This means that loaded with light, short and soft-nosed 8 mm bullets the 8mm Remington Magnum can be used on remarkably small game. Loaded with heavy, long and hard (solid copper) bullets the 8mm Remington Magnum offers enough velocity derived power to penetrate heavy and dangerous game. With developed handloads, the 8mm Remington Magnum is capable of driving a 220 grain boat tail bullet in excess of 3,000 ft/sec, and delivers as much energy at 500 yards (457m) as the .308 Winchester has at the muzzle. Lighter bullets of 150-180 grains can be driven to velocities of 3,300-3,500 ft/sec, putting it in the same class as the larger cased .300 Remington Ultra Magnum; Such loads offer a very flat trajectory, making it an optimal choice for deer and elk sized game at very long range. The 8mm Remington Magnum is suitable for hunting almost any game animal on the planet, though certain sub-Saharan Africa countries have a 9.53 mm (.375 in) or 10.2 mm (.40 in) minimum caliber rule for hunting Big Five game - i.e. leopard, lion, cape buffalo, rhinoceros and African elephant. In the Central African Republic, where there are no ammunition limits for hunting Big Five game, the 8mm Remington Magnum's somewhat smaller sister cartridge the 8×68mm S is used successfully for hunting African elephant. At equal chamber pressure and 650 mm (25.6 in) barrel length the larger 8mm Remington Magnum produces 3 to 5% extra muzzle velocity.