Surfing a bit this morning over coffee, I found this article at the American Hunter on low recoil hunting rounds. Of the list, I have some experience with three of these rounds. I agree with the author in his evaluation of the rounds I know.
.30-30 Winchester. Once considered a whiz-bang flat-shooting cartridge, in the late 1800s, it was soon eclipsed by other cartridges. Even so, it continued to serve American hunters. Pushing a 170-grain bullet to 2200 fps, it was the cartridge against which all others were measured. It was chambered in light lever rifles like the 94 Winchester and the Marlin 336. I still have a couple of .30-30 carbines. My youngest grandson hunts with one I gave to his Dad many decades ago.
7mm-08 Remington. In 1980, Remington standardized a wildcat cartridge that was a favorite of the metallic silhouette game. It was a 7mm bull3t stuffed into a necked-down .308 Wim case. I owned one in the late 80s in a Remington Model 7. Fantastically accurate, very manageable recoil, For some reason, that barrel like the 139 grain Core-Lokt bullet, so that is what I fed it. I lost that rifle during a divorce and I still mourn for it.
,25-06 Remington. Wildcatted by Adolph Neidner in the 1920s, it was not standardized until 1969. It's a necked-down .30-06 and pushes a .25 caliber bullet. My load pushes a 117-grain bullet to 3000 fps. I have called the .25-06 the best cartridge in North America for medium game, and I still believe that. Every rifle I have shot in this caliber is capable of MOA accuracy if the nut behind the trigger is does his part. My family has four of these rifles, two Savages and two Ruger 77s. It's a great cartridge and certainly deserves to be in this list.
6mm Creedmoor. A relative newcomer, it is necked down from its larger brother, the 6.5 Creedmoor. I have no experience with this cartridge, but from looking at the ballistic charts, I have no idea what this one would do that the .243 wouldn't do. The answer might lie in barrel twist. The Creedmoor uses a 1:7 twist while my old .243 has a 1:10. The Creedmoor will stabilize heaver bullets. Out past 300 yards that may help, but I won't shoot at fur over 300 yards.
.350 Legend. I don't know what Winchester thought it was doing when it blew out a .223 case and fit a 9mm bullet to it. It was designed for those states that don't allow bottleneck cartridges for hunting. It shoots a light-for-caliber 9mm bullet at 2200 fps which seems rather anemic. Until you look at the .30-30 Win. It will fit in an AR platform, which has a certain appeal. It would also make a dandy ultralight bolt action with a low power scope, for stalking the woods and brushy lanes around my home range. I admit I want one but have so far resisted the urge.
5 comments:
I shot several deer with the .350 Legend and it rolls them over with a heart-lung shot quicker than a 12 gauge slug.
When looking at chamberings that "punch-above-their-weight-class" I notice that they use bullets that are not used (much) in other chamberings. For instance, the 30-30 Winchester uses flat-pointed bullets or the new rubber-tipped ones from Hornady.
The .270 Winchester is another such round. There are not very many other cartridges that use a 0.277" projectile and most of those launch the bullet at speeds that are not much greater than their grand-daddy, the .270 Winchester.
That means that the bullet designers have a pretty good idea of what the impact velocities will be on game. That vastly simplifies the job of designing a bullet that will when it enters the ribcage and hits the lungs (very little resistance) at long range while still being able to hold-together when hitting a shoulder bone at close range. A third variable is the size of the animal from an 80 pound white-tail doe in Florida to a 500 pound cow-elk in Wyoming.
Consider the other .30 caliber bullets. A 30-40 Krag or .30 Thompson-Center will launch a 150 grain bullet at about 2500fps while a .300 Winchester Magnum can launch that exact, same bullet at 3300fps. Bear in mind that energy is what makes the bullet expand. The .300 WM has 75% more energy. Then add in the difference from distance-to-target and where the game animal is impacted and you just made designing an inexpensive bullet that has robust terminal ballistics on game impossible.
Coming back to the .350 Legend: Most of the bullets used in the .350 Legend are purpose designed for that round. That makes it relatively easy to design a bullet that will perform acceptably on 80 pound does AND 500 pound cow-elk.
That puts the bullet performance right in the sweet-spot for 150-to-200 pound deer which is the most common game target in North America. The bullet designers are spared the temptation to sit between two bar-stools and trying to market bullets for use cartridges with pedestrian and blazing muzzle velocities.
Stop resisting the urge to get a .350 Legend. I got one because I can use it to shoot in all areas of my State (Michigan). But then I came to love it. My daughter, sons and I have used a .350 AR to bag deer. No deer has gone further than 50 yards once hit. Almost no recoil.
My favorite rifle for deer hunting uses a cartridge standardized for military use in Sweden and Norway in.... 1893.
Yes, I am talking about the 6.5x55 Swede. A .264 diameter 139 gr bullet @ 2600 fps, SD of .285, kills wonderfully without much recoil.
I’ve had the 350 in ar and was to easy to send round after round. Switched to a bolt Ruger I. 350 and I love that gun. Scope stays put and it shoots 180 grain Winchester really well.
Interesting comparisons, thanks! I still hunt with my 30-30. :-)
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