What is a high powered rifle? According to most news media an AR15 is. I consider it an intermediate powered rifle along with the 7.62x39. My high powered rifle is my 270 Winchester, but how would those who know about rifles classify the calibers? High, Intermediate, Low, etc.? Where do you draw the lines? What are your thoughts?
High Powered Rifle
- Thread starter KMAX
- Start date
A "High Powered Rifle" is a pretty meaningless definition. Basically it means any modern centerfire rifle shooting a bottleneck style cartridge. There isn't exactly a category "Low Powered Rifle" to define it against, even though many straight wall cartridges produce more energy and momentum than bottleneck cartridges (454 casull versus 22 hornet for example).
However, "High Power Rifle" is a shooting discipline, and one of the categories is "service rifle" which includes the AR-15 setup up as an M16A2 or A4 look alike.
So "High Powered Rifle" is just as meaningluss as "Assault Weapon." All it does is make something normal seem a little scarier to make the sheeple afraid.
Jimro
However, "High Power Rifle" is a shooting discipline, and one of the categories is "service rifle" which includes the AR-15 setup up as an M16A2 or A4 look alike.
So "High Powered Rifle" is just as meaningluss as "Assault Weapon." All it does is make something normal seem a little scarier to make the sheeple afraid.
Jimro
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Pretty much anything the media says is wrong. About the same as Hollywood gun handling.
In the world of real shooters, it's reasonable to call such as the .22 Hornet "low-power", in comparison to such as the .270. By that standard, the .223 and on up to maybe the .30-30 are "medium power".
Such as the .308 and others of similar performance get into the "high power" description.
These are but approximations. I don't see much point in arguing about this cartridge or that, when it comes to which group it "really oughta" be in.
A problem for the media is that they've rarely even heard of such cartridges as the .22-250 or the .220 Swift. If a cartridge is "military", the media mind has it that it MUST be "high power". Unfortunately, that's also the case for too many of our politicians at all levels of government.
In the world of real shooters, it's reasonable to call such as the .22 Hornet "low-power", in comparison to such as the .270. By that standard, the .223 and on up to maybe the .30-30 are "medium power".
Such as the .308 and others of similar performance get into the "high power" description.
These are but approximations. I don't see much point in arguing about this cartridge or that, when it comes to which group it "really oughta" be in.
A problem for the media is that they've rarely even heard of such cartridges as the .22-250 or the .220 Swift. If a cartridge is "military", the media mind has it that it MUST be "high power". Unfortunately, that's also the case for too many of our politicians at all levels of government.
This is understood, but don't you or haven't you heard people say "oh, it's just a 22." or Just a 223. or even just a 30-06 when compared a larger caliber. Do you not categorize for yourself? Would you choose a 30-06 for plinking or a 22lr for 200 yard shots? If there is no real definition for high powered rifle why do so many people here criticize the uninformed for making the reference since so much of the other reporting is wrong anyway.
Sorry Art. You beat me with your post. Your answer is really much of what I was looking for. What do shooters consider rather than non-shooters. I do understand it depends on the application also. I don't want to shoot rabbits with a 270 or deer with a 22lr.
I have been around guns for over 50 years and there are calibers I have not heard of. I see one every so often out at my little club range.
Sorry Art. You beat me with your post. Your answer is really much of what I was looking for. What do shooters consider rather than non-shooters. I do understand it depends on the application also. I don't want to shoot rabbits with a 270 or deer with a 22lr.
I have been around guns for over 50 years and there are calibers I have not heard of. I see one every so often out at my little club range.
Last edited:
A high powered rifle is anything the media wants to sound more menacing. Civilians don't need high powered rifles-regular powered rifles are more than adequate.
Personally, I associate the term with rifles used for large African game or used for accurate shots past 4-500 yards.
Personally, I associate the term with rifles used for large African game or used for accurate shots past 4-500 yards.
Lt. Skrumpledonk Ret
New member
High powered rifle
In some states, it is illegal to hunt deer with a .223 because it does not deliver enough POWER. I believe the magic number is 900 ft lbs of force; I could be wrong.
