The magnophilia is a truly contagious ailment. But what really can not be done with a moderate kicker in the range noted?

Of course, 400 yard shots at rodents would not be included.

Having a decent resistance to wind drift at 399 yards.

at 400 yards the difference in trajectory with both lined up to never be over 3 inches high woul be about 18 inches.

to answer your question, what can't be done with 180grs at 2700fps,etc: Very damn little.
And, fyi, if the wind drift or trajectory is too much, try getting a little closer. It works.

Exit a moose on heavy quartering shots. Provide sufficient bloodtrail on bears that don't drop at the shot.

The medium bores an magnums aren't for when everything goes right, they are insurance for when things don't go as planned.

If you can shoot a bigger gun as well as a little gun, and the bigger gun kills as well as the little gun, and provides some insurance for less then ideal bullet performance, why not use something bigger?

Just because the ole -06 and it's ilk is more then enough for the average whitetail, doesn't mean it has that same margin of error on other species, hunted in other locals, and under other conditions.

I could live with a 180 at 2700fps, but I want more than a 150 at 2500fps.

I've taken deer, moose and bear quickly and cleanly with .30 calibre 180 grain expanding bullets moving between 2450 and 2600 fps (depending on the cartridge) over the past 40+ years. Usually I've had drop on the spot results, however a few moose have managed to stay on their feet for a while, but only one travelled more than 50 yds.

Follow-up or stumble onto wounded dangerous game in any brushy or grassy environment, and keep your pants clean.

Paul is right...under ideal circumstances small bores work for just about anything.

However, he's right again on their limitations. When hunting DG, things are seldom 100% ideal... then you want as big a STOPPER as you can handle well.

AC

[ 03-26-2003, 00:49: Message edited by: Alberta Canuck ]

the 180 gr. 06 at 2700 FPS will take care of most animals just fine and with a proper bullet it will shoot though an elk or moose lenthwise...It will an Eland....

But I wouldn't choose it for such large animals and I sure wouldn't want to face a charge from a Brown Bear, Lion, buffalo or elephant with one.