What common cartridge for whitetail or smaller?

[bagdadjoe]

Hmmm,
I've killed 2 nice fat does at a measured 100 yds (dropped one, reloaded and dropped the other) with a 14" 44 mag and another at 125 yds with a 30-30 Ackley Improved barrel using a factory 180g bullet. None of the three moved out of their tracks. For even more fun, find a Contender barrel in 444 Marlin.  This is the Zen load of shooting.  You have to "be in the now" and forget about the stompin' your hand is about to get.  It will either improve you concentration or ruin your shooting altogether!  I'm really itching to get a 7-30.  I think that would be the perfect compromise.  Like a flat shooting 30-30 in a way.....

[Shortgun]

Sir BBF
What I read into your statement"you need velocity to make those little bullets work or you don't have squat" is that you think speed is a necessary thing to make "little" bullets work..of course it is not. There are several factors that need to be taken into consideration in evaluating bullet performance. One of them is bullet construction and what the intended use is for the projectile. An example is the much maligned 120 grain .284 Nosler Ballistic Tip. Riflemen hate it and pistol shooters love it, When that bullet is pushed at high velocity from a 7MM Remington Mag for instance it becomes very fragile and explosive and over expands and under penetrates on a game animal such as a deer...makes rifle junkies dislike it..however when that same bullet is run from a 14 or 15 inch barrel in a caliber such as a 7x30 waters or a 7mm08 it becomes a near perfect bullet choice for deer as it expands less and penetrates more. So in this instance SPEED is a villian and is not necessary for correct performance.

Lots of bullets fit this senario in lots of calibers...barrel length to a point will always increase speeds with any given load and any given projectile but it is not always needed or even a good thing.

Perhaps I misinterpeted what you were trying to say..but I do not think speed is always necessary with light bullets to get them to work. After 40 years of shooting shortguns I have never felt I needed "more than a foot of barrel".

shortgun

[timkenred]

if I had to choose one good cartridge for a TC handgun if would have to be the 30-30 winchester, I have taken everything from groundhogs at 200 yds (with 4 power scope) to whitetails in the woods ,so far this deer season I've taken two bucks and a doe with my 30-30. In my personal opinion  a TC hanggun or a TC rifle makes you a better marksman because in the back of your mind you know that you only have one shot and you have to make it a good one and the 30-30 is definitly enough to get the job done. I own a factory 30-30 barrel in 14 inch and also a Texas Contender 30-30 barrel in 22 inch configuration and wouldn't take the world for either one, don't get me wrong there's a lot of fine cartridges out there but if you want mild recoil and less than ear drum busting muzzle blast and a round that will get the job done then the 30 -30 is the one!!!

[BBF]

 
Shortgun:
I'll keep it short( pun intended) you need a reasonable amount of energy to do what is needed. Since you don't have much mass in those small caliber bullets you need to have it in speed. That's it, that was all I impied.