Comparison of small to medium plains game cartridges

[TStone]

But, bullets slow down, VERY fast, look at the retained velocity of the two bullets at 300 yards in all cartridges, most people will not guess that if asked the question on the spot.

True.

[Messor]

Ok so nobody is brave enough to comment on the statistics, or most people using tapatalk simply cannot see it since it's basically only desktop friendly.

@ T-stone, if you use monolithics , looking at the figures, what would be the best option between the 6.5 and 25-06 for small to medium plains game hunting?

[Ds J]

Ok so nobody is brave enough to comment on the statistics, or most people using tapatalk simply cannot see it since it's basically only desktop friendly.

@ T-stone, if you use monolithics , looking at the figures, what would be the best option between the 6.5 and 25-06 for small to medium plains game hunting?

Wind drift and trajectory on the 6.5 and 25-06 are basically identical - at least in hunting terms. One shooter with two rifles would shoot to the same point of impact. In that case I would go for the heavier bullet for max momentum.

Regarding the basic question - application of these cartridges in hunting circumstances, they look very close to me. I doubt that the differences in speed and energy would make much difference if shot placement is good.

[RevA]

Ok so nobody is brave enough to comment on the statistics, or most people using tapatalk simply cannot see it since it's basically only desktop friendly.@ T-stone, if you use monolithics , looking at the figures, what would be the best option between the 6.5 and 25-06 for small to medium plains game hunting?

I would trust the 6.5 more on medium game, while 25-06 would work fantastic on small and smaller medium game.

[RevA]

Anything above Impala/Blesbok I would say 6.5 or 270 would be the safer choice, while all the others can safely be used on small game with little difference other than personal preferance as all seem to have the neccesary energy to bring donw 50kg or smaller game

[Messor]

Wind drift and trajectory on the 6.5 and 25-06 are basically identical - at least in hunting terms. One shooter with two rifles would shoot to the same point of impact. In that case I would go for the heavier bullet for max momentum.

Regarding the basic question - application of these cartridges in hunting circumstances, they look very close to me. I doubt that the differences in speed and energy would make much difference if shot placement is good.

But Ds, we have discussed impact velocity in that “drop on the spot” thread of mine, and everybody agreed that the higher the velocity the bigger the affect.

And momentum during impact at 300m is the same.

The question is, at every velocity up to 300yards the 25-06 is much higher, and mono’s like their MV,.
At 300 yards the 25-06 is at 2439 and the 6.5 is at 2266, dare I say if the 6.5 penetrates deeper it’s because expansion will be delayed. Should the hunt go bad and the shooter needs to take the animal at 400 yards, the 25-06 will have the same impact velocity as the 6.5 at 300yards.

I have this nagging feeling that people believe the 6.5 penetrates so deep with mono’s because of their weight, where in fact it’s their low impact velocity.

But anyways, the reason I am comparing these 2, is the 270 is a class above, but it pays for it in recoil.
The 25-06 and the 6.5 basically have the same recoil, energy and wind drift, where the 25-06 just shoots a little flatter.

For me this is an interesting comparison, I somehow think the 6.5 is the better bush cartridge, and the 25-06 a better plains cartridge for the game mentioned.

[janfred]

Ok so nobody is brave enough to comment on the statistics,...

Fine, I'll bite.

I don't think the comparisons are fair. The .243 and 6mm Creed uses the same diameter bullet. Why not compare them shooting the same weight bullet? The higher pressure cartridge will have a slight edge that the 4gr case capacity may overcome.

Then, shooting such a light bullet in the .25-06 with so much case capacity that screams for a heavy bullet. At the very least I would have expected the same or similar weight as the 6.5mm.

I think having a table showing max pressure and usable case capacity with the compared loads should be rather interesting.

[Messor]

Fine, I'll bite.

I don't think the comparisons are fair. The .243 and 6mm Creed uses the same diameter bullet. Why not compare them shooting the same weight bullet? The higher pressure cartridge will have a slight edge that the 4gr case capacity may overcome.

I couldn't, as I explained they don't chamber the same weights in factory ammo, and I wanted to make it a fair comparison.
For example the 25-06 can be fitted with a tighter twist and shoot very high BC bullets, still not regularly avail.
You can go a 1 in 8 twist for the 270 and shoot 170gr bullets, still not avail every day.

One must be careful when doing custom comparisons, since then bias will set in.