Thread: Short barrel calibres?

crudely put the larger the bore the more efficient the round will be at the muzzle with shorter barrels as the bullet base has more area for the expanding gas to push on,
then you have to look at external ballistics and the range you want to shoot at.

ie my 358 win with 18/20" barrel has way more muzzle energy >33% than my 24" barreled 243 but past 325 mtr the 243 carries more energy due to a high bc bullet.
same basic cartridge and powder volume.

what sort of hunting are you looking to do, do you reload etc
happy shooting to only 200mtr then you could consider say 38-55/375win or 44mag (hand loads), 35 rem, 300BLK
want to get to 300 mtr then drop to a 30cal 30-30, or 358win
want to go further out then 308 or 7mm

obviously the shorter the barrel and the larger the powder charge and bullet weight the muzzle blast and recoil goes way up
heaps of choice and everyone of us has a different aim so no wrong answer here.
Z