Centerfire big game caliber most suited to a 16" barrel?
- Thread starter philthygeezer
- Start date
Short TC barrels are generally hard to source anywhere in Canada. I'd buy a good 15" 35Rem barrel in a heart beat if I came across one fairly priced - never have yet.
15" 44mag barrels may be found easier I guess - don't know about 30-30. Get em when u see em. .
15" 44mag barrels may be found easier I guess - don't know about 30-30. Get em when u see em. .
Consider the .350 Rem Mag. - with the new 200gr TTSX it would be plenty from close out to 300 yards.
You should be able to get 2700 fps out of a 16.5" barrel:
2.8" high at 100 gives you a zero at 223 yards and -7.2 at 300 yards. The bullet is still moving along at just over 2000 fps at 300 and has 1825 ft-lbs and 59.7 lb-ft/s of momentum. In other words - more than enough go for moose and elk at 300 yards.
You should be able to get 2700 fps out of a 16.5" barrel:
2.8" high at 100 gives you a zero at 223 yards and -7.2 at 300 yards. The bullet is still moving along at just over 2000 fps at 300 and has 1825 ft-lbs and 59.7 lb-ft/s of momentum. In other words - more than enough go for moose and elk at 300 yards.
gunsmith1951
Regular
- Location
- Fort McMurray
I would go with .375 jdj, 235 to 300 grain bullets 2000 fps in 270 gr.
Nobody has mentioned .454 Casull? I shot factory loads out of a 16" Rossi carbine and they were brisk, but not that bad. It was a 300gr bullet at something like 1800fps IIRC. I wouldn't be excited to experience full house 45-70 out of that same carbine based on how the .454 loads felt.
Mark
Mark
That's better than I thought it would be. I think the .308 produces about 22 ft-lbs of recoil. The muzzle blast would be interesting from all three. That's why I wonder about .44 Magnum and .30-30: Maybe they'd be the 7x57 of short-ass carbines...
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Although I don't have a big problem with heavy recoil, I do have a problem with nasty muzzle blast. As a result there are damn few bottle neck cartridges that I would considerer suitable for big game hunting if fired from a 16" barrel. Straight wall handgun cartridges are probably the best bet, but none of those are practical out to 300 yards, making them a poor choice as a general purpose big game cartridge. But for use as a short to medium range blaster, a short light lever gun would make a nice handy package.
From my experience .308 Win or 30-30 is the way to go if you're worried about sourcing ammo in small towns. Muzzle blast from both wouldn't be too bad. But if you're using an Encore, I believe a rimmed case (30-30) is easier to extract. If that is the case, that would narrow your cartridge selection.
I shoot a 7.62X39 in a Ruger Hawkeye, and it does exceptionally well.
Mind you I reload for it, and shoot 150 grain bullets.
It makes a super deer gun inside 200.
Ballistically, surpases the 30-30 about 50-75 yards from the muzzle.
Very low recoil/ muzzle blast!
Inside 150, I shoot black bear, and moose.
Works like a charm. Its accurate, and unbelievably cheap to shoot with surplus ammo on targets! Fun all around.
But if power is what you want, then go up in bullet diameter.
Cant beat big big holes!
Mind you I reload for it, and shoot 150 grain bullets.
It makes a super deer gun inside 200.
Ballistically, surpases the 30-30 about 50-75 yards from the muzzle.
Very low recoil/ muzzle blast!
Inside 150, I shoot black bear, and moose.
Works like a charm. Its accurate, and unbelievably cheap to shoot with surplus ammo on targets! Fun all around.
But if power is what you want, then go up in bullet diameter.
Cant beat big big holes!
Depends on how you load it.
My old Ruger #3 was terribly hurtfull with full bore loads!
Purely from an expansion ratio point of vue, if you think that 308 Win in a 18.5" is great, then 338 Federal in a 16" should also be great since they have the same expansion ratio for these respective barrel length. You'll get a super short rifle, lots of power, very good ballistic and normal "muzzle" blast.
A 358 Win would be even better but the cartridge is semi-obsolete and 33 caliber bullets offer a much better choice of bullet than a 35 calibers bullets.
Pistol cartridges such a 357 Mag and even 44 Mag are wussies compared to rifle cartridges and 45-70 bullets are very heavy compared to 338 bullets, which means higher recoil and inferior ballistics.
Any way you look at it, short barrel performance means a big bore to give ample space for expanding gas to do their job. This eliminates the muzzle blast issue.
Alex
A 358 Win would be even better but the cartridge is semi-obsolete and 33 caliber bullets offer a much better choice of bullet than a 35 calibers bullets.
Pistol cartridges such a 357 Mag and even 44 Mag are wussies compared to rifle cartridges and 45-70 bullets are very heavy compared to 338 bullets, which means higher recoil and inferior ballistics.
Any way you look at it, short barrel performance means a big bore to give ample space for expanding gas to do their job. This eliminates the muzzle blast issue.
Alex
