MAGNUMS: Choosing THE RIGHT CARTRIDGE 

This video was great! As a cartridge collector, this is right up my ally. I really need to consider doing a series of videos like this.

The 6.5 Grendel, 7mm-08, and 30-06 are my favorites. Oh what the heck, they're all my favorite!

Great presentation, as always. I enjoyed the side by side visual, especially the idea of placing the 30-06 to give a common comparison. Brilliant! Gotta say that you really covered the wide span of calibers and brief explanations with your selected line of rounds. BTW, I bought a copy of the ammo book you reviewed a few weeks back, very interesting. I was surprised by how many variables there are using the 30-06 case as a starting point. A better idea was never borrowed from the Mauser folks than the US adaptation of the 7x57 to the 30-03. Well, at least until Mauser won their lawsuit. LOL! Good luck with whatever hunting trips you manage to schedule during this crazy year! Take care and be well!

Excellent presentation on magnum vs standard cartridges Mike. It’s a mind boggling thought that there are so many different approaches to perfect trajectory, sectional density, and velocity of a cartridge. That and there are so many different options depending on purpose of the cartridges selected for a given task. You did a fantastic job of explaining the differences tossing in a little bit of physics and your video with my early morning coffee makes for a great start to the day. Thank you and stay well. Cheers.

Your videos are amongt the best on RU-vid! Thank you for your willingness to share in an informed, well-thought through production

The effort you go through to explain all this, to both new hunters and some of us that have hunted a couple of years or maybe a lifetime is nothing short of amazing, fantastic video!

Even THIS guy can't find any 9mm ammo! ;-) That made me literally LOL. Excellent video!

Super helpful firearms videos without any vanity or over excitement. Great channel.

My 4 favourite rounds .17 hmr .22 250 .243 .270 David in Somerset England

Excellent visual aid. Best way of telling the story in a quick and easy manner that I have seen. The 7.92x57I had too thin a jacket, which caused excessive obturation, excess pressure and occasional jacket separation. The expedient solution was to increase the nominal groove diameter from 8.12mm to 8.22mm (.324”), starting in July 1896. The original rifling depth was 1.0mm. The test rifling depths were 1.25mm, 1.5mm and 1.75mm. 1.5mm was the best compromise! The new rifling was called ‘Z’ rifling and receiver rings were marked with a large Z. The new pointed ‘S’ bullet had a thicker jacket, supposedly around the same diameter core, officially coming out at 8.22mm but more likely 8.21mm or 8.2mm in practice (in the same way that every .308” hunting/target bullet I have measured came out at .3075”) and it worked perfectly in Z rifling. When the new round was adopted all the German 7.92x57I service rifles whose barrels were originally rifled to Z spec were rechambered to take the S round and the Z on the receiver ring was replaced with an S. If you want to know more, I suggest that you read John Walter’s 1978/9 book on German service rifles or the Schiffer Publishing translation of Goetz’s book which tells the same story.

Great Video! Excellent descriptions and the practicality of the plethora of cartridges.

I think this video was outstanding! I like the different perspective you bring and you obviously have a large breadth of experience.

As usual, nice video Mike! I always have to chuckle when we see all of the accrutments that you bring out for display, and how you say you're driving your producers crazy lol.

As always, great video, Mike! Even your ramblings convey some highly valuable information.

Your delivery is just so good. Really good info. Thank you for posting.

Perfect way to enjoy my Sunday morning coffee and pipe. Always enjoy your presentations and learn something. Thank you very much, and God bless.

Just found your videos, and I absolutely love them. So much info

Really interesting presentation, USOG. I share your love of the 280 Remington. I have a Ruger 77 that my wife bought me in the 1970s and a Remington 700 anniversary from 2007. Handloaded to the full potential of the cartridge in a strong bolt action they are all that’s needed in North America especially when loaded with the new super bullets from Barnes, Nosler, swift etc. Please keep the videos coming.

Just found this. One of your very best presentations for sure! -Tutt

Boss man you did an awesome job on this video‼️ You explained a lot about cartridge size and bullet length and bullet weight. You even introduced me to some cartridges I never even heard of before‼️

Great video Mike. You mentioned 22-250; first rifle I bought (1967) was a new to market Remington 700 varmint special, very accurate (1/4” Moa). Wish I still had it.