In some states, it is illegal to hunt deer with a .223 because it does not deliver enough POWER. I believe the magic number is 900 ft lbs of force; I could be wrong.
I've always been told 1000ft/lbs minimum, and that's at the target, not the muzzle.
The media would call a bolt action .17HMR a 'high powered rifle' IMO.
A .22LR AR type rifle would still be an 'Assault rifle'
They're dumb. It's about scaring people and getting ratings. They could care less how accurate their terms are, because it's getting people's attention.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
Lt. Skrumpledonk Ret said:
If the number were 900, or even 1000, the .223Rem does it quite easily, beating those numbers by a solid 30% or more.
"The number" is no more legitimate than the term "assault rifle" or "high-powered rifle". It's arbitrary and defined based on the users preconceived bias or some point that they are trying to make.
If I were going to suggest some reasonable definition for "high-powered rifle", I would suggest that it would be based on either a kinetic energy or momentum number which exceeds the number produced by approximately 50% of other rifle cartridges. In other words, if it's more powerful that more than 1/2 of all other rifles, it's "high-powered".
My suggestion carries about as much weight as anyone else's though... none.
Boomer58cal
New member
I don't think velocity has anything to do with it. I only get 1200fps out of my .62 caplock but that's with 150g of FFF and a 900g bullet. I wouldn't call that intermediate.
The .223 was designed to blow up bushy tailed limb rats. It is a varmint cartridge and barely counts as an intermediate cartridge ( whatever that is ) The. 223 Is capable of reaching velocities of over 3200 fps. That does not make it high powered.
My 22 Hornet will reach 2900 fps and is definitely not high powered
Boomer
Last edited:
Boomer58cal
New member
Range has nothing to do with kinetic energy
Try it with a 300 Win Mag at that range
There's a difference
Boomer
Try it with a 300 Win Mag at that range
There's a difference
Boomer
Last edited:
In my state (Nebraska) a rifle must deliver 900 ft/lbs @ 100 yards to be legal for deer.
If you are using a 16" barrelled .223, you better load really carefully to beat that 900 ft/lb threshhold ...... and the easiest way to do that is to load light bullets really fast ....but this is counterproductive, as it usually makes for shallow, not immediately fatal wounds, and little or no blood trail.
So is a .223Rem a "High Powered Rifle"?
I think it is an "Intermediate" cartridge, like the x39's ....... I think the 30-30 (150gr @ 2300 ft/sec) is the dividing line......
Arbitrary? Mehbee ...... but you can't tell me it's in the same League as the -06.
IIRC, The Good Colonel referred to .30 cal rifles as "Medium Bores" .....
Pond James Pond
New member
For me, a high-powered rifle is one that hurts my shoulder. In that respect butt-plate would carry as much influence on "category of rifle" as caliber.
If I had to assign some stringent criteria, I'd say calibres of 6.5mm and above. Many might disagree, but anything that can propel 150-odd grains of lead up to a mile away in less than 5 seconds is high-powered. It is then just a question of how high-powered.
In the media, I am sure that if it is centre-fire, can reach 100m and beyond and also has a scope it is immediately a high-powered rifle.
If I had to assign some stringent criteria, I'd say calibres of 6.5mm and above. Many might disagree, but anything that can propel 150-odd grains of lead up to a mile away in less than 5 seconds is high-powered. It is then just a question of how high-powered.
In the media, I am sure that if it is centre-fire, can reach 100m and beyond and also has a scope it is immediately a high-powered rifle.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
jimbob86 said:
The .30-06 isn't in the same league as the .300 Win Mag either, which isn't in the same league as the .338 Lapua, which isn't in the same league as .700 Nitro, which is really in the same league as the .50BMG, which isn't in the same league as the .950JDJ....
Arbitrary.
Pick a reason. Commonly available? Commonly known? Anything ever made? Kinetic Energy? Taylor KO? Able to penetrate X? Trajectory better than Y?
It's arbitrary.
