My .460 has a weight of 5 kg and have a recoil energy of 116 joule. And it is not so heavy to carry a hole day and I can handle the recoil fine.
If a .600 Overkill-3 has a weight of 8 kg and a 900 grainer going at 2700 FPS it will have a recoil energy of around 270 joule more than 2 times my .460 But with a light load of around 2250 FPS it will have a recoil energy of 174 joule. And I think that it will be shootable with a good muzzel brake.

And a MAX loaded .700 HE Long with a 28 inch barrel will have a recoil of 320 joule even if the weight is 15 kg. So that is not the rifle I want for hunting when you have to walk 1-3 miles.

What is your biggest rifle for hunting???

// Overkill

You can always mount it on a sled & pull it behind as you ski to you hunting locations.

Overkill--No way would you want my 700NE in
a 15 lb rifle.Have to be 25-30 lbs.And if I was hunting with it at 25-30 lbs, I could go 3 miles
at a walk.Have a tall shooting support also.
It is a trade off, to carry a little more to have
safe comfortable shooting, with my brains not
rattled.Friends say I am crazy now.Ed.

I have just caluculate the energy of some big cartridges all MAX loads.

.700 HE will have around 34000 joule of energy with a 28 inch barrel.

.600 Overkill will have around 19700 joule of energy.

.577 Tyranosaur will have around 16000 joule of energy.

.585 Nyati will have around 14700 joule of energy

.460 Wby will have around 9800 joule of energy.

The .700 HE "BMG IMP" is the most powerfull cartridge but you most have a BMG sized action and the rifle have to be heavy so you can handle the recoil.

The .600 OK-3 is the most powerfull "normal action" cartridge. And I think 16 ibs would be the MAX weight for me if I have to carry it for 2-3 mile.

Hubel!

You have to be very strong if you can carry a 30 ibs rifle for 3 miles.Hmm 30 ibs is 13,6 kg with a 100 grainer at 3180 FPS it will have a recoil of 350 joule. It is almost 3 times my .460

// Overkill

Overkill- When we were young we carried 50 lb
posts or heavier, a 100 yards out of the swamps.
And did it all day.We loaded pulpwood onto trucks by hand and from trucks to railcars.I am slower now, but can do 3 miles with 30 lbs.And I am
over twice your size I think..And for hunting those huge cartridges would be loaded down a little.In the excitement of the hunt recoil
isn't even noticed.And even in my old age I get
excited.

And when I load test and chronograph,
I weight rifle down with heavy lock on tripod,
on a tall table, shooting standing up,
so as not to get a flinch, and kicked hard.Ed.

OK,

I do not want to carry more than 13-14 pounds. Prefer 12.

10lbs., scoped & loaded, in .505 Gibbs = Most power in an all day hunting rifle, IMHO.

Overkill, you've got me thinking on this one. Thanks for calculating all that stuff. KE tells you how hard the rifles going to hit you...

What you do bring up, is as Mr. Hubel, Nick with his 505, 470 Mobogos, etc, start using heavy bullets, at high velocity, the question becomes how much is the bullet going to expand, and, after it expands, how much velocity is the bullet going to retain, as it proceeds through the animal?

I believe Saeed said something about the 700 NE not working well with softs, because the bullets opened up, and failed to penetrate.

So, here, if you would, is the exciting part for me. How do we tell, other then by experience, and observation, what is the most effective bullet combination for each caliber?

I've always liked 45, since for most uses, it doesn't matter if the bullet expands, since it's already 45. You guys are getting WAY past that with these new calibers.

I really start wondering if a 500 grain soft, at 2600 fps, will hit, open up, and proceed at relatively high velocity through the complete animal, leaving a large exit hole.

What I'm looking for is a bullet weight, design, caliber, velocity combination that is greater then 500 grains, expands, yet has enough bullet weight to maintain it's bullet speed as it hits the animal and opens up.

In other words, the ballistic cavity looks like a long tube, rather then a tullip bulb, since due to bullet weight, the bullet still proceeds at high velocity, even after entering the animal, due to bullet weight, and velocity.

These new calibers are REALLY exciting stuff...

s

Socrates!

I have been thinking of the same thing. A Woodleigh 1000 grainer soft point in caliber .700 is made for around 2000 FPS. What if the velocity is over 3000 FPS in the .700 HE? I think that the bullet would explode and not have enough penetration for larger game as buffalo. And a moose would explod I think. Because the "little" 7 mm remington magnum with a 150 grainer can do so ugly damage to the moose shoulder. So if a 150 grainer do so much damage when it explode. What would a 1000 grainer do then The only way to use the soft point on hunting is to load it down to around 2200-2400 FPS! Is this possible Hubel458?

And what about the .600 Overkill The woodleigh 900 grainer is made for .600 Nitro Express velocities (1950-2000 FPS). But I dont think that they will explod at 2500 FPS?