Hey it’s me (Dave) again Mike, Another great educational and entertaining video that I just discovered! I started going to the woods with my father when I was about 6 years old and actually being allowed to carry the single shot 22 on squirrel hunts at about age 10 AFTER he had taught me the basic safety and shooting skills including some that he learned in the army during WWII. Now in my 71st year I’ve been hand loading and shooting various cartridges for over fifty years but I’m still trying to learn. I think I was at least somewhat familiar with all the cartridges you showed and own or have owned a dozen or so of the ones you discussed plus a couple you didn’t discuss. I don’t know when learned about a Magnum of Champagne. I’ve never had one of those. I generally think of a magnum cartridge as one with a very large case that holds a lot of powder to propel a bullet at very high velocities. Now we have cartridges that equal or exceed the velocities of the original “belted magnums” but don’t have a belt and aren’t labeled magnums. I’m guilty of thinking that everyone should know everything I know if they’re a serious hunter or target shooter. I forget that you have viewers of all ages from all over the world and that they may not have had mentors like my Dad and others who have helped me learn over the years. Unfortunately some of those viewers get a lot of their information about firearms from people on the internet or other places who really know nothing about guns or hunting. Fortunately there are some, like you, who have a lot more knowledge and experience than I do and are able pass on that knowledge in calm, concise manner without a lot of hyperbole. Your teaching reminds me of reading the late great Jack O’Connor. For those who still read, I recommend Jack O’Connor’s “The Rifle Book” if they can find a copy. It is a basic A to Z primer on rifles and cartridges for both hunting and some target shooting. Some of the information is outdated and some even politically incorrect now days but if someone that knows absolutely nothing about guns reads it from cover to cover, they can gain a wealth of knowledge from one man that learned over a lifetime. I believe the last edition was from 1964 but not positive about that. Another of his books that covers both rifles and shotguns is his “Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns”. I highly recommend both. Among Utube pundits you are among the few that I have found who seem to be really knowledgeable. I base that on the fact that they reinforce what I already know to be true and teach me things I did not know. Some are older than me and some a generation or more younger. The common thread is that they use logic in their presentations and have repeatable data and research to backup what they say. Those that I group you with are Gunblue490, North61, Desert Dog Outdoors, Big Game Hunting Blog and Ron Spomer. Their styles are different and may not be appealing to everyone but they all have really good, reliable information IMHO. I have no connection financially or otherwise with any of them. Thanks again for your work and happy hunting.😊

Well done! This was the book Cartridges of the World on video. I especially like your use of the green tipped 30-06’s. You have an amazing cartridge collection.

Really appreciate the .30-06s scattered through the lineup. Helps benchmark the sizes. Gotta love that .300 H&H. Every one I've ever shot has been extremely accurate, that case feeds like a hot knife through butter, and I've yet to meet the elk that could live on the difference between that and the Win Mag.

Thanks good sir for a very informative video, what a tough subject to summarise concisely I reckon you could make 10 sequels and still have more to say! I don't really need to hunt with a magnum but I like to, a 30-06 with the right projectile will do what I need 90% of the time but I inherited a Lovely Sauer 200 in 300wby and the joy I get using that surpasses logic and reasoning 👍

As always Mike, very informative and enjoyable video 👍

Great summary! I will just add, you mentioned "barrel burner" if anyone needs to know what that implies... in general a negative side effect of more velocity is shorter barrel life, maybe more so with a lot of powder and a small bore diameter. Only really a consideration if you plan on shooting a lot of ammo though

Really very informative demonstration......many people dont know how much effort and time was put in such short vedio.....I really appreciate your time and effort......if I may suggest a future topic.....it will be....."Trajectory".....thanks again 👍

Thank you for educating us young folk.

25-06, 308, and 300wsm have been in my stable. Sold the 300wsm, I'm on the hunt for 338federal, 338-06, or 35whelen.

Have been using my favourite a .358 Norma Magnum on the big sambar deer here in the mountains forests of southern Australia.

Wonderful presentation! And I wholeheartedly agree with you that the .284 bore is indeed hard to beat. The variety of bullet weights,great sectional density and just overall efficiency is really the epitome of all around cartridge.

I chose a 300 win mag because we have bears at our farm and ammo for it is relatively cheap compared to other magnums and it’s everywhere. But a lot of those rounds I’ve never even heard of before. Very interesting and informative video.

I love your video's sir! Keep up the good work!

I just recently came across a little known cartridge, to me at least and I am very impressed with it. A friend gave me a cartridge to add to my collection. The .280 Ross. According to Wikipedia, it was the first practical cartridge to reach the edge of 3,000 fps. and was designed in 1906.

6.5x55 great round!

Awesome Video to help the Youngsters and also the seasoned shooters, planning their next build.! Keep the love of Guns moving forward! Christ Bless!

