All round medium cal centrefire rifle

[eljefe]

Mack The Knife,
I would opt for both.and the 416 Rigby as a bonus...
'Bomb' as in accuracy of the 55grainers being far above 3 MOA at 100y-If any of the members who have used it, could confirm state of latest ballistics?
375 as 'medium' is ok for Africa.
But theoretically speaking, say hunting season is opened in India,i would feel very comfortable with the 30-06 and 150 grainers.Considering that Deer/sambar/Blackbuck may be the only allowed game? excuse me, with vermin like boar, i will be very happy if you back me up with 270 or 300 gr from a 375

[Mack The Knife]

I would opt for both.and the 416 Rigby as a bonus...

The bonus was taken for granted.

'Bomb' as in accuracy of the 55grainers being far above 3 MOA at 100y

No, that's a matter of sighting-in. What I meant was explosive surface or sub-surface wounds. Were there any such complaints or was / is the bullet known to hold together?

375 as 'medium' is ok for Africa.

Yes, I see what you mean and it is a very valid point but if we are going to bring hunting into the equation then Abhijeet is better off buying nothing....atleast for the forseeable future. However, for the sake of discussion, let us assume he gets legal permission to cull Nilgai, would he be better off using a 180 grain .30-06 or a 275 or 300 grain .375 H&H?

excuse me, with vermin like boar, i will be very happy if you back me up with 270 or 300 gr from a 375

With pleasure. However, I may just opt to use a certain double 450/400.

[eljefe]

Mack The Knife,
There's this song , "got my mind set on you..."seems the case with the 450
shooks, from what i remember,the 55gr acceletor was offered for varmint and such, making the 30 an all round rifle.The grump with the 55 grn was
a.early sabot separation
b. paper spreads were > 3MOA at 100y
No idea at all about on game performance.
Yup, you got my vote for a 30-06 with 180gr,For all their size, nilgai are 'soft'-I have a near total recall of one being taken with a 333 jeffry by my dad.seems like overkill...

[TwoRivers]

The Accelerator round was, and is, a varmint round, loaded with a frangible bullet with a thin jacket, and absolutely not intended for edible game. As are all the American .22 caliber cartridges, with exception of the Winchester 64 grain bullet loaded in the .223 Remington. On game they will typically make a very large but shallow surface wound, unless you manage to slip the bullet in between the ribs and into the lungs. Or specialize in head shots. Its accuracy was usually worse than what the rifle was capable of with caliber .30 bullets; which is really not good enough for the typical varmint hunter, shooting small animals at great distance. I have tried Remington .30-06, .308, and .30-30 Accelerators cartridges on the bench in several rifles, and was never impressed with the accuracy obtained. The best was a touch under two inches from one of the .308s.
Nilgai, by the way, are considered to be the toughest game animal of its size by American writers who have hunted them in Texas, and wrote about their hunts.
As to the general medium vs. big bore debate/question, what the English consider a medium bore, is considered a big bore in the U.S. So it's really a pretty arbitrary definition, and subject to arguments unless parameters are first clearly defined. And don't forget, a miss is a miss; and a non-lethal hit is that regardless of caliber. Yes, and despite that, I too, reach for something a mite bigger if the critter can bite back, and I don't have control of the situation. Bullet placement counts fare more than bore or cartridge size. Any of the military cartridges developed prior to WW II makes a pretty good all-rounder. Cheers.

[eljefe]

Thanks for that update Two rivers.
I have vague recall of the 55grn sabot round of the accelarator being bad mouthed . but no first hand experience.
As for the Nilgai, well, they must have grown tough in texas I have seen them fold up with anything from a 30-06 to a 450/400.Dunno, not the usual thwack and the 'high jump and run'-pure pole ax collapse.Good shot placement-YES

[penpusher]

As for the Nilgai, well, they must have grown tough in texas I have seen them fold up with anything from a 30-06 to a 450/400.Dunno, not the usual thwack and the 'high jump and run'-pure pole ax collapse.Good shot placement-YES

Even the .315 had no problem bringing them down and in a very authoritative manner.But then this is only academic now,considering the ban on hunting.

[Grumpy]

All-round medium calibre ?
The most versatile you mean ?
There aren`t any calibres that are capable of all-round use.
The 30-06 has to be very near the top of the list but isn`t suitable for varmint/vermin use unless one can get hold of 55 gr Accelerator cartridges which isn`t easy......and impossible in much of the world.
Following an earlier discussion elsewhere I`d put the case for the .243 Win. Barely qualifies as a `medium` calibre but is more than suitable for everything from Foxes to Red Deer.
The .375 H&H is neither medium calibre or an anywhere near an all-rounder so that`s immediately excluded.
The fact is that there isn`t a complete all-rounder in any calibre so a battery of rifles/calibres is necessary.