Shooting Steel Cased Ammunition In Your AR-15

If you’ve been shooting for very long, especially as ammunition prices have risen in the past two years, you’ve no doubt noticed the large amount of inexpensive steel cased ammunition available. It’s hard to pass it up: prices for steel cased ammunition are almost half that of traditional brass cased ammo. But take it out to the range and it won’t be long before you hear the “tsk tsk” of other shooters, shaking their heads and commenting on how horrible it is to run steel cased ammunition in an AR-15 style rifle.

But is steel cased ammo really so bad? Is it safe to shoot steel cased ammunition in your AR-15?

Let’s own up to a few facts first. Discount steel cased ammunition is, in general, dirtier and smellier than mil-spec Lake City manufactured 5.56 NATO ammunition. It’s not quite as accurate, but most shooters won’t miss a half-MOA here or there.

Now, on to some myth busting. Modern production steel cased ammunition is NOT corrosive, even when berdan primed. It won’t destroy your extractor, and it won’t accelerate wear on your bore. The ferrous bi-metal jackets found on most steel cased ammunition will not damage the rifling of your AR, and are perfectly safe to use on any rifle rated backstop.

So what do you need to do to run steel cased ammunition in your AR-15? First, you’ll need to make sure that your AR-15 is very well lubricated. Dripping wet some might say; especially the bolt carrier group. You’ll need to clean your rifle more often when shooting steel cased ammunition, at least once every 500 rounds, although you could get away with letting it go for up to 1,000 rounds. Because steel cased ammunition results in more carbon build up, it’s important to use a high quality solvent like M-Pro 7 along with a synthetic lubricant. Make sure to throughly clean your bolt, paying close attention to the bolt face and extractor. It’s usually a good idea to remove the extractor to clean underneath as well. You’ll also need to make sure to thoroughly clean the chamber, so picking up an M16/AR-15 chamber brush is a good idea.

Steel cased ammunition is generally loaded lighter than standard military loads, so it’s important that your gas system runs well. Some AR rifles have smaller gas ports and won’t cycle well with the reduced power loads found in some steel cased ammunition. If you find this is a problem, switching to higher power steel cased ammunition such as our Wolf Military Classic may resolve this issue. Using a lower weight buffer or a lighter buffer spring can also be necessary when shooting steel cased ammo.

Steel cased ammunition is available with three different types of coatings. Older steel cased ammunition was usually found with a lacquer finish to help prevent rust and corrosion of the case. Brown Bear ammunition still uses this coating. Some AR-15 rifles begin to have problems with lacquer coated steel cased ammunition as heat begins to build up. Switching to modern production steel cased ammo with polymer coatings sometimes alleviates this problem, but in other cases it is necessary to use zinc coated steel cased ammunition such as Silver Bear.

The best way to avoid extraction problems due to stuck cases is to use an AR-15 with a 5.56mm chamber. Differences in headspacing between 5.56 and .223 chambers can cause steel cased .223 or 5.56mm ammunition to get stuck as the metal heats up. Even Wylde chambers and other .223/5.56 hybrid chambers have been known to have issues with stuck spent steel casings. Stick with a true 5.56mm chamber and, as we mentioned above, remember to scrub the chamber out every 500-1000 rounds to ensure reliability.

Steel cased ammo may have gotten a bad rap in the past, but there’s really nothing wrong with it. So go for it! Some AR snobs may sneer at the mere thought of running steel cased ammo through their precious rifle, but you know better now. Save some money when plinking and try out steel cased ammunition. Most AR-15 rifles run it just fine with no problems at all.

Handloading .223 for the AR

Military style rifles are not usually known for having match grade accuracy, but the AR-15 can be easily upgraded with just a few parts to be more than capable of shooting sub MOA groups out to distances exceeding 600 yards. Swap out the trigger for a Timney and replace the barrel with a heavy stainless steel varmint or match barrel and you'll be surprised by the significant increase in accuracy. But the biggest improvement may not come from the rifle at all, but from the ammunition you use.

