Gordon
Member
The "medium bore" carfridges you named are about twice as powerful and destructive as the "Big Bore" ones you named. You realize that right ? Big bore RIFLE cartridges are like .404, .416, .425, .458. .470. 500, .505. .577 .600 , ect. and have large capacity cases. The mediums you named have large capacity cases compared to the "big Bore" you named . While yes big bullets work well , the 2000+ FPS velocity really works better !The game you mentioned can be handled by a .243 up nicely. Decide how far you want to shoot it. At up to 200 yards or farther . That would mean the difference between a 30-30 and say a 30-06. . I have used all three medium bores you mentioned and the winner for me is the .375 H&H (actually .375 Weatherby which takes the H&H ammo too) and I shoot elk with the 260 grain accubond currently. , I guess it could be done at 600 yards but I wont shoot much over 300.When I hunt the Central California area 150 pound deer, 300 pound pigs I drop down to either a .243 or a .35 remington bolt gun for shorter ranges they show up, depending on range. Last Blacktail I shot with a 260 grain .375 H&H ruined the front half of the meat. Same with the pigs. I forgot antelope ! truly a light game species but I never got a shot at one closer than 250+ yards. So I used a .264 Win Mag for them, now gonna try a 6.5 Creed in my old age. Also I started using a .270 Wimchester in 1963 as a "deer gun" on the East coast and ended my .270 Saga 10 years ago in Africa with the .270 WSM, both superb for the CPX2 class you mentionedLight game -- as in lightweight, CXP2, medium-sized game, like small deer, goats, sheep, pigs, antelope, light black bears, under 300 pounds.
I think medium bore rifle cartridges like the .338 Winchester Magnum, .35 Whelen and .375 H&H Magnum are most commonly associated with heavier big game like moose, elk, caribou, the great bears, and African plains game, and subsequently, the cartridges are most often loaded with heavy bullets of sturdy construction.
But medium-bore rifles could offer excellent performance on lightweight medium game if the bullets were appropriate. Compared to big-bore light game cartridges like .450 Bushmaster, .444 Marlin, .45-70, .460 S&W Magnum and many of the big-bore handgun cartridges, a medium-bore rifle cartridge offers a better trajectory and greater reach due to higher velocities and greater ballistic coefficients.
There are some old medium-bore lever-action cartridges that I do not think offer these advantages like the 35 Remington, which produces low-velocity and is typically loaded with heavy bullets with a poor ballistic coefficient due to the tubular magazines.
So, are the bullets out there to load medium bore cartrdiges like .338 Federal, .358 Winchester, or .375 H&H for game as light as pronghorn?