HEAD TO HEAD CARTRIDGE COMPARISON.

[rmp]

Going to try it with those and the 130gr VLD Hunting next

Very limited experience with the 130 VLD’s on game for me. I had a close encounter with a whitetail doe and went with a neck shot. Big surprise, it worked!

 

[Dub]

Different horses for different courses.



And make no bones about it.....it is the actual courses that are driving cartridge development across the industry.

Long range competition shooters are demanding higher bc bullets, improved concentricity, precision actions, varying stock adjustability, etc, etc.

They are providing the challenge to the manufacturers to step up their game.

As an guy who only hunts in coastal plains...I'm not doing much to push the manufacturers to do much of anything at all. The same .30/30, .44mag, .270 Win & .308 Win that made me happy 40 years ago.....make me happy today.

Other than demand lighter weight offerings, have hunters done much to push the manufacturers to improve ?

Seems like we are sure quick to cry foul over the new cartridges. If our old stuff is making us happy.....cool.....awesome....great.

Why do we feel the need to denounce the validity of newer developments, that do, in fact, offer measurable performance improvement in metrics that matter to other types of shooters?

A whole lotta nonproductive division at a time when ALL shooters could benefit from mutually supporting each other.


I say the above with the full acknowledgement that I am guilty of the cartridge hating, too. When the .30 Super Carry came out during the last BLM Rioting Era ammo blight ....I was talking huge trash about it.

 

[FlipKing]

Different horses for different courses.



And make no bones about it.....it is the actual courses that are driving cartridge development across the industry.

Long range competition shooters are demanding higher bc bullets, improved concentricity, precision actions, varying stock adjustability, etc, etc.

They are providing the challenge to the manufacturers to step up their game.

As an guy who only hunts in coastal plains...I'm not doing much to push the manufacturers to do much of anything at all. The same .30/30, .44mag, .270 Win & .308 Win that made me happy 40 years ago.....make me happy today.

Other than demand lighter weight offerings, have hunters done much to push the manufacturers to improve ?

Seems like we are sure quick to cry foul over the new cartridges. If our old stuff is making us happy.....cool.....awesome....great.

Why do we feel the need to denounce the validity of newer developments, that do, in fact, offer measurable performance improvement in metrics that matter to other types of shooters?

A whole lotta nonproductive division at a time when ALL shooters could benefit from mutually supporting each other.


I say the above with the full acknowledgement that I am guilty of the cartridge hating, too. When the .30 Super Carry came out during the last BLM Rioting Era ammo blight ....I was talking huge trash about it.

A lot of hunters don't research or understand ballistics. They either called the 6.5cm under powered or the greatest thing ever. Rarely an in between with strengths and weaknesses.

 

[bighonkinjeep]

Anybody who does cartridge comparisons and uses the phrase "only a couple of hundred feet per second" when talking about identical diameter and weight bullets draws skepticism from me immediately.
Same skepticism when comparing based on ballistic coefficient rather than weight especially when comparing recoil.

 

[Jester896]

Anybody who does cartridge comparisons and uses the phrase "only a couple of hundred feet per second" when talking about identical diameter and weight bullets draws skepticism from me immediately.

how so? if an identical weight and diameter runs 200 fps faster what is there to be skeptical about?

BC and weight might/could go hand in hand...but how does recoil factor into the equation of those two. If it was 200 fps faster it could improve BC.

 

[Darkhorse]

OK these are the facts. My facts just as I've experienced them. I bought my 7mag to hunt with and that's just what I've done, for about 15 years it was my main rifle. The same goes for my 300 win mag. I put the 7 in the gun safe and carried the 300 for about the same amount of time.
Mostly in the Georgia woods where ranges are often short. During this period my main bullet was the Hornady interlock. A cup and core that no one considers it to be a premium design.
And they were loaded hot too. I always sought 3000 ft per second. If your going to tote a magnum it oughta shoot like a magnum.
I'm knocking on 71, been a serious hunter all my life. That translates into seeing a lot of game hit the dirt.
Now here's where I'm going with this, during all this time my main bullet both here and out west has always been the Hornady spire point interlock. And they have always performed perfectly. If you prescribe to the old adage...."Exactly when in the death of the animal did the bullet fail"....Then I have never experienced a single failure.
So while it might be fun to test different projectiles for my hunting I've never needed them.

 

[Jester896]

for me...it wouldn't matter if the ballistics were the same on some of these newer rounds if I didn't have to deal with a belted case.

I have seen some pretty nasty chambers in factory rifles of belted mags. It might give one the impression that nothing in the chamber matters except the headspace on the belt. Some seem to think it doesn't matter how big the chamber is right in front of the belt and some don't seem to matter how far the shoulders blow into the shoulder area..if that is what it is on a belted case.

Maybe I have been spoiled with chambers that will allow you to fire a case...neck size it.. if you choose...and fire it in any other gun.

