The most efficient hunting cartridges

What I draw from this is the 308 sized cases are all very good as far as recoil vs energy. Seems regardless of the bullet size you stuff in the case, whether it's a 243cal, 338cal, or something in between they all perform well.

Makes me want a 7mm08 even more... But makes me more interested in the 6.5xm than before too...
 
beeman2 said:
Looking in the EE I’d say quite a few build customs and semi customs. More buy factory rifles but lots of guys collect parts and build what they want.
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CGN represents less than 1% of all Canadian PAL holders.

"Quite a few" here is still a minuscule percentage in the overall scheme of things, and the average member here would seem far more likely to build something themselves than the 2.18 million that aren't.

There is no free ride that I see with recoil. The farther I want to shoot and deliver ft-lbs on target the higher the recoil and the heavier the bullet.
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But of course there is. That's the whole point of this thread.

The higher the BC you launch for a given level of recoil, the higher the retained energy down range. That's your free lunch.
 
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Wow. I just did the .303 Brit and now I appreciate how much work went into this!

Anyway....

303 Brit 150gr SP @ 2700 fps
44.0grs powder
BC .361
Recoil = 15.5
500y energy = 932
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 60.1

303 Brit 174 gr SPBT @ 2500 fps
42.0grs powder
BC .470
Recoil = 16.5
500y energy = 1147
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 69.5

That puts the classic 174 grain load at fifth place in the top 10... interesting.
 
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Eagleye said:
In a modern rifle, the 7x57 gives up nothing to the 7-08
I expect 2900+ with the 140 Accubond in my 7x57's D.
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If you go over published data, sure.

And if you push the 7mm-08 as much over max as 140 @ 2900 is for the 7x57, you'll be at 3100 fps.

The fact remains the 7x57 is a 50k psi cartridge and the 7mm08 is a 60k psi cartridge. There's no getting around that.
 
flashman2 said:
If you go over published data, sure.

And if you push the 7mm-08 as much over max as 140 @ 2900 is for the 7x57, you'll be at 3100 fps.

The fact remains the 7x57 is a 50k psi cartridge and the 7mm08 is a 60k psi cartridge. There's no getting around that.
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The 7x57 is only a 50k cartridge because some of the old rifles chambered for it are 50k rifles. Load it in a modern rifle and there’s no reasons not to load it to 60k.
 
mmcintyre1220 said:
no 50 BMG? lol
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50 BMG recoil in a 8lb rifle? :cool:

rral22 said:
I appreciate the work involved in making the comparisons, and I even found it interesting, but bullet kinetic energy is NOT a useful measure of the effectiveness on game of any given round. Basing cartridge choices on bullet energy is not a very good method.
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I agree somewhat. There's much more important factors in killing game, like shot placement, bullet construction, to a lesser degree caliber. Energy is just a mathematical formula, which does have some merit in comparisons.

hoytcanon said:
what does switching to light for caliber bullets do to the recoil efficiency order of the cartridges?
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Lighter for caliber loads makes the "efficiency" number go down. I did post different bullet weights for some (7-08 140/160, 308 150/165/180, 30-06 150/165/180/200).

John Y Cannuck said:
You had to know when you posted this that there'd be a long list of folks looking for their favorite cartridge.
It would be interesting to see the efficiency of a few older and odd ball cartridges though.
22 Savage High Power
30-30
44-40
45-70
Hell, even the 44mag rifle

Thanks for posting!
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I'll use 100 yard specs, more in line with these chamberings. 7lb rifles :

22 Savage High Power, 70gr Hornady @ 2750 fps
26.1grs powder
BC .296
Recoil = 5 ft lbs
100y energy = 946 ft lbs
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 189.2

30-30 Win, 170gr Speer FNSP @ 2060 fps
28.0grs powder
BC .298
Recoil = 9 ft lbs
100y energy = 1254 ft lbs
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 139.3

44-40 Win, 200gr Cast @ 1050 fps
6.6grs powder
BC .170
Recoil = 2 ft lbs
100y energy = 392 ft lbs
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 196.0

44 Mag, 240gr JHP @ 1775 fps
23.1grs powder
BC .205
Recoil = 11 ft lbs
100y energy = 1157 ft lbs
ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 105.2

