The most efficient hunting cartridges

Gatehouse said:
Using those numbers you are still at only 1.6 MOA difference in wind, whereas you said have to double it for your .308. Pretty good trade off for much less powder and recoil.
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Unless, the extra powder is less than 2% of the gas to get you to the range and you don't find the nudge all that "off-putting" really...
 
It appears that this thread is discussing the efficiency of hunting cartridges, so why are people comparing wind drift at 1000 yards with match bullets?
 
Gatehouse said:
Using those numbers you are still at only 1.6 MOA difference in wind, whereas you said have to double it for your .308. Pretty good trade off for much less powder and recoil.
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In my .308s I tend to use 150s with some 155s and 165-168s. Lots of Noslers, old style SMKs, hunting Sierras. Very much stuff and weights that are suited to a .308 and what I'm doing with it. Shells even fit in the mag. Maybe scratch the SMKs for hunting but the BCs are in that same sort of ball-park, and the weights are something that hunters will recognize. 500 yard drifts are in that 4-4.5 MOA for a 10 mph.

Now lets review what I said.

Lets take it straight to hunting rifles. When shooting at my own range on steel, wind is practically everything. If I put down a .300, 7-300, 28 Nosler, 7 STW and pick up a .308 Ive got a quick way of adjusting my wind holds or dials. I just double it. That mild recoiling cartridge doesnt make hitting easier, it makes it harder. A lot harder.
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These days I use a lot of 190 ABLRs in the .300s because it shoots so well in three of them, 180 VLDs and 150-175 ABLR in the 7-300 and STW with more than a few 160 Accubonds for those. 28 is rather partial to 195 EOLs, but likes 160 Accubonds and has a perverse fascination with anything 168. Given its 1-8" that's sort of odd, but no use argueing with a rifle. Drifts will land right in that 1.9 to 2.5 on the high end at 500.

So yeah, I can set down one of those rifles, pick up my .308s and double the windage and go from there. Do it all the time.
 
LOL!!! I get a kick out of these regular number cruncher's. Always splitting hairs on velocity, bullet drop, windage, etc. I wonder how many of them are true hunters (DIY), utilizing their hair splitting calculations when it comes down to real life experiences?
 
6.5 Creedmoor just doesn't have enough case capacity. Unless you are stuck with an AR10 length magazine it doesn't make to handicap your powder capacity with that short case. I run an 8.5 lb 300 win mag with 200gr ELD-X at a hair over 3000 fps. To match the ballistics in a 6.5mm I'd need a 6.5-284 or 6.5x55 Ackley.

With the 300 I can only shoot a couple of 5-round 1/2 to 3/4 MOA groups in a day and then I start losing my edge. But so what? I shoot 1-2 shots in a week of elk or moose hunting. And I just make more range trips to get the trigger time needed to stay proficient.
 
track said:
LOL!!! I get a kick out of these regular number cruncher's. Always splitting hairs on velocity, bullet drop, windage, etc. I wonder how many of them are true hunters (DIY), utilizing their hair splitting calculations when it comes down to real life experiences?
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I'd also rather have a 200gr bullet in the pipe instead of a 140gr when I'm staring down a grizzly bear. And, yes, I DIY elk and moose hunts; my 500 yard moose at last light on the last day across a swamp was a chip shot because I've practiced at longer range and I know my ballistics. Plus the terminal ballistics are better the more impact velocity you can retain.

Edit: Is it efficient to go on a 1-2 week hunting trip and not get your animal because you weren't sure you could reach out and touch him? I think not. But I'm 99% a meat hunter so I can't speak for every else's motivations for being out there.
 
track said:
LOL!!! I get a kick out of these regular number cruncher's. Always splitting hairs on velocity, bullet drop, windage, etc. I wonder how many of them are true hunters (DIY), utilizing their hair splitting calculations when it comes down to real life experiences?
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One must be careful with such criticisms, since you recently championed a case of all things magnum, proclaiming that you would never hunt with a standard cartridge. This seems to put that acclamation on thin ice.
 
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Boomer said:
One must be careful with such criticisms, since you recently championed a case of all things magnum, proclaiming that you would never hunt with a standard cartridge. This seems to put that acceleration on thin ice.
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It only makes sense that Track would join the "Alliance of Arrogance. "
 
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