What difference does 200 fps make?

Boomer said:
Oh yeah, try telling Dogleg the difference between a .30/06 and a .300 Winchester is insignificant.:nest::nest::nest:
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Dogleg said:
Keep the ranges short enough and even some mild cartridges look good, and if ranges are always short you may never know the difference.
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I won't "tell" Dogleg anything, he has more experience dumping animals than I, but our posts were not necessarily in opposition as you can see from the above quote... however, for the thread, I will reiterate that IMO, I would rather be 200 fps slower than 2" further from the mark. Of course, speed and accuracy are not mutually exclusive, but the point was to illustrate that shot placement trumps energy, within reason... if we are just dreaming, I will take +400 fps and bang on the mark. The further out you are shooting the more significant the 200 fps becomes... but at any range it does not make up for poor shot placement. I see guys all the time at the range cranking rounds through their chronographs and reading numbers with far less concern with where the holes are in the paper... nothing wrong with maximizing your loads, as long as you don't lose sight of the end goal... cleanly harvesting an animal.
 
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For Western Canada deer hunting, is there anything positive accomplished with that extra speed? Conversely, having grandkids approaching the centerfire hunting age, if I dropped my loads by 200 fps and found an accuracy node, what would I be giving up?[/QUOTE]

At the range your grandkids will be shooting you will not be giving up much. Less recoil and better accuracy would be of more importance.
 
Dogleg said:
Well, for starters I typically find the difference to be around 400-500 fps with 180s. ;)
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Well, if we measure both velocities from 24" barrels, rather than a 26" for the .300 and a 22" for the '06, then load the '06 to its potential of 2850, I think 200 fps is closer. Oh by the way, I finally got some 210 gr LRABs and some H-1000 on the way from Rayner for my .300, X-Reload's been out for a while. I'll let you know what kind of success I have with them. With 210 VLDs and Re-22 I'm right tickled with it, but the LRABs should be a step up from match bullets if this becomes a carry gun rather than a squirrel plinker.
 
Thank you for the discussion. I was toying with getting a larger 7mm for myself, but I am not so sure it would gain me anything. I don't recall missing or wounding a deer that a bigger cartridge would have made any difference. As I've aged, I have certainly found my recoil tolerance has deteriorated - I actually cringe at the thought of shooting my 338 Win Mag from prone, although shots from sitting and off-hand are still fine, and I doubt that I will even try prone with my new-to-me 375 H&H. No such concerns with the 7x57, so far. I will be teaching my grandkids that reliably hitting a skil-saw blade size target from field position, every time, is more important than "more power". I am sure they will do just fine with the 6.5x55 and 7x57.
 
Boomer;
I do have one 30-06 that makes 2850 fps with H4350. It has a 26" 1-10 Benchmark and pressures are definitely right up there. My others are 24s. There was a 22" but I got tired of looking at it. What I've found is 2700 is fairly close to real world and there are a whole lot of loads that don't make that.

My .300 Wins have 26" barrels. That's at least reasonably normal, it seems like most factory magnums these days come that way. The only factory pipe I have in that caliber is still in the mail, but its supposed to be 26" as well. I get 3150 with H1000 as regular as clock-work with the 26s and loads that aren't even max in most books. By that reckoning, my everyday ordinary, loaded for brass life 300s beat out the fastest 30-06 Ive ever seen by 300 Fps. My other 30-06s get slapped around to tbe tune of 450-500. 25 grains of extra powder has a way of making itself known. :)
 
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I endorse what Dogleg has said, although I believe 500 FPS difference would be quite rare.

I have a 30-06 [a rare one] that has a 24" tube, and makes just over 2900 with the 180,
using Norma MRP. Pressure signs are not abnormal, and primer pockets stay tight through
6+ firings. Most of my 308 Norma Mags make similar velocities to the 300 Win Mag. D.
 
I shoot a 24" 300 WM pushing a 200gr ELD-X bullet at a hair under 3000 fps with H1000 powder. I burned a few boxes of different bullets and a few pounds of different powders before settling on my current load. In fact, when I first started developing a load to replace my factory 180gr Accubonds (began with Berger 210 VLD and Retumbo) the ELD-X hadn't even been released yet.

The Federal Accubond load was pretty accurate (consistent 0.75" to 1" 5-shot 100 yard groups) and I dropped a moose at 460 yards with it. Fading light on the last full day of our hunt and a big swamp between us - it was take the shot or go home empty handed. And I had no rangefinder at the time. Sure glad I bought a 300 WM instead of a 30-06 or 308. Since that day every animal I've shot could have been easily taken with a 308 or 30-06 but you never know when that monster will step up at 500 yards with 15 minutes of shooting light left.

Now I can shoot groups at 600 yards with about 3" vertical spread and 6" horizontal from prone off a bipod or off a backpack. No, I'd never win a competition but it's good enough for my purposes. There's always a bit of variable wind at my range in southern Alberta. Practice, practice, practice. And try not to need a long shot. 400 yards was a long shot for me when I got that moose. Nowadays it's a chip shot. That confidence is the biggest benefit of good load development and practice at longer ranges.

Long story short: I would not give up 200 fps without a good reason like a reduced recoil youth load (who probably won't be shooting long distance, anyways).
 
Once you get out past 400 yards bullets really start to drop, some more than others of coarse, depending on cartridge. A quality scope with ballistic turrets becomes just as important as the rifle, actually more important.
 
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