45/70 Gvt, 405gr JSP @ 1600 fps
44.2grs powder
BC .280
Recoil = 27 ft lbs
100y energy = 1752 ft lbs
ft lb energy per ft lb recoil = 64.9

rkm456 said:
I'd expect it to be pretty much the same as a 7mm-08 given it's a modern rifle, no?
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7mm-08 Rem 160gr Accubond @ 2675 fps
42.9grs powder
BC .462
Recoil = 16 ft lbs
500y energy = 1207 ft lbs
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 75.4

7x57 160gr Accubond @ 2765 fps (modern rifles)
47.8grs powder
BC .462
Recoil = 18 ft lbs
500y energy = 1304 ft lbs
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 72.4
 
flashman2 said:
Wow. I just did the .303 Brit and now I appreciate how much work went into this!

Anyway....

303 Brit 150gr SP @ 2700 fps
44.0grs powder
BC .361
Recoil = 15.5
500y energy = 932
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 60.1

303 Brit 174 gr SPBT @ 2500 fps
42.0grs powder
BC .470
Recoil = 16.5
500y energy = 1147
Ft lb bullet energy per ft lb recoil = 69.5

That puts the classic 174 grain load at fifth place in the top 10... interesting.
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good stuff.
 
todbartell said:
Lighter for caliber loads makes the "efficiency" number go down. I did post different bullet weights for some (7-08 140/160, 308 150/165/180, 30-06 150/165/180/200).
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Do you suppose that the relationship is linear, with no shuffling in the order?
 
378 WM 270 gr lxr @ 3200

113 Gr Reloader 22

B.c. 0.449
Recoil = what's that
500y energy .. big holes..
Might be my least favorite off the off the bench, but I the bush... it's a laser . 200 yard zero.
Better have your ear plugs in , and back blast area clear..
After enough practice recoil is subjective. In a ten pound gun.

Great read up and data todbartell..

If you take the blue pill hoyt you wake up .
If you take the red pill hoyt the CGN becomes real..........hehehehe
 
At the end of the day, just because an individual's favourite cartridge did not make this top 10 list of efficient cartridges (or any other list for that matter) doesn't mean that their choice isn't effective on game in the field. Efficiency and effectiveness are two separate things and should not be confused here.

Each individual chooses their rifle/cartridge/bullet combination based on their own desires and particular circumstances of what they wish to accomplish, and where and at what range they may need to do that. Is there really a wrong choice, if it is accomplished effectively and ethically? No.

If you recall, the Chadwick Ram was harvested with a 404 Jeffery. Is this the ideal, efficient sheep rifle? Many would say no, but it was what he had in his hands at the time, in a place with plenty of big grizzly bears! I have been there guiding and seen those bears. I was packing a BLR in 358 Win in my saddle scabbard.
 
flashman2 said:
If you go over published data, sure.

And if you push the 7mm-08 as much over max as 140 @ 2900 is for the 7x57, you'll be at 3100 fps.

The fact remains the 7x57 is a 50k psi cartridge and the 7mm08 is a 60k psi cartridge. There's no getting around that.
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You are missing the point entirely. In a modern rifle you can load the 7x57 to the same pressures as the 7-08. At the same pressures, because the 7x57 has a bit more capacity, it will
be equal to or slightly faster than will be the 7-08. If you push the 7-08 over max, you will be into 70K+, where you do not want to go. D.
 
Suther said:
Nope. The 165 in 308 edges out the 180gr and 150gr, so it's not a linear relationship.
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That is not what I am referring to... I am asking if the cartridges would fall in the same basic order, if the math was done using "light for caliber" bullets...
 
BlackRam said:
At the end of the day, just because an individual's favourite cartridge did not make this top 10 list of efficient cartridges (or any other list for that matter) doesn't mean that their choice isn't effective on game in the field...
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Of course, this is just a discussion on the relationship between cartridges based on only two parameters... X = Energy, Y = Recoil.
 
I have a bighorn tl3 SA with 223 barrel on it. This makes me wonder what other barrel I should get for it in 7mm or 6.5mm. Almost prefer a long action for such a caliber
 
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