Thread: Looking for a good all around rifle

@gimp thats a key question, isnt it ? What anatomical target !

First, I’m talking about a shot that will put the animal on the ground within about 20m.
Using the 303 I got pretty good at tracking as they usually ran 30-50m . Thought that was normal till I changed to the 7mm08, which as slightly more accurate but had much better bullets (NBT).

Second, I can hit a 100mm target at 300m almost every time on the range, if shooting prone with a rest. But kneeling, squeezed up against a tree with 10 seconds to fire, I’d miss every now and then even at 50m (yet still be successful on a 20cm plate). So a 243 would be OK for me in the bush but not all round, specially in the South Island.

Im thinking of hitting bone in the neck (50-100mm depending on size of animal).
I’m thinking of a bullet passing through the largest hilar blood vessels or heart, again 100mm. The temporary cavity wont necessarily disrupt these so you need a direct hit with the main bullet or cut up from fragments.
The 270 burns 50% more powder, calculates at 50% more ft.lb K.E., and delivers 50% more lead fragments than the 243 (roughly …) so a hit in the outer lungs say 200mm dia can disrupt 50% more lung volume including medium sized blood vessels and also reach out to the inner hilum. Sure, a 243 or even a 223 will kill with the wider shot but not so well. A number of animals will be more dead with the 270 than they are with the lighter cartridge . Of course its not exact like that but those are my reasons.