The 30-06 Springfield and the 8mm Mauser are around the cutoff point for the average person to have the ability to handle recoil without developing a flinch. So I tend to use that as a guide when I am recommending calibers to new shooters and hunters. My personal choice is the excellent 7mm-08 as it can handle deer easily and has little recoil. It can also take elk when used appropriately. When it comes to magnums or other calibers that are above the 30-06 Springfield in recoil I recommend going for a heavier weight rifle and a very well designed stock that fits the shooter well. I see plenty of lightweight mountain rifles in the used section in magnum calibers because the combination of the two really doesn't work for many if not most shooters and hunters. Unfortunately, people have to keep up with the Joneses and whatever the gun magazines tell them is the hot new rifle and cartridge combination. Another thing is that shooting magnums such as the .338 winmag one needs to resolve a few simple facts. The first is that shooting such a gun while wearing a t-shirt with nothing else over it is probably not going to be fun for most shooters. Using a shoulder mounted recoil pad from Caldwell or similar can make a world of difference. For someone who doesn't have one of those I recommend putting a towel over the shoulder to help reduce felt recoil. The second fact is that the .338 winmag is a dangerous game rifle. It is great on moose and elk, but is designed first and foremost to kill grizzly bears. When one keeps to the facts of what a particular caliber is designed to do, what their hunting conditions are like, what their quarry is, what their hunting regulations are, and what their shooting abilities are then they can make wise choices when it comes to rifle and caliber selection.

Awesome video as always and it has stirred something up for me to investergate and follow up on for my own information. Keep it up legend.

It’s funny how manny people have so much bad information or the lack off information this is a great video to help with that as a young boy I was reading everything I could get my hands on about guns and ammunition. So I have a lot of knowledge and try to pass it on to others it’s quite interesting .

I grew up the son of a reloader, so nuanced, technical debates are like an old comfort to me.

Terrific video :-) I only have one rifle, an old Otterup M52 in 6.5x55, heavy old thing good mostly for the range, and I want something new and shiny (don't we all?) The reasonable thing would be to get either another 6.5x55, so I can use the same reloading equipment, or something completely different, such as a .375 H&H, so I can cover more bases for hunting and such, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and at this time my heart wants a Mauser style take-down rifle in 7x57 with an extra barrel in 9.3x62. Have a great week, sir :-)

Great video Loved it. I chose the 45-70 it does all I need it to do for deer hunting. I have been hunting for a long time 33 years and I have never killed a deer that was more than 50 yards most being 20 to 25 yards here in Arkansas. But if I need to I can go more I have killed a pig or 2 at 150 to 200 yards with it.

The tried and true older cartridges will still get the job done. Everyone tries to perfect a round that beats the 30-06...... but it still survives and is a stellar performer. If I was after big dangerous game, I would certainly opt for a magnum, just because. But there is no substitute for marksmanship. Never has been, never will be! Thank you for a wonderful video, Mike! Awesome as always!!!

As usual excellent presentation. Informative and entertaining. I hunt exclusively with .22LR (squirrels) or .243/12 gauge for deer. I did buy a .338 Win Mag because...well just because I could. I won't ever hunt with it but it was VERY inexpensive and I wanted to see what this cartridge does. Big recoil but no worse than some heavy magnum slugs that I shoot. Again, enjoyable video 🇺🇸😇

Great video, I think that the industry has tried too hard to re-invent the wheel!

Very informative. Well done. Thanks!

To add a special feature of ballistics on flesh, I present hydrostatic shock. Speed is energy and with proper bullet design the faster the impact the greater chance for remote nerve damage. This can create a DRT scenario, not dismissing bullet placement.

I don't know if it has been said in the comment section here but that sabot 30-06 round that remington made was apparently discontinued because of the Governnent and propaganda of the time. They called them Assassin bullets because the projectiles didn't get rifling imprinted on them.

I suggest that you do a video on the newer beltLESS magnums, especially Ruger Compact Mags, which are engineered to use much shorter barrels, so much more convenient to carry while in the woods hunting!

great job man, i nerd out on this kind of thing

I like this type of comparison video with tidbits of knowledge thrown in, would be interesting to have all of the 7 to 9mm bullets arranged by case capacity. I'm assuming you have all almost all of them lmao

Wow! I made it all the way through! My only comment concerns the 30-40 Krag (30 Army). This was the first American smokeless cartridge and was the culmination of exhaustive metallurgical and chemical research. It also established the standard .308 diameter. And all this was accomplished by the.Springfield Armory in the 1890's. Those guys were really good.

