Rifle Chamber Comparison By Bob Beers It has long been my desire to understand how the multitudes of centerfire rifle cartridges relate to one another for the purpose of selecting a suitable cartridge for a specific application. After much head-splitting thought, I decided to attempt a comparison of cartridges by chamber to see if the results would be of any use. A comparison by chamber requires that one set of numbers must be generated for each unique chamber. To generate a single number set for each chamber, the values for every cartridge (except low or managed recoil cartridges) listed for each unique chamber manufactured by Federal, Remington, Winchester, and Weatherby were averaged and are listed in below (by caliber). Since recoil is an important factor that must be considered, it seemed reasonable to define an attribute of the cartridge to represent the relative recoil force of each cartridge and chamber. The force that pushes the bullet out of the barrel of the rifle also pushes the rifle against the shooter and can be calculated as follows: Propulsion Force = Bullet weight (pounds) x Muzzle velocity (fps) or Propulsion Force = Bullet weight (grains) x Muzzle velocity (fps) 7000 (grains per pound) Propulsion force (PF) is very useful in comparing the relative generated recoil of cartridges and chambers. Accordingly, a truly descriptive nickname for PF (propulsion force) could be "Punch Force." Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that the .243 Winchester cartridges are generally comfortable to shoot, even for recoil sensitive shooters. Therefore, once the propulsion forces (PF) are calculated, the PF(avg) of each chamber may be compared to the average PF of the .243 Winchester chamber to provide an idea of relative comfort (or discomfort) for the chamber of interest. The intent of the PF(avg.) Ratio is to indicate how hard the listed chambers will "punch" the shooter relative to how hard the mild-mannered .243. Winchester would punch the shooter. For example, the 30-30 Winchester chamber punches 1.31 times harder than the .243 Winchester chamber, the .30-06 Springfield chamber punches 1.67 times harder than the .243 Winchester chamber, the .338 Winchester Magnum chamber punches 2.24 times harder than the .243 Winchester chamber, and .458 Winchester Magnum chamber punches 3.68 times harder than the .243 Winchester chamber. (Relationships between cartridges other than the.243 Winchester are inferred as well and can be calculated, if desired.) For the each of the chambers listed, the following table then summarizes the average size and penetrating characteristics of the bullets evaluated, the average maximum point blank range of the cartridges evaluated, and the average "punch force" of the cartridges evaluated. So, for each chamber, the shooter knows how big the average bullets are, how deep they will typically penetrate, how far they will typically go, and how much it will typically hurt to get them there. |
Chamber |
Caliber |
SD(avg) |
BW(avg) |
MPBR(avg) |
PF(avg) Ratio |
.223 Remington |
0.224 |
0.159 |
56 |
290 |
0.65 |
.22-250 Remington |
0.224 |
0.146 |
51 |
326 |
0.69 |
.224 Weatherby Magnum |
0.224 |
0.157 |
55 |
321 |
0.72 |
.243 Winchester |
0.243 |
0.210 |
87 |
304 |
1.00 |
6mm Remington |
0.243 |
0.232 |
96 |
304 |
1.09 |
.240 Weatherby Magnum |
0.243 |
0.228 |
94 |
328 |
1.17 |
.257 Roberts |
0.257 |
0.255 |
118 |
256 |
1.16 |
.25-06 Remington |
0.257 |
0.228 |
106 |
302 |
1.20 |
.257 Weatherby Magnum |
0.257 |
0.236 |
109 |
329 |
1.36 |
.260 Remington |
0.264 |
0.271 |
132 |
281 |
1.33 |
6.5 Remington Magnum |
0.264 |
0.246 |
120 |
296 |
1.38 |
.264 Winchester Magnum |
0.264 |
0.287 |
140 |
295 |
1.52 |
.270 Winchester |
0.277 |
0.252 |
136 |
291 |
1.46 |
.270 Weatherby Magnum |
0.277 |
0.251 |
135 |
320 |
1.60 |
7mm-08 Remington |
0.284 |
0.246 |
139 |
277 |
1.41 |
.284 Winchester |
0.284 |
0.266 |
150 |
276 |
1.54 |
.280 Remington |
0.284 |
0.258 |
146 |
289 |
1.54 |
7mm Remington Magnum |
0.284 |
0.274 |
155 |
297 |
1.67 |
7mm Weatherby Magnum |
0.284 |
0.272 |
154 |
314 |
1.76 |
.30-30 Winchester |
0.308 |
0.238 |
158 |
211 |
1.31 |
.308 Winchester |
0.308 |
0.246 |
163 |
266 |
1.60 |
.30-06 Springfield |
0.308 |
0.250 |
166 |
274 |
1.67 |
.300 Winchester Magnum |
0.308 |
0.261 |
174 |
293 |
1.89 |
.300 Weatherby Magnum |
0.308 |
0.268 |
178 |
315 |
2.06 |
.300 Remington Ultra Magnum |
0.308 |
0.266 |
176 |
320 |
2.06 |
.30-378 Weatherby Magnum |
0.308 |
0.273 |
181 |
334 |
2.20 |
.338 Winchester Magnum |
0.338 |
0.277 |
221 |
278 |
2.24 |
.340 Weatherby Magnum |
0.338 |
0.279 |
223 |
299 |
2.45 |
.338 Remington Ultra Magnum |
0.338 |
0.292 |
234 |
291 |
2.47 |
.338-378 Weatherby Magnum |
0.338 |
0.281 |
225 |
314 |
2.58 |
.35 Remington |
0.358 |
0.209 |
188 |
191 |
1.43 |
.358 Winchester |
0.358 |
0.223 |
200 |
232 |
1.79 |
.350 Remington Magnum |
0.358 |
0.223 |
200 |
262 |
1.99 |
.35 Whelen |
0.358 |
0.251 |
225 |
245 |
2.05 |
.375 Winchester |
0.375 |
0.203 |
200 |
201 |
1.58 |
.375 H&H Magnum |
0.375 |
0.291 |
286 |
252 |
2.66 |
.375 Remington Ultra Magnum |
0.375 |
0.290 |
285 |
268 |
2.89 |
.375 Weatherby Magnum |
0.375 |
0.305 |
300 |
274 |
3.01 |
.378 Weatherby Magnum |
0.375 |
0.290 |
285 |
289 |
3.11 |
.416 Rigby |
0.416 |
0.330 |
400 |
234 |
3.41 |
.416 Remington Magnum |
0.416 |
0.330 |
400 |
235 |
3.43 |
.416 Weatherby Magnum |
0.416 |
0.316 |
383 |
266 |
3.78 |
.45-70 Government |
0.458 |
0.219 |
321 |
166 |
2.02 |
.45-70 Government (Garrett) |
0.458 |
0.310 |
455 |
166 |
2.77 |
.458 Winchester Magnum |
0.458 |
0.328 |
482 |
208 |
3.68 |
.460 Weatherby Magnum |
0.458 |
0.329 |
483 |
254 |
4.57 |
.470 Nitro Express |
0.475 |
0.317 |
500 |
207 |
3.86 |
|
Caliber: Diameter of the bullet (inches) SD(avg): Averaged sectional density of the bullets evaluated (pounds per square inch) BW(avg): Averaged bullet weight of the bullets evaluated (grains) MPBR(avg): Averaged maximum point blank range of the cartridges evaluated (yards) PF(avg) Ratio: Averaged propulsion force of the cartridges evaluated relative to the averaged propulsion force of the .243 Winchester cartridges evaluated (ratio) |
Copyright 2006 by Bob Beers and/or chuckhawks.com. All rights reserved.
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