If you’ve spent time hunting or dialing-in rifles, you know there are cartridges that feel like they punish your wallet more than they help. Some rounds demand expensive brass and bullets, punish you with heavy recoil that ruins practice, or simply don’t transfer energy in a way that makes shots humane and efficient for the game you’re after. That combination—high cost per round, stingy ballistic returns, and a need for high-volume practice—means you burn boxes without getting reliably better outcomes. You want a caliber that rewards time on the range by producing repeatable, humane hits, not one that costs a fortune and leaves you wondering whether you’d’ve been better off with a lighter, flatter option. Below I cover a dozen real-world rifle and handgun pairings that often feel like ammo-eating jobs, what causes the problem, and what you’ll notice in the field before you regret the purchase.
Remington 700 in .300 Winchester Magnum
The .300 Win Mag lives up to its “long-range” reputation, but it’s a classic example of a cartridge that eats ammo without always delivering solutions for everyday hunting. In a Remington 700, you get a rifle that can push heavy bullets a long way, but that power comes with two penalties: recoil that shortens comfortable practice sessions, and expensive factory or reload components. If you can’t shoot it enough to build consistent hold and follow-up mechanics, you’ll spend ammunition and still miss the humane window on quick-moving game.
That translates directly in the field: you’ll probably need more shots to get confident hits, and the cost per round limits how much you can train. A 700 in .300 Win Mag is brilliant when you’ve practiced and tuned loads for your rifle, but if you expect to muscle through without hours on the range, the cartridge will eat ammo while your hit rate lags. For many hunters, a lighter, flatter 6.5-caliber option gets results with less practice and lower cost.
Accuracy International AW in .338 Lapua Magnum
The .338 Lapua is a precision long-range cartridge that shows up on a lot of wishlists, usually paired with rifles like the Accuracy International AW. In competent hands and with carefully developed loads, it’s devastating at extreme range. The downside for most hunters is that the caliber demands premium ammo, high-end optics, and lots of range time to use effectively. That combination adds up: every misjudged hold or flinched follow-up wastes an expensive round.
Also, heavy recoil and muzzle blast aren’t forgiving during high-volume practice, so you naturally reduce reps—which slows skill building. In short, a .338 Lapua AW can charm you in a store or a video, but in real-season use it often turns into an expensive appetite for ammo that doesn’t automatically translate into ethical hits unless you invest heavily in practice and load development.
Barrett M82 in .50 BMG
The .50 BMG is an extreme example: huge recoil, massive cost per round, and rifles like the Barrett M82 that are heavy and specialized. For anti-material, extreme-range work, it’s appropriate. For most hunting or practical field shooting, it’s not. You’ll go through very few rounds in an outing, and every miss is an expensive one. The recoil and blast limit comfortable practice, meaning it’s easy to waste ammo trying to tune follow-ups or sight corrections.
Beyond cost and recoil, terminal effects on smaller game or typical hunting targets are often overkill in the wrong ways; you can destroy meat or leave difficult recoveries. If you want to practice and actually improve hit probability per dollar spent, a .50 BMG platform will eat your ammo budget while giving you limited real-world payoff for everyday hunting tasks.
Bushmaster XM-15 upper in .450 Bushmaster
The .450 Bushmaster is a straight-wall heavy-hitting AR-style cartridge used in platform builds like a Bushmaster XM-15 upper. It offers powerful terminal performance on big-bodied deer inside practical ranges, but it eats brass and bullets at a rate that discourages high-volume practice. The recoil and muzzle blast in a lightweight AR-style setup also make follow-up accuracy harder, and that means you need more rounds to be consistently good.
Add to that often-limited factory load variety and higher per-round cost compared to common rifle calibers, and you have a recipe where you burn through expensive ammo while still churning through marginal hits on quick, nervous game. For many hunters, the .450 Bushmaster is a logical legal solution in restricted states—but for pure efficiency and practice economy, it’s an appetite, not an answer.
SIG MCX in .300 Blackout (suppressed/subsonic use)
The .300 Blackout is versatile—excellent for suppressed subsonic work or supersonic performance in short barrels—and platforms like the SIG MCX make the cartridge tempting. But subsonic loads particularly can “eat” ammo in two ways: they require very specific bullets and careful tuning for reliable expansion, and they demand a lot of practice to place shots where the round’s lower velocity still performs humanely. Because subsonic Blackout requires specialized ammo that costs more per round than bulk 5.56, you’ll spend more doing the same amount of practice.
On top of that, suppressed subsonic shooting changes recoil characteristics and point of impact compared to supersonic loads, so you’ll need separate zeroing and practice drills. Without that time investment and spare mags of pricey subsonic ammo, the Blackout becomes an expensive experiment that can leave you underperforming when it matters.
