To the author, the .22-250 (left) is the ideal varmint cartridge, while the versatile .243 does double duty for varmints and deer-size big game.

While I love the .30-06, I don’t find it in the same class, nor suited for the exact same purposes, as the fast .30s. I have used all those, from the short magnums up to the big-cased monsters, and my preference runs to those that can push a 180-grain bullet up to around 3,200 fps. With certain handloads this is possible with the great old .300 H&H and is pretty much what Lazzeroni’s short 7.82 (.308) Patriot, the .300 Dakota and the .300 Weatherby Magnum produce. The .300 Remington Ultra Mag is faster, and .30-378 Weatherby Magnum and 7.82 (.308) Warbird are a lot faster.

There is some limit to how much recoil I’m willing to withstand without going to a muzzle brake, and because of hearing loss I try to steer clear of brakes. So I pretty much max out at .300 Remington Ultra Mag, but I love the little Patriot cartridge, and I revere both the .300 Weatherby Magnum and its parent cartridge, the .300 H&H. But, all said and done, it’s pretty hard to beat the .300 Weatherby Magnum--one of the world’s most versatile hunting cartridges.

8mm
Very few Americans love the 8mm, bullet diameter .323. I have some experience with the new .325 WSM, and I admire it, but the unloved 8mm Remington Magnum will always be one of my favorite cartridges for hunting large, tough game in open country. In my experience it hits harder than any .30 caliber and for long-range use has less recoil than the fastest .33s. My current 8mm, built by Rigby’s Geoff Miller, has a 28-inch match-grade barrel, and with handloads I can get a 220-grain bullet over 3,000 fps. I do not have any illusions that I can save this cartridge from its steady slide toward obsolescence, but it’s a great round.

.33
This one is easy. I’ve tried the really fast .33s, and their performance is magnificent, but the fastest .33s--the .338 Remington Ultra Mag, .340 Weatherby, Lazzeroni’s 8.59 (.338) Titan and the .338 Lapua Magnum--have more recoil than I’m comfortable with on a sustained basis. My favorite .33 is the .338 Winchester Magnum. I think it is well-accepted as the archetypical elk cartridge, and equally good for bear, moose and Africa’s largest plains game. Its ballistics are neither fast nor flashy, but it offers a rich selection of bullets, and it hits with authority. My old friend Jack Atcheson Jr. uses nothing but a battered .338 for almost all of his hunting, and as he puts it, “The .338 numbs them.” Amen.

.35
Few .35 caliber cartridges have ever achieved lasting popularity in North America. There have been some great “fast .35s,” wildcats such as the .358 Shooting Times Alaskan and .358 Norma Magnum, but I think the .35’s niche is as a hard-hitting, medium-velocity cartridge for black bear and wild hogs--perhaps elk and moose in thick cover. In this vein, I like the .35 Whelen and the .350 Remington Magnum, and I’ll always own at least one Winchester Model 71 in .348. But my favorite .35 is the almost forgotten .358 Winchester, which I have in an equally almost forgotten Win-chester Model 88. I shoot 250-grain bullets at about 2,300 fps, yielding no recoil, mild report and not much ranging ability. But, boy, does it hit hard.