Dixiedog1
Active member
Originally Posted By: 2muchgunI think what he said and what he actually meant are not quite the same thing. As in, it "didn't come out right".
Based on energy figures alone, the 30-06 is gonna have (roughly) 33-35% more energy @ 50yds, given average 30-06/44 mag rifle loads. The 30-06 wins the "energy battle" every time.
But as we all know, energy alone does not tell the whole tale of lethality. The 44 mag will expand to a much larger diameter and make a bigger hole. Frontal diameter does matter. One need only look at the energy figures of big-bore handguns to figure this out. They are nowhere near the energy figures of rifle cartridges. Yet kill very effectively, nonetheless. Because they have one thing going for them that cannot be ignored----that being sheer size.
As for which one kills deer faster, even I have a hard time saying after using both many times. They both work. Every time....
Correct....the 30-06 will have more energy...the .44mag will do more damage at closer ranges is what I was trying to say. Bullets are designed to work best at certain velocities and in my experience most .44 mag loads work very well in the 10-100 yard range...expansion is great and they still retain weight. In the deer I've shot with the .270's and 30-06's at very close ranges (under 20 yards) they tend not to expand and didn't create the large wound channel or give the same shock effect. That's not to say the animal isn't still fatally wounded but it's more apt to be a tracking job than a bang flop kill. It's not a scientific fact it's something I've concluded after shooting quite a few animals up close with different rounds....granted the total number of kills is a small enough sample compared to total kills with various cartridges to still have a lot of measurement uncertainty but it is my own field experience. I like the show me "rules" if I see the same pattern repeat a good number of times for myself and family/friends I hunt with it's good enough for me.
I won't part with my long range rifles but I save the 06' for times when I'm likely to shoot over 100 yards.
Based on energy figures alone, the 30-06 is gonna have (roughly) 33-35% more energy @ 50yds, given average 30-06/44 mag rifle loads. The 30-06 wins the "energy battle" every time.
But as we all know, energy alone does not tell the whole tale of lethality. The 44 mag will expand to a much larger diameter and make a bigger hole. Frontal diameter does matter. One need only look at the energy figures of big-bore handguns to figure this out. They are nowhere near the energy figures of rifle cartridges. Yet kill very effectively, nonetheless. Because they have one thing going for them that cannot be ignored----that being sheer size.
As for which one kills deer faster, even I have a hard time saying after using both many times. They both work. Every time....
Correct....the 30-06 will have more energy...the .44mag will do more damage at closer ranges is what I was trying to say. Bullets are designed to work best at certain velocities and in my experience most .44 mag loads work very well in the 10-100 yard range...expansion is great and they still retain weight. In the deer I've shot with the .270's and 30-06's at very close ranges (under 20 yards) they tend not to expand and didn't create the large wound channel or give the same shock effect. That's not to say the animal isn't still fatally wounded but it's more apt to be a tracking job than a bang flop kill. It's not a scientific fact it's something I've concluded after shooting quite a few animals up close with different rounds....granted the total number of kills is a small enough sample compared to total kills with various cartridges to still have a lot of measurement uncertainty but it is my own field experience. I like the show me "rules" if I see the same pattern repeat a good number of times for myself and family/friends I hunt with it's good enough for me.
I won't part with my long range rifles but I save the 06' for times when I'm likely to shoot over 100 yards.
