One occasionally comes across a comment like "the .308 generally shoots well at xxxx fps" in magazine articles or loading manuals.

Given all the variables of bullet weight and design, barrel length and twist, is it possible to be so categoric that a given calibre performs best at a certain velocity?
And if so, where's the definitive list?

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The gun world is et plumb with theory

About accuracy at a particulular velocity, after many years of working up many different handloads for my old .30-06 I've came to the conclusion that this one rifle is very predicatable.
It shoots anything acceptably, but to get supreme accuracy, it doesn't much matter what bullet, or powder, or case, or primer I use.
All I have to do is work up a load to 2,850 fps and bingo - tack driver.

Now if I can only figure out any one of my other 17 rifles in my lifetime, I'll have it made.

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To be old and wise.....first you have to be young and stupid!

I have not seen any solid evidence that a particular cartridge will always shoot best at a given velocity but have seen evidence that this is the case with individual rifles.
An example of this was a friends Winchester M70 .270. It was very accurate with a load which pushed 150 Hornady's at about 2970 shooting them into 3/4 inch. He wanted a little more horsepower so we rechambered to 270 Gibbs. He could now get about 3080 with the same bullet but accuracy was best at 2970. Going further we chambered to 270 weatherby. Top velocity was now nearly 3200 but best accuracy was found at, you guessed it, 2970. Now this is not to say that it wouldn't have been possible to find a load that worked at higher velocities but any load that produced velocities near this level always shot well. Regards, Bill.

I echo Atkinson's view.

Even if it were possible to make some kind of a blanket statement, hopefully based upon scads of experience and data points, I strongly suspect it would be more cartridge specific than caliber specific.

Pete,

This theory is worse than "the old wives tale"!

We have 22 centerfire rifles, ranging from the 222 Remington to the 22-6mm Renmington. Some of them will shoot groups in the 0s and 1s, with velocities ranging from 2900 to 4300 fps!

I wonder what the inventor of this theory would say to that?

In 30 caliber, we have rifles that will shoot the same as those mentioned above. These rifles are from the 308 Winchester to wildcats we made on the 404 case. Velocities range from 2500 to 3800 fps!

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com