Well explained. Two points. One)some cartridges are limited by barrel twist. Two) bullet choice is often limited by the most common twists. Years ago I saw a facsimile of a Winchester European catalog from 1913 introducing the fine 270 Winchester. Bad timing. It of course reappears in their 1925 catalog in the M54 and the rest, well...

Another great vid....👍 I have hunted mainly with the 30-06 and 270 Win on driven game (im not a long distance shooter/hunter) they are both good stoppers in my opinion, I have considered (for wild boar and Elk) the 9,3x62 ! Taking in consideration that on running game I rather not shoot further than about 150 meters....maybe I’m getting old (58😊) .

Fascinating! An excellent video!

Thank you sir!

Nice Job as Usual. ! Best Wishes! M.H.

Thanks for the video

another great educational video, thank you .......well okay if I must admit.....45/70 is another go to.

Strangely enough here in Germany used rifles chambered in 30-06, .308, 7x64 or 8x57IS are often way more expensive then those with the "big" rounds. You often find 7mm rem mag, 300 win mag, 300 WSM or equal for very good pricing. I have a Sauer 200 chambered in 300 win mag. As it came with the old steel system it is rather heavy so it doesn't kick that much compared to a Blaser R8 with a short barrel in 30-06. I love the round and I use it quite often chasing fallow deer or even roe bucks. No problems so far. Usually the game goes down once it's hit. Bit boring for the dog though as we have no issues finding them in the woods. BR from Germany.

I have enjoyed every one of Your video's I have seen so far (Still trying to catch up !) You may think that We might find the subject tedious , I may be the exception . I have enjoyed this to be probably the most enjoyable so far . Shoot Straight stay safe & stay well .

Please do a video telling us about yourself. How did you begin collecting guns, how big is your collection, do you focus on a particular type of guns, ect. I really enjoy your post and look forward to each one.

good information, in this moment i only use 7.62 X54R mm and 6.5 x 55 mm (magnum is expensive for me)

Nice display. I like how you took the time to adhere them to the board. That actually gave me an I idea for a Christmas gift. I am going to do something similar with a nice piece of Walnut and hot glue some cartridges into a hole at an angle to make a coat rack. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving sir!

absolutely great video thanks for taking the time!! informative and fun! now gotta shoot a few haha compareables

I like thinking of a rifle system being like an internal combustion engine with a non reusable piston. It has bore size (caliber), and stroke length (barrel length) The case gives a metered amount of fuel (powder) and the piston(bullet) goes flying off into the world when the spark plug (primer) goes off. A magnum increases the fuel delivery giving more volume of combustion but at a certain point you need to have a bigger bore to increase energy delivery further. Thanks for making a great channel....you do cost me money though as I have bought a few rifles on your suggestion!

Thank you for your videos!

I would take the 338 win mag, great video please do more, Thanks!

Excellent job and a lot of time, but so well done.

Great video

Not having the opportunity( money) to shoot deer in the UK, I still maintain an interest in hunting rounds. I decided years ago that the .35 Whelan seemed like the ideal calibre, and enough people that actually know what they are talking about agree with me, most pleasing !

The addition velocity of the "magnums" not only helps reduce drop at a certain distance, but to also keep the bullet speed high enough at the longer ranges for proper bullet expansion upon impact.

That was very good!

Nicely done.

I agree 100% on 7mm bullets being mathematically the best. I have so many calibers now but I'd pick my 280 Rem as my favourite. Although I have really grown fond of my 300 RUM and if I was down to only one rifle I could have it would be my 7mmRem mag.

Mike, that is a difficult topic coupled with the variety of ammunition for a wee 25 minute window. Regardless, good info and presentation. I learn something from your work each time I listen to your videos.

I have a 50 cal brass case i found and bought at a gun show a long time ago, the guy said it had been resized and was ready to load, i bought it to use as a pen holder, i would be happy to give it to you as its just sitting in a box of other stuff that is unused.........

Very great video. I like the 7mm rem mag, I’m still looking for a 7x61 sharpe and hart, I passed one up 2 years ago, it was a custom Mauser. Magnums are hyped up, although my thought is that if you hit something with a magnum chances are it isn’t getting up. No 220 swift? I love both of the ones I own, I just have to be careful handloading that I don’t load it too hot and burn out the barrels. I’d like to go out west sometime for elk or something, was hoping to do that in the next year or two. Great video as always

Thank you!

the bolt guns chambered in 222 had a reputation of being great shooters! i love the 35 whelen for being versatile as is the 30.06. i still have a box of Remington 55grn accelerators in 30.06 that run about 4120 fps that my sporeterized mod 1917 actually shoots well along with the stoutly charged 220grn loads. it shoots whatever you feed. it pretty much exactly wear you point it.my latest find was something that was in 5.56-223 cal and black, because it seemed like a good bet since it was just before they started skyrocketing in price and got a lil harder to find like any pistols in 9mm right now cause all the ammo is gone..sadly the same with 5.56 -223 i havent gotten to even sight mine in yet as ammo went from 11$ a box of 20 and available to 29-35$ a box and back ordered .and right now times are tough hopefully next year ill get the old gal sighted in at least.

