Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Caliber recomendations

Looking to have a gun put together. Looking for a gun to hunt with. Looking for something that has potential out to 600-700. Would like to stay to shoot 120-140 grain bullets. There's so many new calibers out there id like some help.

Tanners 6.5 x 47 in the classifieds is a turnkey steal.

260, 6.5 creedmoor, 7mm-08, 280, heck throw in the 308 winchester as well (won't match your bullet weight criteria though).

Pick the bullet you wanna shoot and build from there...

How 'bout a 6.5 firing Scenar 123's at 3,700 feet per second from a 26" barrel? It's called 6.5RUMLN.

Just finished a 280 Rem, for the same purpose.

Ringman, what are your results on game with that bullet at that muzzle velocity?

26 Nosler

Mr. 'Dville needs to come back and give us a little more information. What are you wanting to hunt with it? Having potential to hit paper, varmints, or elk out to 600-700 can all be done with the same caliber. However a good choice for a ground squirrel round out to 700 will not cut it with an elk.

There is no game info with these bullets at that velocity for me. So far I fired four of these. I started at 101 grains of US869 and stopped with 104 grains. The 104 grains had a stiff extraction after easy bolt lift. I backed off to 102.5 and loaded six to fire one three shot group in a 26" barrel and another three shot group in a 28" barrel. Both rifles were cut by the same reamer within a couple weeks of each other. I will post the info when I get some.

I will be using it to hunt whitetail and axis for the most part. Shots can be long and im looking for a cal that will allow shots ethically around 500. Don't know much about the wildcats cals and thought this was a good place to ask. Ideal bullet would be 115-140 grains. Thanks

If your heaviest bullet will be 140 and you want to shoot long range, something in 6.5 makes a lot of sense. For shots out to 500 a .284 chambering with 140s is fine too. Longer range and you'd have an advantage using the 6.5 140s.

In 6.5 I went with a 260, in 284 I went with a 280AI. 6.5 Creedmoor or regular 280 would be just as good. If you go with a .260 try to get one with a magazine length around 3 inches, many are only 2.8" and that cramps longer bullets.

I cant seem to think of many critters that would shrug off a 130 gr quality bullet from a 6.5X47 Lapua, 6.5 Creedmoore, or 260 Rem. And their LR potential is very nice.

Coop,

Do you hand load your ammo?

John

What about a 6.5x47? There's one listed. I do not reload but have a brother and friends that do.

6.5x47 is sweet but one of the last places I would look as a dependent.

308 Win is a much better way to fly until you begin to roll your own. `

One can purchase quality factory ammo for most of the cartridges listed thus far but with decreased availability, selection and higher prices.

K.I.S.S. Either start reloading for what you currently have and move into something new / purpose built... Or get something sufficient for the task with availability (like a 308, 30-06, 270, 243) and eventually work into reloading.

You are in the sweet spot -- a lot of rifles will meet your needs. Recoil tolerance and personal taste make the decision here. Since you don't reload, and it takes practice to shoot long, a 7 mm 08 or 308 would sound good to me. Less recoil and plenty of stock ammo to choose from. The .260 also. Your bigger concern is glass.

270

Affordable factory long-range ammo?

6.5 Creedmoor is the only game in town. 200 rounds for $200-$250 loaded with excellent high BC projectiles and good brass, with a solid reputation of good accuracy. That's a little cheaper than .308 GMM.... and whips it's azz in external ballistics and shootability.

.270? Thanks for the laugh woofer....

Yes, as was stated above.....the .270 Winchester.

Why go exotic when the best is so available?

Ammo and reloading components cheap and abundant.

The only question is if you want to hunt or just own an exotic rifle?

If it's the latter.....well, plenty of weird and obscure rounds have also been suggested above.