 

[Bobby Bigtime]

I have had the same experience as darkhorse as to bullet failure. Bullets failing to perform is very rare unless you are using it outside the intended application. A hundred fps or less in a cartridge that is a high velocity number is no big deal. A two hundred fps or greater difference will help put it in a different category. That being said, velocity alone doesn't kill anything, bullets placement does. When one begins to stretch distances then the two can come together to truly matter. Superior case design, twist rates and precision rifles are a great thing in all applications but to the average joe looking to fill the freezer, they don't make a lot of difference. A minivan will take you to the supermarket to get groceries just fine but if you would rather take the Corvette, more power to you.

 

[bighonkinjeep]

how so? if an identical weight and diameter runs 200 fps faster what is there to be skeptical about?

BC and weight might/could go hand in hand...but how does recoil factor into the equation of those two. If it was 200 fps faster it could improve BC.

Becaus 200 FPS makes a much bigger difference than seemingly dismissing it as "only 200fps" .

Exactly. Dont know why he was comparing nearly identical cases in the VS article I read based on bullet BC that led to 25gr of bullet difference. When comparing recoil with like weight bullets available for both cases, then the info given goes right out the window.

As always gun writers are firstly writers and much of whats written is opinion. Some of the methods used to form them may be less than ideal applications of science.

 

[021]

I experiment with a lot of different calibers, but when I just need to murder a deer, it doesn't get better than the 6.5x55. Period.

 

[rosewood]

I’m a fan of the Big 7 from Remington as well. If your brass ever gets to feeling a little “sticky”, you can squeeze the body down a couple thou with one of these without effecting the shoulder. The same collet works on most belted magnums except the Weatherby variety.

Too rich for my blood. Bought a 7mmstw die set at bps on clearance for $10. Cut top off and part of base so it goes all way to the belt. Use it to true up all belted mag cases when needed. Works like a champion.

Rosewood.

 

[rosewood]

I'll take heavy over fast all day long and three times on Sunday.

I have been toting a single shot 35 rem last 2 seasons with 206 grain cast boolit at about 2050. Perfect for inside 150 yards. Leaves a nice clean hole all the way thru and no blood shot meat.

Rosewood

 

[Bobby Bigtime]

The cartridges that many feel most compelled to compare come down to personal preference and what folks have had success with. The long range tiny group folks that are wringing out every bit of flatness and wind bucking fractions, they can, really split some hairs in these cartridge comparisons. The small town country bars here out west are full of beer soaked ballisticians that will argue for hours over 308 vs 30-06 or 270 vs 7mag and they are fun to listen to, especially when one accuses the others cartridge as having a rainbow trajectory.

 

[sleepr71]

Use a quality bullet…and KNOW your rifle. Know where it hits at…at the distances you intend to use it. Write it down,laminate it..then memorize it. Then..when the shot of a lifetime comes along..and you have 2-3 seconds to make it…simply range,hold appropriately..and squeeze it off.. Most of the common calibers already in existence will suffice,for 99% of us…IF..you know your rifle..!

 

[Liberty]

This will be my first season with a lever 30- 30 ever and it's been a very long time, prolly 30 years, since I killed one with my Marlin in 35 Remington.

Hunting the spots I've settled on in my nearest WMA is going to be in some thick stuff.

3 meadows and a few man made roads are the only places I can even see out to 125- 150 yards.
I'm debating whether or not to scope it or just shoot the iron sights. I suspect 40 or 50 yards will be the norm.

I prefer the rear peep sights on lever guns due to the rear sights being to easy to bump off. To make sure the front hasn’t moved, I apply a little black nail polish to the sides. That way I’d the polish is cracked, the sight settings have been compromised.

 

[Big7]

I prefer the rear peep sights on lever guns due to the rear sights being to easy to bump off. To make sure the front hasn’t moved, I apply a little black nail polish to the sides. That way I’d the polish is cracked, the sight settings have been compromised.

I had a Williams on my Marlin 35. They are great sights.

They are more accurate for the simple fact the sight radius gets twice as long when you install a rear peep.

 

[rosewood]

Use a quality bullet…and KNOW your rifle. Know where it hits at…at the distances you intend to use it. Write it down,laminate it..then memorize it. Then..when the shot of a lifetime comes along..and you have 2-3 seconds to make it…simply range,hold appropriately..and squeeze it off.. Most of the common calibers already in existence will suffice,for 99% of us…IF..you know your rifle..!

I ranged the dots on my crossbow scope and made a label. Taped the label to the stock for the same reason. Range it, check "dope" label on stock and fire away. I also make it a point to pre-range landmarks from my deer stand while I am bored. That way, I may know a certain distance depending on what the deer is standing next to and don't have to pull out the range finder. Many years ago when I hunted from a box stand over a large field, I drew a sketch of the field and wrote the ranges to landmarks on it and stuck it up in the stand.

Rosewood