Faveroute Calibers(Continued from Age old Recipe)

[Moeras]

I knew someone will fall for this.

As posted by Terry S -.220 Swift is far more cartridge than people give it credit for. It is still the fastest commercially loaded cartridge, and approaches 2000 Ftlbs energy. Most people use it strictly as a long range, very flat shooting varmint cartridge. I doubt you'd ever see one in Africa, and while 6.5 Mauser may be more common over there, I sure wouldn't use it for dangerous game.
Do you still find .275 H&H ? I am looking to trade into one, and will doubtless have to handload.

For Dangerous game I use a 458 Win Mag (over 5000 Ftlbs energy) or 9.3 x 62 Mauser.

The .220 swift is available here in SA but I am not a Speed freak. I just dont like fast bullets.
I prefer Large chunks of Lead at modirate Velocitys (2000 - 2700 fps). The 6.5x57 give me 3000 fps with a 120gr. This I use for longrange plains shots. In fact There are several people on record that has shot dangerous game with 6.5 calibers! "Pandoro" Bell, a well known east African hunter, used the 6.5x 54 Manlichter on dangerous game. The old Scandinavian and Portiguise 6.5 mm Army bullets were 160gr Steel jacketed round nose (No a copper Jacket) They could penatrate an Eliphant's head if shot at about 2500 - 2600 fps.

275 H&H is not well known here in SA. Infact I dont even know of any one that owns one.

[Strazzman]

Rumour has it that if you shoot a feral pig with a .275 H@H it will fall to the ground with a thud and not get up. Also it is a good idea not to shoot it from the prone position as the recoil that the round generates will shatter your collar bone. Best postition is the off hand postion. Long live the 6.5 x 55mm round!

[Disco]

Originally Posted by Strazzman

Rumour has it that if you shoot a feral pig with a .275 H@H it will fall to the ground with a thud and not get up. Also it is a good idea not to shoot it from the prone position as the recoil that the round generates will shatter your collar bone. Best postition is the off hand postion. Long live the 6.5 x 55mm round!

Can't agree with you on that. I like Moeras used to own a Winchester .458 magnum, and if you know how to shoot properly, the recoil is not much worse than a shotgun. Your not suggesting the .275H&H has more recoil than the 458. Incidently, as you would know, if you don't hold the butt of any high powered rifle firmly in the 'meat' of your shoulder, which is just below the collarbone, the recoil can and does cause the damage you described. Having said all that, the 6.5x55mm is an excellent cartridge as it's cheap to buy or reload, however, the 6.5x57 is better in my opinion,

I used to own a Mauser 8x68S (.323) a few years ago. Now that was a hotload!

[Moeras]

Originally Posted by Disco

, the 6.5x55mm is an excellent cartridge as it's cheap to buy or reload, however, the 6.5x57 is better in my opinion,

I used to own a Mauser 8x68S (.323) a few years ago. Now that was a hotload!

There are in fact very little diffrence in the performance between the 55 and the 57. The 57 is about 200fps faster but the main advantige is that the 57 works at lower presure. Also you can use 7X57 cases to reload.

Now as far as the 8x68s goes, that is the next rifle to find a spot in my safe!
as you stated it is an extreamly hot one. Good for 180gr bullets at over 3000fps, in other words big game (Cape or Livingston's Eland) at long range over 200m. Id like a Ruger nr 1 with a long (32") barrel thanx.

[roverX]

Don't know too much about guns, love shooting the AR-15 though, same with the 30-06, and the Ruger P90. Shot a rifle a few weeks back that was a 47-70?? Not sure what that means but it kicked harder than any shotgun I've ever seen. Flame about a foot long came out of it too.

[Disco]

It was probably a 45/70, with a 300 grain projectile. The .458 Winchester magnum is 380 grains. Even when loaded with the heaviest load, the 45/70 is around 300 feet per second slower than the 458.

[Moeras]

Originally Posted by Disco

The .458 Winchester magnum is 380 grains.

The original Winchester Factory loads were 510gr at 2050fps for about 5100 ftlb energy.

