Fast follow up

[Jimbob]

Now I am aware that, even when generating the same energy, a heavier and larger bullet is generally preferred over a lighter smaller one.
However, I got to thinking, what about rapid follow ups? In rifles of the same weight, generating the same energy, a 375 recoils less than a 458.
I ran some numbers comparing a 375 RUM and a 458 Lott and was surprised by the difference.

Now a 458 Lott is likely better for stopping charges with one shot but the RUM is hardly lacking in energy/velocity/sectional density and would be easier to fire rapid aimed shots.

Any validity to this thinking?

 

[ChrisG]

I would think that the RUM is going to lack penetration due to its incredibly high velocity. As bores get bigger, bullet designers engineer bullets that work at standard velocities. Bigger bores have a sweet spot right in the 2000-2400 FPS range and so bullets expand and penetrate best in that range. .375s might be more like 2000 to 2700FPS. Also, a heavier bullet undoubtedly delivers a heavier blow. John Taylor recognized this when he was working out his Taylor Knock Out values for various rifles. These have been used erroneously over the years to compare everything from hyper velocity small bores to handgun cartridges. Their only application ever was intended to show how likely a knockout was on an elephant with a round that missed the brain. However, for heavy game, we can interpolate that it could approximate the blow an animal would recieve. From it we find that the .458 Lott puts out a TKO of 75 where the RUM manages just 47.I think time and experience will bear out that where follow ups are concerned, a bigger heavier bullet that gets its energy from weight rather than speed will always prove superior.