What's with all the different calibers that are the same?

[tri again]

.308" diameter, 180 grain, going at 2,000 fps or whatever has the same impact, right?

why are there so many choices and what's the REAL difference?

I'm trying some hand loads for a 300 H&H and trying to decide on what recipe to use.

The only different I see is that the '06 has a million choices and on sale for 11$ a box. as opposed to 40-90$

Tons of others are ballistically identical. 7mm, 8mm, 300, 303 308
fsp and slug weight ..I mean what am I missing? (conceptually)
The h&h is happy pushing 240 grain, so they say, but 180 seems to be plenty for anything .
My Speer book only shows 200 grain for most .308 reloads. but 180 gr , .308" diameter has a million choices.

....and what's that plastic tip all about?
the ol' .224" boat tail teeny tiny hollow points are what are most accurate for shilouette and far yardage.
Seems like that would cause turbulance, but that's what 'they' say is best.

I guess that a pasttime qualifies as just that.
It causes distrations and hobbies to make us 'past (the) time we're supposed to be doing something else.

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Yes, there are many different rounds that use the same diameter projectile. 308 winchester, 30-06spg, 300wby mag, 300 win mag, 300 rem ultramag and so on and so forth. The main difference is case design. Now, a 300 remington ultra mag is zinging along at about 3400fps with a 180gr bullet. This is because of the size and shape of the case and how much of a pwder charge it can hold. A big factor in case design is how much the shell is necked down from the main case body to the end the bullet is crimped into. A fat shell necked down alot means significantly higher pressure. Kind of like a venturi on a carburetor.

My own inference is that there are so many different rounds that fire the same bullet downrange is that quite a few firearms/ammo manufacturers took their turn at designing and patenting their own brand of .30 cal cartridge. Some even patented names by bullet size and powder charge, for example, 30-30 winchester,, means .30 cal, 30 grains black powder (which is what was used back in that time) patented by Winchester Repeating Arms. .30-06 spg, means .30cal, designed in 1906, by Springfield Armory. Another example would be .45-70 Govt. 45cal, 70 grains black powder developed by the federal govt. .30 cal has been the most widely used and developed caliber over any other size. So thats why you have such a vast number of .30cal cartridges known by different names.

I hope I helped to clear things up a little bit. Or did I make it worse???

You really want confusion, look into popular handgun rounds!! LOL!

[tri again]

Yes, there are many different rounds that use the same diameter projectile. 308 winchester, 30-06spg, 300wby mag, 300 win mag, 300 rem ultramag and so on and so forth. The main difference is case design. Now, a 300 remington ultra mag is zinging along at about 3400fps with a 180gr bullet. This is because of the size and shape of the case and how much of a pwder charge it can hold. A big factor in case design is how much the shell is necked down from the main case body to the end the bullet is crimped into. A fat shell necked down alot means significantly higher pressure. Kind of like a venturi on a carburetor.

Yeah,
I THINK my actual question is. 180 grain slug going at 'x' feet per second should be the same, or has the same effect even if it comes from 10 different guns. So a winmag or '06 or, 300 H&H loaded with 180 grain slug and powder to push it at 2300 or 3,000 or whatever
should hit the same, unless I'm missing something.

..I mean, not considering barrel twist and projectile tumble after impact. etc.
Headspace is also complicated.
The 300 h&h 'headspaces' from the base since it's a 'belted' cartridge.
Some need the cases to be trimmed to length almost after every shot. so that's a pita when choosing something to invest in.


My own inference is that there are so many different rounds that fire the same bullet downrange is that quite a few firearms/ammo manufacturers took their turn at designing and patenting their own brand of .30 cal cartridge. Some even patented names by bullet size and powder charge, for example, 30-30 winchester,, means .30 cal, 30 grains black powder (which is what was used back in that time) patented by Winchester Repeating Arms. .30-06 spg, means .30cal, designed in 1906, by Springfield Armory. Another example would be .45-70 Govt. 45cal, 70 grains black powder developed by the federal govt. .30 cal has been the most widely used and developed caliber over any other size. So thats why you have such a vast number of .30cal cartridges known by different names.

I hope I helped to clear things up a little bit. Or did I make it worse???

You really want confusion, look into popular handgun rounds!! LOL!

Yupp, it's like x rays. You think yer pretty good at reading them?
Get a book of normal variants and all of a sudden, years of study mean NOthing.

I have a 32 special which was created as a fix for shot out 30-30's.
That sucker is like a bb gun. CanNOT miss with open sites at 100 yards BUT with a reduced powder load.
They also changed the twist to 1:16 to prevent black powder fouling, so at least That caliber has some sense.

The old colt book has a story that the army ran of of bullets on western frontier so they ordered
some bullets.
Well they got long colt .45's but they all had s&w break tops at the time, and easier to load while riding on horseback.

Instead of buying the right bullets, it was cheaper and faster to just buy colt .45 single actions
to 'fit the bullets' they had gotten by 'mistake'
..and THAT'S how the colt peacemaker came to be the gun that won the west.
..a snafu'd gov't purchase order fiasco.
I actually have that colt history book in my safe.

ok, so now ft lbs of energy was explained to me as:

Imagine you had a waterbed mattress sitting under your 2,000 pound car.
IF you had a direct hit into that fill valve and could transfer all that energy into the waterbed mattress,
it should lift your car a foot off the ground. @ 2,000 ft lbs of energy.

Impressive for a 180 grain slug at 2800 fps, IF that is, in fact, true.

All in all, we like to reload, shoot clays and buy a cooked chicken on the way home. so this is just all for fun and cheap entertainment.

Thanks for the info.
Interesting how this stuff changed (changes) history, beyond religion, politics and philosophy..
I just find it all fascinating and a very fun way to kill time.

[DasUberKraut]

I think in the end it's just a way for companies to make money.

I don't mess around with different loads. I buy what works. And stick with it. I only buy rounds when they are on sale right before gun season.