J E Custom
Well-Known Member
I disagree with the idea the br guys shoot cartridges based on others winning with it while not testing it themselves. They are the most anal reloader/testers/tinkerers out there. They don't spend tens of thousands on gear without making sure the groups are as small as possible.
This is where we get into opinions and that's ok, its just that I have seen many changes over the 55+years in cartridges in that field alone. at one time the 222 Remington was the go to cartridge for bench rest. then the more powerful cartridges came along like the 7/08 AI and for a while it was the cartridge to beat. then the PPC and the 22 PPC came along and with less powder capacity performed equally with less recoil and less harmonics to deal with so a happy medium was found for this type of shooting. when distances were moved out to much longer distances more power was needed but not as much as most hunters needed because shooting game required different bullets and energies under different conditions.
In any competition you will see the cartridge used change if someone starts dominating the competition. Even in the short time I competed in High power
competition (15 Years) I saw many changes in cartridges used mainly because the winner of the overall match was using a different cartridge than others had in the past and they soon were shooting the same cartridges.
If a master gunsmith that really knew what it took, he could take almost any cartridge and build a bench rest style rifle with all the requirements for a bench rest competition it would out shoot most shooters and if the shooters were very good they could compete with most. but this rifle would be worthless for a hunter that had to carry it and shoot it under field conditions.
The times also had a huge effect on what was the preferred cartridge, as we moove along in time the components are getting better that they were and the precision parts have also gotten better. Plus the reloading skills and tools have gotten better. One day another New cartridge will come along and it will become the benchmark
for future cartridges in that arena.
Just saying that there is no comparing the different types of firearms for different uses. It really comes down to what a person needs and likes and normally, it is the latest and greatest that is chosen.
J E CUSTOM