I think I may have misunderstood the question the first time. When you said range I was thinking distance instead of range of power. [8D]

If we are still talking about a rifle light enough to be carried hunting and shoulder fired............

The least powerful cartridge I know of is the .22short CB with a whopping 32 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle.

The most powerful I know of that you could actually get if you had the money and not just an experimental cartridge would be the 577 tyrannosaur. It can generate over 11,000 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle.

The 460 Weatherby can only generate about 7500 - 7600 foot pounds. Sorry but it is a pipsqueak compared to some others. Can you call a 460 WBY a pipsqueak? [8D]


If we look at shoulder fired guns but too dang heavy to hunt with I would think that SSK Industries 14.5mm JDJ would be at the top of the list somewhere. It fires a 1173 grain bullet at 2600 - 2700 fps and a 750 grain bullet at aproximately 3000 fps. Energy levels with the 1173 grain bullet are hovering somewhere in the 17,000 - 19,000 foot pounds range.