I got started shooting cheap military surplus 5.56mm NATO rounds in my AR, along with cheap Winchester white box and Remington .223 FMJ plinking rounds. These cartridges were usually 55 or 62 grain and had decent accuracy. I still use them for plinking and just having fun at the range. But when you want to get serious about target shooting, you need better ammo. The biggest differences between mass produced ammunition and match grade ammunition is the quality of the components and the attention to detail to ensure every round is exactly the same.

Getting Started
You can buy match grade ammunition from a number of manufacturers. Remington and Hornady both manufacture excellent match grade ammunition. Varmint ammo from Remington and Hornady is just as accurate as the match grade ammunition, but is loaded with lighter bullets weighing between 40 and 55 grains. This factory ammunition is easily capable of shooting half-MOA groups is an excellent place to start establishing a baseline for your own handloads. Shoot a variety of loads and bullet weights to find out which performs best in your rifle and start loading your own based off of this data.

Bullets
When selecting the proper bullet, keep your barrel twist in mind. We've written in the past on the importance of barrel twist rate with regards to bullet weight or, more accurately, bullet length. For any given caliber of ammunition, the heaver the bullet is the longer it will generally be. Longer bullets require a faster twist rate to get them spinning at a high enough speed for effective stabilization in flight. If there is a specific load you just have to run, consider rebarreling your rifle with a barrel with a more appropriate twist rate.

The first barrels produced by Colt for the AR-15 had a slow 1:14 twist rate, which was adequate for 55 grain bullets under normal circumstances. However when air density increased due to lower temperatures, the 55 grain became unstable. This prompted the Army to switch to a faster 1:12 rate barrel, and later an even faster 1:7 rate barrel to accommodate heavier 62 grain M855 bullets. Most modern rifles have a 1:9 twist rate, which has been found to be a healthy compromise that is able to stabilize bullets weighing from 50 grains on up to some 69 grain bullets.

Varminters often use very light weight bullets such as the 40 grain Sierra Hornet. Such bullets are exceptionally accurate in order to hit small targets, lightly constructed to provide explosive expansion while minimizing ricochets, and lightweight to obtain high velocities with flat trajectories. The extremely flat shooting varmint round is perfect for taking small game at unknown distances. Competitive shooters on the other hand tend to favor longer and heavier bullets with an aerodynamic boat tail design. These long bullets have a superior ballistic coefficient which allows them to maintain a high velocity for a longer distance, thus making them less prone to wind drift at extended ranges.

One concern when loading heavier longer bullets for your AR is the overall cartridge length. Heavier bullets are longer, and there is a limit to how far back they can be seated. Standard AR-15 magazines can hold cartridges up to 2.275 inches long. If you are loading rounds with heavy 79 grain or heavier bullets, such as 90 grain Sierra MatchKings favored by long range target shooters, the overall cartridge length will likely exceed 2.275 inches, requiring you to load and fire these handloads one at a time. If you are preparing a load that is over-length, it is important to make sure that your barrel is designed to handle it. A barrel with a 1:7 twist is generally not sufficient to stabilize bullets weighing over 77 grains (however some shooters claim to be able to stabilize 90 grain bullets in a 1:7 barrel), but more importantly, in longer handloaded cartridges the bullet could be swaged up against the lands of the rifling and cause overpressure in the case. Barrels for the longest of these loads will usually be custom made with a 1:6 or 1:6.5 twist rate and have a longer leade (the unrifled portion of the bore just past the chamber) to fit the longer bullet.

Powders
Depending on the weight of the bullet you are pushing, you will need different powders. Faster burning powders are more effective for propelling relatively light weight bullets. Slower burning powders in general should be used with heavier bullets. For our purposes here, powders such as Reloader 7, Reloader 10X, Accurate 2015, IMR4198 or Hodgdon H322 are excellent choices for accurate varmint loads topped with light 40 grain to 55 grain bullets. Reloader 15, H4895, IMR4064 or Varget are all good choices used for accurate match loads that propel heavier bullets weighing 60 grains and more.

When developing a load, always start at 75% of the manual recommended max load and work your way up, checking for signs of overpressure as you gradually increase the powder charge. If you don't have enough powder of one type or another, get more: never mix powders! Mixing powders can result in unpredictable burn rates and could cause a case rupture or detonation.

