No such thing as "Overkill"?

TimC

TimC

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Really folks it is either dead or not, you cant kill something twice unless you are dealing with the undead.
my point being all this discussion about magnum cartridges versus small calibres and shot placement and the never ending thats overkill row! Where are we going?
 
Ah, people will always be debating the (theoretical) pros and cons of various calibres, instead of just getting out there and shooting.
 
I disagree, I believe in overkill in a hunting situation.

If a person is going to use a specific calibre for a specific game he/she must decide if it is best suited for the application.

Overkill, to me, is using too powerful of a cartridge or a bullet of design in which it causes excessive damage to the meat or pelt. This is a waste and there is no excuse for it.

Granted, using too much of a calibre is better than not enough.
 
IMHO Magnum cartridges (discounting oddballs like the .458 Win Mag) are useful because they launch 'standard' weight bullets (180 in .308, 140 in 7mm and 6.5, 130 in .270, etc.) at flatter trajectory than the same bullets loaded in standard cartridges.

A hunter can sight in his .300 mag a few inches high at 150 yards and shoot all the way all the way out to 300+ yards without worrying about holdover, and still be confident that the bullet will penetrate deeply into the vitals of a game animal. Note that I'm not saying hunters _should_ take long shots, just that magnum cartridges make these shots much easier for the vast majority of shooters.
 
Rather then being 'overkill', think rather of being 'over bulleted'.

That is using too premium a bullet that doses not open or behave correctly!
The only non-magnum hunting rifle I own is a .416 Rigby.
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Would you consider my 505 Gibbs a magnum!:D :D :D
 
All you really need is a good .30-06... ;)

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TimC said:
Really folks it is either dead or not, you cant kill something twice unless you are dealing with the undead.
my point being all this discussion about magnum cartridges versus small calibres and shot placement and the never ending thats overkill row! Where are we going?
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So where do you draw the line? Is a 240 WBY really a magnum? Does the 375 H&H destroy more meat than the 270 Winchester??

Here in BC I can hunt - legally - ALL big game with the exception of bison with a .22 Hornet. Given a perfect shot and perfect conditions using a proper bullet - Nosler Partition or Barnes X-Bullet - I would not hesitate to shoot anything, including grizzly bears. In the real world however things are seldom perfect so a little extra insurance goes a long way.


Also the 30-06 shooting hand-loaded cartridges out of a modern rifle nearly duplicates what most factory loaded 300 Win Mag ammo on the shelves today is capable of. So is the 300 mag a poorer choice ? Does it produce "overkill" compared to the '06? Is the '06 a good choice while the 300 WM is a bad one"

Sop once again where does one draw the line??
 
No such thing as "Overkill"?
Perhaps not.....but there is such a thing as "Underkill" and it's the ####s:(
Use enough gun and learn to shoot it well:)
 
As long as you're not wasting meat or wounding animals I really couldn't care less what rifle, brand, action, scope or caliber you use. I might not use your choices, but you may not use mine. It's the little differences that make life interesting.
 
Overkill is just a meaningless word when it comes to hunting.
The concept of using enough gun for the job is as real as it gets.
There are no varying degrees of dead... there is only one dead.
Call it whatever you want, the reality when hunting is that dead is good and anything less than dead sucks.
 
If you can handle it, shoot it .
if you can't, don't.

Just because one person thinks that a .375 H&H is too much rifle for a white tail, doesn't mean someone else is wrong to hunt with it.
Unless that particular someone can't handle n accurately the recoil of said rifle.

Many can and do.
I can't and don't.
Doesn't mean i am against someone using a rifle like that.'What gets me is when they tell me I am "undergunned"!!:mad:
Cat
 
catnthehatt said:
If you can handle it, shoot it .
if you can't, don't.

Just because one person thinks that a .375 H&H is too much rifle for a white tail, doesn't mean someone else is wrong to hunt with it.
Unless that particular someone can't handle n accurately the recoil of said rifle.

Many can and do.
I can't and don't.
Doesn't mean i am against someone using a rifle like that.'What gets me is when they tell me I am "undergunned"!!:mad:
Cat
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Well put Dr. catnthehatt. Exactly what I was thinking, just don't have your way with words.:)
 
hunter can sight in his .300 mag a few inches high at 150 yards and shoot all the way all the way out to 300+ yards without worrying about holdover, and still be confident that the bullet will penetrate deeply into the vitals of a game animal
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Okay point taken but what if the animal is at close range? And I belive that a hunter if he decides to shoot at 300y should know where his bullet will land thus hold over should not be such a big issue. I think that we spend way too much time and money trying to get the equipment to do work for us than we should be spending honing our shooting skills and learning how to use our guns (It's one thing to shoot of a rest but how accurate is your ###WSuper-super-duper magnum when shooting off hand?) Before the days of scopes and mangnums the old timers had to get close to their quarry now days we shoot ours from a 1/4 mile away.
Sometimes I think that we should stop all this or hunting may become very un-sporting.
Just my 2c and If your magnum works for you great! But too many times I have seen first time gun buyers buying a 300mag that they can't handle to shoot deer.
 
Hey I didn't say a 300 mag was _my_ choice, I prefer to use antiquated calibers like the .308, 6.5x55, .243, and .257 Robts. I shoot them accurately, can carry plenty of rounds for different situations and shots (150 accubond in the magazine for whitetail, a few 180 TBBC in the shirt pocket for a moose, 110 vmax in the backpack for coyotes and liberals, etc.), and they're plenty flat-shooting for 80% of all the opportunities that I see in a season.

BUT I also own a 7 STW, and a 338 Win Mag, for the 'other' 20%. You never know when a big ol' buck might pop over a ridge 450 yards away. I wouldn't think about the shot with a .30-06, but I would with the 7 if I had 1) good laser read on the distance, and 2) a solid rest.

But I never, ever think about the magnums in terms of 'killing power'. They're about extending the range at which I can smack a critter with a well-constructed bullet at a 'good enough' velocity, without worrying about holdover.

In other news I can't wait 'til the damn season opens...
 
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