

Okay, so you've done your homework and you know what kind of bullet and cartridge you'll need to hunt the game of your choice. Keep in mind that more powerful cartridges will have more recoil. You'll also need to make sure the cartridge is powerful enough to fire a bullet with the impact force you'll need to take down the game you're hunting. For medium or large game, you should look at rifle calibers ranging from. If you want to hunt larger game, you'll need to use bigger bullets and cartridges with a more powerful charge. Using backward induction, once you've determined the cartridge that's appropriate for your type of game, you can look for rifles capable of firing that type of cartridge. You'll need to research cartridges designed for your specific style of hunting.

For greater distances, you may need to consider a. If you'll be closer than 100 yards (91.4 meters), you could use a. Think about the distance at which you'll be hunting. But you also have to consider how much power you'll need to propel the bullet. Lighter bullets tend to be more accurate over short distances but have less impact on distant targets than heavier bullets.įor small game, you can use small-caliber bullets. One ounce is 435.7 grains, so a 150-grain bullet weighs a mere. In addition to caliber, we classify bullets by weight - measured by grains. The size of the charge tells you how much power the cartridge will exert on the bullet, which in turn tells you how fast and far the bullet will travel. But for black powder cartridges, the number tells you the size of the powder charge. With some cartridges, the number refers to the length of the cartridge casing. Sometimes there's a second number in the cartridge name that can confuse matters. Let's start with a quick look at the kinds of game you might want to hunt and which cartridges are suited to that type of game. What's a comfortable rifle weight for you to hold? What sort of rifle action do you prefer? Which materials appeal to you? Each question is important to answer if you want the best experience with your hunting rifle. Once you've decided the kind of cartridge you need, you can focus on other factors.

On the other hand, if you use weaker ammunition against larger game, the animal may suffer a long time before dying. If you use ammunition more powerful than what you'll really need, the animals you hunt won't suffer but there may not be much meat left after you shoot them. Why worry about the cartridge at all? You need to consider ammunition because in order to be a responsible hunter, you'll want to choose ammunition that will guarantee a humane kill while preserving as much of the meat on the animal as possible. The rifle you choose should be able to fire whichever cartridge you've determined best suits your needs. Several different rifles can fire that type of cartridge. That's not an actual rifle model - it just means the rifle can fire a. In turn, the cartridge will limit the types of rifle you can use.Īs an example, let's take the thirty-aught-six rifle. That decision will help you figure out what kind of cartridges you'll need to buy. The type of game you want to hunt will narrow down the type of bullet you should use. From that point on, you can base every other decision on personal preferences. That answer will narrow down the type of rifle you should choose.
