Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Help me pick the cartridge...

Ok, here's the basic blueprint...

McMillan A5
Remington 700 short action
Rock barrel in M24 contour

Of the following cartridges, which would you pick and why:

.243
.243ai
6.5-284
7wsm
308
300wsm

What do you want it to be able to do?

243 to 30wsm is a pretty big spread... i know those deer down there are huge but...

barrel length? no other 7's on the plate than the wsm? do you have the action and stock already? any chance on a long either mag or standard? not trying to push you outside your choices but you mention the 306 and the wsm. could do an 06' and split the difference etc.. same goes for the 7... a LR ackley in 280AI would be really slick and would feed lights out... again, not trying to add to your list but i see a huge variance on your wants...

if i had to choose off your list i would vote the 6.5/284.. would be the best middle ground you have and a perfect platform for anything from yotes and paper to elk...

woofer

Mainly punching paper/plinking at various ranges. Any of them should be able to kill a deer rather easily if I chose to do that. The local range only goes out to 300yds but I do occasionally have access to shoot at much longer ranges. Mainly just looking for something fun to play with.

I would opt for the 6.5-284. No particular reason, I am just interested the in round. Certainly has the reputation for being able to reach out there as well.

sorry, you replied before i finished my post

308 or the 6.5.... (or it's little brother should get serious consideration the 260!!!) and a few more rounds to barrel life with less recoil......

woofer

7 wsm, cause i want to build the same thing

I would go either 6.5-284 or 260. 95gr V-max's for varmints, lots of different weight match bullets for fun, 130 Accubonds and Sciroccos for the occasional deer. It wouldn't kick, it should out-fly the 6mm's, and it has enough ooomph for everything you want to do with it. Sounds like fun to me.....

6.5-284 or one you did not list but I would do is the 260

sniff, sniff.. i smell a trend

woofer

6.5-284. Just because I would like to have one

me 2

308 for ease, a 6.5-284 for the cool factor.

Ed

6.5-284, I tend to think it would serve you well in all regards, paper shooting and yotes and the like. let us know what you pick.

I have worked with 3 6.5-284s, and while I like them very much, I think the long bullets in .264 caliber make it a better match with a long action (and the original post specified a short action.) If you get an assortment of 130-140 gr bullets and do the math to see how much ends up down in the case when the cartridge OAL is held to 2.8" and you will see what I mean.

If I were looking for a short action "mid caliber play gun," I would build either a 25-284 or a 260 Rem. Either would work great in a short action. I have first hand experience with .260s, and it is very easy to work with. Mild mannered, but kilzemdead. I don't have any experience with the 25-284, but I can easily see the attraction to 25-06 performance in a short action. It should not be any trick with either cartridge to get a 7.5# rifle (all up)that shoots WELL under MOA, has a flat trajectory, is pleasant to shoot, and has adequate power for deer-sized game out to 400 yards. What is not to like about that?

Thanks for all the suggestions guys...keep 'em coming.

This definitely won't be a lightweight mountain rifle so I'm not really that worried about recoil. I hadn't considered the .260 but like the idea. I had considered the 25 Souper but really would prefer to stick to something I could order ammo for off the internet if I had to.

308.

BMT

Yeah, but a 308 is just not as much fun for me to shoot as a 260. A 260 shoots a 100 grain bullet about 3150, for maybe 10-12" of drop at 400 from a 200yd zero, with about 12 ft-lb of recoil. A 308 shoots a 150 grain bullet 2900 fps for 15" of drop with maybe 16 ft-lb of recoil. (All values from memory; someone with more time on their hands can look them up and clarify where I am undoubtedly off.) The 308 is in the 30-06 class for recoil, the 260 is more like a 257 Roberts. I much prefer the latter. No doubt 308 ammunition is more available and affordable. But I didn't think those were design criteria.

Oh, and I take back what I said about 7.5#. I forgot your A5/heavy barrel plan.

223AI, but since that ain't on your list I'd run a 243 or AI so long as you had a 1-8" twist. If not then run a 308.

Looks like you want to beat up on some paper and from time to time work over the deer mostly to 300 yds.

No doubt if I were you I'd go 243 and or 308.

Either one will do exactly what you're wanting and will do it well.

My experience with the short 700 is that the WSM's and the 284 based rounds feed in a manner in which I find unacceptable so I would not do that.

7/08 would be another way to consider as well.

Good luck to ya.

Dober