BTW, I own an also-ran, a Champ, and a WTF. The latter is a .50cal Muzzleloader. Which shows that knowing what's the best round for everything doesn't meant that you don't sometimes want to hunt with something else just for the fun of it.

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Naught! But, geez ... if I'd have known the .260 Rem was still in the running you could have counted on my vote.

Can't wait until next year. Something tells me the AR-15 will make the list, but I can already speculate which two guns will make the finals.

MLH,
I knew I could count on you.
(Just for the record, I actually have no idea why the percentages didn't add up to 100. Some small glitch built into the software that tallies these things would be my best guess. Good thing it didn't turn out 50 to 49.)

Rounding the percentages up/down is probably the reason they didn't add to 100%.

Best deer rifle: Winchester Model 70 (yes - pre-64). This is my absentee ballot for next year.

The best humor so far is in your comment ," the long standing question is answered once and for all ". As long as there is a campfire and sundowners, this will be a topic od discussion

I had three surprises in this playoff. In the first round I picked the .260Rem over the .270WSM, and figured the .25-06 would beat out the .260 in the next round. But it was pretty clear to me that the good old .270 would make it to the finals.

On the right side, I figured .30-30 would beat out the .308, simply based on the track record. IIRC, .30-30s have logged more whitetail kills in the US than any two other rounds combined. But there's no arguing that the .308 isn't also a great round.

It was always clear to me that the .30-06 would square off against the .270. And the better round won. (Sorry .270 guys, with the right bullet The Champ shoots flatter too.)

Gman,
What you're smelling may be me. That's always a possibility when anyone smells a big, stinky rat. But I've owned a Model 70 Classic Compact in 7mm-08 Also-Ran for years and wouldn't even think of trading it for a comparable rifle chambered for The Champ. I wouldn't trade my .300 Savage Didn't-Run either, and that somehow didn't even make the list.

I know very little about guns, cartridges or ballistics but I enjoy reading the gun blogs and learning along the way.

Keep up the good work Dave. You'll make a gun hunter out of me yet.

I thought it funny how the on-line censors did not allow me to say "I don't no". "Know" intentionally misspelled to get pass the censors.

When you look at all those registered progeny... the 25 'naught six, the .27 'naught 6, the .28 'naught six, the .338 'naught six and the .35 'naught six. Then you throw in the unregistered progeny from .24 to .375, you have a hell of a thoroughbred!

Long live the Champ!

No suprise, but there's a reason for that. I'll still always love my runner up, and I'm w/ jay on the pre-64 mod. 70.

good to go.....just cause it's older doesn't mean it's ready for the pasture or retirement wall.

This turned out about like any of us would have predicted. I wonder what results a similiar poll for like sized animals would be if conducted only in Europe or perhaps Canada by the natives there.

If you repeat this survey (next March?) I suggest you bracket the sub-quarter calibers together, the .25s-7mms together, the .30s together and the +30s together. That way the final four won't come down to being 2 .30s against 2 .277s again. It may not change the results, but it could provide some interesting fodder for discussion.

I will wait impatiently for the best Cartridges for Elk, Moose I Grizzly !

I dont think i can wait till next year for the rifle bracket. Could you possibly move it to just before hunting season comes in. My personal favorite is the .308 also ran and i am partial to anything with a "3" in it

aught 6 where i come from is more of household name than wally world.cant beat it even if you dont like it.

well, even though there was a decent following for most all of the also ran's and the runner up, I will from now on refer to my still least favorite cartridge as the champ as I explain why I think there is far better cartridges in the hunting world today. Great post and conversation, can't wait for the next bracket, I am starting my fact compilation now

Does this mean that those who voted for the '06 get a couple of free boxes of say, 180 gr. fail-safes? :)

The champion is what I thought It was

As the owner of a .308 also-ran, I suppose my Rem 788 is long ago consigned to the "also-ran" bin. Oh well, such is life. After the elk tournament, I guess we can have a favorite small-game cartridge competition?

Doesn't matter how you slice it or dice it, the versatility and performance of the 30-06 is in fact the "GOLD STANDARD" for all cartridges to be measured against. Yes, you can come up with the argument that this cartridge does better than the 30-06 or the 30-06 does better than that. The fact remains that the 30-06 is a cartridge to be measured against. I find when someone measures a cartridge against another one; they talk about drop and foot pound energy. But the fact of the matter, there is two more parts of the equation that is left out. The two parts is "Initial Impact" and "Hydrostatic Shock". This is where the fight begins and this is where experienced hunters will agree on. For example, take the 7mm Rem Mag vs 30-06. What is going to cause more damage on initial impact, a .284 diameter or a .308 diameter object? Stand on the side of the road and have a car pass you then a semi, the blast of air from the 18 wheeler will almost knock you over. It’s know as displacement of matter and individuals will argue the other based solely on bullet drop and foot pound energy and will also agree that Dihydrogen Monoxide should be banned from our water supply and stop dumping this raw substance into our streams and oceans and must be treated like hazmat!

Gotta run, wife's monitor at work just went "Tango Uniform"!

Cogley,
I didn't tell you I'd be driving the bus. Shoot. I meant to tell you that.
Seriously, thanks for helping out with this. I hope you'll be back for the rifles version. After all, I'll need someone to throw under the bus for that one, too.

Looks like a little roadkill on the information super highway (web)!

Yes, and neither the Remington 700 nor the Winchester M-70 is the BEST deer rifle out there, just the most popular.

Where's my BOW!

For those who know how to get the most out of the 30-06 will tell'ya, this Ol'Dog has more tricks than most cartridges, including being one of the less finicky cartridges on the market to digest anything you put in it!

The following link, the 30-06 is at home here!

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/nra-1000-yds-long-range-shooting/...

Wheres my Bow!

Maybe I aught not to brag, but I aught the whole time that the true Champ would shine through. Aught to be a great contest next year as well! Long live the 30-06!

coach handbags have the top quality , so our coach online offer you cheap coach 14967 green , coach 14516 black for this summer. http://www.nicecoachhandbags.com