“.243”

Contributor Dennis Bradley compares two big-bore powerhouses: the .45-70 Government and a relative newcomer, the .458 SOCOM.

The .303 British has a deeply rooted history in the era of exploration and is tied to the adventurers and hunters who headed to the wilds.

While felt recoil levels are somewhat subjective, across a wide spectrum, there are several cartridges that have garnered a reputation for being "sweet shooting." Here’s a look at our top 10 choices.

Wilson Combat has taken Melvin Forbes' legendary rifle design and integrated several improvements by leveraging modern manufacturing methods and 45 years of industry experience.

The first of the Nosler proprietary cartridges, the 26 Nosler remains a flat-shooting, hard-hitting choice for hunting open country. Being a 6.5mm cartridge, it will use the high ballistic coefficient projectiles which retain their energy downrange, resist the effects of a crosswind and offer a flat trajectory.

Introduced in 1955, the 6mm Remington was designed to be a dual-purpose cartridge that could handle varmints and predators just as well as it could deer and similar-sized game.

Contributor Dennis Bradley kicks off his series on esoteric alternatives to more common ammunition, with the 6x45.

Loosely based on a shortened .404 Jeffery case with the rim rebated to the .535-inch case head of the H&H family, the .270 WSM was the third commercial cartridge using the .277-inch bore diameter, and betters the velocity of the .270 Winchester by 200 to 250 fps.

The Stevens 334 bolt-action comes in a Turkish Walnut stock with a silver bolt, or a black synthetic stock with a matte-black action to match.