Top 15 Most Popular Rifle Cartridges (2023 Edition)

ByJim Harmer Updated on

I have been tracking the most popular rifle cartridges for the last several years, and it’s always fascinating to see what cartridges take off.

The only problem, is defining what “popular” means. There are many different ways of deciding what is popular, so I’ll list them separately.

Hottest Rifle Cartridges (Ranked by buzz)

According to Google search traffic, these are the top most-searched cartridges in the world right now. This is a good indicator of “what’s hot.”

  1. 22LR
  2. 223 Remington
  3. 6.5 Creedmoor
  4. 450 Bushmaster
  5. 308 Winchester
  6. 30-06 Springfield
  7. 300 Win Mag
  8. 6.5 PRC
  9. 22-250 Remington
  10. 7mm Rem Mag
  11. 300 PRC
  12. 6.8 Western
  13. 7mm-08
  14. 300 WSM
  15. 270 Winchester
  16. 25-06
  17. 243 Winchester

Most Common Bolt-Action Rifle Cartridges (By rifle chambering options)

This method of determining what’s most popular is to look at about 60 different models of rifles, and see what percentage of the rifles have each chambering as an option.

  1. 308 Winchester
  2. 6.5 Creedmoor
  3. 300 Winchester Magnum
  4. 30-06 Springfield
  5. 450 Bushmaster
  6. 243 Winchester
  7. 270 Winchester
  8. 7mm-08 Remington
  9. 7mm Rem Mag
  10. 22-250
  11. 300 WSM
  12. 6.5 PRC
  13. 220 Swift
  14. 300PRC
  15. 270 WSM

As you can see from this list, some of the newer designs aren’t ranked as high, because some legacy manufacturers haven’t updated their options to include newer chamberings like 300PRC.

Most Popular Hunting Cartridges in Custom Rifles

This list is a bit more anecdotal, but I spoke with more than 15 custom rifle makers and asked them what their customers are choosing most right now. Generally, custom rifle makers have customers who are willing to spend more for the latest-and-greatest, and they also generally load their own ammunition, so they are less concerned about ammo availability.

  1. 6.5 PRC
  2. 300 PRC
  3. 28 Nosler
  4. 6.5 Creedmoor
  5. 300 Win Mag
  6. 7mm Rem Mag
  7. 7 SAUM
  8. 300 RUM
  9. 6 Creedmoor
  10. 300 WSM

Rifle Cartridge Popularity Ranked By Ammo Sales

I have to keep my source private on this one, but here are the most popular rifle cartridges as ranked by online ammo sales.

  1. 22LR
  2. 223 Remington
  3. 6.5 Creedmoor
  4. 300 Blackout
  5. 450 Bushmaster
  6. 30-06 Springfield
  7. 300 Win Mag
  8. 6.5 PRC
  9. 308 Winchester
  10. 7mm Rem Mag
  11. 22-250
  12. 7mm-08

Bolt-Action Rifle Cartridge Popularity (Ranked by USA Rifle Sales)

This data comes from rifles sold in the USA during Q4 of 2021 and Q1 of 2022.

  1. 6.5 Creedmoor
  2. 22LR
  3. 6.5 PRC
  4. 30-06 Springfield
  5. 300 Win Mag
  6. 308 Winchester
  7. 6.8 Western
  8. 7mm Rem Mag
  9. 7mm-08

Jim Harmer is a host of the Backfire Youtube channel. He has managed multiple gun ranges, and has hunted around the world. He is a well-known entrepreneur, having started many successful online brands, and lives in St George, Utah.