Anything 243 through 6.5 credemore, Swede, or 260. Anything bigger IMO will be less effective due to recoil or shot placement. I've seen magnimitus cause a twitchy finger on more folks than not. Even if a Magnum has a break on it barrels heat up in a hurry and IME shooting most rifles with a glowing barrel is more than counter productive.
When considering hunting long-range 500-600yds there is zero substitute for range time. If you can consistently put a group into 6" or less at 600 yds cold bore on any given day I say go for it. If not then practice, practice, and more practice! A 243 Winchester through the small 6.5s will get you there more consistently everytime.
As for the 7mm I'd consider a 7MM-08 but not the larger 7s based solely on powder charge and again barrel heat, shots down range etc. IMO there's a very noticeable difference in a case that holds 40ish grains of powder VS one that holds as much as 60 grains when one is trying to get more shots fired downrange without fighting a heated barrel.
Over the years I've hunted with a good many long range hunters that shoot farther than I'm willing to shoot. I've also seen a hell of a lot of missing going on. In considering my own shooting accomplishments I regularly accomplish 2ish" 500 yd groups from a number of rifles. This year with continued practice I intend to stretch my hunting range to 600 ish yds but that's it. Why, I've been practicing this long range stuff for only 9 years now and with more than 10,000 rounds downrange I feel I've gathered enouph data to conclude that even at 600 ish yds I might see a miss on occasion. Most long range shooters have missed more than once at those ranges and most would never admit it on a public forum.
Shod
Last edited by Shodd; 09/15/16.
