Help me decide: Minimum caliber for larger NA game

[packgoatguy]

Add bullet construction to that equation and you have a winner.

No argument there. I tried to cover that in my opening line about the importance of bullet choice and accuracy being a constant. The bullet choice/type of construction discussion is too nuanced for what I was trying to cover, and has been debated in plenty of other posts... berger vs bonded, copper monos vs eldx, etc etc. All depends on what you believe makes the best wounding channels, penetration, blood trails, etc. Certainly some types of bullet construction can make certain calibers punch a bit higher than their pay grade... but at the end of the day, velocity, mass, and the diameter of the bullet still matter.

 

[WildRose]

No argument there. I tried to cover that in my opening line about the importance of bullet choice and accuracy being a constant. The bullet choice/type of construction discussion is too nuanced for what I was trying to cover, and has been debated in plenty of other posts... berger vs bonded, copper monos vs eldx, etc etc. All depends on what you believe makes the best wounding channels, penetration, blood trails, etc. Certainly some types of bullet construction can make certain calibers punch a bit higher than their pay grade... but at the end of the day, velocity, mass, and the diameter of the bullet still matter.

I'm just playing off of your ball there Goat Man. That is something far too few people think about and then complain saying, "The Bullet failed";

When no, you just filed to put it where it could do the most good or picked the wrong bullet for the job to start with.

There is no one bullet that will give us the best performance from point blank range to sub sonic and everywhere in between always shooting for the hear/lung junction, taking out the shoulders. Nor the high lung shot.

Each of those applications needs a different type of performance and adjusted point of aim to get ideal performance from said bullet.

If we'd bother reading the literature put out by the bullet makes we'd know that before we ever started lining up the shot.

 

[WildRose]

I don't have the endurance to read through 23 pages of this but lf I were to answer the OPs question I would go 280 AI or 7SAUM. The recoil is plenty light and the cartridges are plenty capable. However this would be my minimum, I would go bigger but if recoil is an issue(it is for me too) then a 280 AI will be just right.

Maybe up to 750 for elk and moose but not at a thousand.

Just not quite enough energy left beyond that for a comfortable safety margin even with the 7mm RM. Maybe in the hands of an expert who knows his limitations but definitely not for a newbie.

I've made a lot of longer shots with the RM, and STW on hogs and deer, but I would consider even them barely adequate energy wise for Elk and Moose at 1,000.

What's two pounds and an inch longer action matter in the long run?

For a thousand and further I bought the Rum's because why? I know my limitations and want that extra margin of error from the heaver and larger diameter bullets and higher retained energy.

Others can do what they want, I guess I have too much respect for the quarry we seek.