Primers
When choosing a primer for your match loads, stay away from hard military style primers. Most match triggers will not generate primer strikes hard enough to reliably shoot hard primers. Instead, stick with high quality standard small rifle primers such as CCI 400 or Winchester WSR primers for most loads, and Federal Gold Medal 205M for heavier match loads using slower powders.

Brass
Brass for match grade or varmint loads should always be cleaned and polished. This not only makes it chamber better, but it removes any carbon or debris from the case resulting in better more consistent powder burn. When resizing, don't rely on just a neck resize. For the most accurate loads your brass should be fully resized to ensure a consistent case capacity. Fully resized cases also fit the chamber better. What brand of brass you use isn't particularly important, but some shooters prefer Winchester or .223 Remington brass due to the consistent case weight and wall thickness.

When trying to wring every bit of accuracy from a handload, the devil is in the details. Turning the neck of your brass will help to ensure that your case mouth is perfectly round and concentric with the case body, giving you a consistent crimp and seal all the way around your bullet and positioning it perfectly concentric with the bore. RCBS makes a case neck turner and .223 pilot to help you turn the perfect case neck. Necks that are out-of-round can have gas escape around the bullet prior to the bullet entering the bore and result in an uneven bullet release. A perfectly even bullet release helps to ensure that it swages onto the rifling evenly.

Handloading Procedure
One of the primary reasons for handloading is that it gives you the ability to ensure absolute consistency among all of the rounds. Handloads that are quickly and carelessly assembled may be great for plinking and making a bunch of noise, but they are useless for precision shooting. Additionally, carelessly assembling your rounds can be dangerous! Double charged or poorly measured loads can destroy your expensive rifle and kill or seriously injure you. When sitting down to reload, get rid of all possible distractions. Never watch TV or have a conversation while reloading. Dividing your attention between the task at hand and something else can result in a mistake that could prove deadly. Remember that the more attention you give to the quality and consistency of your loads, the more accurate they will be.

See our article on reloading necked rifle ammunition for more details on the reloading process.

Example Loads

Bullet	Bullet Weight	Powder	Primer	Overall Length	Charge (grains)	Velocity (FPS)
Hornady V-Max	35 gr	Accurate 5744	CCI 400	2.13	21.1	3602
Speer SP	40 gr	Reloder 7	CCI 400	2.06	20.5	3011
Speer SP	40 gr	Reloder 10X	CCI 400	2.06	24.5	3481
Nosler BT	40 gr	Accurate 2015	CCI 400	2.260	25.4	3671
Speer SP	45 gr	Reloder 7	CCI 400	2.155	20	3059
Speer SP	45 gr	Reloder 10X	CCI 400	2.155	24	3292
Nosler BT	50 gr	Reloder 10X	WSR	2.2	24.2	3389
Nosler BT	50 gr	Reloder 15	WSR	2.2	28	3356
Speer HP	52 gr	Reloder 7	CCI 400	2.2	20.5	2931
Speer HP	52 gr	Reloder 10X	CCI 400	2.2	22.5	3179
Nosler BT	55 gr	Accurate 2015	CCI 400	2.230	24.0	3215
Speer SP	55 gr	Reloder 10X	CCI 400	2.175	23	3159
Hornady V-Max	55 gr	Varget	WSR	2.240	27.0	3344
Speer FMJ	62 gr	Reloder 15	CCI 400	2.255	25.0	2832
Sierra HPBT	69 gr	Reloder 15	Fed 205M	2.26	25.5	2956
Hornady A-Max	75 gr	H4895	Fed 205M	2.273	24.5	2861
Swift Scirocco	75 gr	Varget	Fed 205M	2.270	23.0	2714
Sierra HPBT	77 gr	Reloder 15	Fed 205M	2.26	24.1	2783
Sierra MatchKing	90 gr	H4895	Fed 205M	2.550	21.7	2600
Sierra MatchKing	90 gr	IMR-4064	Fed 205M	2.550	22.4	2600

All load data presented here should be used with caution. Consult a reloading manual and always begin with a reduced load to ensure that they are safe in your particular rifle before proceeding to full power loads. Cheaper Than Dirt! has no control over the quality of the components that you choose, the condition of your rifle, or the actual loadings you use, and therefore assumes no responsibility for your use of data presented here.

