Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting .257 vs .277 long range deer bullet options

My 6 Ackley was also built for speed. 26” hart 12 twist. On rem 700 SA. It certainly is fast. 55BT would nudge 4300fps. I always wondered what it could’ve been on a long action and a fast twist barrel. But I built a 6x47 Lapua with an 8” twist 28” long. I love it. The Ackley is pretty hard on barrels. Had it set back once already and now load it down a fair amount. 55’s at 3900 and 70’s about 3600. If you’re already set up for the 6x284..... maybe just get a new barrel for that.

Ben

szihn said it all. I've use both being the 270 was my favorit cal the 25-06 was now the best with 100 gr bullets hardle no kick nice and accrate

To me he's not being contrary but maybe he just wants to prove a point. There is nothing magical about the number 6.5. And as for finding barrels with the tighter twist, look no farther than a custom barrel maker such as Shilen or Krieger. They will make you a barrel in any twist you want. And for the last ingredient in the pie, bullets. Both Berger and Matrix make heavy high BC bullets at least for the .270. I'm not sure about the .25s but I've heard there are some like 130 grain bullets for it. I don't know why Berger or Matrix hasn't made a 140-150 grain in .257. Maybe they have. If so, a .25-284, 25-06, or a .257 Weatherby would sling them out with the best of the .264s.

What's wrong with another 6mm-284 in a fast twist, with a long, minimum spec throat like the Creedmoor, so you can seat long bullets long?

I have been playing with a 243 AI a bit, and I've decided that a bit more would be better. If I do something like that again, it will either be on a 284 case, or on the AI'd 6mm case. The long neck on the 6mm case may be of benefit for the accurate shooting life of the leade. And I'd opt for a faster twist than 1:8. Bullets are only going to get longer and more streamlined.

What about 6/06?

Why? He already explained what he's doing and it requires a .257 and/or a .277 bore.
He want's to do something here rather than just follow the crowd.

I need to clarify, I "lusted for" the 6x284, but never pulled the trigger.

I still think it would be an excellent choice among the 6's but it's not the best feeding cartridge for my CRF Model 70... and I would like to utilize that platform.

I believe that the 6mm Rem A.I. has similar capacity {close enough anyway).


ONE MORE THING; Where would this cartridge find a suitable barrel length.?
I like the compactness of my 23" barrels, and I don't mind the 25 inch-er of my 35 Whelen.. so, what would be reasonable without sacrificing performance.?

Can I get the accuracy performance out of it.?

I have a rifle chambered in .250 Savage with a custom made Krieger 1:9 twist barrel. It's a shooter. I mostly shoot heavier bullets in it. I have shot 117 grains but my favorite is the Combined Technologies 110 grain Ballistic Tip. However, if I could find some heavier bullets I would give them a spin. I can shoot 120s in it but that's not a lot of gain over the 117. I want to find something like a 130 grain and give it a whirl. But that would be strictly for paper punching at long range. For hunting I'm different in that I don't believe in shooting at game animals beyond about 400 yards. You can tell me until you're blue in the face all the merits of that but I will still tell you that no matter what you do you can't guarantee a clean kill. Wind is your nemesis and always will be. Unless you have wind flags or a digital read out at the target you can't tell me that you will know wind dope at every shot at game. There's too much game that gets gut shot because of people trying to kill game at extreme ranges. Elevation has a mathematical solution. If you know your drops and your range you can make a shot for elevation. But throw in the wind and it gets iffy. Iffy is not ethical when shooting at game. That's why I will always put a limit on my shots. You can practice all you want but you can't overcome the wind correctly every time.

Paper never lies.

Even out to 400, if its blowing, I'm not shooting.

External ballistics isn't following a crowd, nor is it an opinion...

But long range to some means working up a load distance to others....

6 or 6.5 would simply provide more options with fewer penalties is all.

But this is 'Merica....

Paper never lies.

Even out to 400, if its blowing, I'm not shooting.

Me neither.

'Merica.!

Damn Straight, Greg.!