I have three loads.
510 gr solids at 2200 fps (Kick the living sh1t out of you, but can penitrate any animal from nose to tail.)
480 gr softnose at 2250 fps (for big soft skin annimals - Cape eland, wildebeest, Lesser Kudu ect.)
350gr softnose at 2200 fps (for any small annimal in the thick bush - Impala, pigs ect)

[Disco]

Right on Moeras. As I mentioned previously, I don't have the .458 & 8x68s any more, (no elephants left in Australia). I do still have a couple of bullets lying about at my farm where I will be going on this coming weekend. I'll post a picture of the lineup next week. I used to have also a couple of Winchester 30.30's as well as a Mossberg 'riot version' shotgun with a 'single point' electronic scope. The only baby that I have now is a Mauser 5.6x57 loaded with a 55grain bullet. Still a hot load.

[Moeras]

Originally Posted by Disco

The only baby that I have now is a Mauser 5.6x57 loaded with a 55grain bullet.

Al I reading right? 5.6 x 57 (.22 by 57?) Should be in the same class as the 220 swift?
I dont know it at all.

Now where did I put my Cartriges of the World??

[apbtpetey]

some info on the 5.6x57 cartrige:

It is unusual in that there are adapters to let 5.6x57 rifles shoot .22 LR and .22 WMR practice ammunition (Use to be a fairly common practice in Europe)

The 5.6x57 case has a lot of capacity for a .22, more than a .220 Swift or any other .22, and about on a par with the 6mm Remington. The 5.6x57R uses a rimmed (flanged) case of identical capacity and capability. The 5.6x57 and 5.6x57R use standard 5.56mm (.224") diameter bullets.

The 5.6x57 and 5.6x57R will drive a bullet of any given weight about 100 fps faster than the .220 Swift, which makes them the most powerful .22 caliber factory produced cartridges

The Hornady Handbood, Third Edition shows that their 60 grain bullets can be driven at 3700 fps with 43.1 grains of N204 powder, or 38.8 grains of IMR 4320 powder. These Hornady loads used RWS cases and Federal 215 primers, and were tested in a 22" rifle barrel.

[apbtpetey]

As for my favorite cart. I would have to say it is the 7x57Mauser. It shots very flat, has average speed and can stop anything if you place the shot right.

I have one hunting rifle in this caliber and I can say that it does a great job on whitetail deer. I have never had one move more than a few feet from where I shot it and most of those shots were at around 100 yards.

[SCSL]

Favorite handgun caliber of all time: .45 ACP ,,,, in the flavor of a well-built 1911. A design that has stood the test of time.

Favorite long-arm caliber is tougher,,, as it's so situational. Here are some:

Varmints/small game: As stated on the other thread: .220 Swift

Mid-Size Game, short range: .30-.30 Cheap, versitile, classic, timeless, effective
Mid-Size Game, long range: "30 aught 6",,,probably the most all-round versitile rifle cartridge

Large Game: (I've never hunted large game so can't comment)

Defense/CQB: .223 Easy to handle, good rifle configurations, proven. Plus I don't like a lot of recoil or noise in a defense situation.

[Bogatyr]

I'm partial to .303 British. Haven't fired the rifles in far too long but I've got the following collection:

1918 No1 Mk3* Lithgow
1943 No4 Mk1 Long Branch
1945 No5 Mk1 uh, don't recall the manufacture

There are a few more I'd like to collect, but these things are really getting pricey now, especially for some of the models I've got my eye out for...

In any case, these were always fun to shoot and wonderfully accurate, well, except for that No5 with the "jungle" sight and the cut down forestock...

Bogatyr

[Disco]

I'am Baaaack!

Here's what I found at the farm which I used to fire. From Left to Right.

.458 Winchester Magnum: 3 examples of 8x68S: 2 examples of 30-30:1 example 5.6x57 loaded with ballistic bullet (very old bullet). My normal 5.6x57 ammo is in pristine condition.

[Moeras]

Originally Posted by Bogatyr

I'm partial to .303 British. Haven't fired the rifles in far too long but I've got the following collection:
Bogatyr

Also a fine Cal. / Rifle

I own a 1898 Long Lee Enfield,
I load 220gr Roundnosed bullets at about 2200fps for it.
With the open sights also a fab rifle for the thick stuff.