Blastic charts promise too much, straight lines, neat formations, and reasonable amount of energy to get the job done. In the open, where the animals run, lines become rotten and lungs will be behind ribs and shoulder, and that assurance is liable to crumble quick.
It is not often that a cartridge is bad. It is that a cartridge is called on to perform a labor which it was never designed to perform, typically on a heavier animal, or at a greater range, or with a bullet shape which is not adapted to the shot. Results are determined by penetration, controlled expansion and useable impact energy and not by hype.
1. .223 Remington
The reputation of the .223 lies in the accuracy and light recoil, and it is best in areas that require precision and volume. In large-scale situations, the difference is small since the cartridge relies on the bullet construction and the shot angle to access essential organs.
Modern hunting bullets may be able to do better than the .223 on deer, but the design decision is more important in this case than with bigger bullets. There are numerous typical projectiles used in hunting and these are cup-and-core, bonded, partitioned, and monolithic, and each type acts quite differently when impacted. The.223 will shoot deer in good circumstances; it does not give them uniform penetration in heavy bone and dense muscle on bigger game.
2. 5.56×45mm NATO
The 5.56 is commonly considered interchangeable due to its similar bore diameter with the.223. In reality, it is equally limited in hunting: light-for-caliber bullets and a small zone of operation when the impact velocity decreases or the angle becomes steep.
It makes it a cartridge that pays off discipline, shorter distances, side turns, and bullets that are selected based on integrity. When the target size has risen or the shot is required to penetrate great bone in order to reach vitals, the convenience of the platform no longer compensates the trivial terminal control of the cartridge.
3. .22-250 Remington
The .22-250 sells itself with speed. That speed is spectacular with varmints and predators where rapid expansion is a quality and not a drawback.
On bigger game, the trap is speed not in sufficient quantity of bullet mass. Violently opening light bullets may result in shallow wound channels, particularly when they hit shoulder structure or high impact velocity. Carridge is best where accuracy is required and the flight is straight-level, worst where deep penetration is an absolute must.
4. .243 Winchester
The .243 is still a timeless deer gun: easy recoil, flat shooting and very accurate with 90- to 100-grain hunting bullets. It all starts with the overhype, whereby it is seen as an easy-anywhere pana forest cure to elk hunting.
The same limitation with field experience is reiterated with field experience; it can be done, but the terms must be good, and the shooters must be selective. According to one of the guides, the way to destroy an elk is this: When the hunter has sufficient experience in hunting the elk to wait, as an archer does, until the elk is in the proper broadside position, and he places a good bullet immediately behind the shoulder when the front leg is turned forward, you have a dead elk. The quote is a reflection of the reality of the cartridge, accuracy and patience are the ticket to the game when the animal is cumbersome and the land is unforgiving.
5. .30 Carbine
The .30 Carbine is always fondly recalled since the rifles are convenient and the recoil is in modest amounts. It is ballistically nearer to a hot handgun load than modern big-game rifle cartridges, and this manifests itself soon in poor penetration and limited range.
With clean shooting placements at a small distance on smaller bodied deer, it can perform. Beyond that limited application, it is not powerful enough to penetrate the vitals with sectional density and impact energy, which is reliable enough to penetrate the vitals in the presence of thick muscle and heavy bone.
6. 7.62×39mm
The practicality of this cartridge is that one can control the recoil and it is very durable, and capable of punching deer at shorter distances with appropriate bullets. Disillusionment is the loss of performance with the lengthening distance.
At the normal loads, the round loses velocity and energy at such a rate that the angle of shot and the size of the animal starts to come into play sooner than several shooters would have supposed. It is serviceable in moderate distances, and becomes a perfect-hit-only proposition beyond them, and real hunts seldom furnish perfect conditions on command.
7. .17 HMR
The.17 HMR is an accurate medium of small target. It provides amazing accuracy, and low recoil with extremely low energy when compared to cartridges of centerfire rifles.
The cause of that discrepancy is why it continuously appears in warning discourses. The bullet is just light enough not to penetrate sufficiently on larger game with even an appearance of good shot placing through a scope. It is still an intelligent weapon of varmints, not a responsible substitute of animals of deer size.
Hype typically starts when the maximum possible performance of a cartridge is taken as the performance. Greater size, distorted angles, further distances the distance between what can be done and what can be replicated.
The surest solution lies not in the pursuit of a higher label by caliber; it is in balancing the requirements of bullet construction and impact with the animal and the shots in the field which actually take place.
