Biggest useful Caliber

[Gootch]

I am interested to hear what kind of calibers are being fired out there and what the biggest caliber is that is still considered useful. From biggest to smallest as long as it is shoulder fired.

Anybody into 700 nitro Express? I hear the recoil on that is 10 times that of a 308 Win. What the heck would that be used for?

45 ACP in center.

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

You need a really small pee-pee to have a need for a 700 NE.

 

[matty86suk]

You need a really small pee-pee to have a need for a 700 NE.

....used for cape buffalo, lions, elephants...right tool for the job,

 

[alexboybkk]

i think anything over 375 in america is way, way overkill and un-nescesary!!

 

[hillmanr2]

You need a really small pee-pee to have a need for a 700 NE.

K cool, go up against an elephant with a 270. Sure it can be done but you need a really small brain brain

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

I'm three for three then - small brain, small guns, and small pee-pee.

Good thing I stay away from elephants!

K cool, go up against an elephant with a 270. Sure it can be done but you need a really small brain brain

 

[Hunter1970]

FFFTT, 700 Nitro is way too small. I use nothing less than a 950 JDJ, especially for gopher defense.

700 Nitro on the left.

 

[bobusboy]

That last one looks like something you'd find a LAV3 firing

 

[Hunter1970]

Based on a 20mm, shortened and necked up. Apparently some rifles were made for it, they weighed in pretty stout (@+-100 lbs).

 

[Gideon]

Personaly, I don't have a need for anything bigger than a 12 guage slug or a .308 win. They both blow gophers up real good, and the 'yotes don't have a preference either.

Although, I would like to see a 700 NE take out a gopher. That would be the day.

 

[sunray]

"...would like to see a 700 NE take out a gopher..." Loaded cartridge is bigger than a gopher. Think 1,000 grain bullets at 2,000 fps, 8900 ft-lbs ME and $50US per shot.
Big stuff like that(typical African cartridges) are horrendously expensive to shoot. There are guys who shoot 'em just because they can though. None of which are out of battle rifles.
"...anything over 375 in America..." Where? North America? Nothing in North America needs a .375 H&H or any other magnum either.

 

[Boomer686]

I am interested to hear what kind of calibers are being fired out there and what the biggest caliber is that is still considered useful......

Useful for what? I own from a .22LR to a .338LM. I shoot them all...no specific "use" for any of them. Some hunt, some punch paper and others ring gongs far, far away but ALL of them put a smile on my face. I shoot because I enjoy the sport.. not because it has a specific "use" or purpose.

Regards,

 

[Gootch]

I guess with usefull I would mean a practical application. For example, a 700 nitro express would be useful puncturing the head bone of a cape buffalo (no doubt with questionable results), but not in a fire fight on Hill 296. That brings up the question of what the biggest caliber is in battle rifles. There was a lot of experimenting with calibers in battle rifles that still goes on today. How big did they really go before they settled on the common calibers?

Whether they put a smile on your face or a smiley above your scope eye, it's all fun to shoot. But I sure can't see me lugging a 950 JDJ to a gopher party.

Useful for what? I own from a .22LR to a .338LM. I shoot them all...no specific "use" for any of them. Some hunt, some punch paper and others ring gongs far, far away but ALL of them put a smile on my face. I shoot because I enjoy the sport.. not because it has a specific "use" or purpose.

 

[smoothbore75]

I'll answer your question...with a question: What's the biggest calibre that you can effectively fire without wetting your pants and/or bashing your shoulder into a punch-drunk flinch-induced oblivion, and still effectively smite what you want, at distances you hunt?

That's the one!

I've owned & liked some 7mm Mags, (smokeless) 45-70, 9.3x62mm, (& some bigger BP & smokeless toys in the 1/2 inch + category as well) and all did what I wanted without beating me into a blubbering whiny mess. I also very briefly owned one very light-weight .338 Win Mag with a narrow buttstock that taught me the limits of diminishing returns on pain suffered for energy, accuracy, and range gained.

These days the 9.3mm is the biggest (in diameter, at least) cartridge that I'll hunt with (other that in a lever-action of course, you 'need' something big in them), because so far it's proven itself capable of dropping deer & elk (and a dopey 'yote) on the spot from 30-370m with one shot as long as I do my part. I own a few bigger rifles, but not that impress me more.

It comes down to preference, tolerance, & tastes. And, the specific firearm and how it personally fits you overall. Hell, some guys actually like #####y fat chicks? More power to them, I say.

 

[droid1963]

K cool, go up against an elephant with a 270. Sure it can be done but you need a really small brain brain

Karamojo Bell... he killed over 1000 elephants with a .275 Rigby.
He killed several hundred more with nothing bigger than a .318 Westley Richards.

Back OT, there's modern rifles in .458 and 45/70, muzzle loaders in .58 and .50, and safari rifles in .500NE on up, all of which are "useful" to the task at hand, namely anchoring what you're aiming to kill. Ya just gotta learn to use the right one, and how to fire them.

 

[Papaclaude]

Probably the biggest main battle rifle was the 57 Snider. Good short-range round, stopped enemies in their tracks. Come to think of it, the Brown Bess was bigger, but it's a ML, and not rifled, so technically not a MBR.

 

[Gatehouse]

For me, I dont' see the need for anything larger than a .375 for north american hunting. If I was an Alaskan coastal grizzly guide I might want a .416 or .458, but that is it.

However, I've shot deer with .375's and bear with .223 so I firmly believe you shoudl use whatever floats your boat.