Most powerful reasonable caliber?

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sbaker10

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What is the most powerful caliber that you either own or have shot that is still reasonable when it comes to recoil, and cost to shoot?

I'm considering adding a large gun to the collection just in case I go large game hunting or give into the urge to see a coyote explode but I don't want something that costs 5$ a shot to shoot or knocks me down. The answer will be different for everyone so I am curious, personally for me I think it might be a 300rum, never shot one but its under 2$ a shot and a mosin nagant hardly kicks for me when wearing a jacket so I think I could stand shooting 10-15 rounds of 300 rum
 
Oh boy, you just opened a can of worms. But since you asked, to me it is my Remington 700 in .25-06. Owned it for 37 years and have used it for everything up to bear. It isn't a punishing cartridge to shoot either. Light bullets for varmint hunting and hearier for medium game.
 
Kind of curious to see what everyone thinks, I may go with a 30-06 just for the availability of armor piercing rounds and such but part of me thinks if I am going to go big i might as well go for a 300 RUM or thereabouts as neither is likely to get much more than a box of shells through it a month and it would be kinda fun to have a cannon around.
 
I have a .30-06 and it's great, especially the fact that rounds are easily afforded and everywhere. But I won't lie, there's definitely a .300 Win Mag in my future. A friend of mine has shot .300 RUM quite a bit and says recoil is no big deal, but he's also 6'5 and about 300 pounds. Pretty much any of the rounds mentioned so far will put a coyote into low orbit.
 
@mldeckard, not at all, I just want something bigger than my .223 for long range hits, I used to own a 30-06, sold it because I was 70lbs lighter then and had no use for it, now I can shoot one comfortably so I may buy one so I can shoot the old armor piercing surplus,

But as neither would be shot at the range all that much other than to keep in practice anything I can shoot without breaking my shoulder or taking a mortgage per box of shells would work, I don't particularly like coyotes and they are a nuisance here but I don't like them running off after they have been shot at extreme ranges so thats part of the reason for a bigger gun, the other part is I just want a cannon
 
Most people consider the 30-06 to be the most powerful round that anybody should be able to master. Just for fun lets run some recoil numbers. I'll use this site.

http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

And run some numbers on some common 30 cal chamberings. I'll keep the guns weight at 8 lbs and use 180 gr bullets.

300 RUM, 3250 fps, 37 ft lbs recoil
30-06, 2800, 21
308, 2650, 17
300 wsm, 3000, 25
300 wm, 3100, 31

I've never shot a 300 RUM, but have owned the others. I've owned 30-06 the longest, have several 30-06 rifles I like and ain't getting rid of them. But for me the 308 and 300 WSM bracket the 30-06 and are the best choices to me.

The 30-06 just doesn't offer that much more performance in relation to the added recoil over a 308. With lighter bullets the velocity difference is even closer. The 300 WSM will all but equal 300 WM, but with recoil almost exactly 1/2 way between 30-06 and 300 WM. The extra recoil of the 300 WM is just not worth the added speed to me. Same with the 300 RUM. Around 30 ft lbs of recoil is all I want, and less is better.

Truth is the 308 will kill anything I'll ever hunt with ease. The bigger rounds only add a bit of useable range.
 
45/70 in a modern action with full-power loads qualifies, and has the added benefit of being reasonably common.

I have a 375 Ruger. I mostly shoot cast bullets out of it, so it really isn't being used up to its power potential.
 
I don't like them running off after they have been shot at extreme ranges so thats part of the reason for a bigger gun, the other part is I just want a cannon
Click to expand...
A 30-06 with 110 or 125 grain varmint bullets will kill coyotes DRT as far as you can see them.

If they are running off after a solid hit it's because of your bullet choice being the wrong choice.

That being the case, a .300 RUM won't kill them either.

BTW: Armor percing bullets are not good for use on any kind of game if you want DRT kills.

rc
 
Sorry, the biggest gun I have any desire to own is a 7x57. It does everything from elk down and kicks less than a 30-06. The biggest isn't always the best. My .243 will turn a 'yote inside out pretty well as does my .257Roberts and .308. No need to go bigger really.

