Small caliber regret

[roadrunner]

I hope every single poster in this thread has a chance to get out in the woods this weekend. Breathe some fresh air, maybe pull your boots off around camp and touch some grass with your bare feet, and let all this caliber stuff go.

Won't be in the woods for another week and a half, but I did go out this morning to verify the riffel I'll be using and it shoots the same as it did the last time I used it (I think) 5 years ago now. Two shot distances at 300 and 390 yds.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

So, you think a 100 gr 6mm Ballistic tip is more deadly than a 25 cal 115 gr Ballistic tip going faster? That’s pretty simple, but you get in a bunch arguing something completely different.

.242 vs .249 sd same construction, didn’t look up bc, assume the higher sd and velocity makes it pretty obvious there’s some advantages but recoil isn’t one, and the advantages may not be noticeable on game terminally at all until maybe further distances as the one will get to for same impact velocity...

Now throw the 108 eldm against it with .261 sd and likely far better bc and you wash all that recoil away and watch more happen in scope and have higher penetration potential and hit probability will catch the 115 at some point then walk away from it from there onward, again with a better penetrating bullet

And nothing of the headstamp or diameter matters. Only the bullet numbers, construction, and velocity.

Gotta stop looking at this from a headstamp perspective, total waste of time. It’s just the decider of what case needs to behind what bullet to get as far as you want it to go for min impact velocity. Choose bullet first then figure the rest out after. Always.

Easy to find ‘marginal’ on larger class game if you choose the wrong formula, it’s just easier to choose the wrong formula with smaller hp older cartridges which generally load with marginal bullets for game intended. Put right bullet in them and no longer marginal. It’s a numbers and construction thing, enough sd with rapid expansion construction for game intended.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

A lot of fluff is online about how every elk or deer is as easy to kill, and that’s just not correct unless you believe every animal will turn for a good angle. If you mind waiting for good shooting angles within the limitation of the cartridge/bullet then sure, use the smallest thing that will kill it if you want to. For most of my adult life I’ve enjoyed focusing on antler or horn size and early on had a tremendous mulie just walk into the trees because the shot angle was outside of the limitations of the rifle. Since then I will never feel under gunned trophy hunting with a 7 mag or larger since I’ve already paid the price once for carrying a less capable combination. Real life comes with a lot of less than ideal situations.

Are you really willing to pass up a big deer or elk at an angle like this? Nothing wrong with your answer either way, but more than once I’ve seen first hand how big talk about shooting ethics go out the window quickly. (Cue the dude saying he shoots everything at 500 yards in the neck and has never lost an animal, or a 223 would easily kill it.)

View attachment 961987

Passing anyway. Needs another year. Lol

I passed a 300 class 6x7 at 330yd because of this angle with my 7RM. Two days later killed a 304" 6x6 broadside at 505yd with the same 7RM. Instantly stumbled at impact and was dead on ground in under 10yd. 162gr ELD-M bullet