You can't ignore bore size. If you ignore bore size then my 338 Lapua with a 300 grain bullet at 2800 FPS has 5,000 plus foot pounds of energy so it is now a big bore It is bore size period
Has to more than just bore size. As mentioned 375H&H and similar wildcats turn up on every bigbore forum on the net, and on very busy bigbore forums they can be high posting topics. 375 winchester on the other hand, nope. Even 45-70 far less airplay.
I agree - it's more common to link bore size and energy to the definition. I wouldn't class 45ACP as big bore.
A .40 caliber longrifle is slightly big for squirrel, pretty small for deer, not much of a "big bore". A .400 Jeffery is an elephant gun. The difference? The power. The power of modern rifles changed the definition of "big bore". So it's clearly not just the bore size.