Ok, the OP ask about .25-06 and 270. I have had a few of each and still have a 270. Here is what I will say about these two rounds, IF you reload, that opens a lot more doors. IF you do not, factory bullet selection on the 25-06 is somewhat limited. The same can be said with the 270 in lighter weight bullets. The 270 has more options in 130 and up weight bullets but that will go against your recoil requirement.
Either will kill deer at the range you are asking about with no problem if you put a bullet in the proper location.
If someone were to tell me "I will buy you a new rifle (between these two cal.) I would go with the 270. Reasons 1) wider range of good bullets 2) I am like an earlier post, I have way more time behind a 270 than a 25-06 (guess you could say comfort level) 3) (assuming you don't reload) around here 270 ammo is everywhere and not so much with 25-06.
Now there are ways around recoil, 1) add weight to the gun 2) put a good recoil pad on 3) reduce the vel of the round 4) reduce the bullet weight 5) muzzle brake (a lot of people don't like them, but they can really help) 6) have the stock fitted to the shooter (it can make a big difference)

If you are open to other cal. I would look at 6-06 (based on your two other parent cases) or a 6.5-06 (once again based on your parent cases) but only if you reload. If you don't reload but are open to look at other cal, there are several 6 mm round that will do a fine job on deer at the ranges your looking for. There are several good bullets with high BC and also light weight bullets to plink/varmint hunt with. Same can be said about 6.5 but the bigger you go in cal. you start cutting away at lighter weight bullet options.

Good post. Took a while for clarity from the OP on what he was working with. Now that it's known, you nailed it.

If recoil reduction wasn't part of the plan, with a LA, I'd say 8 or 9" .270 without a doubt.

Simple as that.

Sometimes it appears the situation is beyond "people don't get it" and out into "people won't get it" territory.

If you don't want to go the easy way then don't put up weak rationalizations, just go with what you want to do because it's your project. I'm a 250 and 300 Savage shooter myself.

Not buying something because it's popular is about as dumb as buying something because it is, although at least popularity may may some practical basis.

Blessed is the hunter who's shot opportunities generally don't require much thought about BC, wind, or sight dialing, or who has the good sense to simply pass on stuff outside the range of his equipment or abilities.

This IS 'murica. You can pick and choose what you want. I mistakenly thought the OP wanted to prove a point that the .25-06 or .270 could do anything any other cartridge could do. I apologize for my tone here. Sometimes I get carried away. Hell, I'm old, LOL!


I agree with you 100% that you can do this a lot easier and cheaper with a 6mm, 6.5mm or even a 7mm because there's bullets and guns already on the shelf everywhere set up to do it. In those calibers it's a turn key deal. But that's not my goal to do what everybody else is doing.

I have wanted to build a long range .270 for about three years, just because I like to be different and not follow a crowd. It may not be the smartest move economically, but it scratches an itch. I still will go to hell swearing there's nothing magical about a 6.5 anything. If I wanted to follow the crowd I could go buy a Crudmoor of some flavor and shoot 600 yards with no problem (well with some practice).

But why would I do that? I won't shoot at game at 600+ and I'm not really a LR Paper Puncher (however I would be if I had a range big enough). If I build a LR .270 I will still limit shots at game to 300-400 yards. However, if I get the opportunity I'll wring it out on paper as far as I can see just to prove to everybody AND myself the .270 with the proper barrel twist and ammo can do it. It won't be a turn key or easy project but it will be a lot easier than it would have been 10 years back. And it will scratch an itch.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Filaman (and all others),


Great posts... I'm enjoying this immensely.


Admittedly, I've been stepping this way, and that, thinking I needed the horsepower of the 25-06 and/or the 270 (of which I currently have of the latter and formerly had the 25-06 A.I. at one time) for the longer work. That 25-06 A.I. was a Hotrod and a Deer Slayer with its preferred 100 gr NPT and 115 gr NPT.

Early on someone said, "6 Creed."
Being my donor is LA, I honestly had not considered dropping down in bore size - BUT - I am a handloader, I have case forming experience - And I am liking the performance of what I am seeing with the 105's and 107's - and the options given in that caliber such as the 85 TTSX and the Partitioned and Bonded offerings as well. LOTS to Like.

And it clearly gets recoil down.


Without any other changes, seems it would be incredibly easy to neck down the 25-06 (or even the 270) to 6mm and run with it.

I really Like That Option.