After spending time shooting at game from small to large and reloading and sharing information with other shooters over the past 25 years I have come to believe in what I call "the perfect formula" of ballistics for big game hunting. There are options in just about every caliber from 6.5 MM - 40 cal for this formula to hold true, perfect examples are...
The Swede in 6.5 x 55 with 140 grain bullets
The 270 with 150 Grain Bullets
The 7 Mauser with 160-175 Grain Bullets
The 30s - The 08, the 06 and the 300 Savage with 180-190 grain bullets
The 8 Mauser with 200s
The 338-O6 with 225 Grain Bullets
The 35 Whelan with 250s
The 9.3 x 74 R with 270-290 Grain Bullets
The 375 H&H with 300 Grain Bullets
What do all these "magic rounds" have in common? Well each has killed far larger game CONSISTENTLY then paper ballistics would indicate. Consider the 6.5 Swede has killed more moose then any other round on the planet and it is the baby of the bunch.
None of them kick too bad and therefore can easily be handled by most adults and even most well coached kids. Honestly up to the 35 most teens can learn to shoot them all pretty easy. Even the 06 ain't hard if proper teaching and technique is used.
Their effectiveness has created cult followings for all of them and their similar rounds like the 260 Remington and 280 Remington for example.
So what is it that makes them really hit the sweet spot, for me it is a sectional density of .270-.290 and a Muzzle Velocity of about 2400-2600 FPS. Rather then blowing the hell out of meat they deliver the right balance of shock and power with out over doing it. They do not over expand and blow a hole in your good shoulder roasts! The moderate velocity and high SD are the key.
Consider taking a pump up pellet gun, pump it 10 times and shoot a can and it goes right though = no shock. Pump it 1 time and it knocks the can down and does not penetrate = to weak. Pump it about 4 times and it knocks the can over and rips a ragged hole in the can even though there is zero expansion. That is the "sweet spot" for a pellet.
To me your round and others that mimic those numbers are at if for centerfire rifles. Only the desire to sell more and new guns has created 300 Magnums and such. A man can take on the world with one or two of the rounds listed above. Anyone shoot one of these rounds? If so I bet you would back up that what paper ballistics say about it has little to do with its' lethality in the field.
