Across the board ... Caliber Matters!

I cant beleive it . I thought a 375 and 404 was the answer to it all.

Ja Nick,

The .505 bullet caliber has almost twice the cross sectional area of the .375 caliber. It matters, but even more so does bullet placement and bullet structural integrity.



Tonto,

A .375 and a .404 ... why, what an excellent two rifle battery for the sport hunter in Africa! Even Ray can shoot those, as well as the .416's, with deadly accuracy while squatting under a bush with his pants down around his ankles.



Forgive me Ray, just paraphrasing, to make your point.

RIP
Ill remember that next time I plan on hunting from a bush squatting down with my pants around my ankles!
Dean

Yes, caliber does matter -- at least as far as that part of the equation goes.

The trouble is, that chart doesn't provide a very complete analysis.........

AD

Let's see, what may that equation look like?



Physical damage =



function (bullet energy, bullet momentum, bullet construction, bullet shape, bullet diameter, bullet placement, physical medium, angle of entry,...)



Contest Scoring system:



Determination of the function based upon someone else's one experience = 2000 points.



Determination of the function based upon a single experience = 1000 points.



Correct determination of the function based upon multiple experiences = 1000 points, with a 20 point deduction for each experience.



If you have more than 50 experiences, you are not eligible, but are free to comment on the validity of each function developed.



If you have no experience, you are free to comment on the validity of each function developed.

Just a note, as this nominal bore dia is more common than .470:

.475 is an 8% gain over a .458

Cheers,
Canuck

Also, no one seems to remember that animals are totally unaware of these facts written by our experts.

A few years back, I was at the H&H shop in London, and met a very nice old man working there.

He kept telling me how incredible effective the 240 H&H magnum was on stag.

When I looked at the ammo box, and found that it was a 243 caliber, and drives a 100 grain SP bullet at 2900 fps. I told him this is exactly teh same as a 243 Winchester.

He would not have any of that. He kept insisting that the 240 H&H "killed much better".

Afterwards I went to have lunch with one of the directors, who had a good laugh at our discussion.

"...Yes, the game does know what your headstamp says, and will react accordingly. And clay pigeons know how much you paid for your shotgun, and will not break regularly for a shotgun that costs less than US$4K..."

Wrong my friend wrong.

I used a Browning BT99 - I think it was a $200 shotgun - to average 99% on 16 yards targets, win the Rookie of the Year, and make the All-American Trap Team.

Mind you, I was using very expensive Federal Gold Medal shotshells

Damn! Now I will need to carry a calculator in my pocket to work out these sorts of numbers when hunting .......

Will - The next round is on me. Another one of your replies made my day.

You guys did much better last time. Summer School 2002:
Caliber Matters ..

I think that Saeed might have been able to figure in the cost of the airfare from Dubai in his clay-breaking.

Nickudu
I went back and read the previous thread. While velocity does have an effect on "killing power" [a 300 Mag has more than a 30-30 for instance] and bullet construction, along with weight/sectional density also are very important, I seem to be of the same mind set as you.... That is for an increase in "killing power" go up in bore size. Also as you go up in bore size also go up in bullet weight. The longer I hunt the more I respect high sectional density [and bullet construction of course]. A 300 gr 375 and a 300gr 416 and a 300 gr 458 are not a valid comparision. You must compare the proper SD to the proper SD.
When I want to go up in "killing power" I go up in Bore size.
While you need enough velocity to get the job done, and to have the proper trajectory, velocity is not a primary factor in "killing power" for me. As an example if I need more "killing power" than a 300 Mag I go to the 9,3x74R. Or if I need more "KP" than my 450 No2 I would not go to the 460 WBY but to the 577 Nitro.
Also If I had a 500 anything I would use a 570 grain bullet instead of the 525/535 grainers for the big stuff.
I believe that a 500 Nitro has more "KP" than my 450 No2 or a 470, however based on results from my June trip to Zim, I do not think it has enough "more" to justify going from the 450 to the 500. If I think I need more "KP" I will move up to the 577 Nitro. In a British Double Rifle of course.

Nick,
Your figures suck, you are using the original load of 1920 for the .404..Noone loads it that way today not even the factory ammo is 2000 FPS....Its 2350 FPS and handloads crank up a bunch more than that..wake up it really is 2004...but you made a good case for 1920, good boy!

Ray, What on earth are you talking about?

NE 450 No2 - The chart attempts, solely, to show the differences in frontal area on a % basis, which I felt might register better than mere decimals.

Nickudu,



I was trying to be polite to Ray, and not ask the same question, but since you brought it up...



I believe it would be a great show of humanitarian goodwill if you would post a photo of a Cape buffalo each day for Ray's benefit.



We would hate for him to arrive in Tanz in a few weeks and start shooting at some unsuspecting critters by mistake. I can just see Ray trying to explain why he needed a .404 Jeffery or a .470 NE for the rampaging duikers that, we all know, can turn mean suddenly.