Caliber table: all common calibers with dimensions and use at a glance

Rifle Calibers

Caliber generally refers to a size specification regarding the outer diameter of projectiles in rifle ammunition. However, the cartridge or ammunition type is often also referred to as caliber.

For example: In the caliber 7 x 64, the projectile has a diameter of about 7 mm, and the length of the cartridge case (without projectile) is 64 mm.

The number of different rifle calibers runs into the hundreds, although most firearm manufacturers limit themselves to a selection of about twenty calibers.

But even within this selection, opinions among hunters differ: If you ask various experienced hunters about calibers, you will likely hear something different from each one – which can only lead to even more confusion.

Basically, two factors are opposed when choosing a caliber:

The larger and more powerful the cartridge, the more reliably the shot game drops dead on the spot, meaning it stays where it was hit. This spares the game unnecessary suffering – and yourself a difficult tracking. On the other hand, the larger the caliber, the more meat or hide of the game is destroyed by the shot, which argues for choosing the smallest possible caliber.

Furthermore, larger, more heavily loaded ammunition produces more recoil and muzzle flash, which can be unpleasant for the shooter and affect shot precision – expecting strong recoil and loud shot noise, many shooters tend to “flinch” with large calibers – that is, to jerk at the moment of the shot and thus “pull” the rifle off target.

So, choosing a caliber is basically about finding the right balance between effectiveness and conservation.

In addition, price also plays a role not to be underestimated. Larger, more powerful calibers do not always cost more; rather, it is special, rare calibers that are difficult and expensive to acquire.

The most important factor in the decision is the type of game being hunted. For example, a red deer requires much higher “penetration power” than a fox.

A caliber that is too large can even be disadvantageous for small game if the projectile exits the game’s body without unfolding its effect. To illustrate: If light game, like a roe deer, is shot at close range with a large caliber, it can happen that the projectile passes through the game’s body without fragmenting or expanding. The effect would then be like that of a full metal jacket bullet – not sufficient.

The following will describe the most common rifle calibers and which game they are suitable for hunting.

For young hunters, calibers that are as universally usable as possible are recommended.

The group of the smallest calibers used for hunting is the one that starts with the Anglo-Saxon designation “.22”: The caliber .22 lfB, .22 Winchester Magnum, and .22 Hornet have a bullet diameter of only 5.6 mm and are only approved in Germany for hunting predators. Unlike larger calibers that are also allowed for predators, this caliber group causes little damage to the hide, so it can be used in many ways. Compared to other game animals, lower limits apply to roe deer regarding both the projectile diameter and the impact energy of the bullet on the game body. Therefore, ammunition from .222 Remington (5.6 x 43 mm) is permitted for roe deer, but as mentioned, not for other types of game. The difference to the “.22” category lies in the stronger propellant charge, which is visually recognizable by the longer case.

In this context, the term "small caliber" is also common. Historically, rifle ammunition with a projectile diameter under 7 mm fell into this category; today, the upper limit for small caliber is 5.6 mm bullet diameter. The most common small caliber is .22

For all game species larger than roe deer, ammunition is permitted in Germany where the projectile has a diameter of at least 6.5 mm and the impact energy at one hundred meters is at least 2,000 joules.

That sounds very technical; the most common calibers that meet these requirements are the Anglo-Saxon .270 Winchester (7 × 64.5 mm), .308 Winchester (7.62 x 51 mm), .30-06 Springfield (7.62 x 63 mm), .300 Winchester Magnum (7.62 x 67 mm), and the German 6.5 x 57, 7 x 64, 7 x 65 R, 8 x 57 IS, 8 x 68 S, and 9.3 x 74 R.

From a bullet diameter of 9.53 mm (0.375 inch), it is called a large caliber. However, among hunters, the widely used caliber .300 Winchester Magnum is often also counted among the large calibers, even though it technically does not meet the requirement due to the smaller bullet diameter.

All calibers have different ballistic properties in detail, such as the curvature of the trajectory, the speed of the bullet, or the impact energy on the target. As a rule of thumb, the longer the case, the flatter the trajectory, which makes aiming at long distances easier. On the other hand, recoil increases and, in some cases, so does muzzle flash when shooting.

Finally, it should be noted that different ammunition of the same caliber can behave differently depending on the loading—despite the same caliber, the composition of the bullets or the primers can differ, resulting in different ballistic properties.

An overview of the most important approximate key data:

V0 = projectile velocity at the muzzle

E0 = energy at the muzzle

Caliber:	Metric size:	V0:	E0:	Application area:
.22 Win	5.7 x 27 mm	500–670 m/s	410–440 J	trapping
.22 Hornet	5.7 x 35 mm	612–930 m/s	640–1160 J	small game (up to badger), geese
.222 Remington	5.6 x 43 mm	900–1100 m/s	1300–1700 J	up to roe deer
.270 Win	7 × 64.5 mm	933–957 m/s	3840 J	mountain hunting, deer, wild boar, moose hunting
7 x 57	7 × 57 mm	720 m/s	2900 J	universal
7 x 64	7 x 64 mm	779–969 m/s	3200–4154 J	universal
7 x 65 R	7 x 65 R	820–920 m/s	2200–3700 J	universal - the 7 x 64 for break-action rifles, due to the rim the cartridge is slightly larger but the powder charge is somewhat smaller
.308 Win	7.62 x 51 mm	785 m/s	3500 J	universal
.30-06 Spr	7.62 x 63 mm	820–900 m/s	3200–4126 J	universal
8 x 57 IS	7.92 × 57 mm	750–900 m/s	3600–4100 J	universal
8 x 68 S	8 x 68 mm	870–990 m/s	5200–5570 J	large game, mountain hunting
9.3 x 74 R	9.3 x 74 mm	662–853 m/s	3400–5045 J	large game, mountain hunting, effective range over 200 m
.300 Win Mag	7.62 × 67 mm	approx. 910 m/s	5000 J	large game, mountain hunting

Shotgun Calibers

The most common shotgun calibers in Germany are 12, 16, and 20, with the largest barrel diameter assigned the lowest number.

The reason for this is that the conversion follows a rather peculiar calculation:

For defining the 12 gauge, 12 equally sized balls were formed from one English pound of lead. The diameter of one of these identical balls is the diameter of the 12 gauge. Correspondingly, the 16 gauge results when 16 equal balls are formed from one English pound of lead. The diameter of one of 16 balls is smaller than one of 12 balls, so the barrel diameter is also smaller.

The 20 gauge was defined according to this calculation.

The complete caliber designation also includes the case length of a fired cartridge in this caliber. However, cartridges shorter than the chamber length can also be fired from shotguns, which can negatively affect shooting performance.

For cartridges, besides the caliber and the length of a fired cartridge, the diameter of the individual shot pellets is also specified, as different shot sizes can be fired from the same shotgun.