8-06 users ?

[John Wasmuth]

OK, so I get there would be an "improvement" over the 7.62mm. But if I were going to do that, why not just bump it to a .35 Whelen? I mean, if I were filling out a battery, I'd probably go .25-06, then .30-06, then .35 Whelen. That covers North America. Bigger than that, .375 H&H.

I mean, it's not like the 8mm is going to kill a white tail "more dead" than the 7.62. If there's something the .30-06 would be marginal on, I'd want to step it up a bit more than 8mm. But that's just me.

I guess it does make sense that I could convert a 8X57 Mauser. Easier to re-ream the chamber than to re-barrel.

Originally the 8x57 mausers that were brought to the U.S. were hard to feed due to no ammo available. Reaming out to 8mm 06 made the best option as the chamber reamed out to the longer 06 casing was far cheaper for building sporting rifles than it was to rebarrel the rifle. Quick easy process and the results are a cartridge that can take any North American game animal with proper loading. Back years ago sporting rifles were a big cost for some people and this was a cheap alternative.

 

[SaintPanzer]

OK, why not bump it up to.400.....in the end it all comes down to personal preference......personally my choices are 6.5, 8mm and .400, sometimes its because that's the calibre barrel you have to do something with, sometimes its because you hate .243 ( G'Day Bob )
There is no " more dead " by going to a bigger calibre...dead by .22 or dead by .577 is dead....its preference, if everyone used the same calibre/cartridge it would be " dead " boring.

Roger

I guess to me, it's about the Venn Diagram. The overlap in the 8X63 is so close with the 7,62X63, I'd rather move up to something a little larger.

I certainly understand the re-chambering when there was a lack of ammo.

My metrical rifles are simple: I have a 6.5X54, and a 9.5X57. Neither are "long range".

If I were to win the lottery, and were to have my "perfect" traveller rifle made, I'd go .275H&H, .300H&H, and .375H&H. Granted, the .275 would be really esoteric, but if I'd won the lottery, I wouldn't care. That selection would take me anywhere in the world, whether I was hunting roe deer or larger. Yes, there is bigger, for bigger stuff, but that's a one world rifle.

I think my .30-06 is good for North America, save the great bears. .35 Whelen will do that (Hi Bob). Of course, there are others for the bears, and I'm not speaking against them, just going with the same case size. My point is I look for overlap that makes sense. YMMV.