Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 6.5 vs 270 vs 7mm-08

... when was the last time that you fired a gun in a big game hunting scenario with enough rounds & fast enough to heat it up enough to have an real effect?

MM, nice shooting. My first experience was in the late 80s, a 700 MR, bad crown that Rem butchered out the door, had to fix that, then lap the lugs, and glass bed the recoil lug and tang. After all that, it shot nickel sized groups for 3 with 150 Bt's, did not like 130s, something later 270s proved to be true as well. A joy to carry, not bad balance and weight with a then 6x. But, it went down the road, later M7s never shot to my standards. As Brad points out, they are nice to carry, but IME, I like more weight for steadying. Out west in open country, over a backpack, on sticks or bipod, etc. you can get steady. For how I have hunted, it's not always possible to get a good rest, so more weight helped.

Jeff, I p/u 2 CLRs unfired a few years back, in 7RM. Trigger untouched was atrocious, but the action seemed well made. Heard mixed reviews on the barrel quality, but most owners have done well with them. The balance and stock fit was surprisingly well with it's IIRC 24" barrel. Not a fan on a 7RM, especially in a real light rifle, so both sold. Had they been in 260 or 7/08, I would have kept them. Too bad Colt did not make SA models. They are not a bad platform and I'd trust their action quality more than a 700. Perhaps their bolt design/attachment was better. Yes, had a 700 fail on me.....

On weight, the rifle that 700 bolt failed, started out as a first production SS MR in 270, mid 90 production, or early 90. Built a 338-06 that weighed 8.0 even sans scope. Ordered a .700 muzzle, but it came out .73 by Hart. Then the stocks were a solid Hard rubber IIRC, I floated it, and it shot 1/2 MOA at 200 yds all day. Yet in the mountains, it was just too heavy up and down terrain with it's 1.5-6x B&L - granted not a light scope.

To me, a Tikka sporter with reasonable scope gets real close to a good weight

Now the best light barrel I shot OEM, was a #1 A Ruger, in 243. 3/8" for 3 out the box, with a 2.5-8x, but it was slated for a 6BR project with varmint bbl to 26", and it shot sub 1/2" - at 330 yds thanks to Pac-Nor, full glass bedding, and Kepplinger, and a 4-16x40 ao elite. That OEM 243 barrel was a good barrel, and thin at the muzzle as I recall. Thin muzzles go best with small bores...stiffer, IMHO.

Thanks for the information, will certainly take it all into consideration.

The rifle and cartridge is set already. If I have to play with more bullets, I will certainly do that. For the immediate intended purpose, ricochet will not be an issue. The shooting angle will be steep downward, with the ground as a backstop.

Lehigh defense 122gr 0.264 caliber bullets are too long to stabilize at subsonic velocities per Berger twist rate calculator.

I don't shoot enough(or far enough) to bother making the switch from a couple 270's to 6.5's.


Brad mentioned starting his kids on the 6.5, hell if I was starting over I'd start myself on one.

Reading all these options gave me a headache and made me glad to have been so ignorant as to buy a pre 64 Model 70 Featherweight .308 as my first center fire rifle.
Now it seems a miracle that I was ever able to kill anything with it over the past 50 years.
Why just last weekend, shooting off hand, I shot two feral hogs in the head and one running in the shoulder (right where I aimed) with it; imagine how many I could have shot with a new whiz bang rifle in another caliber?

The 122 grain isn't the Subsonic version, so you're not missing much by not being able to stabilize that particular bullet. They also make a lighter bullet, but there again, the minimum expansion velocity is well over the speed of sound.

You might look at something like a 95 grain Vmax in order to get subsonic expansion, otherwise you might have to go with a slightly unstable bullet and rely on it tumbling within the animal, which is a poor way to go about things.

The subsonic world is a whole different ballgame.

What would you think of grinding the exposed lead tip off and drilling a hollow point in the IL?