ammo for it.