Browning X-Bolt in .338 Winchester Magnum
The .338 Winchester Magnum is an effective big-game cartridge, and in a Browning X-Bolt it’s built for heavy work. But heavy bullets, stout recoil, and relatively high ammo cost combine to throttle how much you can shoot comfortably. When you can’t run hundreds of rounds to learn the rifle’s nuances, your practical accuracy and follow-up skill suffer—and missed shots are expensive. That makes the caliber a poor choice if your goal is high hit rate for every dollar spent at the range.
Additionally, the .338’s terminal performance favors penetration and retained weight, which is ideal for elk or moose but can be unforgiving on lighter game if shot placement isn’t perfect. You’ll burn through ammo developing that placement, and until you get there the cartridge will feel like it’s eating rounds while giving you inconsistent field results.
Ruger No. 1 in .375 H&H Magnum
The .375 H&H is a classic for large dangerous game. In a light, single-shot rifle like a Ruger No. 1 it’s portable and powerful—but not cheap to practice. Each shot requires expensive ammo and creates significant recoil, which limits comfortable volume at the range. If your hunting profile doesn’t need that level of penetration and weight, you’ll end up using a heavy-hitting cartridge that’s expensive to train with and offers little advantage on smaller targets.
In practical terms, you’ll often be better served by a lighter, flatter round for the kind of target-density you see on typical hunts. The .375 H&H in a No. 1 is a specialized tool; if used outside that role it eats brass and bullets while delivering limited improvement in humane outcomes for most seasonal hunts.
Smith & Wesson Model 500 in .500 S&W Magnum
Handgun hunters who reach for a .500 S&W in a Smith & Wesson Model 500 know they’re getting ultimate handgun power. That power comes with consequences: heavy recoil, punishing muzzle blast, and very expensive ammunition. Those factors keep shooters from doing the repetition they need to be precise with follow-up shots. For big bears or close-range dangerous-game defense it’s a logical choice, but for wide-area practice, the cost and recoil quickly thin your shot counts—so you burn rounds but don’t develop the consistent accuracy you need.
When the goal is humane and efficient hunting across many shots and scenarios, a heavy-recoil handgun tends to be money-out, skill-incomplete. Unless you’re committed to sparse, specialized use, the Model 500 is more of a novelty that eats ammo than a practical, high-payoff tool for everyday hunter training.
Marlin 1895 in .45-70 Government
The .45-70 is a brutal, close-range big-game cartridge and in a lever action like the Marlin 1895 it feels iconic. But the heavy bullets and limited flat trajectory mean you need carefully chosen loads and practice to be effective—both of which cost time and money. The round will anchor large game when placed perfectly, but it won’t forgive a pulled shot. Because follow-up shots and high-volume practice are onerous with the .45-70, you can quickly expend a lot of costly ammo without reliably improving your hit rate.
Also, on lighter game or in open terrain the .45-70’s heavy trajectory and over-penetration tendencies make it the wrong tool; you’ll waste rounds trying to work within its limits. For efficient use of ammunition and effective training, lighter, faster straight-wall cartridges or modern magnums often provide better bang for the buck.
Winchester Model 70 in .300 Winchester Short Magnum (WSM)
The .300 WSM promised magnum velocity in a shorter case, and in rifles like a Winchester Model 70 it performs well on paper. In practice, the WSM family tends to be picky about barrels, loads, and recoil management. The result: many shooters fire expensive factory boxes trying to find a load that groups well in their rifle. If you don’t commit to load development or can’t tolerate heavy recoil for higher-volume practice, you’ll burn through costly rounds while your hit probability barely climbs.
That combination of expense and tuning time means the WSM series can feel like an ammo sink unless you’re prepared to invest in handloads and recoil management drills. For efficient practice and reliable field outcomes, lots of hunters opt for more forgiving calibers that reward volume with accuracy.
Browning X-Bolt Composite in .300 Remington Ultra Magnum (RUM)
The .300 RUM is a high-velocity monster built for long-range hard-hitting work. In rifles like a Browning X-Bolt Composite it delivers impressive ballistics, but at a price per round and a recoil cost that discourages repetition. If you can’t practice heavily because every box is expensive and every shot is punishing, your real-world hit rate suffers. The RUM will shoot holes on the range, but getting to that level requires expensive ammo and a lot of tough practice—both of which add up quickly.
On game, the round’s energy is ample, but if your shooting cadence and follow-ups aren’t polished, you’ll waste rounds trying to make it work. For many hunters, the excess capability of a RUM isn’t worth the hollowing out of their ammo budget; a more moderate magnum or a well-chosen 7mm option yields better practical returns per round.
*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.
