The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Medium Bore Rifles spaces and ladders--thinking about calibersGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I was thinking about calibers and better ways to frame discussions and to appreciate gaps or choices in our rifle choices. Looking at standard caliber names metrically provides some interesting insights: 6.0 = = = .243" 6.5 = = = .264" 7.0 = = = .284" 7.5+ = == .308 8.0 = = = (.323) 8.5 = = = .338 9.0 = = = .358 9.5 = = = .375 10.0 = == .395 a virtual gap, 'cepting for RIP and friends 10.5 = == .416 11.0 = == .430/.429, another gap except for 44-handguns 11.5 = == .458 So looking at calibers this way we can see a couple of gaps in common available choices. And we also see a couple of common calibers that are slightly out of step. The venerable 9.3x62 comes to mind. And the .270 could be added, although it should be mentioned that the .277" bullet is actually a 7.0 mm. And if someone likes the syncopation of Mungo Jerry, remember Mungo Jerry in the Summertime?, they can handle a little syncopation in caliber choices. Another little item in the above list is that caliber choices and builds are more easily appreciated. People with one caliber that want to step up or down in a new rifle will often go a "whole step or more" (1.0--1.5--2.0mm), up or down. I started out with a 270, which is approximately 7.0. That helps to explain why I chose and really appreciate the 338 WinMag, being a 1.5mm step up, but later I'm not so attracted to a .358 or 9.3, great calibers that they are. People raised on a 308 might have naturally gravitated to a 9.0 (358) and are caught between the popularity of the 8.5 (338) and 9.5 (375). Tough choices. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | ||
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If one does not move at least a couple of steps up or down and a couple hundred fps either way. One well not see any different in the field. Even then it well be hard to find a conventional caliber that doesn't fill the need. | |||
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We can appreciate the balance that the John Rigby company achieved over a century ago. 275 Rigby = 7.0 with a small case capacity (7x57). 350 Rigby = 9.0 with a medium large case capacity (approximately a 338WM capacity). 416 Rigby = 10.5 with an extra-large case capacity. That is a remarkably balanced set, even if they are not the most popular today. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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Or any choice of 3 similar calibers. like 270 win. 338wm 416 ruger And many more. | |||
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And if I had to do it all over... I would buy a 308 winchester and a 375hh mag, My standard load would be 165 grain in 308 and 250 or 260 grain in 375 HH If I wanted to shoot varmints I would load 155s in my 308 and I wanted to shoot cape buffalo I would load a 300 in my 375HH... ...and I would dispense with all the the non-sense. Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Do you know how boring that would be!? I know what you mean though, I think of all the money I've thrown around "testing", "trying" "playing" and perfecting". I could have done it all with a handful of rifles and paid for more hunts. A .223, .257 Roberts, 30/06 and a .375 H$H pretty much cover the planet... | |||
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A truly great one missing is the 10.75=.423=404 Jeffery! "When the wind stops....start rowing. When the wind starts, get the sail up quick." | |||
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The two gaps can be filled with the many .40 cal cartridges like the 450/400 and the 400 Whelen. The 404, as Naki mentions, fits in the other gap as well as the 425 Westley Richards (.435") and the 11.2x72 Schuler. Maybe even the 444 Marlin. | |||
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That scale helps to explain why and where some good calibers are sitting around. The .423" is a case in point. the .375" (9.5) and .458" (11.5) are evenly split by the .416". The .423" sits alone and doesn't really fill the 11.0 gap. Down at the small end we have a 6.25"mm, A.K.A. .257", .257 Roberts, 25-06, et al. The "6.25mm" is not enough of a jump to grab a niche and it languishes, relatively speaking, between the 6mm and 6.5's. Please note: I am not saying that the 257 Roberts is not a wonderful caliber. It is. But it is sitting in a hollow and will probably not make a big comeback since it sits between the 243 and 6.5x55, not to mention the newer 260 and 6.5Creed. On the other hand, yes, the 400 Whelen might have potential as landing in one of the niches (.395"/10.0mm), though it seems a little off-niche at .408" (10.4mm"). +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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Looking at things in this way lets us appreciate the balance in John Rigby's productions over a century ago: 275 Rigby = 7.0m (in a small case=7x57) 350 Rigby = 9.0n (in a medium case, equal in capacity to the 338WM) 416 Rigby = 10.5m (in a large case, a super magnum capacity) That's pretty nice balance, even if the rounds are not so popular today. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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I am lucky, I guess: I started with the right cartridge for Alaska, "The Alaskan". Yes, a perfect rifle battery for me would be: .22LR for birds such as grouse .270 (or .280) for caribou .338WM for moose and such But I use a .338WM for all my big game hunting in Alaska, and a Ruger Charger for grouse. No interest in hunting outside Alaska, and too old to change  By the way, no moose for me this season, and instead of using the .22 on this fellow I shot it with a 400mm Cannon:  | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Medium Bore Rifles spaces and ladders--thinking about calibers
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