Table of Contents

• Remington Cartridges Overview
• 6mm Remington Cartridge Review
• 7mm Remington Cartridge Review
• .222 Remington Cartridge Review
• .17 Remington Cartridge Review
• .223 Remington Cartridge Review
• .35 Remington Cartridge Review
• .260 Remington Cartridge Review
• .280 Remington Cartridge Review
• Conclusion

In one of the final scenes in V for Vendetta, our hero is making his last stand, faced with a group of bad guys. The main bad guy tells him that all he has are his knives and his karate, and that they have guns. “No,” V responds, “what you have are bullets, and the hope that when your guns are empty I’m no longer standing, because if I am, you’ll all be dead by the time you’ve reloaded.” 

Guns are kind of useless without their cartridges. Not completely useless, mind you, but pretty close to useless. Without cartridges to slide into the chamber, a gun can be used in all kinds of ways, but none of them would be utilizing its primary function.  Remington is currently celebrating its bicentennial. 200 years of manufacturing handguns, rifles, shotguns, and ammunition of all kinds. Even after all this time, Remington still manages to stay innovative, unique, and relevant. One of its main areas of expertise is that of the all-important cartridge, of which it produces many. Welcome to our top Remington cartridges review!

Remington Cartridges Overview

Over the course of 200 years, Remington has manufactured many, many firearms and cartridges. The company’s team of scientists and engineers make use of the best components around in order to perfect and hone in the power of a round.

The whole “one shot, one kill” mentality is not just about the shooter, after all. You could have the best rifle in the world and the best eyes in the galaxy, but if your cartridges are no good, they may fail you when you need them most. A firearm is a tool, after all. A means to an end. All of these factors are counted, but what is important to note is that the quality of the cartridge should not be neglected. Unlike chokes, for example, cartridges need to be fine-tuned and smooth for precise aiming and target location. Whether it be for hunting, self-defense, competitions, or military/law-enforcement purposes – Remington has got you covered, with the best ammunition the world has to offer. This is a short list of some of Remington’s most popular rounds throughout the years. I had the chance to shoot some of these, and while I am not a ballistic expert or a shooting professional, I did some research on the others.

6mm Remington Cartridge Review

Introduced in 1955 as the Remington .244, the 6mm round was intended to be used as a varmint repellent. The Remington 6mm was introduced very closely to the .243 Winchester round, and both of these rounds get compared quite a lot. They share many physical similarities and ballistic traits, but over the course of time it has become clear that Winchester is the ‘winner.’

The .244’s introduction as a varmint cartridge was a mistake on Remington’s part, and it was detrimental to the cartridge’s future. Even today, the Remington 6mm is considered to be somewhat inaccurate, even though it is not. In 1963 the cartridge was renamed 6mm Remington. In terms of performance, this round allows hunters to fire calmly and accurately. It has a low noise and low recoil, which is something many hunters are looking for.

7mm Remington Magnum Cartridge Review

Released in 1962, this cartridge is still being produced today and is still one of the most popular cartridges around. It is a hunting cartridge that will get just about every job done. Light, heavy, and long-range options are available. The recoil-management this round offers is one of its main selling points, and it hits its target hard.

The 7mm Rem Mag was released in conjunction with the Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a belted, bottle-neck design, and it is one of the most popular centerfire sporting rifle cartridges. It is considered a medium game cartridge, and because it has a relatively flat trajectory, it is immensely popular with moose and elk hunters.  Effective and highly functional, the 7mm Remington Magnum is used by hunters all over the world. The recoil is usually mild, but it depends on the rifle and barrel used.

.222 Remington Cartridge Review

A centerfire rifle cartridge which was first released in 1950, the .222 is known as the Triple Deuce. The .222 is still considered by many to be a fine varmint cartridge, but it’s not as popular as it once was. The .222 Remington was introduced alongside the Remington Model 722 bolt-action rifle, and much like the 7mm, it has a flat trajectory which makes it a very useful hunting and target rifle.

The .222 is still used all over Europe, where it is known as the 5.7X43. In many cases, it is used in lieu of illegal or otherwise regulated military calibers, such as the .223 Remington (aka 5.56X45mm NATO). Great for varmint hunting and target shooting, though perhaps not for the professional shooters, as they seem to favor other calibers these days.

