Is it worth learning to shoot?

[Plymtom]

.22 rimfire on the left, .223 on the right....... Very important not to get the two confused

And the rest FC? I can't resist finding out which ones they are

[ForgeCorvus]

All pistol calibres, below is the title of that picture

22, 25, 32, 380, 9mm, 357 SIG, 38, 357, 40, 45, & 223 rifle (for comparison)

Harvested from http://www.amalgamatedstuff.com/tt/hand ... ition.html

[Holomon]

Small calibres won't do much damage, particularly copper jacketed types, they tend to be through and through unless they hit bone. As others have said, you need to know what your target backdrop is before you take a shot, which is why deer hunters favour a high seat, firing down at their target with the ground behind them.
I hunt a fair bit, and you basically try to match your calibre to what you're hunting. With deer, a reasonable size rifle round will give you a clean kill with a heart shot without too much trauma, if you're using something like 7mm or .243. If you're after rabbits or squirrels, air rifles work just fine and you don't need an actual firearm.

Bonus points to the person that can guess the calibre of the monster casing shown in my hand below;

[unsure]

no idea but i`d go with a 50

[Plymtom]

Depends how big your hand is my guess 45/70 or 458 win mag the latter is not for the faint hearted, standing next to one was an experience in itself

[Holomon]

Depends how big your hand is my guess 45/70 or 458 win mag the latter is not for the faint hearted, standing next to one was an experience in itself

Ha ha oddly enough the first photo didn't have the 50p in it, and I included that for that very reason!

Unsure was closest, but both good guesses. It's a 500 Nitro Express, goes off like a small cannon but there's pretty much nothing it can't stop.
Albeit if you shot bambi with one you'd spend a few days trying to find all the bits.

[Plymtom]

I was hedging my bets toward a more likely UK caliber but I did suspect it be the big no neck monster that I haven't seen in the flesh, nor it's slightly bigger brother the .577.... detached retina anyone?

[Holomon]

I was hedging my bets toward a more likely UK caliber but I did suspect it be the big no neck monster that I haven't seen in the flesh, nor it's slightly bigger brother the .577.... detached retina anyone?

Yeah I did figure it'd be a tough one to guess. I've actually got a .700 NE casing kicking round here somewhere, but only ever fired a handful of those. Useful if you're ever stalking an M1 Abrams, but not entirely sure what sort of game they were aimed at lol

[ForgeCorvus]

I was going to take a stab at .600 H&H Nitro Express.

I don't think I'd be able to have one of these though


"I really do have a need for this rifle Officer...... How else am I supposed to stop Godzilla from eating Cromer ?"

[farnet]

In a SHTF instance.

if you are being realistic and want something as a basic defence and an excellent form of providing protein then I would suggest getting a .22 semi auto with good sights (I have 2 x 25 round clips for mine as well), the reasons outweigh every other caliber by miles.

Deadly at a distance, you could have over 100 rounds in one pocket with ease (so travelling wouldn't be a problem), can be silenced (with subsonic rounds and a sound moderator), this is the most common calibre in botht the UK and USA so getting rounds in a SHTF instance it would be the easiest to get hold of (and I would imagine the rounds would be a great form of currency as well), easy to learn to fire, no kick... I could go on.

and legally, it would be the one you'd most likely get a license for as well, and in normal terms very good fun for target shooting and vermin control, and extremely cheap.... 50 rounds for under £4.00 (whereas a .223 is something like £14.00 for 20 rounds)