Hello Hunters,
A really interesting topic today. A subject that without complicating too much, can require a lot of ink, with many varied opinions making it all the more difficult to come to any conclusions for the most of us. In general the "famous" calibres for European big game, (Deer, Boar, Ibex) range from .243, .270 Win Mag, the 8mm, the 30.06, the 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 winchester, .338 winchester magnum and the 300 win mag...I have left out many more for sure, but they all are good, and they all are lethal...so what are the real basics that I should know...?
From left to right: .243, .270 wsm, 30-06, .300 winmag, .375 H&H y 45-70.
Some basic "common sense" concepts
Bullets have a weight, and this weight is measured in grains. The heavier the bullet, the greater the fall or drop over distance, but greater weight also means more stopping power at short distances. Bigger bullets normally lose velocity quicker than smaller bullets. The more "aerodynamic" the bullet, the better the trajectory, but that could lead to a loss in effectiveness, or "stopping power" of the bullet.
A graph to illustrates this point...
What is the "stopping power" of a bullet?
It translates to the energy the bullet trasmits on impacting the target, and its measured in Joules. Here, there are many factors to take into account, but very simply put, a faster and heavier bullet trasmits more energy and stopping power than a slower lighter bullet.
For example, a slug fired from a shotgun at 15m is almost unbeatable when it comes to stopping power. The energy transmitted is immense. Remember we mentioned weight and velocity. The problem is what happens at 100 or 80 yards, slugs tend to behave "erratically" and lose a lot of velocity, that said, I have seen hunters hitting targets consistently at 200m with a shotgun...
A good analogy as a simple way to explain stopping power is to imagine a bed sheet hung from a clothes line. Imagine that we fire two projectiles at this sheet, one a needle, and the other a tennis ball. If we fire both at 600 metres per second into the sheet, at a range of just 10 metres, the needle will pass through the sheet without the sheet even moving, whereas the tennis ball will cause a much more "dramatic" impact, causing a much bigger hole and moving the entire sheet a lot.
At a much greater distance, the needle will continue to behave in the same way without losing trajectory, whereas the tennis ball will lose a lot of velocity and drop significantly.
More stopping power, the bullet transmits its energy to the target and it deforms or fragments.
Less stopping power, the bullet transmits less energy and continues its trajectory through the target and it deforms a lot less.
The dropping bullet
Normally, we zero a rifle at 100m or 150m for the typically Spanish "monteria". This means that at this distance, if we aim at the centre of the target, thats where the bullet hits.
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beyond this distance, for example at 200m or 300m, the bullets start to drop as can be seen in the diagram. Some bullets at 300, fall only 10 cm, but other calibres at the same range, can fall as much as 1 metre! Why such a difference? Its a simple concept to understand, all bullets fall under gravity, but with a higher velocity and lower weight, they take longer to fall.
Hard bullets/Soft Bullets
A hard bullet normally tends to not deform when it hits the target, and "tries" to carry on its trajectory through the target "avoiding" hard parts and then exiting the target. This means that if we hit a vital organ, the animal will drop dead on the spot.
A soft bullet, tends to deform on impact, expanding ("mushroom effect") causing a lot more damage normally disintegrating and hitting parts in the animal and causing nearly always the animal if hit in any central area.
Normally, this means that even in a "less" accurate shot, the animal will fall within few metres of where it's hit. If hit in a critical zone, your target will fall instantly in the same way as if stuck in a critical area with a hard bullet.
Do soft bullets then seem better? Well, yes, but it depends on the type of shot. A soft bullet that hits a branch wit deform and change its trajectory, whereas a hard bullet will continue (although lose velocity, but a lot less and will not deccelerate to much for not having changed its shape).
Each type of bullet for its purpose we can say. For close range shots, much better a soft bullet, for long range shots better hard bullets. Important to mention that there are not only two type, but grades, the best (or least worst), intermediate bullets...
Each one has its good and bad points, advantages and disadvantages. In the end, its about finding the optimum balance for the type of hunt in question.
In a stalk (
"rececho"), or hide night hunt (
"espera"), we are interested in a shot that really holds its trajectory, that doesn't fall too much... for these situations the .243, or the .270 or .270 win mag are perfectly suited. Normally , they are shots that are better placed, better prepared with the hunter having time to steady, take aim and fire. But that doesn't mean that without this calibre we don't hunt. A 30.06 or a 300 win mag are perfectly adequate too.
In a stalk we are shooting normally at 200 meters or more (sometime less, but its not normal). As we have said we normally have time to prepare the shot, but its important that the bullet "arrives quickly" at its target, even more so that its not afected too much by drop or wind.
And what about the driven mountain hunt (
"monterias") so typical and unique to Spain. It depends on the peg, but normally its a much closer shot, from a few tens of metres to 150 meters. In a firebreak peg
"cortadero", and game passes close to us, and at speed. Here, a calibre with a lot of stopping power is best suited, the velocity is not so important. Here, shotgun slugs work well, as well as .308 winchester, .338 WinMag, 375H&H, 300 WinMag, 45-70, 444 Marlin, calibres for express rifles... Fast shooting, often more instinctive than well set..
In more open pegs with better views, shots are typically 100-150 metres with moving, running game, and calibres with stopping power but a little faster give better results, 30.06, 7mm, 300 in all variations, 270 win mag...
In all practicality, for monterias, nearly all calibres are possible, but some have an advantage more than others. The best are the middle of range calibres, 300 in all versions, 7 mm, 30.06, 270 win mag .. a several more ...
Happy hunting..
