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caliber vs accuracy
PEARL DRUMS:
Is the .40 the most accurate by nature or just the easiest to become accurate?
My comment was based on simple hunting guns. I have no clue about world record shooting guns or what people use to set said records.
Josh B:
so i dont mean to get offensive... but if we here believe anything in the right range and right shot placement can be taken with a stick and pointy rock moving at the speed of dust in the wind... why dont we figure a 35 cal will do deer or a 40 cal will do an elk? again no offense just curious as to mentalities or experiences/ tests done on penetration and such
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Bullets and broadheads use different principles to kill. A razor sharp broadhead cleanly severs arteries and other major blood vessels causing hemorrhaging and eventually exanguination(sp). The razor cut blood vessels do not close up like torn blood vessels. Bullets (roundballs) have no razor edge to cleanly sever blood vessels so the principle that makes them effective is energy transfer(hydrostatic shock) .Hydrostatic shock creates a massive temporary wound channel that ruptures all the blood vessels in the area of impact rather than just the few a broadhead severs in its path. The more mass of the projectile at a given speed, the more energy it has to transfer into the vitals. This is why you want bigger caliber for bigger game. Josh
JW_Halverson:
For simplicity, I would recommend a .36 for small game and a .50 for the rest.
Smaller the caliber, the faster it fouls. On a hot and humid day, I may have to run a wet patch down the barrel almost every shot with my .36! The .32's are even more persnickity. Plus, availability of ramrod stock for this caliber is limited. And at that skinny of a ramrod, you are gonna need replacements far more often. You get about 104 balls to the pound with a .36, so you are looking at something just under 70 grains of weight for the ball. NOT a long range shooter. Even with my hottest loads, I was unable to print on 16" diameter paper targets at 100 yds with a 15 mph crosswind. But to be honest, off bench on a great day and no wind, I could barely make my groupings under 8 inches. I am nobodies sniper.
For a big game gun, I say go with the .50 because it is so easy to find accessories, precast roundballs, patches, etc, etc. It is enough with a higher powder charge to ethically take elk at REASONABLE range. And if you are dealing with smaller deer at close ranges, you can scrimp on powder. I shoot a light load of 70 grains in my .50 and have only had one ball recovered! All the others were pass through.
Getting a .40 to split the difference is not a great choice in my opinion because even the hottest loads are on the puny side and isn't even legal in many states. So if you have to get only one, get the larger caliber and learn how it shoots at "blooper" loads, midrange loads, and hot loads. If you get lucky, the only thing that changes is the vertical point of impact. My .36 shoots the same at 15 grains all the way to 65 grains of powder, each one just hits a little higher on paper at a given range.
Buckeye Guy:
Looks like Gundoc and Jw got y'all straightened out purty good.
jayman448:
--- Quote from: JW_Halverson on January 09, 2017, 03:49:48 pm ---
Getting a .40 to split the difference is not a great choice in my opinion because even the hottest loads are on the puny side and isn't even legal in many states.
--- End quote ---
no such laws here. it is such an underutilized method of hunting here but we also have no muzzy only season. just special season for bows (BC Canada) interesting tho is if it is a cap lock we need full licenses. flint lock any bloke can pick one up at Canadian tire without a word XD ( still far more resticted than most of you guys are down south of the border)
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