You’re misquoting what has been said. It’s not been said that it’s impossible. What has been said is that it is easier to shoot accurately and spot shots with smaller calibers. Tell me it’s just as easy to shoot small groups with a 300WM as a 223. Tell me it’s just as easy to spot shots. It’s not. You know it, and everyone else that has shot enough knows it.
It’s absolutely easier to spot shots with a lesser recoiling rifle.
The small groups thing, is a bit skewed from my perspective, after now spending a decent amount of time behind small and large cartridges.
But it’s important to make it clear that I’m not talking about a tikka ultra light in .223 and a tikka ultralight in 300 win mag. Because I think that’s what most people try to compare and how it’s rationalized I feel.
A properly built and weighted 30 cal is a piece of cake to shoot, AND shoot small groups with.
EASIER than a 22CM? No. Just as easy? I haven’t proven otherwise.
Just talking group shooting, I really don’t expect to shoot any smaller groups with my 22CM than my 7-300 NMI or 300 NMI when I’m legitimately just shooting for groups. They’re different weights of course though.
And also distance is rarely factored when talking about this. Shooting for groups we’re talking here, I could never consistently outshoot either of my larger guns at 1000 yards, with my smaller guns. The environmentals just affect them too much. Making a random impact with both is whatever. But shooting actual groups, the big guns shoot smaller during a random day at the range at 1000 yards.
So here’s my thoughts prior to this test:
I KNOW my larger guns shoot small groups
I KNOW they consistently shoot smaller groups at longer distances than my smaller guns, I can still spot the impacts, AND have more error forgiveness in wind call. Wound channel is debatable, so we’ll leave that out.
So that covers close and long range for actually hitting shit.
What I did not know was how instability at those mid ranges would affect my POI. That’s what I was testing.
So far, for my hunting style 0-1000 yard western hunting, I cannot prove that a small gun is going to put more animals on the ground for me.
That is with guns that I’m willing to carry, with supports I'm willing to use and carry, at distances I’m willing to shoot, in the reasonable time durations I will take to make those shots at the various distances, in the variety of terrain that I’ve hunted in.
It’s important realize that this is just one persons perspective and a small amount of testing. I am just testing and sharing as I go.
Yeah I could rack the bolt faster on a SA and yeah I’d have a little less reticle movement when the shot breaks allowing a slightly faster follow up, but I haven’t found that to be an animal costing issue at all during my hunts.
Different circumstances and hunt styles for different people may absolutely have different results.