6.5x50R reb is my favorite. Ultimate all round cartridge, barrel life and case life like a 30-30. Ballistics like a 6.5 grendel. Rimmed so it works in all actions. Precision like a 6mm PPC!!!

.338 Win Mag or .340 Wby with 300 grain is well known as perhaps one of the better medium cartridges also for having good reach and functioning on lare/ dangerous game. Very good jungle and shikarii combo.

Nice presentation, might be worth noting that the 7x57 Mauser is the grandfather of most of those unbelted cases. Thanks

Great video👍unfortunately you didn't touch on the 33 cal... 338 win mag is my go to moose/elk round.

The 32ft you mentioned at the beginning of your very fine video is part of the rate of acceleration of something falling in a vacuum. A rate is is something over time. the rate of acceleration would be a speed or velocity over time. the speed is 9.8M/sec. (32.1FT/sec). That means something falling accelerates at a rate of 9.8 meters per second, per second. P.S. I was surprised at how many of these I had not heard of :) Thanks.

Great video👍

Very good!

Book -Cartridges of World - is good reference. You are an encyclopedia.

You just answered my inquiry, but greetings in any case! Always a privilege to listen to one of the most diverse, humble, tolerant and receptive firearms enthusiasts in the world...and I have another inquiry sir. Was the 300 Holland & Holland the first .30 caliber magnum cartridge, followed by the 300 Winchester magnum? The 300 H&H was routinely in the winning circle early on. Interestingly, the. 300 Wby was introduced before the 300 Winchester magnum, and although not substantially, the 300 Wby is noticeably more powerful. Yet only recently in 2007 did a shooter set a world record at 1,000 yard (5 shot X-ring group) with the Weatherby cartridge. ---- Then again sir, the big 50 Browning Machine Gun cartridge holds no record and to my knowledge has not won any significant long distance event. Even more intriguing, the 30-06 accelerator cartridge you have on hand! A true collector cartridge and the iconic 35 Whelen (necked up 30-06 case neck) The 7X57 is my favorite cartridge and the blueprint for what came to be caliber U.S. 30 or the 30-06. We also know from previous dialogue that 50 BMG is in fact, a scaled up 30-06!

Excellent presentation. That took a lot of brainpower to put that together.

It’s funny when gun companies bring out a limited run of rifles in .300H&H they sell out in a flash yet not one has thought “Maybe we should offer this as a standard chambering again.” A grand old round that deserves never to fade away.

90% of these rounds, would turn my arm to jelly... LOL... I want them, I mean, I need them in my collection.. and at the bare minimum, fire each one at least once!!! This was neat.. Thank you!!

Gravity and physics of bullet travel was best described in the book of the rifle by Jim Carmichael. He stated if you take a Bullet weighing 180 grains and a 30-06 cartridge loaded with the same bullet and fire the bullet from a level barrel 36” from the ground, and at the same instant drop the bullet from 36” they will both hit the ground at the same instant. But the bullet fired from the rifle will be several thousand feet away from you.

My current 4 favs 7mm wsm 300 wsm 270 wsm 6.5 prc

For someone that is a hunter realistically all is needed is just only up to 3 or 4 different calibers for any animal in North America or in the world, and that is also depending on what type of terrain a hunter is hunting in, besides restrictions of calibers and guns in some area's and in some states. But it is people like myself that love guns and calibers is why there has to be hundreds and thousands of different calibers out there.

Good show👍

Some pac hunters in a Asian country ,going after man eating tigers and leopard very much like .458 Win Mag, they used before 12 bore with big shot in them before they got rifles.

Let me add one point. No use for "magnum" term? I do like that they specify it because of Primer selection. The Magnums I reload all take a hotter primer for better powder burn, or unsafe slow burns and it is called out by "magnum". So there is a good reason, to me...

Cool to see all those rounds on the table, and not just reading specs from a book, but I'm not sure why it was tittle about magnums. Funny you mentioned about the 30-06 being popular in Europe, because I use a store that imports second hand European stuff, and so many are in 30-06. I was always so surprised to see that.