Ballistics Help

[Bones]

12ga. bps , cantilevered topped with a leupold ultimate slam, Hornady sst's. Someone had to stickup for the 12ga.

[rej]

Proposed hunting rifles that can possibly be used in Ohio next year in gun season which has previously been slug only are the following calibers: .357 Magnum, .357 Maximum, .38 Special, .375 Super Magnum, .375 Winchester, .38-55, .41 Long Colt, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .444 Marlin, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .45 Long Colt, .45 Winchester Magnum, .45 Smith & Wesson, .454 Casull, .460 Smith & Wesson, .45-70, .45-90, .45-110, .475 Linebaugh, .50-70, .50-90, .50-100, .50-110 and .500 Smith & Wesson. Does anyone know if any of these calibers are ballistically superior to 12 or 20 gauge slugs. Thanks

Very interesting thread. this gaggle of cartridges goes from way back to state of the art. Almost any of these would be ballistically better than a shotgun slug. Sabots came along and changed that but they are expensive. Slug barrels improved things more. The .44 special was popular as you could load an SA revolver or stuff the tube of a lever action, eliminating the need to carry different kinds of ammo and it got the job done. In the past Army and Navy were considered a superior purveyor of sporting and Safari goods. At a reasonable price they supplied what they called a "jungle gun" with a "paradox" barrel set. Smooth bore until the last 2" which was rifled. They apparently worked well but for how long? Great idea to have a shot and slug gun in one. Forget the .38 cal. stuff unless you are a skilled woods and marksman. The .45, .50-70 and 90 are 100 yd. shooters, unless you are Quigley. The .45, .50-110, 120, 140 with black powder can drop about anything but have a curved trajectory but better than slugs. There was an experimental .45-200 that made 3500+ ft./lb energy and shot flat. Legend says it never got out of the Springfield Armory. Seems it hit almost as hard at the back end. I have a replica of the Sharps(falling block action) in .45-120. The stock design is more modern and helps greatly with recoil. This is a 3,25" case. If you want to try one of these great black powder rounds you will have to load your own(other than .45-70). Had an Unertl 14x target scope I was not using so had it smithed to the Sharps. With modern powders, a bit of experimenting with lead alloying, a thin gas check and practice this antique holds to 5" at 700 yd. It makes more energy than a .458 Winchester magnum. Slug weight is 610 gr. Having said all this, at the end of May 2012 I got an Excalibur Vortex, did a lot of reading here then some experimenting. Ballistics? I am still getting just as much game and worry about 40 yd. or less.