Barrel Twist in the AR-15

Since the early days of firearm building, armorers noted that if they imparted spin to the projectile that it greatly enhanced in-flight stability and accuracy. The earliest rifles had numerous bands of metal that were forged together and twisted to create the helical shape of the rifle groves. As machining processes were developed and refined, hammer forged barrels became popular as they were much stronger and much more precise.

Rifle twist is represented with a 1 a colon and another number, such as 1:7, 1:9, 1:10, 1:12, etc. The second number is the length in inches that it takes for the grooves to make one complete revolution. Thus, a 1:10 twist rifle barrel makes a complete 360 degree revolution in 10 inches. A 1:7 rifle barrel on the other hand makes a complete turn in only 7 inches, giving it a much tighter faster rate of twist (and consequently a greater RPM to the bullet).

The Greenhill Formula, developed by Sir Alfred George Greenhill, lays out the mathematics for computing the optimum spin and rifle twist necessary to stabilize a bullet. His most basic calculation is

where C = 150 (or 180 for muzzle velocities greater than 2,800 fps) D = bullet caliber (in inches) L = bullet length (in inches) and SG = bullet's specific gravity (10.9 for most lead bullets). For lead core bullets, the second half of the equation is disregarded as the value of the square root of 10.9/10.9 is 1, however the value will need to be calculated for steel core, steel jacketed, or frangible bullets as their specific gravity will vary. Because of the high muzzle velocity of most 5.56/.223 rounds, C should be set to equal 180 in the above formula.

What does all of this mean? For most shooters, not much. We're not going to delve any deeper into the mathematics of calculating the optimal barrel twist for various bullet designs. Instead, we'll lay out the basics and give you some good guidelines to go by when figuring whether or not your AR-15 barrel will stabilize a given round.

In general, you want a faster twist (lower second number) for a heavier bullets. Firing lighter bullets through a fast twist barrel can over spin them, causing inaccuracy from overstability and/or spin induced drift. Overstability occurs primarily in light weight projectiles fired from a fast twist AR barrel and causes the bullet nose to remain at a high angle of attack throughout the flight trajectory due to extreme gyroscopic stability. Extremely light weight thin jacketed varmint rounds that are overspun past 300,000 RPM can even fly apart from the immense centrifugal forces imparted by the bullet spin.

For 5.56/.223 bullets weighing between 35 and 50 grains you can use a 1:12 or 1:14 twist. 1:9 (probably the most common twist found in AR rifles) and 1:10 are good moderate twist rates capable of stabilizing bullets weighing from 45 on up to 69 and even 70 grain bullets. For the heaviest 5.56/.223 bullets you will need a 1:7 to 1:8 twist barrel in order to reliably stabilize bullets weighting between 69 and 90 grains.

There are some odd barrels out there being used to fire heavily customized .223 loads. Some custom barrels are available in a 1:6.5 twist and are capable of stabilizing 100 grain bullets, though that weight is not very common and difficult if not impossible to find. Extremely high velocity loads firing a bullet weighing 55 grains or less at speeds exceeding 4,000 feet per second require a very slow twist rate of 1:15 to 1:16.

Most shooters find that a 1:9 twist barrel meets their needs quite well, but if you're going to be firing heavier match loads or lighter faster varmint rounds you'll need to search for a barrel with a more appropriate twist rate.

7×57 Mauser

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It shouldn’t be surprising how many modern hunting cartridges can trace their ancestry back to military based roots. Ammunition designed for and used in the military gained popularity with service members returning from war who favored cartridges they were familiar with for hunting medium and large game. The 7×57mm Mauser, or .275 Rigby as it is known in the United Kingdom, is one such cartridge.

Initially designed by German manufacturer Mauser in 1892 it quickly earned a reputation as a solid performing round. The Spanish quickly adopted the model 1893 7mm Mauser and used it to great effect against US troops at the battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. US Military leaders painfully learned the effectiveness of the Mauser and the 7mm cartridge it was chambered for. So impressed were they that they based the 1903 Springfield rifle and the .30-06 cartridge off of the Mauser design. In fact, so many design aspects of the Model 93 Mauser were used in the Springfield that the United States was forced to pay royalties to Mauser for a number of years.

