Now we come to the threshold of big-game calibers, the .270 bore. I'd keep both of them--the legendary .270 Winchester and the upstart .270 Win. Short Magnum. I mean, how could one dismiss the former? Not only has it proven itself to be one of the all-time greats, but it's phenomenally popular as well. The .270 WSM, however, is a better cartridge that improves the original's ballistics by 125 fps pushing the same-weight bullet. As more new rifles are sold, I believe the WSM version will make serious inroads into .270 Win. sales, and I, for one, would want a piece of it.

There is no shortage of cartridges that will do the job, and the author has used dozens with great success, but there is so much duplicity in today's commercial offerings that many are in production through the generosity of the ammo companies rather than because they are profitable.

The 7mm, along with the .30, is the most popular caliber cartridge-wise. I'd pass on the legendary 7x57 in favor of the 7mm-08 Rem. Crazy, you say, to not include this truly epochal cartridge? Maybe, but as an ammo manufacturer I'd have to hold down pressures as per SAAMI, just like the other ammo producers must. So why load a caliber that's 200 fps slower and that ideally should be based on a standard-length action when the 7-08 will work through a short one?

A personal favorite of mine is the .284 Winchester, but in factory-loaded form it's not as good as the .280 Remington, which I would definitely have in my lineup, along with the 7mm Rem. Magnum. And though it duplicates the latter ballistically, I'd also want the 7mm WSM (along with the .300 and .325 WSM) because I believe the WSM family represents a new generation of sporting cartridges that is here to stay.

I can't say the same for Remington's Short Action Ultra Mags, which have about seven percent less case capacity than the Winchester hull. I cannot understand why Big Green just had to have its own version of the short magnum once it saw the success Winchester was enjoying instead of saying, "OK, they beat us with the short magnums, but we've got the Ultra Mags. We'll chamber for theirs, they'll chamber for ours, and we'll both be happy." But I guess the corporate mind just can't stand the idea of being left out of anything that appears to be successful for a competitor.

Topping out my 7mm lineup would be Remington's 7mm Ultra Mag, at the expense of the 7mm STW, which it beats handily. My 7mm offerings, then, would consist of the 7mm-08, .280 Rem., 7mm Rem. Magnum, 7mm WSM and 7mm Ultra Mag.

My .30-caliber players would start with the .30-30, not because of any ballistic merit, but how could any ammo manufacturer ignore the most popular deer caliber of all time? As for the rest of the line, it would look very much like the 7mms as far as case capacities are concerned. It would start with the .308 Winchester, then the .30-06, .300 Win. Magnum, .300 WSM and .300 Ultra Mag. Simple, clean, yet every rung on the performance ladder is represented. The only ballistic redundancy is the .300 Win./.300 WSM, but for the same reason as described with the 7mms, I would include them in my lineup.

Let me again state that those cartridges I've not mentioned aren't necessarily ones that I would personally like to see junked; it's just that, as an ammo manufacturer with an eye for the bottom line, I wouldn't want them in my lineup.

You'll notice I left out proprietary cartridges such as the Lazzeronis, Weatherbys and Dakotas and cartridges over .30 caliber. That was for brevity's sake. Either of those categories would make a feature article by itself.