Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
Thanks fiddler for posting that link to the energy chart... I think it is a great example of people sticking to theory, in spite of all the real-world evidence to the contrary.
According to that chart, if a fellow wants to be able to take moose at various, resonable hunting ranges, anything less than a 338 win mag is simply not enough gun. We all know this is complete BS. In fact, even professional guides and outfitters (supposedly involved in making the chart) know it too. There was a great article in Outdoor Canada this year around calibers of choice, and, when polled as to what caliber a hunter should have if he had to have only one caliber for all Canadian hunting, guides and outfitters chose the 30-06 by a landslide. Yet, according to this chart, the 30-06 is not at all a decent moose caliber, even at 100 yards, much less at 400.
I would suggest that fiddler's post (no offense fiddler) erroneous, and the chart in it's entirety is basically meaningless. Energy is not the beginning, middle and end of killing an animal. Actually, it means basically squat on it's own. Animals are killed simply by having sustantianed enough damage done to thier critical organs so that life is no longer sustainable. It's not about energy. An arrow that has less than 50 ft-lbs of energy can kill any land animal on the planet because it causes the animal to bleed out. That's one way of gettig the job done, others include a solid CNS hit, or a solid hit to a critical organ like the heart or even the liver. Energy helps to do damage, but is a minor part of the story. Using big rifles with lots of energy gives a hunter a bit of a buffer in case shot placement is not perfect, but won't turn a seriously bad shot into a kill, and won't make a good shot more lethal than it would ahve been with a smaller caliber. Dead is dead.
And let's not forget that how many rifle shots result in through-and-through wounds where lots of the bullet's energy is never transferred to the animal in the first place. I've seen moose shot with 338's and 375's where a "splash" from the bullet, after it passed right through the moose, could be seen hundreds of yards behind the moose...all wasted energy.
Basically any cartridge that can consistently cause critical damage to a vital organ on your animal, at whatever range you hunt at, is going to be fine for hunting. This is why so many veteran hunters stress shot placement over caliber of rifle.
According to that chart, if a fellow wants to be able to take moose at various, resonable hunting ranges, anything less than a 338 win mag is simply not enough gun. We all know this is complete BS. In fact, even professional guides and outfitters (supposedly involved in making the chart) know it too. There was a great article in Outdoor Canada this year around calibers of choice, and, when polled as to what caliber a hunter should have if he had to have only one caliber for all Canadian hunting, guides and outfitters chose the 30-06 by a landslide. Yet, according to this chart, the 30-06 is not at all a decent moose caliber, even at 100 yards, much less at 400.
I would suggest that fiddler's post (no offense fiddler) erroneous, and the chart in it's entirety is basically meaningless. Energy is not the beginning, middle and end of killing an animal. Actually, it means basically squat on it's own. Animals are killed simply by having sustantianed enough damage done to thier critical organs so that life is no longer sustainable. It's not about energy. An arrow that has less than 50 ft-lbs of energy can kill any land animal on the planet because it causes the animal to bleed out. That's one way of gettig the job done, others include a solid CNS hit, or a solid hit to a critical organ like the heart or even the liver. Energy helps to do damage, but is a minor part of the story. Using big rifles with lots of energy gives a hunter a bit of a buffer in case shot placement is not perfect, but won't turn a seriously bad shot into a kill, and won't make a good shot more lethal than it would ahve been with a smaller caliber. Dead is dead.
And let's not forget that how many rifle shots result in through-and-through wounds where lots of the bullet's energy is never transferred to the animal in the first place. I've seen moose shot with 338's and 375's where a "splash" from the bullet, after it passed right through the moose, could be seen hundreds of yards behind the moose...all wasted energy.
Basically any cartridge that can consistently cause critical damage to a vital organ on your animal, at whatever range you hunt at, is going to be fine for hunting. This is why so many veteran hunters stress shot placement over caliber of rifle.