The United States wasn’t the only nation to take note of the abilities of 7×57mm ammunition. British firearm manufacturer John Rigby & Company adopted the Mauser cartridge after acquiring a number of Mauser actions and renamed it the .275 Rigby. For decades they built hunting rifles based on the now world famous Mauser design. It was under this name that the 7mm Mauser became famous in Africa as an elephant hunting round. Though significantly underpowered as a dangerous game load, Scottish hunter Walter Bell became famous for killing over 1,000 elephants with rifles chambered for the cartridge. His success however was more attributable to his shot placement rather than the inherent ability of the .275 Rigby. Bell focused on using head-shots to quickly drop massive pachyderms, even going so far as to saw the skull of one of the elephants in two so that he could better know the exact location and size of the brain. Due to the size and toughness of the elephant skull, Bell only used 173 grain full metal jacketed bullets in order to get adequate penetration.

Despite Bell’s success harvesting elephants, the 7mm is really at home as a medium game cartridge suitable for hunting deer, and elk. With performance approximating that of the .270 Winchester, larger game such as bear and even moose can be successfully harvested with accurate shot placement. Modern 7×57mm loads are most often found topped with light weight 139-145 grain bullets, making the 7×57mm is a fairly flat shooting high velocity cartridge.

Modern factory loads are by and large fairly conservative with the pressures generated: after all, the 7mm Mauser got its start as a blackpowder cartridge. To truly get the maximum out of the round it helps to hand load your own for use in modern rifles. Propelled by 50.0 grains of medium-burning H414 powder a 7mm 139 grain bullet is capable achieving speeds approaching 3,000 feet per second at the muzzle, giving it a muzzle energy of around 2,300 foot-pounds. The problem with loading rounds over the 57,000 psi that the round is rated for is that few modern rifles are chambered for the round (one notable exception being the single-shot Ruger No. 1A), and many of the older 7mm Mausers that were imported into the American market are made from older steel that is not capable of handling higher pressures. As always, when developing a load for your 7×57mm rifle start at 50% of the recommended load found in your reloading manual and slowly work up to the desired load, keeping an eye on spent casings for signs of overpressure.

The .30-06 Cartridge

It's probably the most well known cartridge in the United States. Popular as a large game caliber, this round has probably taken more North American deer than any other cartridge save for the .30-30. But hunting wasn't what it was developed for. This rifle cartridge has seen the US through two World Wars in addition to Korea. Of course, I'm talking about the ever popular .30-06.

As the name implies, the .30-06 is a .30 caliber round developed in 1906 when the U.S. military saw the need for a long-range round capable of being fired from their newly developed machine guns. European military forces were beginning to use the recently designed boattailed spitzer bullets with superior aerodynamics and longer effective ranges. Mortars and artillery were not in widespread use at the time, with military leaders relying instead on volley fire for indirect engagement of enemy positions. Naturally, this meant that bullets would need to be able to travel in excess of 1,000 yards and still maintain sufficient velocity. The .30-03 was obsolete almost as soon as it was put into production, being a relatively heavy bullet with a round-nose tip among other problems. Given these flaws, designers scrambled to modify the .30-03 into a more workable design and created the .30-06. The Springlfield M1903 was also modified to utilize the new cartridge. By shortening the case neck slightly and completely changing the bullet from a heavy 220 grain to a sleek 150 grain spitzer, the military soon had their new solution.

After World War I, military planners noted that machine guns employed by other nations had much longer effective ranges than those used by the U.S. firing the 150 grain .30-06. It was decided that the .30-06 design needed to be improved upon in order to reach out to these longer distances. The .30 caliber M1 ball cartridge was created as the answer to this problem. A 173 grain FMJ boattail bullet was utilized for the M1 ball, but was later replaced with the lighter 152 grain flat based bullet in the M2 ball cartridge when it was discovered that the M1 load was more powerful than most military ranges could safely accommodate. The lighter, faster M2 round had a muzzle velocity of around 2,740 FPS in a 24" barrel and quickly became the standard issue ammunition for machine guns and infantry rifles, remaining in service until the development of the 7.62x51 NATO round. Nevertheless, the USMC kept some of the heavier M1 ball for use among their snipers, as that bullet was slightly more accurate and carried a bit more energy at longer ranges.

