Flattest Shooting?

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El Matadurr

New member
Hello all, first post here in the The Firing Line, and I wanted to pose a question I've wondered about for a long time. In your all's opinion, what caliber bullet shoots the "flattest"? I.E. The least amount of bullet drop from distance to distance. I have a feeling it will just be the caliber that shoots the fastest in FPS, but I know even this number could be skewed by air resistance, and even the mass/weight of the bullet could affect trajectory. Why I'm asking is because I'm looking to purchase my first hunting rifle soon, and I'm just wanting to get a gun that is the most accurate at any range. I'm thinking that the .243 or the .270 shoots flattest, but I'm not sure. Thanks for any help.

***EDIT*** Wow, thanks everyone for the info, it is really nice to see so many people giving me their honest opinions on this. I've come to the general consensus that the Winchester .270 is the best all around caliber, where it strikes the balance between a good MPBR, not bad recoil, affordability, and a seemingly wide variety of bullet grains for various game. I'm looking forward to more threads in this forum, everyone here has great things to say!

***2nd EDIT***And the discussion is still going strong, if you are entering this chat I have found that the .270 or 7mm mag will suit my needs for the most part, and that whenever I get the money, any of the weatherby cartrideges will be great for superior shooting. I guess my problem is pretty much solved, but if you would like to add more information you're welcome to do so!
 
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All bullets fly in a curve, which is why it is called ballistics.

The term "flat shooting" has more to do with marketing than actual performance.

Jimro
 
You should get lots of opinions on this question. Are you asking which factory round is flattest shooting, or should wildcats be included? And flattest over what distance? If only factory rounds, I'd guess the 220 Swift or 223 WSSM, or maybe the 204. But I base that solely on muzzle velocity, and the real long range guys may have different answers. Nice question...and I'd like to know what the long range guys have to say.
 
depends...

For a hunting rifle, you should really base the cartridge on the intended game and the range; how flat it shoots is secondary.

.243 and .270 are both excellent white tail cartridges, a .300 Win Mag may shoot a little flatter but is probably overkill at closer distances, although I have used one for that purpose.

~Sail
 
oh okay thanks for the opinions so far, and to clarify, I know that all bullets have their ballistics, it's just I'm wondering for factory hunting loads is there a caliber that strikes the balance perfectly between speed and drop distance (conversely, what about factory rounds that don't necessarily shoot as fast but hit a lot harder than other bullets due to the size of it).
 
You can "point blank zero" a 30-30 to hit no more than +/- 6 inches out to 270 yards. That is plenty "flat shooting" for most hunting.

Considering that the 7mm Rem Mag will do the same thing out to about 350 yards really doesn't seem to be a huge ballistic advantage considering that most people have a really hard time shooting out past about 200 from a field shooting position.

So you don't need a "flat shooting" cartridge to make it so you don't have to range the animal you are hunting, you need practice practice practice to hit what you aim at.

Jimro
 
You can "point blank zero" a 30-30 to hit no more than +/- 6 inches out to 270 yards. That is plenty "flat shooting" for most hunting.
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That's right. A 30-30 is the best of all the flat shooting rounds. Out to 150 yards, its a LAZER BEAM.
 
If this will be your first high powered rifle and intended for deer and smaller,I would go with the 243 light recoiling and a very "flat shooting" cartridge.Then work up to a larger cartridge if you feel the need for more power. I didn't listen to my Dad on my first high powered rifle and bought the 30-06',I was the only 12 year old paperboy with a Remington 742 Woodmaster 30-06' lol :D I delivered a lot of papers for that rifle

The 7mm rem mag. is my favorite medium bore cartridge,really anchors those whitetail out to 500 yds.
 
Maybe not "lazer beam" flat, but a 30-30 will have no more than 4" of arc out to 150 yards, and still hit with plenty of deer stopping energy/momentum.

Jimro
 
Ah okay

I see now. Well I'll give these calibers a look-see and figure out what guns and everything will suit them the best. And I know what you mean Jimro, as long as I know where a bullet will go at a certain distance it really doesn't matter how flat it shoots (just gotta practice!). Thanks again. Btw, I believe I currently hunt with a .243, so I guess that seems like a good one to stick with for the time being. :cool:
 
Weatherby says that nothing shoots flatter or hits harder for a reason. Look at the 257 weatherby mag. It was also Roy Weatherby's favorite caliber.
 
One of the 7mm magnums is probably going to give you the flattest shooting round. Velocity is only part of the equation. Aerodynamic bullets with enough weight to keep them moving at long range plays an important part.

The 243 and 270 start fast, but the light bullets really slow down at long range. There are a lot of 7mm bullets in the 160-162 grain range are among the most aerodynamic made in any caliber. You can get them moving fast enough to shoot flat and the heavier bullets maintain that velocity better. They are also much less affected by wind than the lighter bullets.

The 30 caliber magnums pack a bit more punch at long range and are even better in the wind, but to the best of my knowledge none shoot quite as flat as the better 7mm magnum rounds.
 
Faster bullet = flatter trajectory

Welcome to TFL El Matadurr.

"Flat" is primarily affected by the average bullet velocity between the muzzle and the target. A bullet that travels from muzzle to target in half the time (aka at twice the average speed) will drop less than half that of another bullet (assuming similar ballistic coefficients, all else being equal). That's because the distance the bullet drops is 1/2 *G*t^2, where G is acceleration of gravity, and t = time in flight.

(you could use muzzle velocity instead in general, but bullet ballistic coefficients are different enough that some loose speed very fast, like a wadcutter, versus a boat tail round, which may greatly differ in average speed)

Does that help any?
 
You're kidding right?
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I'm pretty sure that was pun, yes. Jimro is right, kinda. He's speaking truth, but not using the full context. .30-30 can have a PBR of 270 yards, while 7mag has a PBR of 350. At 500 yards, with a 100 yard zero, the 30-30 will drop 130 inches. The 7 mag will drop about 45. What he is saying, though, is that for general hunting a 7 mag doesn't give you a distinct trajectory advantage over 30-30 in most hunting applications. It gives you a lot more energy, though. I wouldn't trust a 30-30 past 200 yards because of a lack of energy on target, not because of having to adjust aim due to trajectory.
 
So...

It seems like what everyone is saying is that I'm better off with a .300 winchester mag or a 7mm correct? Due to I'm guessing the weight of the bullet combined with it's initial speed? Also, what does PBR mean? (I'm pretty much a novice, I know how to shoot well, but the technical mumbo jumbo doesn't make any sense to me haha)
 
And for the record, if you stay with trajectory only, 7 mag will not have a major advantage over a .270. The 7 mag is capable of pushing a 150 grain bullet to the same trajectory that .270 can push a 130 grain pill. The real advantage is in energy delivered, but 7 mag (and most other magnum rounds in typical applications) is beyond the point of diminishing returns when I can buy a box of federal powershok .270 or .30-06 for 15 bucks at wal mart.
 
Oh

By the way TXAZ, thanks for the equation, but after my last calculus class last semester in college I vowed to never get involved with formulas again if I can help it. Good to know you brought some scientific info to the table though!
 
It seems like what everyone is saying is that I'm better off with a .300 winchester mag or a 7mm correct?
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If flat shooting is the sole purpose, and you're not talking about real hunting ranges beyond 400 yards, .270 will do just as well at the flat shooting part as those two will do.
 
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