ORIGINAL: Bzoneboy
O.k. so I have some questions that I hope you guys can answer. I am going to start deer hunting this year, and am going to be buying a rifle soon. Probably is I’ve never hunted deer before so I’m trying to learn all this by myself. I’ve hunted lots of ducks and pheasant and jack rabbits, but I have never owned a rifle. I don’t want to ask my friends who deer hunt cause I don’t want to look like a weeny not knowing about rifles!
What I am confused about is calibers. O.k., so I have shot a .22 before and I know that is a pretty small gun. So I understand that .22 is a bullet .220 inches in diameter, for the bullet. O.k. What I don’t understand is, people say a .270 or .260 or even .243 is more rifle than say a 30-30. I don’t understand. If the bullet is .30 inches, bigger than a .270, wouldn’t it be able to take down deer farther away? I mean, the bullet is bigger and has more charge behind it! Stands to reason you could kill things farther away with it.
Comparing a .30-.30 and a .30-06: They are almost the same size bullet. WHY DOES THE .30-06 HAVE A LONGER RANGE THAN THE 30-30?? It doesn’t make sense to me.
Sorry to be so ignorant. Guess I need to learn a little about ballistics.
The .22 calibers are really .224" in diameter. The 30-06 has a longer range than a 30-30 because it has more powder. The 30 in 30-30 stands for how many grains of powder it has. The 06 in 30-06 is the year they chambered rifles in 30-06. The .30 calibers are really .308" in diameter. The .270 is really .277" in diameter. You find this a lot in the calibers. I would suggest the 30-06 or one of the WSM's or WSSM's.