The long ranges the .30-06 was designed for also made it very attractive to hunters and long range target shooters seeking a cartridge was both versatile and accurate. The flat trajectory of the .30-06 makes it very effective for taking medium sized game with little to no elevation adjustment needed for distances out to nearly 300 yards. Modern hunting ammunition in .30-06 is available in a wide variety of loads with bullets weighing between 120 and 220 grains, but is most commonly found loaded with bullets between 150 and 180 grains. The case capacity of the .30-06 brass allows it to be loaded to much higher pressures than mil-spec ammunition. Many modern cartridges are loaded to these higher pressures in rifles capable of handling the hotter loads giving the round a muzzle energy that approaches 3,000 foot-pounds.

Given the versatility of this well-rounded cartridge, it's no wonder that it remains one of the most popular cartridges among hunters and target shooters alike.

6.5x55 Swedish

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Though not very common in the United States, the 6.5x55 Swedish cartridge has long been popular amongst European hunters. Since its inception in the late 19th century, the 6.5 Swedish has been known as a flat shooting caliber with relatively light recoil and superior sectional density. Though not particularly impressive when compared to modern high-velocity short magnum cartridges, the benefits of the round quickly become apparent once you've had the opportunity to shoot it.

The light recoil of the 6.5 makes it very popular amongst younger shooters and some female shooters who favor light rounds. It's also supremely accurate and flat shooting. 6.5x55 120 grain deer cartridges loaded to higher modern pressures have a rise of only around 5 inches when fired at a range of 300 yards. This makes it very easy for a hunter to get "minute of deer" accuracy out of the round at a wide range of distances.

Designed in 1891, the 6.5x55 Swedish first saw action when it was produced in 1894 for the M94 Swedish Mauser. Its use continued through modern firearm development where it was utilized by the Swedish AG/42B semiautomatic rifle along with numerous machine guns such as the Kg/1940 Light machine gun, the Schwarzlose, and more common models like the Browning BAR and FN MAG.

The reason for the bullet's sectional density is patently obvious when looking at the cartridge. The long bullet sticks conspicuously far out of the case neck. This long "freight train" style .264 caliber bullet boasts impressive penetration and a superior ballistic coefficient in spire point and polymer tipped versions. By way of example, 140 grain 6.5mm bullets are longer than larger and heavier .30 caliber 180 grain bullets. While the caliber of the bullet is relatively small compared to a .30-06, the elongated bullet design demonstrates impressive energy and penetration in 125-160 grain weights when taking game at ranges in excess of 300 yards. Though many in the United States dismiss the capability of the round for taking large game, it's reputation amongst Finnish and Norwegian moose hunters speaks well to the effectiveness of the cartridge.

One of the only drawbacks to the 6.5x55 cartridge is no fault of the round: early model Mausers were not strong enough to take full advantage of the pressure capability of the cartridge. For this reason, the factory specifications for the load are significantly lower than the design is capable of. Later models such as the widely available M96 Swedish Mauser and almost all modern rifles are perfectly capable of handling the higher pressures. For hand-loaders, this means that it is possible to safely load the cartridge to higher pressures. In fact, a few modern loading manuals have different load specs depending on whether the round will be fired in an older Mauser or newer modern rifle, though most take care to only list the older lower pressure loads. With 48 grains of IMR 7828, a 130 grain bullet can be safely propelled to a velocity exceeding 2,900 FPS.

Despite the light weight of many 6.5mm bullets, this cartridge seems to perform better with slower burning powders. As always, when developing a load start out at half the powder weight and work your way up while checking for signs of overpressure.

The 6.5x55mm Swedish cartridge has been around for well over 100 years and continues to enjoy enormous popularity both in Europe and more recently in the United States. Given the performance of the round, it's not hard to see why. Light recoil, flat shooting, great accuracy, and a wide range of loads make it attractive to target shooters and hunters alike.

