Help With Rifle Calibers!

[Cheapshooter]

Buy yourself a copy of " Cartridges of the World" and study it for a week

By all means, do yourself a favor, and great service. Follow this valuable advise!

http://www.amazon.com/Cartridges-World-Complete-Illustrated-Reference/dp/1440230595

The best thirty bucks you will ever spend.

 

[Boomer58cal]

Well, this could be epic...

That's exactly what I thought when I read the OP.

4. What is a good tactical round? 308 and 30-06 are good and add the 5.56

And... 7.62x39

1. 22LR typically launchs a .224" bullet weighing 40grains (440 grains to one ounce,so about1/11th of an ounce) at 800 to maybe 1200 fps muzzle. 223Rem was originally designedto toss a 50gr.224" bullet at 3000fps, current loads for 62gr bullets (mine) run about 2500-2700fps.

Some of the newer hypervelocity .22 lr ammo will hit over 1750 fps, but even it's 204 lbs of energy is nothing compared to the .223's 1000+ lbs of energy. Even at that a 308, 30-06 or 7mm mag are capable of two to three times that energy.

Oh and the 22lr Is well respected by those that no its capabilities.

Well you guys cover this so well I should have kept my mouth shut but I have flappy fingers tonight and had to put my 2 cents in.

I had a feeling when I read the OP that there would be a flood of replies to this one. What a doozy

Boomer

 

[tahunua001]

Some of the newer hypervelocity .22 lr ammo will hit over 1750 fps

I would very much like to see some of that. CCI stingers are the fastest I've chrono'd and they were only 1300FPS from a carbine.

 

[ThomasT]

Tahunua100 these are rated for 1700fps. I have a couple of boxes but have never shot them. They are light at 30grs. Super Maximums. The 4th and 5th ones on the list.

http://www.aguilaammo.com/rimfire.html

 

[Paul B.]

I think most questions have been very well covered. Now what we need to know is what does the OP wnat to do with whatever rifle/cartridge combo he chooses. What would be a versital hunting round depends on what's available.
The Late Col. Townsend Whelen once said, "The 30-06 is never a mistake." personally I agree with that but for a tactical rifle, the .223 (limited) .308/7.62 NATO. .300 Win. mag., .338 Lapua mag. and the mighty Browning .50 BMG just might be better chpoices tactically. I'm not even sure they use the 30-06 as a tactical cartridge anymore but freely admit I could be wrong. It sure doesn't seem to get the press of the others which is why my thought run in that direction.
As a hunting proposition, it depends. If limited to one rifle, probaly go with the 30-06. Sure would hate to give up my .35 Whelen though.
Paul B.

 

[Jim Watson]

Col Whelen also wrote an article, .270, .30-06, is there something just a little bit better? His answer was yes, the .280. But you have to be pretty serious and meticulous to tell.

the 270 (.277 caliber and no, like 38 special it makes not sense as the name does not match the real caliber).

Actually, RC, it does make sense. .270 is the caliber, the bore diameter of the barrel. .277" is the groove/bullet diameter

 

[NWCP]

The humble 22LR is the most popular cartridge in the world. It like all other cartridges has its place in the hunter's arsenal. If I were limited to four guns in my gun safe (that'll be the day ) the would be as follows:

.22LR bolt action; 5.56/.223 AR15, .308 Winchester in bolt action and a 12 GA pump shotgun. Your first rifle should be a well made .22LR. It's the gun most every shooter learned with and still owns to this day. It has fed many a family with small game for generations. JMHO

With those four long guns you can cover small game, self defense/tactical, medium to large game and birds,rabbits and other good to eat critters. Don't get lost in the technicalities of firearms. Determine your use for a weapon, or weapons, join a local gun club and learn all you can from seasoned shooters that are more than glad to share their knowledge and experience. In the end it's all going to depend on your needs and how deep your pockets are.

Some guys have two, or three guns while others own 50+. The latter are either single, or have an extremely understanding spouse. Good Luck and happy shooting.

 

[Mystro]

I highly recommend you read this book by Jack O'Connor. You will get strait practical information on every question you will ever want to know. You will never get this amount of info on the Internet. There is too much biased misinformation floating around. Its a easy read and when you are done, you will know more than most.

 

[Exit_Wound]

Damn right it was...

...epic!

Thank you to all of you! All of these posts were pretty helpful, and I just ordered two books for homework!

I will definitely put in my due diligence! I will say that I enjoy hearing the biased perspectives as well. I want to hear how/why people form these biases, and I love a good argument! (As long as it's constructive and objective)

Thanks again!

 

[Archie]

Exit Wound...

Another good book - and you might already have it (or one) - is a basic loading manual.

Typically a load manual will discuss briefly the rifle rounds therein, telling a bit of their background, the actual bullet diameter and so forth. The loading data will give you the range of bullet weights and velocities.

Perhaps not all the answers, but many.

 

[tahunua001]

one thing I might point out about the load manual, it only tells you how to reload cartridges that can be reloaded. rimfires can not be reloaded so 22LR is not located in reloading manuals.

 

[Legionnaire]

As we all debate how many angels can dance upon the head of a pin .......here's some advice to the OP:

Get a .22lr rifle and master the fundamentals.

Attend an Appleseed event, for inexpensive instruction.

Decide on a centerfire rifle to fit [y]our needs ...... don't overthink it, but try to pick something that will be easy to feed.

Save your brass and learn to handload (it will not save you a bunch of money, but you will shoot a lot more and you will learn a lot in the process!)

This. Couldn't have said it better myself.

And another excellent and educational book is The Rifles, the Cartridges, and the Game, by Clay Harvey. Out of print, but used copies are not too hard to come by.

 

[tahoe2]

exit_wound

I didn't read every post in this series, but from my experience, reloading will
also help you appreciate the versatility of an individual cartridge.

example;

280 Remington 130 grn .284 bullets @ 3000 fps; good for varmints, predators, and antelope

280 Remington 140-150 grn .284 bullets @ 2900-2800 fps; good for Blacktail, Whitetail, Mule deer, Billy Goats, Bighorn sheep, Black bear,& Hogs etc ...

280 Remington 160-175 grn .284 bullets @ 2700-2600 fps; good for Caribou, Elk, Moose and possibly the Big Bears, Griz & Kodiak (in the hands of an expert)


that was just one cartridge ! , now let your imagination run wild with 30-06 or .308 or 8mm Mauser etc... there are a ton of great cartridges out there that are so much more versatile once you get past the factory loadings and start playing around with them. Good Luck !! and have fun !

 

[Theohazard]

AR-15s are popular because many shooters in this country like to have the same firearms they trained on in Uncle Sam's service and the AR-15 is designed for modern low cost rapid manufacture.

interesting...
while I was serving uncle sam I wasn't restricted to semi auto and my M16 didn't have a nice badger ordnance handguard, RRA 2 stage trigger and hogue pistol grip. the controls may be the same as the M16/4 but they are not the same thing and nobody would claim that they are unless their last name is holder, fienstien or clinton.

C'mon, you know what he meant. Sure, the AR-15 is not the same as the M4/M16, but they're almost the same. The only difference is an inch-and-a-half of barrel and the option to go burst (or full-auto) with the M4, and with the M16 the only difference is burst.

They're similar enough that people trained on the former in the military often end up buying the latter in the civilian world due to familiarity. That's the exact reason I bought my first AR-15.