In the first post, it was mentioned that there are examples provide in the Cartridge Comparison Guide (CCG). The Chapter 4 example walks through "a cartridge for a 14 or 15 year old or an inexperience beginner hunter with little experience shooting or hunting" (CCG p. 25). The example covers the "Who, What, Where and Why Questions".
Let's detail the Who, What, Where and Why Questions of the example. This information is taken from the CCG on page 26 and following.
Who will use the cartridge?
- 14-15 year old or an inexperienced hunter
- Hunting small to medium game
- Inexperienced shooter -- first hunting rifle & cartridge combination
Where will the cartridge be used?
- Foothills
- Rolling mountainous terrain
- Flats & prairies
What purpose will the cartridge serve?
- Hunting at distances less than 200 yards
- Used as the shooter's first hunting rifle
- Used to harvest small to medium game
Why will this cartridge be used?
- To develop the ability to handle a rifle
- For a person with little or no experience
- For an animal requiring enough penetration to incapacitate the animal
- For training and target shooting
- To provide flat, repeatable trajectory
- To improve accuracy
- To provide low level of recoil
Appendices A & B in the CCG describe animal structure and the recommended energy levels to use when harvesting Small, Medium and Smaller-Big Game animals. These appendices recommend that a cartridge uses at least a 70 grain bullet and delivers a minimum of 1,000 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards (These are minimums). It is better to provide more energy on target at 200 yards.
To accomplish this energy level, we must generate a minimum of 1,500 to 1,600 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle to overcome the energy loss due to drag and air resistance. (Lighter, smaller caliber bullets lose around 15 - 25% for each 100 yards of flight). Thus for this example, we will select a cartridge that generates energy greater than 2000 ft-lbs at the muzzle.
These appendices also outline a rule-of-thumb for hunting medium game, which states the the bullet weight is calculated by taking 66-110% of the aminmal weight. This will give us a good bullet weight to harvest the animal. For this example, we use a middle range of both animal and bullet weights. We will target a 125 to 160 pound animal weight (this is an average weight for deer) and multiply this by the average of 80% to determine the proper range in bullet weight. We can then use these figures to establish a range for bullet weight of approximately 100-130 grains.
At this point, let's list the acceptable range of bullet weight, recoil, velocity, and bullet energy to establish a basline for this search. These numbers are:
- Bullet weight between 100 & 130 grains
- Recoil energy less than 12 ft-lbs
- Velocity greater than 2,900 ft/sec
- Bullet energy at the muzzle greater than 2,000 ft-lbs
As we narrow the search we should begin prioritizing our criteria to determine the most important criteria. For instance, to encourage good accuracy, shot placement and control for a young, inexperienced shooter, our first and most important criteria may be to keep the recoil energy below 12 ft-lbs. Second, we will want to keep the bullet energy at the muzzle abouve 2,000 ft-lbs to provide enough energy to ethically harvest small to medium sized game at distances out to 200 yards. Third, we should use a bullet weight that is appropriate for the type of game animal we intend to harvest (we have already determined that this is between 100-130 grains). Finally, we should use a cartridge that produces velocities greater than 2,900 ft/sec. This final constraint may have a little more flexibility in this example sinc a velocity of 2,800 ft/sec is still fast enough to allow the shooter to easily predict the bullet trajectory out to 200 yards.
After using the criteria in the notebook to look at each qualified cartridge in Table-1, we have found 3 cartridges that will be the best fit for this youth. They are the 257 Roberts, 25-06 Remington and the 260 Remington. Any of these cartridges would be a good choice, however the 25-06 appears to be the best choice.
Despite all the accolades or criticism any specific cartridge may receive, experienced shooters will tell you that "Time on the trigger" is the ultimate tell all if you have made a good choice in your cartridge selection. The most important parameters for successful, ethical and enjoyable hunting include: knowing the way your rifle shoots, practicing at your desired distances, and having the most appropriate load for your cartridge, game animal and your havesting method. This is very sound advice!