Choosing Hunting Rifle Ammunition: Dangerous Game

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When choosing ammunition for a particular game animal, the terminal performance of the round you choose is extremely important. Winchester has developed (and trademarked) their CXP (Controlled eXpansion Performance) scale which is used to rate ammunition performance on various types of game. Dangerous game animals, classified as CXP4, are generally thick skinned African game animals such as hippopotamus, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo, and can weigh anywhere from 1,000 pounds up to 13,000 pounds or more for large male elephants. As such, when hunting these species, you will need to choose your caliber wisely.

.375 H&H Magnum Click to view larger image.

The .375 H&H Magnum is generally considered to be a bare minimum for hunting dangerous CXP4 class game. In fact in Africa, the .375 H&H Magnum is the smallest caliber legally allowed for hunting. Loaded with a 300 grain projectile, the cartridge develops a muzzle velocity exceeding 2,600 FPS which results in a muzzle energy of approximately 4,600 ft-lbs (around 6,500 joules). The .375 is very popular with hunters due to its flat shooting characteristics; given a 200 yard zero, bullet drop is only 8.5 inches at 300 yards with a trajectory peak of 2 inches at 100 yards, which makes it very easy to calculate your hold over.

Probably the most famous and widely used cartridge is the traditional .470 Nitro Express. This round, developed by the British for their double rifles, replaced the Eley brothers .450 Nitro Express cartridge which had become banned in a number of countries. The newer bottle necked .470 round pushes a 500 grain "freight train" of a bullet to velocities exceeding 2100 FPS at the muzzle, generating more than 5,000 ft-lbs (nearly 7,000 joules) of force.

There are a number of intermediate sized cartridges such as the .416 Remington Magnum, and the .458 Lott. The .458 Lott is a recently developed cartridge intended to replace the relatively underpowered .458 Winchester Magnum by Jack Lott, a popular gun writer at the time. Lott had the unpleasant experience of having a .458 Winchester Magnum fail to stop a charging Cape buffalo. This life threatening encounter prompted him to design a replacement round based off of a .375 H&H Magnum case. The new .458 Lott brass was slightly longer than the Winchester Magnum, enabling it to be loaded with more powder and giving the bullet an extra 300 FPS. It wasn't until 2002 however when Hornady began manufacturing the ammunition on a large scale commercial basis that the cartridge gained in popularity. Ruger chambered a new rifle for the Lott, the M77RSM Mark II, which soon became very popular with hunters in Africa. The .458 Lott manages to launch a 500 grain projectile out of a 24" barrel with a muzzle velocity of 2300 FPS, giving it a muzzle energy exceeding 5,100 ft-lbs (almost 7,000 joules) making its overall performance as good or greater than the popular .470 Nitro Express.

One of the largest cartridges in common use today is the .505 Gibbs. This monster cartridge is capable of taking down even the largest African game; only the .500 Jeffrey round is more powerful than the Gibbs. Loaded with a 600 grain Australian Woodleigh bullet the Gibbs generates 2,100 FPS muzzle velocity and 5,877 ft-lbs of energy. The Gibbs was made famous by Ernest Hemingway, who wrote and talked about it often. It was favored by one of Hemingway's characters, Robert Wilson, in the story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber".

Bullet selection for these dangerous game cartridges depends on the type of game being hunted. By and large, solid bullets are preferred due to their excellent penetration. They are absolutely necessary for head shots on the largest game such as elephants and cape buffalo. Soft pointed and lead core bullets are only suitable for lung shots, as they rapidly deform from the heavy thick skin of large African game and will not penetrate fully. Expanding bullets for large African game must be well constructed to be able to retain weight and remain intact upon impact. Examples of suitable soft bullets include Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, A-Square, and Barnes Triple Shock X Bullet.

It's critically important to select a caliber that you are capable of shooting but that is also capable of stopping dangerous game animals. Utilizing a caliber that is too large can result in flinching or anticipating recoil and pulling the shot, too small and your quarry may not drop. When hunting dangerous game, your life may very well depend on the ammunition you select.