I have always been a bit different. Dare I say weird? I prefer eccentric I think. Anyway there is nowhere that this is more apparent than my taste for guns and ammo.
6mm Remington
The 6mm Remington will always hold a special place in my heart. My Dad shot one of course. I watched that man shoot many deer with his Remington 742 “Woodsmaster”. When I lay in bed at night and dream of the hunts we had together he is always holding that 6mm and wearing his brown duck Carhartt coat.
The 6mm Remington was first introduced in 1955 as the 244 Remington. You simply take the 257 Roberts(another great cartridge) and neck it down to .243. The 6mm produces low recoil. The low recoil enables shooters to shoot more accurately. This cartridge in a Remington model 7 was what I used to harvest my first few deer with a centerfire rifle. I used it successfully on a lot of hog hunts as well. A 100 grain Core-Lokt bullet passing through both lungs is more than enough for most game animals.
300 Savage
The 300 Savage was introduced way back in 1920. Originally paired with the Savage Model 99 lever action rifle this rifle cartridge combination is one that should go down in history as one of the finest. My story of this cartridge is quite remarkable. I live in Georgia now. For the first 20 years of my life I lived in The Sooner State. I grew up in the Choctaw Nation in a very rural part of Oklahoma. My family still lives there. So one day I was watching “Gun Stories with Joe Mantegna” on the Outdoor Channel. They were featuring the Remington models 8 and 81. These are semi-automatic rifles designed by John Browning. I do not want to get into the weeds on the rifle just yet however I really liked this unique looking rifle. The history of the rifle, the oversized safety, the shrouded barrel I really fell hard for this one. So I started looking around for one. One year later I got a call from my Dad, Nip. He says Ol Claude is sick and is selling some of his guns.
He goes on to say that he went down there and told Ol’ Claude that he wanted one to give me. Ol’ Claude pulled one down and says “here ya go I know Matthew would appreciate this one”. Dad tells me on the phone that I have this old gun here for you. You probably have never even heard of it.
It is a Remington 81 in 300 Savage! What kind of coincidence is that? I could not believe it. I told him I had been looking for a nice one for the last year. It was so cool. This all happened independently, I never told my Dad I was looking for one.
The 300 Savage shoots a 150 grain bullet at 2630 fps. It is deadly on medium sized game. It has mild recoil and report. Plus it is 100 years old. What is not to like?
358 Winchester
The 358 Winchester was created by Winchester back in 1955 by taking a 308 Winchester case and necking it up to .358 caliber. It is often thought of as one of the “greatest woods cartridges of all time.” I do not know about that but I really like this cartridge. I really love 35s. This one will throw a 200 grain bullet at 2,490 fps that is enough for any North American Game. I do not have one yet but it is definitely on my wish list.
So have fun this season and do not be afraid to go out there and shoot something different. Long before the creedmoors, the ulti mags and the short magnums there were(and are) great cartridges that get the job done.
Authored By Pro Staff Mathew Winship