Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Interesting rifle chart I saw...

I came across this recently and thought it was pretty interesting. I had never seen a graphic comparison of the most notable (widely used) rifle cartridges compared to each other like this.

I was not surprised by what they noted as some of the best suited rounds for general hunting and was happy to see some of the old school European rounds running a tight second. They only seemed less admired due to ammo availability.

The quarter-bore fans likely won't be pleased with not being considered...

Enjoy and critique if you like.

twofish

No 6mm's or 25's?




Travis

nope. It's a Savage99 chart.

Says on the bottom "above 6.5mm"

No surprises here. Good to see the 6.5 Swede making a good showing (that is minus ammo availability).

Nor the .243 fans...you didn't read my post Travis.

I am hurt.

I guess ChuckHawks does not think they are worthy of consideration.

Still thought the chart was interesting if for nothing but a visual comparison.

twofish

I was glad to see this also.

twofish

I did. I just found it a little odd that it was started at 6.5.



Travis

That extra .021" Dia. must be what really kills chit dead.

Interesting!

But not surprising.

^^^^^^^

Appears to be tied to Winchester ammunition.

Follows the MN DNR suggestion after they dropped the minimum cartridge requirement, but recommend bear hunters to use .27 caliber minimum.

It is all around rifle cartridges. Not dual purpose predator & deer cartridges...

No .358s or .338s, either.

I think they were thinking what was most commonly used for the more common game taken in America.

Likely considered the larger rounds as overkill and they would have not met the recoil requirements that they were looking for.

[i]By Chuck Hawks


"You may have noticed that the Winchester Ammunition Guide, Federal Catalog and Hornady HITS ratings divide game animals into four categories. Winchester and Federal list a numerical value from 1 through 4 for their rifle ammunition. (Hornady HITS are more precise for individual cartridges, but also indicate similar game weight classes.) This number is supposed to be a general guide to the appropriate hunting application (game weight) of the various loads for centerfire rifle cartridges.

Winchester calls these "CXP" classes, from CXP1 through CXP4, and has registered CXP as a trademark. CXP stands for "Controlled eXpansion Performance." Federal lists Usage numbers from 1 through 4 for rifle hunting ammunition. With or without the CXP designation, the numbers 1 through 4 represent the same four basic types of game in both ammunition catalogs.

CXP1 class game is composed of small game, varmints, and small predators that weigh less than 50 pounds. Typical examples would be species like sand rats, prairie dogs, woodchucks, and coyotes. These call for bullets that expand very rapidly or fragment on impact. The Hornady V-Max, Remington Power-Lokt, Sierra Varminter, Sierra BlitzKing and Speer TNT bullets are good examples of the type.

CXP2 class game are generally light framed animals with relatively thin skin and light muscles and bones. These are primarily deer, antelope, sheep, goats and black bear. They typically range from about 51 pounds to perhaps 300 pounds. According to the Winchester Ammunition Guide rapid, controlled expansion bullets are best for this class of game. In appropriate calibers the Federal Hi-Shok, Hornady Interlock, Nosler Ballistic Tip, Remington Core-Lokt, Sierra Pro-Hunter and GameKing, Speer Hot-Cor, Swift Sirocco, and Winchester Power Point are proven performers.

CXP3 class game are large framed, heavy animals with tough skin, heavy muscle tissue and large bones. I would guess that these animals range from 301 to over 1000 pounds, and would be represented by such game as alg, elk, moose, zebra, kudu, eland, and brown bear. Bullets should be designed for delayed, controlled expansion and deep penetration. Premium bullets like the Barnes X-Bullet, Nosler Partition, Hornady InterBond, Remington Core-Lokt Ultra, Swift A-Frame, Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, Speer Grand Slam, Winchester Fail Safe and Partition Gold, and Woodleigh Weldcore are often recommended. But in appropriate calibers more traditional designs like the Remington Core-Lokt and Winchester Silvertip have also proven very successful for a great many years.

CXP4 class game are the extra large animals often referred to as thick-skinned game. These are primarily African species like Cape buffalo, hippo, rhino and elephant, but also include such species as Asian and Australian wild water buffalo and American bison. These creatures run from an average weight of about 1000 pounds for Cape buffalo up to 12,000 pounds for African elephant. Calibers from 9.3mm or .375 on up are usually recommended. Expanding bullets for animals this large should be very heavily constructed such as the A-Square Dead Tough, Barnes X-Bullet, Fail Safe, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, and Weldcore. Solid (non-expanding) types designed for maximum penetration are the traditional choice and are widely used in Africa for thick-skinned game.

No system as general as the Winchester CXP, Hornady, or Federal Usage classification can cover all the possibilities, of course. Some popular game animals (North American caribou, for example) straddle the CXP2 and CXP3 classes. However, I think the basic idea is a good one, and it gives the novice a starting point in caliber and load selection.

Judging by my e-mail, there is a lot of confusion regarding the purpose and application of different bullets and loads. I would like to see Winchester release their catchy sounding CXP guide number system for industry-wide adoption by all ammunition and bullet manufacturers."



[/i]

So the 'winners' in the list are:

.270 Win
7mm RM
.308 win
.30-06

No surprises there.

They must have been using heavier rifles than I do when calculating recoil as I routinely get 22-24 foot-pounds for 7mm RM and .30-06 loads.

For my list of Top 5 I would include the .300WM, screw the 20-ft-lb recoil limit. (I routinely calculate 22-24 ft-lbs for my 7mm RM and .30-06 loads so they wouldn't make it under the limit either.)

it's just another way of putting a different spin on a popularity chart . Doesn't mean popular among people with a bit more knowledge.

What do people with more knowledge shoot?

22-250


Travis

I'm not saying that the chart is way out of wack, but the .260 does not fare all that well on the chart and is loved by many rifle loonies , but not so much by the general "hunting" crowd

No .256 Newton....fuggers!