Magnum overkill. Over bore calibers on medium game

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So here is a flip side thread to the usual CGN theme. You know the 7.62x39 for Moose, or 223 Remington on Elk.

I had a Grizzly take a Moose. Bought a 375 rum, perhaps a year after their introduction. Took more Deer than Moose with it. Too steal a phrase from under bore proponents, its all about shot placement. I can't say any needed a second shot, or i ruined any more(or less) meat than a more standard caliber. It was my main rifle for about 12 years. Now i use my late fathers last rifle, a 3006.

Second rifle is a M1917 in 416 Rigby. Originally built by a famous Smith as his personal Bison rifle. When going on a Sheep hunt, he found himself with a great number of project rifles, and only one he considered accurate. So the Buffalo rifle with the Bevan King stovepipe contour barrel took the Dall ram.

Most of the truly over kill situations i can personally think of are using my hunting rifles for target of opportunity coyotes. A 338wm or 300wm are not ideal for predators, but the results were what i had in mind.

How about everyone's large firearm over bore stories?
 
I don't worry about such things... I occasionally choose ridiculous cartridges for hunts "just because." What I don't do is "underpower" the hunt... no point in pushing the envelope on the light side... when going light, great when it works out, but should things go wrong, part of processing the event should be some self-reflection on exactly what you were trying to prove.
 
I wouldn't class the 375 Ultra as overbore, it's similar in case size/bore diameter to a 6.5 Swede

I shot a coyote with my 416 Rem Mag, 400gr Interlock @ 2400 fps. Worked good

My last case of overkill was this ruffed grouse, which fell to a single 350gr Woodleigh RNSP from my king

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"Overbore" and "overgunned" are not the same thing. Worst case I remember being overgunned I was target shooting (ironically) with a 6.5x55 and availed myself of the opportunity to destroy a starling on the fence post. Destroy it indeed... 140gr at 2700fps is large game ballistics. Make do with what you have at the time, provided it meets acceptable minimum standards.
 
hoytcanon said:
I don't worry about such things... I occasionally choose ridiculous cartridges for hunts "just because." What I don't do is "underpower" the hunt... no point in pushing the envelope on the light side... when going light, great when it works out, but should things go wrong, part of processing the event should be some self-reflection on exactly what you were trying to prove.
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Agreed, I prefer changing it up because FUN. I know a guy that uses a 270 WIN for EVERYTHING! He rolls his own and knows his gun. To him, its a tool to harvest meat. The boys make fun of me for bringing so many guns on my hunts. I'll use a 300 WINMAG for a morning watch on a small lake followed by afternoon walk in thick stuff using an iron sight lever gun in .45-70 followed by an evening watch using a 6.5-55 swede because I can. Big Bore will be my next purchase for sure.
 
Not really sure one can stuff 95 grains of propellant into a 6.5x55, or push 260 grains more than 3000 ft/sec. But i suppose i could push a 235 at 220 swift velocity. The guy that probably should be chiming in is Ardent. African doubles as backup rifles, guiding coastal Grizzly. Believe Pounder has my rifles twin, with a docked barrel, but he lives in Churchill and deals commonly with Polar Bear.

Just so everyone understands, i am a proponent of no such thing as too large. An animal should be taken with one good hit. Regardless of angle. What is the commonly held number of energy for Deer....believe its 1000 lbs. Not in front of me, but i believe my Rum is between 5-6000 lbs. So i would imagine its still ahead of 308 win/muzzle at 3-400 yards. The real limiting issue is hunter accuracy. Can you take the recoil and make an accurate shot. Most hit the top end of their tolerance around 30-06/7 rem mag ballpark.
 
Had I used a 30-30 instead of a 300WM on the last deer I took, I could have maybe salvaged a bit more lung meat.
 
Nothing wrong with being "over gunned". I don't go out for anything but deer and I use everything from compound bow to 375 Mag.

They all seem to work and each gun or bow brings something a little different to the experience. Use whatever you want with in reason.
 
Butcherbill said:
Watched a buddy this fall shoot a buck at 30-40y with a M70 in 300wsm, the exit hole and shot damage was enough for me to be happy with my boring old .303brit lol.
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As with everything concerning rifle hunting proper bullet selection and shot placement is the key. You can choose a bullet that simulates a grenade or a bullet that punches through with little expansion and meat destruction. It's up to you to select the right choice.
 
My new favorite deer rifle is a Husky 1600 in 9.3x62. A 286 grain bullet at moderate speed that doesn't blow the snot out of the deer but convinces him to lie down and die right now is just about right
 
PSE said:
As with everything concerning rifle hunting proper bullet selection and shot placement is the key. You can choose a bullet that simulates a grenade or a bullet that punches through with little expansion and meat destruction. It's up to you to select the right choice.
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He was shooting 180gr federal power shock sp, which is the same bullet and weight I shoot in .303 Brit without blowing a fist size hole upon exit. The closest I’ve shot deer with them would be 25-30y. I don’t need a magnum cartridge to drop whitetail deer on the spot lol.

His 300wsm is moving much flatter and faster than my .303, I think he wished he’d brought the .30-30 instead once he saw the exit hole.
 
I use a 458wm for black bear hunting. 400gr woodliegh ppsn at 2400fps. I put that stuff thru everything. Bear wolves grouse even a unsuspecting rabbit. Results are often immediate.
I use a 2506 for coyotes mostly. Some would say thats over kill.
 
My only kill with a medium bore on small game has been a 375 on wolf...but in the 375 Win, I wouldn't consider overkill LOL
The 376 Steyr did perform well on elk though, but the rut crazed bull did not react to the two shots in the boiler room for several seconds before going down.
As for a magnum on small game, the 270 Wby with a 100 gr spire point at 3500 fps, it really opened him up. There was not internal organs or intestines left inside him...just red mist on the ground.

Have read of people using their 375 H&H on deer and antelope hunts in order to gain experience and confidence in their larger rifle while preparing for an upcoming African hunt for cape buffalo and plains game with one rifle. Sounds like good practice to me.
There has been much written over time of the smaller African antelopes, including the tiny ten, taken with the 375 H&H and other larger bore rifles.
Not sure I'll do any coyote, lynx or wolf hunting with my 416 Taylor, but should probably be doing more black bear, deer, elk and moose hunting with it. Will be working up a load with the Speer Hot Cor 350gr bullets at 2400 fps for this.
 
I like Overbore and oddball rounds as well. Does a 32-20 on gophers count as an overbore...?
I like the 9.3 x 57 for deer hunting, 38-55 as well...that was this year. I've never made it into the .40's...except handguns.
But I'm a meat hunter...anything with RUM, WSM or even magnum behind the numbers...ruins too much meat IMO
 
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