is bigger better?

[ivo]

I think True North said it best in that not everyone has the cash to got out and buy a different rifle for every species of game they want to hunt.

I recently went through this with a good friend of mine when he asked me which type and calibre of rifle I thought he should buy. I told him either a 7mm RM or a .300 Win Mag. He wants this rifle to "do it all" in terms of a tool for hunting North American game. However, if all he was doing was hunting whitetails and pronghorn down in Medicine Hat I may have suggested a .264 Win Mag or one of the 6mm choices.

 

[prosper]

Well, the added safety margin of the additional power is nice. No matter how good a shot you are, you will eventually place a poor one.

Plus, I wager that the folks who hunted with 44-40's and the like were much better hunters than the average joe, and got a lot closer to the creature.

 

[joe-nwt]

Sure, magnums are suitable and powerful but, my goodness, I'm tired of them being preached as the ultimate!

So what you're saying is , in my best Jack Nicholson, " You can't handle the truth!"

Do we really need 400hp cars/trucks to get us around town or cross country?

We most certainly do. Next question, please.

Just shoot whatever your comfortable with. Buy a gun, shoot it lots, build confidence in it and it will serve you fine, magnum or no. But don't convince yourself that you 'need' it.

The caliber is about 10% of the equation. The rifle is maybe 30% and practise/skill is the other 60%.

Stop focusing on the 10%, and start focusing on the other 90%

That is the truth. But we just can't stop, huh. Almost daily, the same question comes up and we bounce our way from cartridges that are "overkill" to ones that are "un-ethically small". To and fro. Back and forth. Prosper speaks the truth, but I bet the same question will be rephrased and reposted tomorrow.

Say, how do wildcats fit in and wouldn't it be nice if there was a wildcat forum?

 

[kombi1976]

this thread should be FASTER IS BETTER.

Ditto!

The trend is now going the other way to smaller and smaller cases. At least that is the direction you have to go because you can't go any bigger.

Is it?
IMO I believe it's going to shorter cases of equal or superior performance.
And believe me shorter is different to smaller.
Basically the WSMs, WSSMs and SAUMs are an attempt to overcome the upper limits of the 308 case, the original short action case.
So are they smaller in comparison to it?
Nope, in that sense they're bigger.

 

[bone-collector]

This ties in very nicely with our obsession of bigger = better.

Do we really need 400hp cars/trucks to get us around town or cross country?

Jerry

not realy bud but I am trying to get 650Hp out of my BB ford

oh and that would depend on what type of cross country your refering to

 

[Mystic Precision]

prosper, you are absolutely right. When hunting equals eating, you get real good, real fast. Today, hunting is a form of recreation. We just don't get the time in the bush to make us proficient. Last season was 4 days over 3 weeks. Thus, we need tools to help us.

joe, a man after my own heart. However, I think that is more 'want' then 'need'. And yes, I want one too. Just make mine low to the ground, cramped, red and Italian.

bc, BB Ford, 650hp on pump gas? Av gas? Methanol? Sounds like you will likely go cross country 1/4mile at a time. Sounds like fun.

I am sure you know all about NO2, Eatons, and really big jets. Or is this so you can haul all your new toys to the range? Shooting at Burns in a few weeks?

Jerry

 

[Gibbs505]

It's all about marketing.

1st there were the standard caliber, which worked great, but you can only sell so many 30/06 and 270s, so you sell them belted mag, and then bigger belted mags, and then non-belted mags, and then short non-belted mags, and then super short non-belted mags, and so on, and so on, and so on................

With the exception of the .222/.223 class of cartridges, we had all the calibers we needed when the .270 was brought out. Everything after that was superficial.



sc

I assume that you are inculding all the Nitro-Express cartridges with that statement!

 

[todbartell]

With the exception of the .222/.223 class of cartridges, we had all the calibers we needed when the .270 was brought out. Everything after that was superficial.

It all ended 19 years before that, with the 30-06

 

[SuperCub]

I assume that you are inculding all the Nitro-Express cartridges with that statement!

Yep! They even had a few belted mags before the .270 as well.




sc

 

[dan belisle]

It all ended 19 years before that, with the 30-06

Nope, everything after the 30-30 and 303 are redundant.
Now having said that, the question is "is bigger better?" Gentlemen, think breasts, beers, and pizzas. Of course bigger is better. Sheesh! - dan

 

[Gibbs505]

Yep! They even had a few belted mags before the .270 as well.
sc

And my 505 Gibbs!

 

[Gibbs505]

Nope, everything after the 30-30 and 303 are redundant.
Now having said that, the question is "is bigger better?" Gentlemen, think breasts, beers, and pizzas. Of course bigger is better. Sheesh! - dan

It's not what you got, but how you use it!