I took out a guy to shoot his 338Lapua because of all the hype I had heard about it. He claimed 1000yds is easy and it turns deer inside out. Hmm... He had never shot a deer and the flinch he had made me wince. On his challenge after I gave him some shooting advice, we went head to head- my old Mauser (.257Roberts) vs his 338. At 700yds he was at 25% hitting, I was at 75% on a 12" gong. I won't say when he stopped being able to hit the clay pigeons. I guess the shooter matters more.

I would look at 6.5's if you are looking for long range work as they work awesome for that. The 30 calibers pack more punch, but tend (not 100% I know) to be less precise. Bigger than that? In North America I don't see how you need it.

Now, if you want big, powerful, and low kicking, you are asking the same as a guy wanting mechanical work cheap, fast, and good. They usually say pick two of those. So which two are most important to you? Recoil and big tend to leave actual power down. Big and powerful will kick hard.

Now the firearm will do some to mitigate recoil, but that costs money. Big muzzle brakes and a heavy gun. Other recoil absorbing technology is available, but it costs.

Just putting some thoughts out there for you to consider.

Edit: It seems 'yotes are on your menu. Longest range 'yote I ever took was 800yds with a .243Win. Dropped it right there. (I am afraid though that it was the second shot that hit him). I would definitely look into the .260Rem as a great round for your purposes.
 
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Depends if you are talking about for "shooting" or for hunting.

For hunting only one or maybe two rounds are fired, that answer would be greatly different than for "shooting" where 100 - 200 rounds may be shot in one session.

For hunting I would say .375 Ruger / .375 H&H.

For shooting I would say .308 or 30-06.
 
I'm not afraid of recoil like I said a mosin nagant is mild to me. That being said after the input here I am leaning towards a 30-06 the 110 grain bullets travel at 3400 fps which should drop them plenty dead. I wasn't going to shoot anything living with ap bullets by the way I just shoot a lot of old steel so it would add to the fun factor.

I'm thinking something like a .375 HH might pass right through a yote or even a deer and expend very little energy inside it making it less lethal than a 30-06
 
sbaker10 said:
What is the most powerful caliber that you either own or have shot that is still reasonable when it comes to recoil, and cost to shoot.
Click to expand...

30-06/ 308 is as far as I care to venture. You can buy factory ammo for less than $1 a round and load your own for ~.50 a pop. It's rare to need more power than they can deliver. They are popular for a very good reason.
I don't consider the 300 rum reasonable by a long stretch. It's too uncommon to be reasonable to any but a reloader. If you're looking for more boom boom try the 300 WM. Ammo is more than moderately available and can be found for $2 a pop.
 
I'm thinking something like a .375 HH might pass right through a yote or even a deer and expend very little energy inside it making it less lethal than a 30-06
Click to expand...

And you would be exactly right.

Speed kills coyotes, not massive slower bullets.

A 22-250 or .220 Swift is a coyote killing machine!!!!!

rc
 
I will go with a 35 Whelen which punished me the worst of any I have shot. I also have shot a 7 MM Weatherby but the 35 punished me the worst. This was from a bench which is always worse for me. I don't nomally feel or remember the recoil when shooting at game.
 
My 8mm mauser shooting 200 grains is a pretty powerful round. Sure, there are more powerful, whatever that really means, but I feel good with it anywhere I am likely to be!
 
I have my Remngton 700 in 25 06 . It is perfect for whatever moves four legged in the State of Texas.
 
tas5.jpg
The 7mm Rem. Magnum was developed by guide and gun writer Les Bowman who observed that most shooters could not shoot the 300 magnums well and a cartridge like the 7mm RM was the maximum for most.

The 30-06 is the worlds greatest rifle cartridge and it's about all most of us can endure for BG hunting.

The 300 Win. Mag. is a little too much for me to enjoy in a 8.5 lb. rifle.

I used the .358 Win with 200's for most of my life for woods hunting.

I had a .378 Weatherby for a while. I sold it when I realized that it was going to hurt me.

For 200 yd. position target shooting I did well with the 6mm Rem. International.

Some of my BG hunting rifles from top to bottom.

8X57, 30-06, .358 Win., .358 Win.
 
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