.17 Remington Cartridge Review

The legendary Model 700 is chambered for many rounds, and one of them was the .17 Remington cartridge, introduced in 1971. It is based on the .222 / .223 Remington, but is smaller in scale. It has very high energy, unlike Jeb Bush, and is used primarily as a varmint and small predator round. The .17’s range is fairly short, which is why it never took off (get it?!) as a very popular hunting cartridge. Its flatter trajectory did come in handy at shorter ranges, but its speed was to its detriment in the eyes of many. The successor to the .17 Rem is probably the .17 Remington Fireball, introduced in 2007. It has a very different look, but is close in velocity. The .17 is celebrated by some and deemed unfit to shoot by others. From what I have seen, people have a love or hate relationship with this one. There is no middle ground. I still find it to be a great short-range small predator hunter.

.223 Remington Cartridge Review

The .223 is one of the most popular cartridges Remington has ever produced. The .223 was introduced to civilians in 1964, but has been used since the mid-1950s as an experimental military cartridge for the AR-15 assault rifle (aka M16). The .233 Remington round is still being manufactured today, and it is almost identical to the 5.56X45mm NATO. While I am on that topic, a quick note: generally speaking, .223 Remington cartridges can be fired using a 5.56mm rifle, but it’s not recommended to try it the other way around, as it could result in damage to the firearm. So, what can be said about this round that hasn’t been said already? Probably nothing, so I will simply go with the party line which is: this round is awesome. No more, no less.

.35 Remington Cartridge Review

One of Remington’s oldest cartridges on the list of those which is still being manufactured is the .35. It was first introduced in 1906, and two years later it came as the go-to rifle cartridge for the Remington Model 8. Nowadays, the .35 Rem has carved a nice niche for itself within the single shot hunting pistol family. It also enjoys popularity with the Model 336 lever-action rifle. It is considered to be a good hunting cartridge, and is used for medium and large game. It is available in varying weights, the most popular of which are probably 180, 200, or 220 grain. This round-nose bullet can yield dramatic results. It produces a quick kill when within proper range and velocity. Within the .358 calibers, the .35 Rem is considered one of the slower ones, but it can be useful in many situations.

.260 Remington Cartridge Review

One of Remington’s newer offerings (relatively speaking), the .260, was introduced in 1997. It is a cartridge used mostly in competitions or tactical situations, but some use it for hunting medium-sized game. The bullet loads of the .260 Remington are usually light, ranging from 85 to 160 grain. With the smaller loads, it can be a good varmint or small predator cartridge.

When the cartridge was first introduced, .260 editions of the Model 700 and Model Seven were offered. These were later discontinued commercially, but it is still possible to chamber a rifle in .260 using the services of Remington’s custom shop. Overall, this is a great round. It offers fine accuracy, lots of energy, and more than satisfactory long-range capabilities. Definitely applicable for many military and law-enforcement situations, even though there aren’t as many rifles chambered in them as there used to be.

.280 Remington Cartridge Review

Some aficionados consider this next round to be one of the best hunting cartridges ever made. The .280 Remington is also known as the 7mm Express Remington, since it bore that name for a some time in the late 70s and early 80s. It was introduced in 1957, and was chambered in several of Remington’s most popular rifles at the time, like the Model 740 semi-automatic. This round remains in production today, and there are some major firearm manufacturers who offer standards chambered in .280 Remington. Originally, the .280 Rem was loaded in 125, 150, and 165 grain bullets. It is most often compared to .30-06 cartridges.

The .280 is a very versatile cartridge, grain wise. With each increase or decrease, you can change the target applications drastically. This thing is fun to shoot, and highly accurate. It has a kind of cult following, I think, who consider it to be very underrated.

Conclusion

Remington has a long and proud tradition of firearm and cartridge manufacturing. Over the years, their cartridges have found success and failure alike. Sometimes, the failures were a question of improper marketing; other times, it was a simple matter of bad timing. The company has also hit the nail on the head, manufacturing cartridges which are as popular as they are effective. Regardless of the occasional misstep, Remington is known throughout the world as a top-shelf manufacturer of cartridges – and deservedly so. 

Looking to read about some more excellent Remington products? How about our R51 Pistol or 1187 Shotgun reviews? Check em’ out here at Gunivore – home of all things guns!

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