Here are some cartridges, which are touted like the ability to do everything, to punch above their weight, extend their range and yet provide clean terminal work on large-bodied animals.
Reality is less forgiving. The construction of bullets has also been enhanced and again physics dictates what follows the strike: the speed of impact, penetration and bullet integrity determine what occurs after the strike. One useful formula to memorize is energy on target-though it will be reiterated in the hunting camp, as Colonel Townsend Whelen has it, of 1,000 ft-lb on deer and some two or three times that on animals of elk size.
Another piece of information alters the entire discussion: published ballistics often suppose longer test barrels, and thus short barrels can surreptitiously shred velocity and energy. The conventional industry rule is usually the 20 to 25 fps per inch of barrel lost.
1. .223 Remington
The reputation of the.223 is based on the ability to be easily shot: light recoil, easy to shoot, and available speed with typical 55-grain ammunition. Such a combination is successful on its side-varmints, targets, and bullets carefully chosen on smaller bodied game where lawful and sale-able.
The overclaim manifests itself when it is handled as a general-purpose big-game round. It is not the size of the group that is limiting; it is depth and disruption following impact. The penetration is limited in the case of small bullet weight and frontal area even with bonded or monolithic choices that are normally made to hold together. Short-barreled rifles have the potential to squeeze the envelope even more by reducing the velocity and even squaring down the already low downrange energy of the cartridge.
2. 5.56×45mm NATO
5.56 NATO is thrown in with.223-and that is not unfair, since the real hunting restrictions even with difference in chamber pressure have a similar appearance. The point where it has been exaggerated is in the leap between the effectiveness in a military situation and the reliability in heavy animals. Those are performance issues that have various constraints.
The terminal performance depends upon the impact velocity and bullet structure and not upon the label printed on the case head. According to one technical failure, “Bad terminal performance of any cartridge is bad bullet performance in the real sense and that effectiveness is determined by the suitability of bullet structure to the velocity. At 5.56 the mass of the bullet and penetration margin rapidly become insufficient when bone, angles, and heavy muscle come into play.
3. .22-250 Remington
The .22-250 has its eyes on the speed, and it is reflected in it. Very fast light bullets form flat trajectories and they make easy hits unless the task requires penetration and not splash.
In bigger animals, high velocity may act against the shooter in cases when the bullets are too fragile or designed to expand with higher velocity. The outcome is shallow disruption that appears dramatic, but which will not always access the vitals at less-than-perfect angles. It is a cartridge that punishes the choice of bullets that is not disciplined and realistic target size, since raw speed does not necessarily equate to deep terminal performance that can be repeated.
4. .243 Winchester
243 Winchester has gained its following with a slight recoil, and with very large game, particularly with 90-to 100-grain bullets, with moderate range. It is frequently said to be everything you want, but that is only so within a more limited context than the sound bite presupposes.
The lower weight, smaller diameter of the.243 bullets as the animal increases in weight and the angles used to shoot are less cooperative would decrease the penetration margin. It does not simply mean that it is not capable of working, it means it is less forgiving. The cartridge is putting more of a strain on bullet design than its case capacity and bullet weights can consistently sustain when the impact velocity decreases and the bullet still requires expansion and cohesion.
5. .30 Carbine
There is a great deal of nostalgia and a lengthy service record attached to 30 Carbine, though its ballistic performance goes more towards the high-end handgun than the performance of modern hunting rifles. Normal loads cause a 110-grain bullet to travel at about 1,990 fps and this is a limiting factor in penetration and range.
The hyperbolism is usually caused by the misinterpretation of it can be lethal as it is appropriate. It can work on medium game at an extreme close range with choices in bullets as well as shots. On bigger and harder animals it falls short, both of energy and structural bullet action, particularly where the bullet must break bone, or penetrate through thick muscle.
6. 7.62×39mm
The 7.62x39mm is robust, widespread and simple to handle. Its accuracy in most rifles is sufficient to be useful in the field, and its recoil is quick enough to bring follow-up shots. Its ceiling is showing in the distance.
At about 2,350 fps with a 123-grain bullet, size and energy drop faster than many hunters might want to acknowledge especially beyond the range in which the expansion can be most effectively guaranteed and at a lower range, velocity declines at a rate that is more rapid than some might care to acknowledge. The cartridge can still be punching holes at that point, but the claim of clean, consistent terminal performance is critically dependent upon the design of the bullets, and upon remaining within the range of realistic performance.
7. .17 HMR
HMR 17 is an accuracy producing tool, and in the area where it is supposed to be, it excels. It is level, precise and very easy to shoot. What it is not: a grand strategy solution. An average 17-grains bullet with an approximate velocity of 2,550 fps has only slightly more than 250 ft-lb of energy at the muzzle and the lighter projectile lacks the penetration required in large game. The discrepancy in this case is too large that superior TV placement of the shots cannot compensate the difference in a reproducible, accountable manner.
All these cartridges have legitimate applications, and not a single one of them is a bad one. Marketing, internet legend, or campfire talk begins the problem with the transformation of the specialized round into a universal solution. In practice, the filter of performance claims should be impact velocity, bullet construction, and actual shooting configurations; particularly barrel length. A cartridge that fits the task makes the outcome dull, and this is what one wants.