Overkill-Socrates--Bullets of lighter construction
would have to be slowed.But,I have a 1000 gr
DKT bullets that is built heavier than most soft
points, and it might mushroom properly and
stay together to work at
25-2700 fps. You've got to test them on something
like wet newsprint or books.Thats what we do.
We have a truckload of big old Thomas Register
reference books, enough to make about a dozen
test boxes 3 feet thick.Ed.

As for what is the biggest hunting round that would have to be some sort of ICBM. For shoulder fired hunting implements this is left to the discretion of the shooter. What can they carry how much recoil can they tolerate what type of hunting do they do etc.
For me a 14 lb rifle is max to carry around all day. Although my 600 OK isn�t finished yet I think that will be the limit of recoil tolerance for me. A 900 gr solid @ 2100 fps will take any animal I could wish to hunt.
With regards to bullets in these ultra big bores I opt for a solid. Any bore over 416 and I just can�t see the usefulness of a soft expanding bullet. The caliber is of sufficient diameter to create a good wound cavity. Expansion is a negative with these bullets sizes. A good solid with a flat nose and a cutting shoulder will kill like Thor�s hammer when properly placed. With suitable solids you can push them as fast as you want or as slow as you want and they will work as designed. Although IMO if you are over 2500 fps go to a heavier bullet and get the velocity down under 2500.
Lest face it�no one really needs anything over a 40 cal except for the PHs who once in a while need to solve a problem in a hurry. It is the adventurous spirit of people that keeps us looking for a better mousetrap. It�s why we don�t hunt with rocks and sticks anymore. When S&W brought out the 357 mag the gun world thought it was as much as anyone could handle in a pistol. Well, ask Linebaugh, Cassull and the like what they think of that now. Improving on an item is human nature. I have no doubt that in 50 years a 600 OK will be a marginal deer and antelope gun.

Fritz:

But the soft nose bullets will have a much better effect on animals like moose and buffalo. Not maybe elephant and rhinos. To shoot a buffalo with a .600 OK loaded with a solid bullet is the same as shooting it with a .416 with a good soft point!??

How much powder does a .600 OK-3 take? What MAX velocity with a 28 inch barrel?

Thanks! //Overkill

Ditto Nickudu, but let me specify that if the rifle is to really smart on both ends, use the 570 grain .505 or .510 bullet at 2400 fps, and keep that down to 10 lbs field ready, as he says.

Overkill, What constitutes a "better effect"? A dead moose or buffalo is a dead moose or buffalo. Soft point bullets kill with spectacular results when things go right. Solids kill with less pyrotechnics but more reliably when everything is not just so. A well-designed solid is an effective bullet in larger bores. What I mean by this is that a solid that does not deform, stays true to its intended course and punches holes which don't close up will kill under less than ideal conditions. A well-designed solid creates a very large and deep wound cavity. It is very similar to controlled expansion bullets but without the penetration loss.
Don't get me wrong, either bullet type works most of the time but when Mr. Murphy shows up I want a solid in my big bore.
Let me give you a hypothetical question. You are hunting in thick willows for moose and get a perfect broad side shot. Your first bullets hits a twig on the way to the target and the bullet strikes too far back in the paunch (could be a soft or a solid). The moose turns to run off and the only shot you have is a Texas heart shot. Now do you want a soft or a solid in the chamber?
Hands down give me a solid.
I�ve shot a number of bison with both soft point and solids and except for spine and head shots there is no difference in the displayed effect to a hit with either (caliber being similar) BUT I have taken shots with a solid that I would have passed on with a soft bullet.

For simplicity and dependability Fritz454 solids
are the way to go for big thick skinned game.For big dangerous game.Shoot the biggest bore with those solid bullets,
that you can handle.With proper meplat type of nose at decent speeds you can still get a proper
wound channel.Ed.

Big Bore solids>.50 caliber in the right place from any angle= dead game. Period! Size of game is immaterial!-Rob

If you load a .600 OK down to 1950-2000 fps then the recoil will be only around 130 joule. The same as a max loaded .460 Then you can shoot a fast 2nd-3nd shoot. If it is just the size and deep of the hole that the bullet make in the animal that is important for the effect. Then it is more important to get many shoots fast, instead of max loads with high recoil and just 1 shoot.

What you want then overkill is a double barrelled 2 bore muzzleloader,40lbs weight, get a friend to carry your shooting sticks for aiming.

12 ounces of shot per barrel(in .45cal lead balls ).

one! two! Big recoil but no working the bolt required.

Like having 84 people with handguns shooting the moose simultaenously.

Karl.

Or the same as 10 people with 8 shot magazines emptying them into the same moose within two seconds.

Overkill- Remember, You have to shoots them Moos in the right place. No Foots shots allowed even fast ones! -Rob

I do not intend to pack over 10 lbs on an all day Safari hunt or on the elephant track, and that pretty much says 416, 404 for me and I could do that with a 458 Lott if I had to..not a 505...besides all I need it a 9 lb. 416 or 404 they have always worked for me and allways will.